Pinball is NOT Forgotten!

We recently sold a 1987 Gottlieb Victory pinball machine and I still miss it!  I have had several questions about pinball machines, so I thought I'd cover the purchase of pinball machines in a blog.

Last year, Olhausen Billiards made a deal with a large distributor to sell Transformer pinball machines, but they did not renew the contract this year.  That leaves us out of the pinball loop, unfortunately, as far as purchasing new machines at affordable prices.  But there is always ebay, cough, cough...

We have always picked up the machines we've sold at auctions, from private parties wanting to sell and from estate sales, so if you're interested in pinball but don't want to pay over $4,000 for a machine, those are the places to start looking.

Here are some links to websites that provide some good information on pinball and some dealers.  We will note on our Facebook page when we have a pinball machine in, so "like us on Facebook" if you want to keep up with what is in the shop!

Our last Pinball Machine (I can still remember the music):

You had to pass a series of checkpoints in order to get bonuses and they were challenging.  Some of the lights in the upper right corner were not working and I had to repair the flipper a couple of times; so when you buy a pinball machine, get ready to repair it!

There are several great sites where you can still get all the parts that you need and there are some great YouTube channels where pinball mechanics explain how to replace some of the larger components.

If you are a true pinball nut, however, you won't care and fixing the machine will be part of its charm; until you can't fix it any more, I guess.  I still haven't found anyone locally who claims to know how to fix these ball bouncing behemoths, but I will and we may start a club.  Who knows?  For now, however, we're stuck with my limited knowledge, and maybe someone will respond to this post who loves pinball as much as we do and let us know about his or her "skills" in electronics.

Here are some of the bigger and more interesting pinball sites where you can find ratings and clubs.  Apparently, though the U.S.A. is a big market for pinball, northern Europe is equally as big, and sometimes you will find the machine you are looking for overseas.  I would stick with the U.S.A. for shipping, however, or you will find that the shipping costs are greater than the cost of the machine itself.

Save yourself a lot of time and trouble and look at these sites first.  There are a lot of worthless websites out there in the pinball universe, and you will find out for yourself at some point, but these are worth a visit.

Pinball Rating Sites & Pinball Clubs:

http://www.pinballreviews.com/

http://www.ipdb.org/lists.cgi?anonymously=true&list=top300

http://www.pinpedia.com/ranking/rating

http://www.pinballnews.com/games/index.html

https://pinside.com/  **This site is particularly good for finding places to play

YouTube Channels:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF6Omn2cXb7aGMcEeArYUs6Wz20bnV4S4

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClTpDNIOtgfRkyT-AFGNWVw   **This site provides an excellent tutorial on magnetic and electronic tech that will either blow your mind or give you the knowledge you've always wanted!

https://www.youtube.com/user/blkdog7

Stern Pinball Mfg Co. Tour in Elk Grove, IL:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZM24quLmxxk

You will begin to add your own sites and if you visit our YouTube site, you will see what we've subscribed to, but build your own and enjoy the world of pinball that you thought might have been forgotten, but never really was!