Retailing Pinball Machines

playpin35

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I know there is a large market, for enthusiasts like all of us, that buy, sell and trade through craigslist, local adds, etc. There is usually a certain price range that our market will put on a machine. My question is, where do some of these retailers come up with their prices at? I stopped in at a local retailer( known as The Pinball Company) to see what they had in stock. They did have some good titles, attack from mars, theatre of magic and medieval madness just to name a few. However, the attack from mars was $5495, the theatre of magic was $4995 and god knows how much he wanted for the medieval madness. These were average routed games at best, definately not HUO. Is there really that much of a market that's willing to pay these prices?
 
That's pretty typical for retail. They can charge more because they cater to a different audience and they usually provide some after sale support. Retail is ALWAYS more expensive than the private market in any industry.
 
Well, i work for a retailer, and he'd probably price ToM and AfM closer to $3000-3500, and maybe MM closer to $5000, but only because he knows people will pay it, not because he thinks it's worth that much.

And none of the games we sell are HUO. We do shop them out completely before resale, offer a 75% trade-in for everything we sell (so you can trade it in towards another pin later) and offer a 90 warranty.

Not that I'd pay that much for one of those. My boss sets the prices high because people pay those prices. Most people who buy from us aren't worried about shopping around, or want to buy something from some guy on Craigslist. They like the warranty, the trade-in policy, the fact we deliver, and the fact they can call us (or stop by) anytime they want if they have a problem....
 
About 12 to 14 years ago I made the mistake of trying to make a little side money by advertising pin repairs in a local bargain paper. What a mistake. Anyone retailing a machine has to have a high enough price to compensate for the load of crap after the sale. This is also the reason I would only sell my machines to other collectors.
 
Retail must charge more, the costs of.... wages, brick and mortar, utilities, insurance, transportation, testing equipment, inventory of machines and parts.


And the never ending tech support ofter the sale.


Not a lot different then buying a car from a private party and buying that same car from a dealer that checked it over, put on brakes, tires, or what ever else it needed in order to sell to someone that will be happy with the purchase, and then needs to stand behind what they sold and hopefully not half to replace an expensive part (motor/transmission) several days later under warranty.
 
I can understand the costs of overhead and service, but even their projects were high. They were willing to sell an unshopped addams family for 4,000 and it needed a lot of work. There are a lot of doctors and lawyers around the area to sell to, but how long can you sit on a warehouse of pins if they are not being sold. Also, the term shopped is pretty vague. Lightbulbs and rubber bands is not a shop job. If your gonna retail a pin for 5,000-6,000, it had better be in pristine condition. Most of the stern titles are not even that much.
 
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