Mills High Top 7-7-7 on eBay

[doc]

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum and still learning. What fun!

I saw this auction on eBay (I'll learn over time to call it "flebay"):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mills-5-Five-Ce ... 258db3ca71

My question is whether this would be a good deal for $1000. I'm thinking when you add $200 shipping, it would NOT be a good deal.

Also, could someone comment on the condition on this machine? It shows a lot of wear. The handle looks seriously rusted. I don't get the green "crinkle" paint. The sides look like masonite. This slot machine looks like it needs some serious cleaning.

I think my interest right now is learning more, so I don't plan on bidding on this (unless the price drops several hundred dollars more).

Many thanks in advance,

Steven

[radiorich123]

HI

I can redue the wood cabinet and rechrome and refinish the handle and refinish the metal outside and clean and lube it for 900 to 1000. These machines play great when restored.

Rich

[watlingboy]

Although I think Radiorich's restoration price is very fair, I wouldn't want to own that machine sitting in my house at $2200. No one knew how many machines there were out there until the internet came along. The market is flooded with more common machines than there are buyers. That machine restored would probably not bring more than $1500, if that. You are much better off to find a nice unrestored original machine, clean it up a little, use it and when you are ready to sell it you can probably get what you paid for it, $1200 to $1500 range. The really common stuff is never going to go up much in value, there's just too much of it. That machine should be in the $750 to $800 range as it is.

Watlingboy

[Dave]

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum and still learning. What fun!

I saw this auction on eBay (I'll learn over time to call it "flebay"):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mills-5-Five-Ce ... 258db3ca71

My question is whether this would be a good deal for $1000. I'm thinking when you add $200 shipping, it would NOT be a good deal.

Also, could someone comment on the condition on this machine? It shows a lot of wear. The handle looks seriously rusted. I don't get the green "crinkle" paint. The sides look like masonite. This slot machine looks like it needs some serious cleaning.

I think my interest right now is learning more, so I don't plan on bidding on this (unless the price drops several hundred dollars more).

Many thanks in advance,

Steven

What do you define as a "good deal"?

You have to realize that ebay is a sea of sharks swimming around, all looking for a "good deal".

Any machine that is listed with a buy it now price and is a "good deal" will no doubt be bought by one of the sharks within a few hours (probably a few minutes) of it being listed. In addition, if it is a really "good deal", other sharks may try to pull the deal out of the mouth of the first shark that has bought the machine.

A machine that has been listed for over 12 hours with a buy it now price that has not been consumed is probably not a "good deal".

So, you next option is finding a machine that is priced at a "reasonable deal". In my opinion, those are the machines that have a reasonable starting price and multiple bidders (the more the better) are bidding on it.

When that machine eventually sells, the high bidder knows that others were willing to pay close to what he paid and if he wants to sell it he should be able to get close to what he paid for it.

If you are new to slots I would not recommending buying ANY machine with a buy it now price until you have done your research on the machine. Feel free to ask about any listing here. Just know that any "good deal" will probably not be available to you until you have more experience and can pull the trigger at a moments notice.

Dave

[Midcoast Vintage]

there is a column on this site called MACHINES FOR SALE".
you may want to check there, as you probably can get a more honest description, and, a more accurate price / value here than ebay, for a couple reasons.
1) a machine you buy direct from a seller on this site does not have to pay the ebay and paypal juice, subsequently, he can offer it for a lower price.
2) a seller from this site is more likely to be more concerned with protecting the hobby, and, his own integrity, than "some" of the sellers you may find on "an auction site".
that said, there are plenty of legit sellers on auction sites, but, it takes time to figure out who is, and, who isn't.
all the help, true / correct information, and, references you will ever need will be available free on this site.
good luck on your quest.

[doc]

Thanks Rich, watlingboy, Dave, and Midcoast Vintage for your replies. My expectation is that I will buy from one of the members of this forum. I see a lot of expertise and honesty here.

My posting might have been a little misunderstood. I didn't say I was going to buy that particular slot machine. I am/was more interested in feedback on its price and its quality. To my novice eyes, the sides, handle and crinkled paint on that slot machine look odd. The listing also lacks details including serial number(s), is-it-all-original, description of wear, maintenance-if-any, etc.

That auction has since ended "because the item is no longer available." I would guess someone made an offer between the $1000 auction price and the $1300 b.i.n. price. My thought: Someone paid too much.

Steven