My search for an AFM- ugh!

khabbi said:
It's funny though how difficult it is to find an Addams family, especially a nice one.. to date, I really wouldn't have had a good opportunity to pick one up. And honestly, I've had a few opportunities to pick up an AFM, it's just that the timing was off. Go figure!
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I am in my 12th year of collecting pinball machines. About 10 years ago I started a quest to find an Addams. The going price back then was around $1800. I waited a few years hoping to find a cheap one but never did. The price started to go up to the $2500-$3000 mark. I know they made a lot of them but the demand is high and it keeps the price up on these machines.

My quest for my Addams ended about 5 years ago. I now own an Addams Family Gold.

Addams Family was my grail game for many many years. After getting one I started to look for my other grail games (Attack From Mars, Monster Bash, Medieval Madness, Scared Stiff, Safecracker, Arabian Knights, Theatre of Magic, Creature, etc).
 
Rob T said:
That certainly could not be said for the AFM that is currently on location at Lake Alice Trading Co. That thing is beat up pretty badly.
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That's a shame, and kind of surprises me to be honest. I hope that gets rectified pretty quickly.
 
gibbous said:
That's a shame, and kind of surprises me to be honest. I hope that gets rectified pretty quickly.
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Well, don't get me wrong, the game works and plays correctly, but there is some very serious playfield wear (the area near the flippers is down to wood).
 
beerorkid said:
AFM is my grail. It is all about the shots for me. They are even and there. The sounds on the game and the work it takes to rule the universe just sucks you in. I cannot imagine a better layout for shots. I will never pay what folks think it is worth, but will have one one day. It pretty much is the only item on my bucket list. Lets be frank. We are folks who could do anything and prob do anyways, we actually own pins. We are a very lucky bunch of folks.
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I agree...
I had a local (ish) op tell me that he would take $3200 for his AFM and it took me about a year to get the funds up and what do you know, now he wants $4200...
Cant say as I blame him he can prob get it too but just not from me

Ps not sure luck has anything to do with it...I think its more like we are all bat shit crazy LOL
 
AFM should be extremely easy to find. You just have to shell out huge cash. God forbid you were actually looking for something rare. Then you would really be frustrated ;)

If you're looking for one in awesome condition for a dirt cheap price then... keep looking like the rest of us.
 
Deadly said:
Yes I firmly believe there is NO pin that is more than $4500 worth of fun and even that is a huge stretch for me personally. I used the word "I" and the words "I think". This makes it an opinionated statement not a factual statement so your need to refute was unnecessary. But if you want to debate I'm always game for that. If a person can afford and feel good about spending that much money on one machine that's awesome for them.

As far as supply and demand it's IMHO not THE #1 factor. It's an effect not cause. I've seen (Hype-inflation) happen on this forum for years and the same for RGP (pin-flation). Hype of any game causes a feeding frenzy which then supply and demand becomes the result. I won't call it a fact but there's a hell of allot of threads on games that also produce WTB ads in the same time period if anyone cares to look. Coincidence? Maybe. Ever been watching TV and a Whopper commercial comes on and you all of sudden you are now hungry as hell? Yep - same damn thing with these forums and such. Get a group of high statistic people talking about a title (the whopper) and the hunger frenzy starts. Power of suggestion. Now please look at IPDB ratings and notice of the top 20 only 4 machines are still reasonably priced (under NIB value I believe) while the other 16 have increased in value considerably. My so called argument isn't about supply and demand. It's about HYPE. I believe HYPE is the #1 cause not supply and demand. Also, comparing video game production numbers to pins isn't exactly a level play field for comparison IMHO. Most people can more easily afford a $600 video game verses a $6500+ game. Production numbers are typically way too different as well.

FWIW I have a Radarscope DK and do you think that would bring any extra money? Today not hardly. 6+ years ago absolutely. Does it matter that my machine was sported as a centerfold in a global gaming magazine? Nahhhh. Why can a game go from hot to cold that fast? Hype would be a safe assumption. It sure as hell was well before the latest Donkey Kong craze created from the King of Kong movie. Another great example of Hype - inflation.

Bottom line is it is what it is. I'm not one of those turds that piss and moan about the price of a game because I want (insert title here) and can't afford it. I just personally feel it's ludicrous to spend that much money on ONE game. Two games .... absolutely.
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Increased demand with inadequate supply causes prices to inflate. This is the most basic economic concept. The cause of the increased demand is irrelevant. Whether it be hype, rarity, etc... The fact remains that the demand exceeds the supply causing price inflation. Therefore, supply and demand is the one and only defining concept explaining why pinball prices have gone up over time.

It's not tough to figure out. Don't like it? Don't buy them. There are plenty of other pins that offer way more bang for the buck anyway.
 
Lindsey said:
Increased demand with inadequate supply causes prices to inflate. This is the most basic economic concept. The cause of the increased demand is irrelevant. Whether it be hype, rarity, etc... The fact remains that the demand exceeds the supply causing price inflation. Therefore, supply and demand is the one and only defining concept explaining why pinball prices have gone up over time.

It's not tough to figure out. Don't like it? Don't buy them. There are plenty of other pins that offer way more bang for the buck anyway.
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Thank you for saying what I was trying to say in my earlier post in a much more articulate manner. :cool:
 
Schusler said:
You should try to find a "reasonably" priced Spirit in the states...Meaning under 5k! :cool:
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There was a Gottlieb Spirit for sale at the Pinball Expo about 3-4 years ago. It was priced at $1100. I was temped to buy it. It sat there all day for sale before it was finally sold. I have pictures of it. I would have bought it but I owned a Spirit before and my collection mainly switched into the newer WPC stuff.

It had a Spirit in my collection about 8-10 years ago. It was cool to have a wall of the mulit-level Gottlieb games. I had a HH, BH, Spirit and a Krull all lined up. Krull was the worst playing game of the bunch. Spirit and Black Hole were the best of the four.
 
hsapinball said:
There was a Gottlieb Spirit for sale at the Pinball Expo about 3-4 years ago. It was priced at $1100. I was temped to buy it. It sat there all day for sale before it was finally sold. I have pictures of it. I would have bought it but I owned a Spirit before and my collection mainly switched into the newer WPC stuff.

It had a Spirit in my collection about 8-10 years ago. It was cool to have a wall of the mulit-level Gottlieb games. I had a HH, BH, Spirit and a Krull all lined up. Krull was the worst playing game of the bunch. Spirit and Black Hole were the best of the four.
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Wow! That's a great price! Why so cheap? Was the playfield trashed, not working, missing BG? This is a pin I would love to have, but there is no way I'm spending 5k for one; I'm thinking 2k max, but that thing better be pristine....
 
Schusler said:
Wow! That's a great price! Why so cheap? Was the playfield trashed, not working, missing BG? This is a pin I would love to have, but there is no way I'm spending 5k for one; I'm thinking 2k max, but that thing better be pristine....
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I need to pull my pictures and post it.

It did have a backglass and the playfield was not trashed. I do not remember if it was working. I believe the game was turned off most of the day.
 
hsapinball said:
I need to pull my pictures and post it.

It did have a backglass and the playfield was not trashed. I do not remember if it was working. I believe the game was turned off most of the day.
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What sucks is that's about the same time I really started to pursue one! It was at Expo though? Been going for the last couple years, and don't remember seeing one there for sale or else I would've grabbed it....
 
Still looking guys. Willing to pay for a restored machine, or on the opposite end for a routed one.. just let me know!
 
If the price of AFM keeps going up like it has been, I might be motivated to sell mine sooner rather than later..
 
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