For a local source I find Starburst the best. I order a ton of parts from the, allot of the more common stuff, rubbers, flipper rebuild stuff, springs, switches. Any of the normal pinball stuff. Anything obscure I deal with the US parts dealers. I prefer to deal local as you save on shipping costs. Dave at Starburst Toronto reminds me allot of Steve Young at Pinball resource in that he gets bitchy if the order isn't right and he hates when you add things on at the last minute to orders. Other then that I allways get my parts, if in stock, pretty much next day.
When I have sourced through Starburst for anything they have to order in, you may as well go direct, you have to wait for them to accumulate an order, and they mark it up enough that it's likely worth getting it direct even with duty and all. Now if they have something in stock, then likely they are as fair as anyone else. I buy some stuff from Dallas (Toronto Pinball Exchange - I think they own the arcade at Union Station), and end up paying as much for used as new (but less freight).
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The one and only time I bought pin parts from SB, it was a ring & rod (can't get more standard then that!) and the damn thing was almost 3 times the price of any US supplier I purchase from. I needed it in a pinch, and that forced my hand.
Needless to say, that didn't make a good impression and I haven't been back since. But that isn't to say all of their parts are over priced, as they do offer *specials* from time to time. (I bought a new 3" trackball for a reasonable price)
If you're already ordering parts from the US anyway, you might as well order as much as you can as it will be cheaper in the long run.
I've dealt with some of the big suppliers and really haven't had any real problems.....Pinball Resource, BAA, Marco, and Pinball Life.
If you continue in this hobby you will probably be forced to deal with all of them, and then some. In most cases you just can't find the specialty parts locally and for the newer DMD games you'll have to check out Marco or BAA, whoever has the part(s). You'll probably pay a little more than you would like in some cases, but then again you probably will have little choice in the matter. I have found Marco a little more reasonable concerning pricing between the two, but then again it may have been the nature of my orders at the time.
For generic parts for the newer DMD games, Pinball Life I found to be the most economical and I personally found Terry to have very good customer service skills. A great source for lamps and rubbers by the way.
Whenever placing and order from the US try to buy in bulk to make it worth your while. I never found shipping and taxes to be that much of a deterant as I always try to order as many things as I can from that particular supplier to make it worth my while to improve the aesthetics on more games than one.
As for the older EM games and Gottlieb in particular than Pinball Resource is just that a good resource. He also has a good supply of motors for the newer DMD games and his pricing is reasonable for the most part. Whenever I order parts from him he just sends the parts and an invoice and then you have 7 days or so to pay.
Whenever I go to an ops locally I always keep my eyes open for some speciality parts at a good price (for machines I own or hope to own), or at least I used to. That's to say if they let you check out their stock. In some cases they will have specialty parts for games they don't even have anymore.
As far as buying electronic parts for this hobby I found Great Plains Electronics to be the best. And Ed has the great customer service skills.
I have personally found it waaaayyyyyy more economical to buy my parts in bulk from the US unfortunately. Think ahead!
I have personally found it waaaayyyyyy more economical to buy my parts in bulk from the US unfortunately. Think ahead!
Agree. I buy parts once a year at Allentown from PBR. I go to other sources if Steve is out of stock, and also try to pick them up at the show. While picking up locally is not always practical. You can save yourself some headaches with UPS fees and zany brokerage, duties.
In your case it seems that you just need some bulbs and rubbers. Email Starburst for a quote. For those types of items I think its your best short term bet.
If you need other parts down the road try to piggy-back on somebody's else's order and split on shipping when the time comes.
Well I have had a great experience in ordering needed parts and getting great service from an Ebay based business called...Pinball Artwork Company..or...pinballnation.net..I can say They were easy to deal with and had very good customer service, as well as quick shipping.
Might come in handy for someone...
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I just did a direct comparison between an order I just put in at Starburst and with the exact same items at Marco Spec.
The prices after shipping, tax, and conversion are very comparable.
From Starburst the total cost of the parts without tax or shipping was $130
From Marco it was $102 a Savings of $28.
Then Put on the conversion, so right now since the dollar is so good you only add about $8 so now we are at $110 just for parts.
Add the $35 US in shipping which is about $40 CAD and we are up to $150.
Then you still have taxes and brokerage at the boarder which I have no idea how to calculate.
But EOD at Starburst with taxes and shipping it was $148.77.
So for me since I don't always have the foresight to order in bulk and sometimes I just really needs some parts and if they are in Stock I get them next day from Starburst. I personally don't see the added benefit from ordering from a US parts distributor.
Maybe BAA is cheaper but again if this is any indication the price difference after conversion, taxes, brokerage and shipping is going to be negligible. Plus you support a Canadian based supplier.
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Ok, here's my take...
I would only order from Marco or BAA if they had something I needed I couldn't get anywhere else. I always try to purchase from Terry @ Pinball Life for all my standard parts. Basically what you've ordered here is a newer Stern flipper rebuild with new coils.
Total $59.95 US for everything on your list, plus shipping which I think is usually around $7-10 every time I've ordered. But whenever I order from PBlife, I ALWAYS make sure I add on extra's like bulbs and bulk rubber (standard sizes & types) as Terry always has the best price. This way the shipping charge works out to to be much less per piece. Taxes are taxes, no matter if you buy from the US or SB. Brokerage is a different story, but if you ship USPS it's only $5. All in all, your order from PBlife would be approx $80 CDN plus tax (including shipping @ $10US, and $5CDN USPS brokerage)
As you can see it works out to be much cheaper in the end, even with shipping and brokerage as long as your smart about it. The only benefit I can see to SB is you can have the parts in hand in a day, which really isn't an issue unless your an Op.
But I am pretty time senesitive because of being one of the few hosts for TOPL. I have a limited window of oppertunity to shop and fix my machines between meetings so the quicker I get my parts the better.
But if the cost diffrence between Pinball Life and SB is as substantial as it sounds I'll have to reconsider ordering from SB.
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