The bottom line to buying a pinball machine is having your expectations met for the price you pay, and not wasting your time during the process of finding the right seller and pin, inspecting in person or long-distance, and negotiating your price and closing the deal. Use the “Seller’s Checklist” as a reference guide, and figure out what aspects of the machine are important to you for the price being offered. If travel or shipping expenses are part of your total cost, you may want to be more meticulous, and obtain more information than you normally would before making an easy 30-minute drive to view a local pin, where first-come-first-serve is an important factor, where you often save the questions for when you arrive. Being over-diligent can cost you a purchase. Being too quick to pull the trigger can get you burned. Only you can weigh your information and gut feelings and decide what is the right path for you at each turn. Be prepared to find your machine long-distance or locally.
(this section is in progress)
HOW TO INSPECT A PINBALL MACHINE
A. In person
– What to bring with you:
– Make your own checklist for when you travel to review a pin, and stick to it. Here’s my checklist: level, pitch, magnetic wand (makes it easier to remove balls from the trough), lint-free rag to wipe down playfield, socket wrench for the leg nuts, blankets, cart to move a 250lb object. (If you don’t have a cart, then you’ll have to label all wires under the head, and remove the head to get the weight down. Then two people can move the body or the head.)
– bring your own new balls (since what is what you’ll be using at home), in case the balls are in horrible shape when you arrive
– How to load the pin into the car: (with/without a cart)
B. Long Distance
* Reviewing the playfield (ask for a ball-rolling movie as described in the “How to Sell section of this site)
* Knowing what to look for
– ask other pin owners what the weak points are (use pinside.com and post in “buying/selling advice”)
– check for availability of reproduction items
