Info needed re: 1960 United Big Bonus Shuffle Alley

BigBonus

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Info needed re: 1960 United Big Bonus Shuffle Alley

I was just offered this game by a friend of my brother. He says it was operational before his took it apart (it's currently in 2 pieces in his warehouse). I have no idea what to pay for this. Can anyone here on the boards be of any assisstance? Thanks in advance!

Gary
 
Offer to pay? Did he not give you a price?

The whole "make me an offer" thing always sucks balls in the end. Whether it is on craigslist or thru friends or whatever.

See, I'd say "here's a twenty until I know it works". But then I'd probably piss the seller off who thinks the thing is worth $2000. So why the hassle? Just ask the dude how much he wants for it, and if it is more than you want to pay, pass.

Worthless advice. Sorry.
 
I've just seen two shuffle bowlers locally that I passed on, that might help for a reference. One was on craigslist for a bit, and was a 79' Taurus Shuffle Alley by United/Williams. I believe they wanted $400 or around there. Condition was fair, and I don't think the pins came down; so it would need some work. Pass on that one.

Second, was a Deluxe 6 Player Shuffle Alley by United (51'). My friends dad found it, they called me to see if I wanted it. Apparently it was in great shape, somewhat mint, didn't work but the guy wanted $300. I called back, said I'll take it; but by the time they were able to talk to him and make the deal; the guy went a bought a new fuse which fixed the machine. The price jump by a factor of 10.....to $3000. Passed on that, which sucked, because $300 would have been a great deal.

So, as Gozer says, you could just ask "what do you want for it", let him throw something out. If he say he has no idea, or make an offer, I'd go $150 - $200, as that seems to be fair. That would probably be my max, if the only guarantee he can give you that it works was, "it worked when I stored it/took it apart."

Also, good reference for bowlers/alleys: http://www.marvin3m.com/bowl/index.htm
 
gozer5454 said:
79 feet, eh? That's bigger than my yacht! Must be an awesome game.

Lol, yes, it was a 79 foot bowler. I don't think I could even store that at my house.

I meant it was a 1979, so the year. Guess I should have put '79, that would have made more sense.

Also, yes, you is a smartass :p
 
My brother called him. He said that he would take $200 for it. What is it worth? Am I safe at this price?

Thanks again for the replies.

Gary
 
Depending on the condition and how complete it is, that doesn't sound like a bad price. Recently I got a 1954 United Yankee Shuffle Alley for $99. It was not working at the time, but was complete.. and a friend who knows those machines was able to get it up and running fairly quickly. They are a lot of fun.
 
One more thing... you should find out what he means by "in two pieces". Likely what he means is that the head (where the score reels and backglass is) has been removed from the lane. This is no big deal... it just bolts on and there is a wiring harness that connects the two. He said it was working before he took it apart. He may have simply taken the two sections apart to put it in storage. If that is the case, and it was working prior to this... then $200 might be a pretty good deal. You might just have to put it back together and do a little TLC and then have a nice working machine. I would ask what the condition of the backlass is. The older ones tend to flake a peel off a lot.. and finding a replacement will probably not be easy.
 
Clay's shuffle alley and bowler info is the best I know of on the net. I highly recommend his "This Old Pinball" DVD on bowler restorations too.

Here's a link: http://marvin3m.com/bowl/index.htm

Personally I don't see the shuffle alleys selling for too much, usually a couple hundred, maybe $400 to $500 in clean working fully shopped out condition. The big bucks are in the ball bowlers.
 
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