Selling machines

[superhoop123]

Hi all

wonder if any of you could help me, recently inherited about 6 vintage machines from a late aunt of mine and was considering selling them to finance traveling for a year

What is my best bet in terms of getting the valued and sold? is there a definite guide to prices or am I just best putting them into auction. If auction is the way forward then which one should I aim for

Any help is greatly appreciated

Charlie

[pennymachines]

Hi Charlie,

There are no price guides available (except for American machines like the bandits). Really you just have to watch the auctions to gain this knowledge.

Although there are fairly well established values for the more common machines, it gets more difficult with the rare ones. It may be possible to assert that a certain rare machine will sell for more than £500, for example, but it can be hard to say whether it will go for £600 or £1000. This is because there may be 20 collectors prepared to pay up to £600 but only two who would approach £1000. Slot machine collecting remains a minority activity, so prices tend to be unpredictable.

It is also tricky to get a valuation. If you sell to a dealer, you have to trust what they tell you (ouch!) and accept that they are buying with a view to reselling. And, if you are selling a machine, it's a bit unfair to ask a collector what it's worth. You are asking the collector to be buyer and seller. My stock response to such queries is "I don't give valuations, but I can make you an offer."

Your best bet therefore is probably an auction. I'm biased of course, but if you put them through the PennyMachines auction, they won't escape the notice of the serious slot collectors here and abroad and images of them will appear on the home page. The alternative is eBay or a "bricks and mortar" auction. The advantage of this selling method is that your items are "sold as seen" and you don't have any dealings with the buyers. The disadvantage is the high commissions charged. In my opinion this makes the major auction houses a poor choice. You would do better going to a provincial house and posting a notice on this forum to alert the collectors.

I hope this helps.

[jimmycowman]

hay mr super hoop could you describe the machines at all ? funtion coinage ect.. thanks