Anyone else having experience with pinball poachers

Black Matrix

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Anyone else having experience with pinball poachers

Hey all,
I was just curious if anyone else was having problems with pinball poachers in their area. In case you haven't run into any, I'm talking about people who travel great distances on pinball scouting trips into your collecting areas in an effort to scour all the local operators and selling venues in an effort to pick up anything affordable only to return to their areas to flip them at double or tripple what they paid for them. We had a cat come into our areas just recently out of Florida doing just that. Wondering if anyone else was having these kinds of problems.

I realize this is a free country and being a collector, I have no real problem with a fellow collector traveling great distances to pick up a grail that happens to be in my area. But when you have metropolitan resellers plugged into craigslists trolling every post coming and going within a 500 mile radius just so they can charge the masses tripple what its worth, I can't help but get a little annoyed. Lots of stuff pop up on the various venues, and I couldn't buy it all if I tried, but when machines are getting siphoned out of my area to head to areas in major cities never to return, its disheartening. The general gist of the deal is in my area, pin prices are more of a reflection of the local economics. You can't ask 6000 dollars for an Addams Family and hope to get it. But you could if you were in Chicago at the big pinball convention.

I also noticed someone posted on craigslist that was heading to the Arcade auction. He posted that he would be traveling between X area and Y area and could pick up pins or arcade games along the way in hopes of picking up any pinballs and flipping them at auction. I don't even know where to go with that. That just seems like one shiftless lazy bastard to me when you aren't even willing to go out and find your pins to flip.

Anyone else had any experience with these lowest common denominators or am I just over reacting.
 
Anyone else had any experience with these lowest common denominators or am I just over reacting.

I don't have any problems with it. If someone wants to travel to get a game for profit, then let them. Locals have the same access to the games and should be able to get it quicker if they really want it.
 
It's probably a combination of:

1. The bad economy - people are figuring out new ways to make money to survive
2. TV shows like American Pickers
3. Used (and new) pinball prices going through the roof lately



I haven't noticed this trend in Phoenix...but I probably wouldn't know about it unless it was on craigslist.
 
Haven't seen it locally; still see some decent deals popping up, and projects are still to be had - although not necessarily on the most desirable games.

Bottom line - if the market didn't support them selling at those inflated prices, they wouldn't still be around. They must be making money at it in order to continue, and to travel such distances...

I personally think prices are climbing because more and more people are getting into the hobby, vs. just an improvement in the economy. It's a blessing and a curse; more folks to support Stern, the parts vendors, etc., but higher prices for everybody in the hobby as well.
 
I personally think prices are climbing because more and more people are getting into the hobby, vs. just an improvement in the economy.

This is the exact reason these people are out scooping everything up. I've seen the same thing in the car hobby. People only looking to make money and they don't give a shit about the hobby. I will say that if I could drive 4 or 5 hours to get an Addams family for $1000 to resell or trade up for something else, I would damn sure do it. Who wouldn't?
 
we deal with that down here all the time, good deals disappearing within minutes off CL only to be reposted later in the day at 2-3 times the original price
 
from the title, i thought you were going to help explain the bullet holes in the side of my BK machine.....
 
Not much you can do about it and don't try to worry, you can't stop them..
only thing when you want some new games is get to know the local ops very well so they give you first a call when they have something to sell.

I'm in Belgium and what you're describing happened around 10 years ago already here, prices were very low for pins (think $500 for most WPC games) and only started to increase.. dealers from the Netherlands came with a large truck and a lot of cash, went to all operators and just bought everything they could. Most of them were glad to get rid of the games (wasn't much demand for pins back then), some even went to pull games from location to sell them immediately.
Most of these games were put in containers to the USA (and containers with jukeboxes came back).
 
I see ads on CL about once every month by someone doing exactly what you say. It's lame but not much we can truly do about it.

I agree the TV shows do NOT help at all.
 
This happens in any hobby such as cars. People find and buy down south, bring back to their states and sell. No biggie. If somone wants to invest their time and pay for fuel to do that, go right ahead!
If this happened to me as a seller, I would not care who bought it just that is was gone from me.
 
Do the same back to em. That's how I got my STTNG for 1400....

Placed a want ad on CL for a scad of pins with a 800-1400 price range. Didn't get any hits on the ones I had listed, of course, but I did get the email about the STTNG, so...I consider that a WIN. :)

After all, they can't buy them if you've already taken them out of the pool, right? Still can't believe someone had looked at this machine and passed for 1400....
 
Regarding the TV shows - I think it goes both ways...

If you're trying to buy something, it can suck - the seller thinks they have a gem based upon some unrealistic/inflated price quoted on the various pawn/picker TV shows.... In those cases, educated buyers aren't going to bite, and they'll be stuck with it long enough that they'll likely come down to a reasonable price. This is really no different from the "Ebay has it for xxx..." folks.

If you're the seller however, it may work in your favor. I've often wondered what my local pawn shops would offer for some average value/condition but clean/working pin, vs. the true book/market value.

Example: http://rgparchive.com/rgpforum/showthread.php?t=268013&page=2

Yes, we know it's TV BS - but does the average public, or the average local pawn shop? Curious whether anybody's tried pawning a pin instead of just selling it, to see what kind of offers they got...

<Frax - I'll give you $1600 for the STTNG - $200 profit, and you can then go buy two of those $800 pins! :)>
 
I kinda understand. I've been making my full time job a full time hunt for FH. I get a lead, call immediately and nothing. But that's life I guess.

Frax: So you had some people present you with some offers of their STTNG posting a CL ad? I guess I should go that route to...
 
I kinda understand. I've been making my full time job a full time hunt for FH. I get a lead, call immediately and nothing. But that's life I guess.

Frax: So you had some people present you with some offers of their STTNG posting a CL ad? I guess I should go that route to...


Yeah man. I had posted like 20-30 system 11/dmd games that I thought I could get in that price range with some minor wear as a wanted ad, the guy emailed me saying he had the STTNG even though it wasn't on my list... he was basically taking a crapshoot that I might want it...he just didn't know what a great deal he was giving me, or that STTNG wasn't on the list because I knew it was way out of that price range. ;)

Dallas is VERY competitive market for CL as far as pins goes, though...I'd put good money that guy could've easliy posted that thing on CL and it would've been sold the same day at twice the price. I was extremely lucky that he was nice enough to hold it until I got back from Atlanta a few days later, then agreed to a sale contract where he held it just long enough for me to sell some other games to pay for it!

Can't hurt to try. Worst case you get a bogus lead or your post gets douche-flagged and you repost it...
 
I would post wanted ad on CL but all the douches ( you know who you are in illinois) flag them within seconds.. Why bother.

I do pay attention though, that is why I now have 19 machines. LOL

I always keep my ear out. But I'm a collector and not a flipper. Though I do sell from time to time. Of course to buy more pins.

but on those ads, you only reach someone that reads it. more people dont read them.

so there are always pins for sale. I have been pretty good at snagging the deals from time to time. If im bored at work I check CL more frequently
 
Regarding the TV shows - I think it goes both ways...

If you're trying to buy something, it can suck - the seller thinks they have a gem based upon some unrealistic/inflated price quoted on the various pawn/picker TV shows.... In those cases, educated buyers aren't going to bite, and they'll be stuck with it long enough that they'll likely come down to a reasonable price. This is really no different from the "Ebay has it for xxx..." folks.

If you're the seller however, it may work in your favor. I've often wondered what my local pawn shops would offer for some average value/condition but clean/working pin, vs. the true book/market value.

Example: http://rgparchive.com/rgpforum/showthread.php?t=268013&page=2

Yes, we know it's TV BS - but does the average public, or the average local pawn shop? Curious whether anybody's tried pawning a pin instead of just selling it, to see what kind of offers they got...

<Frax - I'll give you $1600 for the STTNG - $200 profit, and you can then go buy two of those $800 pins! :)>


I just knew that episode had to be BS. too bad everyone believes that crap
 
Yeah man. I had posted like 20-30 system 11/dmd games that I thought I could get in that price range with some minor wear as a wanted ad, the guy emailed me saying he had the STTNG even though it wasn't on my list... he was basically taking a crapshoot that I might want it...he just didn't know what a great deal he was giving me, or that STTNG wasn't on the list because I knew it was way out of that price range. ;)

Dallas is VERY competitive market for CL as far as pins goes, though...I'd put good money that guy could've easliy posted that thing on CL and it would've been sold the same day at twice the price. I was extremely lucky that he was nice enough to hold it until I got back from Atlanta a few days later, then agreed to a sale contract where he held it just long enough for me to sell some other games to pay for it!

Can't hurt to try. Worst case you get a bogus lead or your post gets douche-flagged and you repost it...
Thanks Frax. I followed your post and you did great! What a nice change for once.

I did throw up a wanted ad. Hopefully I'll get something.
 
I totally understand where you are coming from on this one.. and I do find a little humor that the guy is from Florida, mainly because I am from florida and we get more out of state guys who post on our craigslist that they are on vacation and looking to buy pins! :) Actually, pretty regularly.

On top of that, they will join one of our Florida Pinball forums for the sole reason of trying to land a pin or two while on vacation. And I always think the same thing... I'd like to keep Florida pins in Florida.

I do know a few guys that regularly sell outside of Florida, mainly because they can get a few hundred or more on selling it that way. Some are in this just for the money.. and more power to those guys (I suppose).

So the question is this.. would you sell for less to keep your pin in your state? I have only sold in state so far, but not because of money.
 
Here is the situation in Minneapolis/St Paul CL. Carl from Forest Lake Minnesota is on CL a lot. He buys and sells Pinballs and Motorcycles. He will buy and then sell on ebay with the Ebay member id of i_collect_pinball_machines. He does not collect any! I was told he does not even know how to repair them he simply buys and sells. This is my experience with him last week. He listed a Countdown on ebay for $750. He then changed the opening bid to $600. I emailed him a question about the game and when I checked it the next morning, the opening bid was changed to $900. Needless to say, I am not into playing games like that so I will never ever bother with him again. I only wanted a Countdown because it was the first game I fixed and my son was 4 when he first started playing that game. I showed him a picture of it last week (he is now 21) and he chuckled. He then lowered it to $500 and no bids. He then started it over at $1 and it is listed now along with a Buck Rogers. I believe that is his income - buying and selling pinballs and motorcycles.
 
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