eBayers Bidding on a Bugged Slot

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eBayers Bidding on a Bugged Slot

Postby marsonion » Mon Dec 08, 2014 8:02 pm

eBay item number:201234940945

Strategy seems to mean everything on eBay, but I never imagined that people would jump into bidding on an obviously bugged (really) slot machine. This crumbling and disrespected Columbia actually has a bug in it: a Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB)-- an invasive, produce-sucking agricultural pest recently arrived from Asia, and known as a "true bug" among entomologists-- can be seen in at least three of the posted images crawling up the second reel as if it had already finished off the cherry and was heading directly toward the juicy orange.

Oddly, the appearance of this destructive vermin has not deterred any bidders on the machine: 10 bidders and 12 bids so far, less than halfway through the auction. The gavel could fall at over seven or eight hundred dollars, according to my calculations... even though the veneers are peeling off the base and the cabinet is clearly infested. Is this good or bad news for antique slot aficionados?

Presumably, farms in the states of Alabama, Connecticut, Hawaii, Nebraska, South Carolina, and Tennessee are safe for now. Oops-- I guess a few of those states have already received free trial shipments of BMSB via UPS, FedEx, etc.

How will you know whether or not you've got BMSB's in your bonnet? Because they smell like sour watermelons when you step on them-- that's how. :twisted:

[Added note 12/13/14: Whoops! I sure called the closing bid way-off... the item went for just below $500. The bidding trajectory for these Columbias is odd lately; lots of bidders jump in right off the bat (already, a nicely repainted/reconditioned machine posted only yesterday has 24 bids, up to nearly $800) but very few are holding out and sniping the price up 50-100% in the final minutes, as seems so often the case with coin-op listings on eBay when a dozen or so interested parties converge on an item. It's as if they think getting their highest bids in early is some sort of strategy for getting the item. Hell, maybe it is?!? I'm so confused #-o ]
Last edited by marsonion on Sat Dec 13, 2014 7:50 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: eBayers Bidding on a Bugged Slot

Postby MikeB » Tue Dec 09, 2014 3:14 am

You want to know the secret?

It has the 25 cent coin head installed, and it seems many people equate that to the "holy grail". It just could be that some of them simply want that coin head, and will put it on a different Columbia that's in better shape.

They can be fun machines, if you can mess with them until they no longer jam on every other coin.
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Re: eBayers Bidding on a Bugged Slot

Postby marsonion » Tue Dec 09, 2014 3:25 pm

MikeB wrote:You want to know the secret?

It has the 25 cent coin head installed, and it seems many people equate that to the "holy grail". It just could be that some of them simply want that coin head, and will put it on a different Columbia that's in better shape.

They can be fun machines, if you can mess with them until they no longer jam on every other coin.


If that's truly the case, I've got all of the parts required to convert any Columbia to 25c play in a little burlap bag (such as these denomination conversion parts were issued with every Columbia originally manufactured) and I'll gladly sell them for the $400+ that this broken-down, buggy machine is currently bid up to. Spread the word.

I think many of the bidders are aware that this admittedly non-functioning machine can probably be repaired in about fifteen minutes by anybody who knows what he's doing. I've repaired at least a half dozen Columbias, including two literal basket cases (boxes of loose parts); they all run just fine with the proper adjustments. The worst Columbia I ever had to deal with repeatedly defied all cycling adjustments and kept on jamming for no apparent reason... I thought the whole thing was "warped" somehow... turns out the clock had worn in such a way as to "slip" periodically, and replacing it with a good NOS clock from a fine gentleman named Bud Gott cured that machine of all ills. There may be other machines out there which their owners have given up on over the same problem, which is mentioned specifically in the owner's booklet. Pay attention to that clock-- a clock that may appear to work fine could actually be the cause of all of your Columbia problems.
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Re: eBayers Bidding on a Bugged Slot

Postby SLOT DYNASTY » Wed Dec 10, 2014 4:04 am

What is the item number of the Columbia? I couldn't find it.
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Re: eBayers Bidding on a Bugged Slot

Postby flipper77 » Wed Dec 10, 2014 7:31 am

Still on eBay 201234940945
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Re: eBayers Bidding on a Bugged Slot

Postby Midcoast Vintage » Wed Dec 10, 2014 8:33 am

very visible in picture #3.
hopefully, seller will fumigate the machine before shipping.
i wonder if the seller is even aware of this?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/201234940945?ru ... 26_rdc%3D1
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