I must admit, I am bummed out now... on top of my games not selling, I find a pin I have been wanting for a long time thanks to a member... a Stern Catacomb!!! It was rough, but somewhat complete... perfect for me! Unfortunately, the seller was going with offers and it seems I got outbid at the end.

So... fess up... who got it? Who is the lucky one?

...I still intend on building a Stern collection one day...


Sparky

Dam sorry to hear that  
at least you had the chance i guess

that would have been a good machine to have.  sorry to hear about you not getting it.  

How much would a nice one worth ?

I know what MrPinball guide says but i have no idea of the rarity/value of it  *in the wild*...

I was scheduled to look at it Friday morning. Said I would call him. He said he was taking offers until Saturday. Friday, as usual, is crazy and I don't call him til the evening. I figured I had til Saturday so no biggie. He said he sold it to someone else...for $300! I was equally as bummed out. Of course totally my fault and that's life.

Sorry you didn't get it, but honestly, if you wanted it you should have offered more. It was a steal at $300 CDN working or not. I think they usually sell in the $1,400 range.

I suspect there is one happy MAACA member and why not? Congrats to that lucky person. Let us know when you get it up and running! I have played the game and it's quite different. Honestly, not the best classic Stern, but very interesting nonetheless.

Duane

1400$???? No frickin way. Someone MIGHT have paid that much in the past, but it doesn't mean that it is worth that. Lemme guess... that is the price one went for on Ebay, right? ... A Stern Catacomb in VERY nice shape is worth no more than 1000$. Only Orbitor 1, Iron Maiden, Ted Nugent and Cue fetch over 1000. Hell, my Lightning in the same shape is worth more than Catacomb, and I know that even when I am finished with it it will NEVER fetch that much.

Ebay should NEVER be used as a price gauge... either stuff goes low, or two or more duke it out to get a game and end up overpaying for it.

And let's not forget what was in the description...
- European model (therefore I never plugged it in)
- No legs (another 100$ to spend...)
- not sure if it works (battery probably still on the MPU... board job!)

And it looks like it's been in storage for a long time. Basically, in the same condition my Lightning was in. I paid it 275... and it had legs!

Quoted from Sparky

1400$???? No frickin way. Someone MIGHT have paid that much in the past, but it doesn't mean that it is worth that. Lemme guess... that is the price one went for on Ebay, right? ... A Stern Catacomb in VERY nice shape is worth no more than 1000$. Only Orbitor 1, Iron Maiden, Ted Nugent and Cue fetch over 1000. Hell, my Lightning in the same shape is worth more than Catacomb, and I know that even when I am finished with it it will NEVER fetch that much.

I based it on the experience of another collector. I know someone who paid more than $1,400 CDN once taxes and shipping were added up -- very nice game, working 100%. At the end of the day, he figured it was worth about $1,500 CDN.

I agree it would be lucky to sell for $1,000 CDN fully working in the local market. I suspect it would grab a bit more if shipping was involved. In that case, I think $1,200 USD isn't out of the question.

Anyhow, I might be wrong, but that's my best guess

Quoted from Sparky

Ebay should NEVER be used as a price gauge... either stuff goes low, or two or more duke it out to get a game and end up overpaying for it.

Rigghhhhhtttt. Never look at eBay. I disagree. In most cases, the average price of a game seems to be about right. Yes, there are going to be highs and there will be lows, but take it over a few auctions. Combine with Mr. Pinball and you will get a sense of what a game is worth.

Quoted from Sparky

And let's not forget what was in the description...
- European model (therefore I never plugged it in)
- No legs (another 100$ to spend...)
- not sure if it works (battery probably still on the MPU... board job!)

I didn't mean to imply it was worth $1,400 in it's current state. I realize my reply wasn't clear on that. I meant the value of a nice example, fully working. My bad. Totally agree with you that it would need work and was worth considerably less. Still I figured easily worth more than $300.

Quoted from Sparky

And it looks like it's been in storage for a long time. Basically, in the same condition my Lightning was in. I paid it 275... and it had legs!

Using a past deal to gauge the current value of a different game doesn't make sense at all. I paid $1,600 for my TZ about 8 or 9 years ago. So is it still worth only that? I used to get non-working early SS games for $100 to $150. I used to be able to get as-is GetAways for $800. None of this matters in todays market.

Duane

Quoted from TwilightZone

I paid $1,600 for my TZ about 8 or 9 years ago. So is it still worth only that?

Dibs!  I'll take your TZ for $1600...call me...please.  

Ah, the one in Orleans with its missing legs, from Europe...
Good news, the machine is staying within the large MAACA family!
It will not be resold on eBay.

Not so great news, the BG is very badly peeled at the bottom.
Plus, it is missing its legs and bolts. Also missing the plastic
or wooden ball in the head. No manual neither.

The boards look clean, but are in unknown conditions.
Some displays appear to have burn marks in them.
There are 3-4 spots on the PF worn down deep into the wood.
One broken drop target.

The machine appears to have been in Germany,
it has German score/instruction cards and coin entry designations,
and is still wired for 240V (with the ground prong broken!).
So unknown conditions basically.

I had emailed and called the sellers, and the offer was already at $300.
I asked them who was the high bidder (and I clearly mentioned I did not
want to bid against someone I knew), and the name did not ring any bell.

Given this was ran like an auction, and by email I was told that they were
accepting offers until 4:00PM on Friday, I decided to go see the machine
after work on Friday, to see if it was worth offering more than the $300.

While overall the machine appeared in a reasonnable shape,
the big disappointment was its backglass. The bottom is all flaked
and would basically most probably require a new BG. That one
will be very difficult to find.

I was about to leave, as I really wasn't sure I wanted to offer more
than $300 for that machine in unknown working conditions, missing its
legs and with a badly peeled BG...  The person then said that they would
accept the $300 cash right away, as the high bidder could not pick the
machine up before another few days anyhow, and they had apparently
warned the high bidder that anyone showing-up with cash would leave
with the machine...

After some thoughts, I decided to pick it up, as I collect this era
of machines (early 1980s, multi-ball, speech), and this one is
somewhat unique, although with a disappointing BG.
I felt that $300 was fair (not a bargain, and not excessive) for
that machine in those conditions.

Anyhow, here are two pics of the machine.

Cheers,
- Sylvain.

BG pic

PF pic

Incidentally, Mr.Pinball 2007 lists this game in very good conditions,
100% working, with new rubber rings and new pinballs, for $800 USD.

- Sylvain.

I had a feeling it was you Sylvain Congrats.

Ok, I'm clearly not an expert on the price of early SS games. I thought it was worth more.

Duane

Well, I am happy it is sticking around. At least I still have a chance to own one. Hey Sylvain... still want a Battle Shark vid? I have one. Let me know if you are willing to trade one day.

Ian