On Fri, 21 Oct 2005 18:15:57 -0500, D. Smith <dens RemoveThis @adams.net> wrote:
> Way over priced for this machine. There have been a couple on ebay in the
> last few months or so that have not broken the 1000 mark. Reserve had not
> been met.
On eBay they seem to hover between $1500 and $2500, but many of the ones
I've seen on eBay are going to require quite a lot of work to fully
restore. They're "shopped", but IMHO EMs need restoration to play the
way they're supposed to. Some wax and rubbers aren't enough.
><crazy.ru RemoveThis @gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:1129926461.876210.183840@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
>> Is there some sort of Kelly's Blue Book for pinball machines? I ask
Larry Bieza and Daina Petit both publish price guidebooks. You may want
to pick up one, the other, or both.
>> because I'm in the market for 72 Fireball and there are two machines
>> for sale that seem more similar than their prices would indicate. One
>> has been shopped, is described as 9s and 10s, and is going for around
>> $2,700. The other has been "completely reconditioned" and is selling
>> for two grand more.
Probably too high, but I'd want to see the machines in question first
before passing any judgement on either one of them.
>> There is no one more ignorant on this topic than I am so I would
>> appreciate any suggestions or guidance on this matter.
If you're new to pinball collecting and owning, be sure to read the
FAQ for this newsgroup. You'll find it on
http://www.mrpinball.com.
If you're new to EM pinball repairs, restoration, and ownership, be
sure to read the EM repair and restoration guides available from Clay's
web site (http://www.marvin3m.com/fix.htm).
If you're looking for Fireball specific information, I've posted a few
times over the years on weak spots and common wear areas you'll want
to look for, especially if you're paying a premium price. For that kind
of money, it'd better have a perfect playfield and backglass and a
perfect to almost perfect cabinet. It's likely that neither has a perfect
playfield.
Look for wear on the skill shot ramp, where the ball exits the skill
shot ramp, around the pop bumpers, and where the two ball saucers kick
out. You will have wear around the spinning disk, that's pretty much a
given, but hopefully it's not too bad. Look for vertical cracking and
checking of the playfield paint as well, especially in the light colour
areas.
Mechanically, most of the game is pretty simple and mostly common
parts that are readily available. But, make sure that the spinning
disk and the zipper flipper mech are there, complete, and working.
You are going to find that the Butyrate playfield plastics have yellowed
with age. If you're lucky, that's all that they've done. More likely
you're going to find that the ones that hold the captive ball have
shattered from ball impacts. Hopefully you won't find any weird fixes
here, like extra posts, drywall screws, or big nails in the playfield,
and the metal posts are still there. The plastic that runs along the
skill shot ramp in the upper right corner of the playfield is often
broken from catching on the cabinet when the playfield is raised.
If you're looking at a Fireball, you may want to get in touch with
me and pick up a set of reproduced playfield plastics. Full set, all
14 pieces, professionally reproduced on .06" PETG so they won't break
or yellow again like the original Butyrates did.
Shay has reproduced the backglass. I haven't seen them, but their other
backglass reproductions have gotten high marks from people.
--
| David Gersic http://www.zaccaria-pinball.com |
| "A President cannot always be popular." ‘ Harry S. Truman |
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