Buying a Pinball Machine - 101

Cary Hardy·video·26m 36s·analyzed·Nov 10, 2020

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.022

TL;DR

Six-step guide to buying used pinball machines: budget, search platforms, red flags, research, negotiation, pickup.

Summary

Cary Hardy presents a comprehensive six-step guide for buying pinball machines, covering budget planning, where to search (Facebook Marketplace, Pinside), red flags, price research via pinballprices.com, negotiation tactics, and scheduling pickups. He emphasizes the importance of condition assessment, parts availability verification, and realistic pricing expectations, using real-time Facebook Marketplace browsing to demonstrate practical application.

Key Claims

The average starting budget for a decent used pinball machine is around $2,500
high confidence · Hardy explicitly states '$2,500 is probably a really good starting point' for getting a good machine down to a starter pen
Games like Tales of the Arabian Nights and The Getaway have increased in price significantly and can command profits
medium confidence · Hardy discusses how these titles are sought-after and have rising prices; he mentions getting Tales of the Arabian Nights at a good price and being able to sell for profit
Gottlieb games are less sought-after than Bally/Williams titles and have lower resale demand
high confidence · Hardy explicitly states 'there's not a lot of demand for those titles' and that Gottlieb 'tends to be not as sought after as your Bally Williams titles'
Playfield condition is more important than cabinet condition for determining machine value and buyer interest
high confidence · Hardy emphasizes 'the cabinet is definitely a factor but not as much as the play field that is something that is very hard to replace and expensive'
Maverick pinball machines average around $2,336 in recent sales (2024 data shown in video)
high confidence · Hardy pulls up pinballprices.com showing average price of $2,336 for Maverick with three sales; also shows 2023 was $2,366, 2019 was $2,200, 2018 was $1,525

Notable Quotes

“I think $2,500 these days can get you a good amount of pretty decent games.”
Cary Hardy@ 5:12 — Establishes the sweet spot budget for first-time pinball machine buyers
“The comparison to a car purchase and a pinball purchase... basically called the cargument. And I think it's valid.”
Cary Hardy@ 2:19 — Validates a common community analogy for explaining pinball machine price variability
“What's the lowest you'll take? That is the quickest way to get under the skin of someone selling a pinball machine.”
Cary Hardy@ 17:01 — Highlights a common negotiation frustration sellers experience; recommends counter-offer 'what's the most you will pay?'
“If you want a machine, then you need to dedicate the time and have the money in hand ASAP.”
Cary Hardy@ 18:58 — Emphasizes the importance of being ready to close quickly to beat other buyers
“Pinball prices went from around $2,000 for Getaway years ago to hard to find for less than $3,000 now.”
Cary Hardy @ ~5:30 — Demonstrates inflationary pricing trends in the used pinball market

Entities

Cary HardypersonZach MinneypersonFlipping Out PinballcompanyPinsideorganizationFacebook MarketplaceplatformMarco Specialtiescompany Pinball Lifecompanypinballprices.complatform

Signals

?
community_signal: Geographic availability and pricing variation; Dallas/Texas area positioned as strong market with good supply within 300-mile radius
medium · Hardy notes he's 'in the halfway point between Oklahoma City and Dallas' and usually searches within 300-mile diameter for deals
$
market_signal: Used pinball prices rising across the market; specific examples: Getaway increased from ~$2,000 to $3,000+; World Cup Soccer demand rising; Tales of the Arabian Nights commanding profit margins
high · Hardy states 'with the incline of interest in pinball, the price in pinball is going up' and provides specific price increases for multiple titles over time
$
market_signal: Market saturation concerns in negotiation; sellers becoming desperate (Maverick price dropped from $3,000 to $2,100); buyer competition increasing
medium · Hardy observes Maverick seller is 'getting desperate here' after significant price cut; notes 'first person that has the amount of cash...is going to get it'
?
product_concern: Parts availability variability; some critical components out of stock (DMD displays); playfield replacement costs high (~$600-$1,000)
medium · Hardy checks Marco Specialties for Maverick parts; finds DMD out of stock but color DMD available; notes playfield for Maverick available at $600 vs typical $1,000

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.080

0:00

what's up guys and welcome back to my channel where I talk and do everything pinball so if that sounds interesting to you then hit that subscribe button down below the following content is definitely targeted towards the new people to this hobby but by all means you veterans out there might learn something too now there's a couple of different ways you could go about buying a pinball machine one is the easy way when it comes to buying a brand new in box machine that's simple as calling your distributor and if you do not have a distributor all I can really recommend is a distributor that I have used and that's flipping out pinball with Zach many he's definitely not sponsoring this or anything it's just one of those things that I definitely stand by those that have done well for me or to me or whatever so when it comes of products and services if you do well by me then by all means i will promote you without cash in hand or anything that's just how it is for me so with that being said if you want a brand new pinball machine then by all means call the distributor and say i want this game and then they will work out a deal and then ship it to you it's pretty simple but when it comes to buying a used or older game there's more steps involved i think as of right now i've got like six steps And we're going to start with step one, and that is understanding your budget. I think one of the most common questions I receive from individuals that don't know anything about pinball, whether it be my coworkers or other friends or just people that find out that I'm into pinball, is that they want to know how much a pinball machine costs. And that is going to be, like I said, the most common question that anybody in this hobby will hear is, how much does a pinball machine cost? And it's like, a lot of the times we have to explain to them that it's not that simple because the price can range from like low hundreds or even less than that all the way up into the $10,000 plus range. So there's a very big price, you know, margin to really dive into. So what you will commonly find amongst like whether it be pin side or people talk about in general is the comparison to a car purchase and a pinball purchase. This is often basically called the cargument. And I think it's valid to compare these two types of things in a lot of different categories. And I think it's mainly because they kind of go hand in hand together when it comes to price and what you're getting and a lot of different factors that come into play. So let's talk about, for instance, the type of car versus the type of pinball machine, age of the car, age of the pinball machine, the condition of the car, condition of the pinball machine. These all kind of go parallel with each other. So that's why a lot of people use that. So I can't just say how much does a car cost because, okay, what kind of car, you know, are you talking about like an 89 Pontiac, you know, or are you talking about a Lamborghini? There's a very big, giant thing to compare there. So a lot of the times that is what we have to deal with is figuring out what is it that we can afford. What is a price point where you feel like I don't want to go any higher than this? And that's where you need to first figure out. And I can tell you right now with the incline of interest in pinball, the price in pinball is going up. So whenever I first got into it, what the prices were at compared to what they are now. Like, for instance, Getaway, you could probably get that years ago, not too far ago. Guys, I know you can get them for a lot cheaper than that. But I think the average price for a Getaway years ago was around like two grand, give or take a few hundred, depending on the condition, obviously. Now it's hard to find one less than $3,000 unless it's got some wear, which is the same thing with the car. So you could have a brand new car that normally goes for, let's say, $20,000. But if the car has been, you know, got scuffed and hail damage all over it, that's going to really reflect the price. So, again, keep that in mind. The same thing goes with used pinwall machines when it comes to condition. That is one of the main factors in that. So understanding your budget, going back to it, is you need to figure out what you can afford. And this is going to require a little bit of research on your end. But I think a really good price point to start out if you've never purchased a machine before is the sweet spot to get a decent game is around $2,500. I think that gets you right there in the sweet spot to where you could get, you know, a lot of even DMD games. And depending on where you are at and, of course, the person that's selling it. but I think $2,500 these days can get you a good amount of pretty decent games. And everything below that, you never know. Like I said, it all depends on condition and all that stuff. There's so many variables, but just keep in mind that $2,500 is probably a really good starting point to go from getting a really good machine down to a good starter pen. So it can go down really cheap. Which brings me to my next step. The next step is where do you look to find these pinball machines? Now, this is going to be definitely location-based. So it used to be Craigslist. Craigslist was probably like the number one place that we used to find the pinball machines and sales. But due to the rise in social media, Facebook Market is probably going to be your next best bet. Then you have Pennside. They have a market on there. then you have all your other kind of applications let go and anything like that uh all these other kind of like you know sell online sales stuff typically will have pinball machines but your top two are probably going to be facebook market and pin side everything else is going to be i don't know you never know what you're going to get i still check all of them obviously whenever i'm on the prowl for a good deal so don't count anything else so i guess my advice to you on that is to cast a very large net over multiple platforms to find a good deal On to step three and that is what to look out for Now a lot of times there are people out there that understand that there are those of us that are searching for a good deal when it comes to pinball machines. This is most commonly found on Craigslist where you can be totally anonymous when posting your ad. And a lot of the times they will try to lure in those of us that are trying to pray off those that don't realize what they've got kind of thing. So the chances are, if you're scrolling through, and again, a lot of this is going to come with experience on what pinball machines usually sell for, the type of game they are and stuff. So let's just say, for instance, I'm scrolling through Craigslist and I see that someone's got a Tales of the Arabian Nights for $2,500.

8:44

Now, this is whenever you have to start doing your research. Like, okay, is this a title that you want? Do you know this game? Now, if you do not know this game, that's when you start looking up some YouTube videos of the game to get an idea if this is a game that you think that you would enjoy. Now this is also difficult for those of you out there that haven't played a lot of these games and don't really know if you're going to like it or not so you're already taking a chance as it is on buying your first game and not knowing if you're going to like it. So that's why the research comes into play by watching YouTube videos and just getting an idea if the sounds in the game don't seem too repetitive and they're going to be annoying um something stuff like that so do your research when it comes to watching videos on the actual gameplay of it if it's something that's going to be interesting to you and you want to hold on to uh you also want to see what available parts are readily available with them so you can go to like marco or pinball life uh pinball resource to figure out if parts for that game are available and that's something that needs to be disclosed in the ad when you're purchasing it is if they say, I don't know, let's say for instance the soccer ball is missing on this World Cup soccer. Are you able to get that soccer ball on one of these websites as a replacement for it? So that's something to keep in mind, is that a lot of the times when people are selling a game, they will, if they are a good seller, disclose the things that are wrong with the machine that will need to be replaced or things that are missing. So once again, do your research when it comes to parts availability and price and then obviously do the research on the traveling the distance that you're going to have to travel to pick up this machine so it's like you may have a good deal on a machine but the machine's located like i'm in texas and then the machine's located in maine i have to tack on hundreds of dollars in gas money and my time to drive all the way up there it's one of those things where you have to weigh your options is the time and money on gas worth going all that way to save a couple of hundred bucks maybe in the end. That is obviously going to be up to you in the end on that. So when doing your search, whether it be on Craigslist or Facebook or Pinside, whatever, try to, you know, make sure your range on distance for traveling is decent. I mean, I usually do about a 300 mile diameter from my current location because I think any further than that it better be a really good deal and this is definitely where your location really comes into play you may be in a rural area where not a lot of people have those kind of things and around or you could be where I'm at where a lot of people in the Dallas area had these machines and I'm actually in the halfway point between like you know oklahoma city and dallas so i get a usually good fair point of going north or south for that so that's just something to keep in mind also is your location greatly depends on the price that you're going to be paying for these games so after you've done all of your research for like your parts and pricing and everything that comes to step five and that is making an offer. Now I say making an offer instead of paying them what they want because typically, not all the time, it really depends on the seller and what the ad states. If the ad states firm, then chances are more than likely they are firm and there's no going down on price. But a lot of the times when people do post up pinball machines, there is a little bit of a give on the price typically because like I said the demand is going up on these machines so a lot of people out there are selling their machines obviously getting a profit somewhere in there and it all depends on the demand for that title so I'm not gonna buy a machine and try to flip it for profit if I know the demand is not high for it but if I know the demand is high for For instance, like Tales of the Arabian Nights, I could sell that right now for a profit easily because when I purchased it, I got a good price for it. And I know people out there want that game. Same goes for The Getaway. Now, I could go on to different pinball machines. Typically, you've got to be careful when it comes to Gottliebs. There's not a lot of demand for those titles because of just the way they are and the themes don't really speak to everyone. I not dissing those of you out there that love Gottliebs by all means there games out there that I enjoy by them as well but that usually the company that tends to be not as sought after as your Bally Williams titles So when you're making your offer on the pinball machine, let's go back to it once again with a World Cup Soccer for $3,200. Now, once again, this is a game that the price has gone up because people are starting to realize that this game is actually pretty damn fun. so the price is going up on it demands going up and again it depends on the condition of the title so the pictures really come into effect on here you're not going to see people post pinball machines up for sale without pictures and if you do then you really i guarantee you people that are inquiring about a machine will want to see pictures before making the drive you don't see someone posting up like oh i have an adams family uh looking for i don't know four grand or whatever five grand we'll just say something that's kind of a reasonable price and them not have any pictures people are going to want to see what the play field looks like they're going to be asking questions no one's just going to say i'm on my way and if you and if you do then you you're a different breed for sure but like the majority of us will definitely want to see pictures of what the play field looks like mainly the cabinet is definitely a factor but not as much as the play field that is something that is very hard to replace and expensive at that so a lot of us out there would like obviously a really good condition plate field that if that doesn't matter to you then you can get all kinds of good machines for good prices because there's plenty machines out there that have got plenty of wear on them and a lot of people pass on them due to that so like i stated earlier you need to really account for your traveling time and gas money going into that when it comes to how much money is coming out of your pocket to correlate with what your budget is so let's say if your budget was twenty five hundred dollars and you know that's your cutoff point then if the game is selling for twenty five hundred dollars then your best bet is to see if you can knock off some of that money to counter for the gas money that you're putting into it so if someone's asking let's say twenty five hundred dollars for a machine i mean typically there's a there's a little bit of room in there so you want to ask for like twenty four hundred dollars you know like hey would you do twenty four hundred dollars or whatever and sometimes there's also all kinds of ways that you can make a deal when it comes to them delivering it to you or meeting halfway which is not very common for pinball machines because a lot of the times when people buy a machine they want to make sure it works and when you meet halfway somewhere then there's not really a place to really set up a machine and make sure it works that's just not going to happen so keep that in mind also is that there's no let's meet in a public place to swap machines unless you really don't care if the machine works or not so I'm sure people have done it I never will so just keep that in mind when you're looking at the price of a machine is that a lot of the times there is a little give on what the price actually states it never hurts to ask but don't go in there lowballing typically my response this is the most This is the most common thing you're going to get. I hate selling on Facebook because people don't read the ads.

22:21

Maverick for $2,100. Okay. So this is a, especially since he had it posted at $3,000 and now it's down to $2,100. So he's getting desperate here, guys. This is not LED as well. cabinet looks to be pretty good shape got a bunch of extra stuff on there as well yeah this would be if everything works let me see what the post says post says for sale in an original maverick pinball machine is very good condition maverick is a standard body large dmd pin with a card game western theme based on blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah uh okay so this is a very poor description about the game a lot of this is probably copied and pasted from like internet pinball database on what the game is about but as far as like the actual condition and if anything's working not working I mean stuff like that that's not in here the but yeah as many talk about having extra parts so this guy needs to sell this game and $2,100 for a Maverick seems well worth it matter so so just to confirm this let's do pinball prices calm and let's go to the average price all right and then we'll just whittle this down to Maverick Maverick the movie so the average price is 23 36 says a total of three sales so that gives you an idea right there the year 2020 23 66 36 in 2019 it was 2200 2018 it was 1525 so that gives you the average price as of right now this year the average price is 23 36 now once again this is this is subjective but it does give you the ballpark on what you're looking for so you already know that 2300 is average and he's got a price at 2100 so he's below average so that gives you a good point right there so now I know that this game is priced accordingly and now I need to know if there's parts readily available so I'll go to Margo and I know this is a Sega game so I'll go to shop by game and they've got maverick right here and then I'll do usually a support page by 60 and you got a lot of typical parts on a lot of machines. You even got a replay. Oh, the DMD is out of stock. So that's something to notice right there. I think, yeah, they do have a color DMD for this game now. So this DMD display is not available on this website, but they do have a color DMD available. So that's something just to keep notice of. They've got some of the power display boards and a lot of flipper stuff, decal targets, a lot of things on here. So these are things that you need to keep in mind on what's available for the title and once i heck wow they've even got a play field for 600 so 600 bucks for a brand new play field wow uh play fields typically run about a thousand bucks guys so to get this game if you wanted to make it look like really great then by all means pop a new play field in there it's pretty cool uh translates out of stock but you can get all new plastic sets right here uh yeah so i'm liking what i'm seeing when it comes to parts availability