Claw machine newbie questions

JC Arcade

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I have two young kids and I've got the idea of getting a claw machine stuck in my head. This is an area I know nothing about so I have a few questions to kick this off…

  • Does it get old real fast? Part of the rationale is that my son has special needs (autism) and we sometimes host other parents with special needs kids and I think they would really love it. But at the same time, I hope it's more than just dusting it off for parties.
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  • What's the best way of going about finding a decent used one? I think part of my problem is going to be my ceiling is low (~ 72") so my potential target pool is pretty limited. Something like this one would be perfect: http://www.ebay.com/itm/120909277581?_trksid=p5197.c0.m619 . I'm in northern NJ by the way.
 
I have had a few cranes and I can definitely tell you that you have to be careful about how the machines open to get the toys inside.

The Betson Big Choice has a glass (yes real glass) panel that slides UP. No way I could open it inside a normal room, so I just left it open. It was very easy to fill and I found that after people would win they would throw the toy back inside to try for it again.

My Skill crane had a door for the prizes that would open up. It was like the one you saw on ebay.

The current Hollywood crane has a full height door that open up so you can get to everything at once. The Hollywood crane uses relays while the two other cranes uses pcb's.

Betson can still fix their pcb's at about $100 an hour. I am enjoying the notion that I can fix my Hollywood crane without much problems.

There is also a cocktail type crane machine. I haven't had one of those but I would like to get one.

I do find myself and others playing the crane machine more than almost any other game I have. It does seem to keep the kids busy.
 
I bought a NAMCO crane for my two young kids. They LOVE it!! Mine has a front glass that slides up in the front so low ceilings would not work for this machine. My kids and their friend love to play the crane. My oldest (10yrs) will empty the machine and put everything on the pin next to it and come get me to put everything back so she can do it again. After having the crane for a while I can't imagine my arcade without it. They are very simple creatures to keep running.
 
I got mine on trade from another collector that upgraded his to a bigger machine. Most OPs have them around but they don't give them away because they still make good money. Just look around, there are claw machines everywhere, even wal mart.
 
I've been considering buying one as well, as I have 2 small children that seem to be addicted to these damn things everytime we go out. Since they are everywhere, I would assume parts are plentiful and easy to locate, yes? How are they to work on and maintain?
 
they are very simple creatures. A few switches, joystick and a control board and that's about it. My kids (8 & 10) along with their friends love the thing. Every couple of weeks I go to the dollar tree and load it up again. My kids don't want to play the ones out in the wild anymore it's great.
 
Be carefull! Once you have a working crane game in your house, the kids will go bonkers and you will not, cannot get rid of it! And for the kids, no, it never seems to get old. Just a matter of what toys you load it with....
There's no way I could sell my crane, the kids would just go nutz!
 
My kids empty the thing and I have them leave the prizes on the pin next to it. I have to go buy and "refill" it sometimes two or three times a day. It gets annoying but the kids love it!
 
if you are in NJ you should shop around for a United Textiles "treasure chest" crane.
they made a model in the mid 90s that is only about 42" tall by 31" wide, its a very
nice crane it doesnt have the latest features that makes it good on routes but it should
suit your purposes just fine. it has all plexi , no glass , the plexi in front comes out but
you can load it without taking the plexi out. United was based out of NJ and operated a large crane route there you should be able to find many used cranes check craigs list under "arcade" in NY, NJ and MD
 
I just picked up a Talon crane by that company... for $1 plus tax and fees at the last auction. It has been repaired and over at Raven's house for his daughter as of this afternoon. :)

That crane is cool in that the front plexi slides down behind the control panel so you can load the plushies in.

They aren't too hard to repair. It takes a bit of ingenuity to fabricate parts if there are none available though.

My son is HFA (High Functioning Autistic) and we spent $25 on his Greyhound Skill Crane and another $25 on parts to fix it up. He loves his crane and it's a source of pride for him that HE has a machine of his own in the game room. He doesn't play it much any more but for the first year or 2 he played it like crazy. It's a huge hit when we have kids over and has a permanent place in the game room.
 
theres pros and cons to a claw machine..........
they are fun and little kids love them.....i always wanted one because i played them as a kid and i ended up getting 2 claw machines for $50......and out of the 2 i made 1 good one an kept the other entire spare one for parts.....mine is a kramer krane, so if you get one of those i have an entire extra parts machine. i do not rarely ever turn this machine on becuase it is kind of boring. i win the prize and put it right back in the machine. however when my little cousins come over they run right to it. i would get a claw machine with glass sides, plexiglass sides scratch really easy and then it looks like ass quickly. claw machines can be had very very cheap..........i would certainly NOT pay over $250 for one, unless its a very new one or a huge one.......
the BEST place to find one is at a coin operated auction......however there may only be 1-2 coin op auctions in your area within 1 year!!! so you may have to pay more/drive further if you want one SOON.
once, i was at a coin op auction and there was 7 claw machines for sale......the first machine got bidded up to $75, the second one went for $35, and every other working one after that sold for $10 each game.....YES TEN DOLLARS FOR EACH 6 FOOT TALL WORKING CLAW GAME (thats the price of 1 roll of quarters and you own the machine!). what happened was there just wasnt 6 more people at that auction who wanted claw machines so they go very very cheap!!!!. like i said dont pay over $250 if its a clean sweep or kramer krane or greyhound type claw machine. i would like to get a hollywood type claw game someday.......
 
if you are in NJ you should shop around for a United Textiles "treasure chest" crane.
they made a model in the mid 90s that is only about 42" tall by 31" wide, its a very
nice crane it doesnt have the latest features that makes it good on routes but it should
suit your purposes just fine. it has all plexi , no glass , the plexi in front comes out but
you can load it without taking the plexi out. United was based out of NJ and operated a large crane route there you should be able to find many used cranes check craigs list under "arcade" in NY, NJ and MD

Yes, United Textiles is the company that used to be Grayhound. They made "narrow" cranes that are very small and have a regular swing out door to replenish them. And they will still service the old Grayhounds. I purchased parts for mine very easily.
 
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