Hi guys,

May you share with me your ebay experience in pinball buying ex: shipping, pickup, total cost, costum management.... ect

Like always thanks in advance for the sharing.

For me:

Burned once buying an arcade from Toronto off Ebay.

Then after a year later I bought a pin off Ebay from Nova Scotia with my fingers crossed.
Pin arrived in good shape, shipping and crating cost roughly $90.00. (Cheap IMHO)  Only took a hit on the paypal exchange rate.  Think, I paid a good price in the end and the game is in the permanent collection

Ebay is hit and miss.  I will only buy parts off it if I can help.  Cost can shoot up on a game if crossing the boarder.  It also depends if you driving it across or have a carrier like NAVL.  I prefer local sale when possible.

Just be sure to thoroughly check the seller and game.  Lots of Scams out there now.

I got burned by Ivo Jebsen out of Calgary.  He ripped off quite a few people.  Took money and never sent machines.  I was a little lucky as he sent me a money order for $500 back and ebay sent me some small amount back after they deducted some type of processing fee.  As meat pop says parts off ebay tend to be okay.

I also purchased 3 machines from that ecoinop guy from nova scotia....very cheap 90$ for shipping and crating and then you pick it up at day and ross nearest you.....other then this guy I have never seen an affordable deal on ebay given the fact that we are in Canada.

Nobody buying at south of the border. If so i will be really helpfull. By the way thank for sharring

Re eBay, I've only bought 1 game also from ecoinop down east and also had a great experience re game quality, price and shipping. I often buy parts off eBay that are unique (always double check basic parts at regular dealers ie BAA, MArco, PBR etc as parts are often resold as "rare" on eBay at inflated prices).

Re US purchases, I've gotten 3 games from the US but thru RGP not eBay. That way you can get detailed pics and research the seller somewhat thru RGP. You can actaully search eBay seller names thru RGP and usually get lucky with past experiences good and bad! Two games I had shipped together thru NAVL to a friend in NY and then drove them across the border. Never again will I use NAVL - really high cost ($470 Texas to NY) vs over $800 quote to Ottawa before brokerage, taxes etc. and the games moved 4 times between trucks with little care to shoving on the legs etc You also need a broker for NAVL as they ship by trucks and have to be cleared at the border station they cross at.
The third game I had shipped by Forward air from Atlanta to Ottawa for $200 US and went and picked up myself. 10 minutes at the customs at airport 2 minute walk from the FA depot and paid taxes and no hassle with brokerage fees or paperwork.

Conclusion - buying US games works (especially with the exchange right now) but I'd only buy off eBay with lots of pics and a reputation of the seller you can confirm thru other pinball collectors ie RGP or MAACA.

My 0.02 + worth
ME

I bought 3 pins on e-bay and had no trouble at all. I paid approx $300 for shipping with Forwardair, + $150 brokerage fee, but had to pick up the machine at Dorval airport. If you choose someone with good feedback, there is less chance to get a piece of scrap. I had much more trouble with the machines I bought on Mr. Pinball, lots of disappointment.

I bought my NF from Ebay but it really wasn't an Ebay sale. Mr Ritchie Rich that owned it couldn't be bothered to place his own Ebay ad so he hired some guy to do it for him for a fee. Anyway as you can expect the whole listing was a Jug F%$^ and the thing never sold although I did put a really decent low bid in to accept any possible issues that were possibly not explained. Well it never hit the reserve but I was high bid so I ended going to see it about 10 minutes from my house and picked it up for my under reserve auction bid.

I got a great condition pin that suffered from homeowner neglect with a few blown lights and transistors for a very fair price with getting the option of having a look. It may have sat in this guys basement from day 1 by the looks of it but it got absolutely no maintenance. I think he sold it simply because it was barely playable and he was uninterested in fixing simple issues.

So it really wasn't an Ebay sale in the end.

One of those one off sellers that really didn't know his a** from a jet bumper.

I've bought two of my machines through eBay from the US.
One was a side business where he fixed pinballs in his spare time, he turned out to be a really good seller, nice guy. That machine has been solid.
The other was from a guy whom I felt didn't accurately describe "all" the issues with the machine. After some e-mails back and forth, he did reimburse me some money, and that seemed O.K. with me at the time. I have since rebuilt most of that machine so looking back, that probably wasn't the best move, but in the end I did learn alot about how that machine works. Live and learn.

Both machines were located just across the border from where I live, so I actually drove over to get them, brought them back. One machine went right through customs, I didn't pay a dime, the other one I had to pay around $33 in customs charges ( it was represented as a non-working cabinet and parts ).

eBay works with good judgement, you can usually spot the good sellers, stay away from deals that are "too good to be true". That's about as clear advice as I can give, based on my experiences, use your good judgement. Sellers that have been around for a long time with good feedback are usually pretty safe bets. Especially if they sell pinball stuff with any regularity and still maintain good feedback!

Dan