modded pinballs for sale

[newy16216]

Don't forget to change the batteries 😂 21 century my assets

[oldhank]

I rekon it's a bit like cars...

 

Some want rodded and gleaming, some original unrestored (but good), some rather fully refurbed to Original (spec). People will pay what something is worth in their Own mind....

 

So many comparisons to the cars topic it seems...

 

I'm happy with fully working, tidy ... but true to original intent, personally. Overkill is Waste, as with cars... want a good daily driver not a fortune wasted and hidden in the shed for eternity....

 

*and wouldn't pay any extra for temperamental glass. I've seen it in a few situations, imo it's unimpressive (especially for the ridiculous price). ColorDMD, maybe.

 

For me pinball and cars are intertwined i got my first taste of pinball at a car show 3 years ago

[Coon82]

For me yes they do. Though what percentage of the original cost they do is in the eye of the beholder...

Starting my collection was all about getting something I liked (LoTR) and I held off doing it for a number of years to make other things a priority like getting our first home. I started with a theme I really liked. I was ecstatic I finally pulled the trigger and got a pinball, then went for a couple of refurbished games a few years later once again because I delayed buying until we had achieved a few goals. However I liked the idea of the titles I chose to build the collection and diversify the layout/style. These would be considered pretty much standard unmodded games. Then I pulled the trigger on a NIB and got shafted (cough...WOZ). And finally bought a couple of nice condition heavily modded games (Tron and Ghostbusters) which I'm very happy with. Fast forward and this took me to 7 games.

 

I can only speak about my personal situation and I feel I've become more refined as I've honed in on what I've felt my collection should be to suit my tastes/needs. Will it change in a year or two from now? Probably...have I always made the right decision? With the nenefit if hindsight, no. Have I become more selective? Yes!

 

I consider myself incredibly patient given some of the choices I've made and the waiting perionds I've had to get certain games but some of it although frustrating has worked out, some not so much.

 

I still have a Dr Who on the way (been waiting over 2 years for this (long story) the the long awaited Thunderbirds which is a thread within itself for me personally which I may start as a new pin day thread down the track.

 

My appeal of pinball is the love of a mechanical game and the art. I like nice things so aetheitcs are important to me. It is so cool seeing a line up of pins and I enjoy seeing other pinheads lineups just as much as my own.

[Michi]

Some mods will hold value more than others, I think. The ones that really add major value:

 

• Invisiglass or PDI glass
  
• Color DMD
  
• Shaker motor
  

Those three together are over $1000 retail. And (in my opinion), each of them adds real value.

 

Another major one that might be worth an extra $100 or so is an upgraded sound system. Whether that actually makes a difference depends on the pin.

 

Minor mods:

 

• LED conversion. $200 if done tastefully. -$100 if not done tastefully, of if there is ghosting or flickering.
  
• Powder-coated and/or laser-cut armor. $300, if you are into this sort of thing. But it makes not one iota of difference to game play. Ditto for plated coin door, etc.
  
• Figurines, trough lighting, fancy glowing eyes on the trolls or the bony beast, and so on. Anything from $0 to $100. These are cool touches, but also don't make one iota of difference to game play.
  

I think this is much like mods on cars. There are mods that truly change the way a car drives. Upgraded suspension, better exhaust, upgraded software, better turbo, larger brakes, etc. All these make a real difference to how a car drives. And there are mods that are nice and cool, such as different mag wheels, steering wheel, bucket seats, stereo, fancy paint job, you name it. But it's still the same car with those things and it drives the same. What those upgrades are worth is largely in the eye of the beholder.

 

Michi.

[pinball god]

Yes I'm talking aftermarket stuff. Some mods can improve game play and looks like colour dmd or airball deflector etc. What i don't get is when a person installs toys with a led in it that costs way too much but it gives them pleasure but then when selling the game that cost the say $10k then figures well it owes me $11k so that's the selling price. Good on them if they get it but for me they won't get the extra $1k because i don't see the value or maybe don't like the mods that much.

 

Now that's my opinion and pretty much if selling my games I don't add these items to my asking price. But that's me, and I'm interested whether I'm the minority or the majority. If most people believe they add value regardless then I've learnt something and will take note if I ever sell a game

[Autosteve]

Nope not a cent. You changed it for your likes when you owned it. All the parts are now 2ND HAND and are therefore worth less than the original parts they replaced.

Do you go and buy a car someone has stuffed around with?.

 

The pleasure is doing the mods yourself isn't it and to buy one someone has already done well, I would regard that as taking the fun out of it and lets face it, no matter how you do it, the new owner will want something different.

 

The problem is simply changing LEDs does not warrant a couple of thousand dollars more than what was paid for the machine originally. No ones labor costs are worth that much. The original bulbs would have been changed may times anyway.

 

Personally I think trying to get your money back on mods is fool thinking. Take your second hand mods off and restore to original, let me play the game and then we will see what it is worth is my opinion .

[RPZ]

Have to agree with @KISS. The enjoyment we got out of our games isn’t always about playing. I love adding my own touches and it seems others admire this as well as I seem to get back the extra that I put into it most times. And if not I have enjoyed the process. There are some mods stupidly expensive that may not add much bang for buck and others add a great deal for little money. It’s like Toppers some love them (yes everyone knows I do) others can’t stand them. We are all different and thank god we are. Pretty boring if we all agreed all the time.

 

A very good example is @luke machines. He pimps them out and they are always in high demand when listed for sale.

 

Mods are not to everyone’s liking but there seems more that do than don’t from my experience. :unsure

 

Definitely! I should have had a 3rd option, that if the price for the machine + mods added up to the one I could buy with mods already done, I would 100% go for the one without the mods, as it is definitely something I enjoy (sometimes more than playing the machine I have bought)

 

Fixing them up when they break, fault finding and modding/prettying them up, is a big part of what I call my hobby.

 

The excitement when new bits and pieces arrive in the mail is REAL! [emoji4][emoji13]

[Scottt]

One of the best mods, if you can call it a mod ? is having a playfield restored and cc'd. Would anyone call it a mod ? i certainly know me for one would pick a machine with a professionally cc'd playfield over a colour DMD or invisiglass for instance.

[Michi]

One of the best mods, if you can call it a mod ? is having a playfield restored and cc'd.

 

Agree. That is a major upgrade that actually is worth something, IMO. Playing a machine with a perfect playfield is fun, and it looks great, obviously. I'd pay extra for that, no question. Not sure how much. Up to $400 maybe? I know, that's not enough to pay for the amount of time and effort that goes into restoring a playfield.

 

Again, the car analogy holds, I think. Upgrades on a car generally don't get anywhere near the amount of money that they cost to install.

 

Michi.

[razorsedge]

How exactly is "professionally clearcoted" defined though? . Auto spraypainter? . Someone whom has done alot of it, proven successful? ... I mean, this may look great when you buy it, but clearcoating Can lead to more destruction than preservation in some cases. What if it starts delaminating 12 monts later? Or become cloudy? Or "ghosting"? .... unless you have seen jobs by trusted clearcoater after time, how can anyone know it's a good clearcoat job?

 

**I for one would be interested to know more on this topic.

[Scottt]

Without naming names, i think we all know who does spekky jobs with restoring and cc'ing playfields. Ok, ill name one..HRP

[pinball god]

How exactly is "professionally clearcoted" defined though? . Auto spraypainter? . Someone whom has done alot of it, proven successful? ... I mean, this may look great when you buy it, but clearcoating Can lead to more destruction than preservation in some cases. What if it starts delaminating 12 monts later? Or become cloudy? Or "ghosting"? .... unless you have seen jobs by trusted clearcoater after time, how can anyone know it's a good clearcoat job?

 

**I for one would be interested to know more on this topic.

 

This probably would best be taken further in it's own thread. I have many thoughts on this and have real life experiences with such matters. Let's just say I'm not anal but tend to see things not with rose coloured glasses anymore and all pinball restorers have their moments.

[ajfclark]

Agree. That is a major upgrade that actually is worth something, IMO. Playing a machine with a perfect playfield is fun, and it looks great, obviously. I'd pay extra for that, no question. Not sure how much. Up to $400 maybe? I know, that's not enough to pay for the amount of time and effort that goes into restoring a playfield.

I think it depends on the market for a particular title too. Are you going to pay an extra $400 for a clearcoated PF on a title that's readily available with a diamondcoated playfield in decent condition? What about a title where almost every example is completely roached? I'd argue the clearcoated, restored PF is worth more in the latter instance.

[Autosteve]

Personally I value a machine on....

 

It's earning ability in it's day...

 

Condition of parts mainly playfield ...

 

Sun Damage. The sun does more irreversible damage than anything else..

 

And play ability. Mainly flippers. If the owner can't get the machine running with good, strong flippers it sort of implys new parts were installed yes, but the machine lacks maintenance.

 

$150 worth of LEDs, nothing. They are likely at the end of there useful life anyway.

 

Display, colour would be nice but at most $200, remember it is second hand and you have no idea how much life is left in it and then you are trying to get non factory parts to restore it back to what you had.

 

Toppers well, they were the first part to get broken off and do nothing for play-ability but they do suit "some machines".

[vintage]

Earning ability on an old game that's an interesting criteria

[Que200]

A mod's beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder.

We've all seen some stuff stuck to a playfield that makes us cringe but they must have been attractive to the person who put them in...

I don't expect to get my money back personally.

[Glenn70]

Without naming names, i think we all know who does spekky jobs with restoring and cc'ing playfields. Ok, ill name one..HRP

 

Exactly. It comes down to the reputation of the person that did the play field restoration. On an average playfield from the 90's that needs touching up and clear coating, the cost is between $1000- $1500 and that doesn't include labour to strip it. Great if you can strip it yourself, but some people cannot do this and need to pay someone to get it done. Then a full PF restoration could easily be over $2000. I got a quote for my completely shagged DE Batman and the quote was $3k. Depending on the title of course and the level of damage, it could be more cost effective to buy a brand new PF and just do a swap.

 

Just over a year ago, I sold my Getaway HS2 with clear coated PF for high $5k's when it would have only been worth about $4k in it's pre clear coated condition. I think people who are in the hobby and aware of what is involved with a full PF clear coat restoration will be happy to pay quite a bit extra for this addition to any title.

 

I for one would be prepared to pay substantially for a resorted and clear coated PF.

[pinball god]

Yeah cc isn't what i call a mod.cab resto same as the term resto implies. These things bring a game back to new cond. Now for me to sell my Metallica and expect someone to absorb my cost for inserting snake fangs.....i wouldn't include this in my final price calculation. Mirror blades, decals, leds, silicon rubbers, even pf side art I consider the same. List them as possible sales points but don't expect it's going to increase the games value. Colour dmd I'm not sure, i suppose most would like one so trying to get some cost back ok. Oh and toppers again not sure. A bit kike selling a house with a pool to a guy who doesn't want a pool, hard time to convince him to add $50k to the house price. Sometimes I think a pool can lose you bucks on a deal. Can't see pinball be any different except you can get rid of mods hopefully

[Autosteve]

Earning ability on an old game that's an interesting criteria

 

Earning ability is a true sure fire way to determine whether you actually have a good game "people are after" rather than you personally claiming it as a good machine solely because you own it.

 

I can see why someone would "enhance" a Bally Centaur but would question someone "enhancing" a Bally Space Invaders. Both machines made around the same time, one earned good money one was a lemon.

 

You can't turn a poor player into a great game simply filling it with coloured LEDs, colour display, toppers and toys I'm afraid to say.

 

If it had little interest in it's day, (earned poor money), it is the game not the way it looks.

[hotty]

Yeah cc isn't what i call a mod.cab resto same as the term resto implies. These things bring a game back to new cond. Now for me to sell my Metallica and expect someone to absorb my cost for inserting snake fangs.....i wouldn't include this in my final price calculation. Mirror blades, decals, leds, silicon rubbers, even pf side art I consider the same. List them as possible sales points but don't expect it's going to increase the games value. Colour dmd I'm not sure, i suppose most would like one so trying to get some cost back ok. Oh and toppers again not sure. A bit kike selling a house with a pool to a guy who doesn't want a pool, hard time to convince him to add $50k to the house price. Sometimes I think a pool can lose you bucks on a deal. Can't see pinball be any different except you can get rid of mods hopefully

 

Not really, if I'm looking for a house with a pool I will look into that market of real estate. Same as pinball if I'm looking for a complete resto then I know thats my target, and price accordingly just like someone chasing projects. If it comes with mods big deal, if the price is right the sale is achieved, but I don't think people are modding their pins to increase their sales values and if they are don't expect a full return. The only thing that seems to increase a pinball machines value is the demand of it's title. As for judging a machines value by it's earning's of it's day is very skewed because Twilight Zone was a real dud on sight and look and what that's pulling now. And it's a new generation of buyers alongside us old pinballers, Popeye & Super Mario have you seen what people are paying for those two?

[pinball god]

That's a negative re pool. My rule of thumb if every second house in your street has a pool then that's what's expected from potential buyers. If the market for your house is 100 people put in a pool and that market will drop to 30 or less unless you're area has lots of pools. Anyway we digress and this thread seems divided.

 

If I buy a iron maiden for $10k and put $1k of mods would a reasonable person expect to see me advertise it for $11k in 4 months when you still can buy them for $10k? Or if the market price for a tz is say $10k and again i have the camera mod, leds, gumball led etc etc that cost me $1k would most buyers understand me listing it for $11k?

 

I say no, but if the market value of say a fh is $4k and I spend $1500 on a new pf, redo the cab for $400 plus time then I expect the sale price to be around $6k-6.5k or am I mistaken. That's what I'm trying to get my head around

 

Also what just came to mind is I'm seeing for sales around the traps where asking prices are higher to include all the mods and yet i don't know how many times I have read $2k more for an LE is ridiculous as the intrinsic value is probably $1k. But limited edition must be worth something as well.....no?

[vintage]

If I buy a iron maiden for $10k and put $1k of mods would a reasonable person expect to see me advertise it for $11k in 4 months when you still can buy them for $10k? Or if the market price for a tz is say $10k and again i have the camera mod, leds, gumball led etc etc that cost me $1k would most buyers understand me listing it for $11k?

 

I say no, but if the market value of say a fh is $4k and I spend $1500 on a new pf, redo the cab for $400 plus time then I expect the sale price to be around $6k-6.5k or am I mistaken. That's what I'm trying to get my head around

 

It's not really a black and white rule. Every case and buyer is different

 

as most have agreed though, for example $1k in doesn't automatically = $1k on the sale

[Autosteve]

As for judging a machines value by it's earning's of it's day is very skewed because Twilight Zone was a real dud on sight and look and what that's pulling now.

 

Yer I've heard someone else here say Twilight was a poor earner. Markets do change depending on the targeted players but I thought Twilight was a very strong earner as was Indiana Jones.

 

They made the most of that generation in the sites I maintained and it was Star Trek Next Gen, Demolition Man, Judge Dredd and Road Show that did nothing for us in the SuperPin Range.

 

Family orientated sites, Bowling Alleys but quite a contrast with Twilight Zone especially.

 

TZ is a complex machine and needed above average maintenance and a non perfectly working example will earn less cash I suppose but other than that I have no idea why those that claim it was a poor earner have such grounds to make these claims but then again some machines just did well at some sites were others didn't too.

[pinball god]

I think because people couldn't work out what to do and it was a drain monster or that's what i kept being told. I hated it until.I bought one

[JOKERPOKER]

Yer I've heard someone else here say Twilight was a poor earner. Markets do change depending on the targeted players but I thought Twilight was a very strong earner as was Indiana Jones.

 

They made the most of that generation in the sites I maintained and it was Star Trek Next Gen, Demolition Man, Judge Dredd and Road Show that did nothing for us in the SuperPin Range.

 

Family orientated sites, Bowling Alleys but quite a contrast with Twilight Zone especially.

 

TZ is a complex machine and needed above average maintenance and a non perfectly working example will earn less cash I suppose but other than that I have no idea why those that claim it was a poor earner have such grounds to make these claims but then again some machines just did well at some sites were others didn't too.

 

TZ was a poor earner for the exact reason people love it in their home today. It was too difficult for the casual player at the time. Deep rule set complex shots. Players at the time just didn’t get it. Took years to become what it is today. P.S I still hate it :lol