Where do you get your machines
Where do you get your machines
Hi all so just wondered where you guys get your machines from? My only source seems to be eBay but they either keep getting removed or I'm out bid last second :0( as happened tonight ;0(
Re: Where do you get your machines
Hi, Taz.
Great question. I can't answer it because I don't know either - and I do not believe there is an easy answer anyway. I am sure you would not expect the established collectors to volunteer their personal sources (would you?).
One of the Jimmys on this forum recently mentioned that, to get a good collection (I think he used the words "a collection worth talking about"), you have to "get off your backside" and do the legwork. From this forum, it is not unusual to read of the miles being driven, or the journeys that have been made 'to pick something up', or of communications with collectors in other countries (Germany and the US, for example and one of the most helpful contributors to this forum is on the other side of the world!). I have interpreted this as visiting auction houses, antique shops and other collectors (i.e. 'networking') plus the usual researching via google. No easy shortcuts, but, along the way, you will pick up tidbits (such as www.melright.com), you will learn a lot about these fantastic machines and you will undoubtedly meet some cracking people.
I no longer believe that I will get the machines I want in a short space of time. This is partly because I don't have the money (there is a wanted ad on the melright site from a chap who wants to buy an entire Bryans collection
) but mainly because, having seen only a tiny part of the variety of machines out there, what I thought I wanted when I started is not what I want now!
Happy hunting!
Great question. I can't answer it because I don't know either - and I do not believe there is an easy answer anyway. I am sure you would not expect the established collectors to volunteer their personal sources (would you?).
One of the Jimmys on this forum recently mentioned that, to get a good collection (I think he used the words "a collection worth talking about"), you have to "get off your backside" and do the legwork. From this forum, it is not unusual to read of the miles being driven, or the journeys that have been made 'to pick something up', or of communications with collectors in other countries (Germany and the US, for example and one of the most helpful contributors to this forum is on the other side of the world!). I have interpreted this as visiting auction houses, antique shops and other collectors (i.e. 'networking') plus the usual researching via google. No easy shortcuts, but, along the way, you will pick up tidbits (such as www.melright.com), you will learn a lot about these fantastic machines and you will undoubtedly meet some cracking people.
I no longer believe that I will get the machines I want in a short space of time. This is partly because I don't have the money (there is a wanted ad on the melright site from a chap who wants to buy an entire Bryans collection
) but mainly because, having seen only a tiny part of the variety of machines out there, what I thought I wanted when I started is not what I want now! Happy hunting!
Re: Where do you get your machines
I believe it was Jingles who always mentions "doing the miles" and it is true, eg getting out to boot fairs, antiques fairs, auctions, clearances etc etc etc.....Having said all that it is more difficult now in these areas as so many are doing the same, but you still hear stories of some finds....Most big auction houses are now online, so as with the Spangles machine I mentioned the other day, all of us see these and as such people online blow you out, even bidding blind....
The networking point is valid, as I believe a lot of us exchange or buy direct off each other. I have bought loads of machines direct from people just because I was picking up something else. I always take a few extra pounds with me when visiting a fellow collector, you never know and more often than not we would prefer to sell to someone who can check and be shown a machine and be happy with our purchase, in cash of course.
Also remember a big proportion of the old collectors have been doing this for years and years, so of course will have a nice collection.....As with all of us, we keep the nice machines and shift on the others or duplicates. Very occasionally people want a change on direction and some nice machines come to market....although not a lot recently....
The networking point is valid, as I believe a lot of us exchange or buy direct off each other. I have bought loads of machines direct from people just because I was picking up something else. I always take a few extra pounds with me when visiting a fellow collector, you never know and more often than not we would prefer to sell to someone who can check and be shown a machine and be happy with our purchase, in cash of course.
Also remember a big proportion of the old collectors have been doing this for years and years, so of course will have a nice collection.....As with all of us, we keep the nice machines and shift on the others or duplicates. Very occasionally people want a change on direction and some nice machines come to market....although not a lot recently....
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badpenny
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Re: Where do you get your machines
It's a spreading the word game as well as a chasing game.
Some of the best finds I've stumbled across have been from boring total strangers about my hobby.
Don't forget it's an unheard of interest to most people yet they do find it interesting, and sometimes their Uncle's neighbour's cousin found one in a shed once.
BP
Some of the best finds I've stumbled across have been from boring total strangers about my hobby.
Don't forget it's an unheard of interest to most people yet they do find it interesting, and sometimes their Uncle's neighbour's cousin found one in a shed once.
BP
Re: Where do you get your machines
Cheers guys think i must get my bum down to a few auctions and have a look 
was just a bit peeved last night, no bids with 10 secs to go then I was out bid with 4 secs to go by a guy with a feed back in the thousands how very annoying..........and being on a limited budget I cant put in the high bids 
was just a bit peeved last night, no bids with 10 secs to go then I was out bid with 4 secs to go by a guy with a feed back in the thousands how very annoying..........and being on a limited budget I cant put in the high bids -
badpenny
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Re: Where do you get your machines
Taz Man .....
The psychology of auctions suggests that bids attract bids. That why sniper bids often win.
I snipe so I don't get into a race.
I ask myself "If I was offered that machine to buy, what maximum price would I say yes to?" And that is the amount I load The Snipe with.
I tend to go for about 3 seconds from the end. Rarely do I win it for the maximum I set.
If it goes above my bid then I didn't want it anyway.
Remember it's not the last bid that wins it's the best bid.
However chucking your maximum bid in from the beginning will attract the less confident who not being sure what it's worth to keep nibbling away at yours.
Sadly, also because eBay doesn't let us see who the bidders are, there is also a growing trend for the less scrupulous to shill bid until they beat yours and then wait to see if you go one more thus making you pay your top bid. They then either retract their last bid or give you a second chance either way your showing your hand early has worked against you.
BP
The psychology of auctions suggests that bids attract bids. That why sniper bids often win.
I snipe so I don't get into a race.
I ask myself "If I was offered that machine to buy, what maximum price would I say yes to?" And that is the amount I load The Snipe with.
I tend to go for about 3 seconds from the end. Rarely do I win it for the maximum I set.
If it goes above my bid then I didn't want it anyway.
Remember it's not the last bid that wins it's the best bid.
However chucking your maximum bid in from the beginning will attract the less confident who not being sure what it's worth to keep nibbling away at yours.
Sadly, also because eBay doesn't let us see who the bidders are, there is also a growing trend for the less scrupulous to shill bid until they beat yours and then wait to see if you go one more thus making you pay your top bid. They then either retract their last bid or give you a second chance either way your showing your hand early has worked against you.
BP
Re: Where do you get your machines
I think that is prob what I do is snipe bid as I usually leave it till the last min,the first bid was my bid and went in with 10 secs to go and I was winning till 4 secs from end when his max bid was obviously more I would of liked to bid more but divorce limits me 
I would of liked to bid more but divorce limits me 
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pennymachines
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Re: Where do you get your machines
Like BP, I've found "the word on the street" turns up more than might be expected. One day I mentioned my dark secret to the proprietor of the wonderful old fashioned hardware shop I frequent and he led me to a battered and dusty old Jennings Sun Chief in the attic room above, where it had stood for 30 years or more. I left with a bag of assorted wood screws and the remains of a slot machine. Recently, my metal caster tipped me off about two other collectors local to me who're not "on the grapevine". Even more recently, a local aquatic specialist said his grandfather serviced machines in the 1930s and believes there are photos in the family archive. If so, I'll put them in the Arena.
In the words of Bob Hoskins, "It's good to talk". I'm sure that masculine reticence to ask directions of a stranger has cost me and other collectors many a lead...
In the words of Bob Hoskins, "It's good to talk". I'm sure that masculine reticence to ask directions of a stranger has cost me and other collectors many a lead...
Re: Where do you get your machines
.............and of course the one obvious forum for picking up a machine that no-one has yet mentioned is the Coventry Auction. Not only can you view in detail but it is a good place to talk and share our hobby face to face with other collectors 
Re: Where do you get your machines
Well said, Argee 
It's odd that BP has posted three times in this thread, and not mentioned Coventry once...........
Get a grip man, get a grip.
Sunday 24th November 2013.
It's odd that BP has posted three times in this thread, and not mentioned Coventry once...........
Get a grip man, get a grip.
Sunday 24th November 2013.
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badpenny
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Re: Where do you get your machines
I thought The Coventry Auction was a secret after the turn out in June and didn't want to spill the beans 
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