Pinfest Price List !?

GunSmoke Guy

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I'm thinking about attending Pinfest this year in PA for the first time. Does any one have let's say 2009-2011 list of what games were available for purchase and what the asking prices were?
 
Short answer, no.
You should attend as this year Ivan will be bringing more pins and everything will be inside. This is going to be a Fri/Sat only event this year.

It should be a great show this year.
 
yeah I'm looking forward to it... I don't own any pins as of yet and I was told to attend the show. I saw some YouTube videos of past selections and tried to find a game / price list. It's cool that they have a nice variety of games to play, but I'm mainly interested in a few select titles for purchase. I wish I knew ahead of time that certain titles would be there for purchase.
 
yeah I'm looking forward to it... I don't own any pins as of yet and I was told to attend the show. I saw some YouTube videos of past selections and tried to find a game / price list. It's cool that they have a nice variety of games to play, but I'm mainly interested in a few select titles for purchase. I wish I knew ahead of time that certain titles would be there for purchase.

So what other pins are you looking for?
 
So what other pins are you looking for?

I'm thinking one of these 3 will be my first to break my pinball cherry:

Whirlwind
Jurassic Park
Terminator 2

All of which are around the same price depending on condition of course... I obviously have way more on my list that's just currently not in my budget (I.E. Indiana Jones, my grail for sure) but I just want to get my feet wet. I also won't settle if I make the trip, I'm not just going to buy a pin to have one that's not on my list.
 
In my limited experience, I think the best thing you can to is to start paying attention to pin prices at all the usual places: RGP, Mr. Pinball, Bostonpinball.biz (eBay summary) and several craigslist sites that are local to you. Pynball.com also has a good for sale section, too.

Keep in mind that condition is king, and that condition is generally better on Mr. Pinball, so the prices there are a bit on the higher side. Local CL ads are a wildcard - lots of folks don't know what things are worth and price them through the roof. Even so, over time you'll start to get a "feel" for pin prices. BostonPinball is a good resource because those prices are the actual "sold" prices, not the listing prices.

Additionally, when you get to a show, expect the asking prices to be a tad on the high side - particularly on the first day. There's a reason - if the pins are in the free play area, they are pretty much 100% working (a bonus), plus sellers post higher prices at the start of the show, and become more open to negotiations as the show goes on.

Of course, waiting till the end of the show means someone else may come along and grab it, but that's all part of the "game".

Finally, a "Want to Buy" post here or on RGP is a great way to solicit input - even though the initial intent of the spreadsheet was to consolodate the WTB posts, there's nothing wrong, IMO, with asking what folks have available and are willing to bring to Allentown.

Good luck in your quest. I'm hopeful to be in the market for a new addition come Allentown. It's a fun hobby and you'll meet some fantastic people.
 
A price list will not help you. Many of the games that arrive will be high for the condition they are in. Many times deals happen onsite and the posted price might not be the price the game sells for. Also remember people new to pinball or arcade game collecting come to these shows and will find themselves buying their first game with no help from a forum or a newsgroup. You have the advantage of arriving educated.

Get a feel for what games are selling for and what you would be willing to pay for a given title and run with it. Meet up with other collectors at the show and solicit their opinions. This will be a learning experience. Another thing, don't be surprised if you see a game you like, decide to mull it over and come back to buy the game and it has sold. Games can and will move fast.
 
wow that was great, on the majority of the games I was able to actually read the asking prices. Thanks!

Also thanks everyone for your informative input so far !

Yeah - If you hit my website (http://www.alsarcade.com) and go into the Gallery, there are lots of other years as well. I got into a habit of trying to take pictures of EVERYTHING! I help out Pinball Inc. in his booth so I would get "Pre-Opening" time to take pictures.
 
Yeah - If you hit my website (http://www.alsarcade.com) and go into the Gallery, there are lots of other years as well. I got into a habit of trying to take pictures of EVERYTHING! I help out Pinball Inc. in his booth so I would get "Pre-Opening" time to take pictures.

Can you find out what in the hell is taking so long with the Space Shuttle toy and Ramps? I know other people want to know as well. They were supposed to be done in Oct/early november and people have been asking on RGP and nobody from PI has deemed it worth responding to, or seen the 3-4 threads at least that I saw. :\

Would love to spend some money on those, but they're making it very hard. >=|
 
OK another few questions about Pinfest :

How exactly does it work with let's say you attend Friday, want to purchase a game do they load it for you right away, do you need to wait until the show ends on Sat. ? As a courtesy do they disconnect / unplug it so no one else plays on the game ? I've been to auctions before and I know they usually let you take it after the auction ends. Are the prices generally negotiable to some degree or are people firm on majority of the advertised prices. Just trying to get a better feel for the show from others who have experienced it in the past.
 
ok so basically they could do it if you pay the extra $25 bucks to my understanding. I was told by several people that during pinfest some of these pins will see more play those two days than an entire year of sitting in a personal collection.
 
The point of the show is for people to enjoy it and play the games.
If you sell a game sat morning, I think it has to stay until sat night unless you pay the fee to take it out early. If not just leave it on for everyone else to enjoy.
Normally we, the staff, will turn machines back on if they are turned off.

Ivan brings a handful of pins from his personal collection for everyone to enjoy. Yes they see more plays at the show than an entire year. Basically they only get played when we get together at his house and play.

Some of his pins may be for sale, others may not.
http://groups.google.com/group/rec....e008933913/dab99c19e2cd4283?q=pinfest&lnk=ol&
 
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Dont give up on having your holy grail. Williams IJ. I found mine in a about a month of looking and I will never sell mine. :) If your ever in kansas city, hit me up and your welcome to come play it anytime. The advice here about becoming familiar with prices is spot on. I bought a mr. pinball price list and price guide as well. That helped me a lot. It also has quite a few tips and help inside of what to look for in a new to you possible purchasing machine. Indy is a fairly easy game to work on too. :)
 
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