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So my #1 wanted machine (bell-fruit Cascade) is up for auction but the seller is too timid to ship from the UK to Canada.
Is there anyone here near Beverley UK I could pay to pick this machine up for me and ship it in a ridiculously protected manner to Canada?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1P-BELL-FRUIT- ... 3437071808

This might be a dumb idea, but I have to ask!

thanks,
~Cait

Although it's a small country it's a distance for me, sorry

BP

I'd do it but like BP I'm too far away, but I have a suggestion I've used myself. Why not buy it and arrange the courier, inc. collection and packing yourself? There are lots of couriers who do this - won't be cheap though!

Cascade on eBay tonight.

Lotta money though.

I do not follow pricing on wall machines TF, so have no idea whether the machine in OP link, that sold for £300 was a lotta money? or the one on eBay tonight is too
@ £350 with a Best Offer option? However, from previous item posts, I suspect that OP maybe be more interested in whether the seller, "is prepared to ship it in ridiculously protected manner to Canada"?

At least the OP, if he didn't already, now has visibility on the item.

Do you think if the glass was packaged separately, and the playfield components removed and wrapped it would be much easier to ship?

I still haven't given up hope. Thanks for the notification, aristomatic!
Anyone here near Stourport-on-Severn and willing to try shipping it to Canada if I buy it?

Oddly enough, my normal search for "bell fruit cascade" does NOT bring up this new listing. Don't know why. https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from ... _PrefLoc=2

Only difference I can see is a hyphen between the bell and fruit, so maybe the search function doesn't "see" bell or fruit as individual words, so doesn't bring it up?

Or maybe the seller has set up an option filter so it's not visible to non-UK buyers? Others hopefully will chip in with a definitive answer for you as to the real why! At least you are aware of it now and can decide whether to proceed, or not. The title thread may need changing now or posts merged to another thread?

As a fairly active ebayer and trying to place myself into the shoes of the seller, I have many mixed experiences of sending outside the UK and I'm not talking about slots but other vintage collectibles that are at risk of damage due to their age. I have finally come to my conclusion that it's far safer for me to sell within the UK despite the fact that an item might not necessarily reach a higher price that could have been achieved by overseas bidders; the pound is a lot weaker than the dollar and the euro and hence attractive to higher overseas bids.

When you have a lot of interest in something within the UK it's far easier for me and hassle-free to sell within the UK. Overseas tracking of items once they have left the UK are extremely unreliable. I have yet to go online and see that an item I've posted to the US say, or in Europe has actually been delivered and signature received to prove so and this causes risk to me of a PayPal chargeback. I've even so called 'bomb proofed' packing with so much packing the price of dispatch has doubled due to weight of packing materials to get a mail back to say the item has been squished.

For this particular item, the Cascade, they are extremely delicate and I would personally have issues of even sending it in carriage within the UK and rather request cash on collection. If I know I've got UK bidders active and happy with the potential sales price I would choose not to add complexities of overseas postage. As such, I have now in selling tools removed the ability for anybody outside UK to bid or buy it now purely as I've had my fingers burnt a few times.

I sold a salesman sample safe to the USA. It went missing somewhere in the USA. It was for £800. Ebay stopped the money from me but refunded me a day later and refunded the buyer.

malcymal wrote: ↑Mon Oct 15, 2018 8:06 amFor this particular item, the Cascade, they are extremely delicate and I would personally have issues of even sending it in carriage within the UK and rather request cash on collection.

Can I ask for details on how delicate Cascade is?
I know the metal bits are all loose, but if someone took the glass off and wrapped them separately, and same with the glass itself, is there any other part that is delicate? Is the chasis a lot more flimsy than it looks?
I've never encountered one in person.

Perhaps I'll need someone to babysit a Cascade on their lap when they fly to Canada from the UK. ;)

It's a solid wood (teak?) dovetailed frame with ply front and back, so not exceptionally fragile. The glass is the main issue, although the graphics on it could be replicated on a new piece, if it came to it. The glass is also what prevents all the trips from falling out.

I think the point in question is that will somebody ship it to you from the UK to Canada? For reasons I've explained, I would not ship such an item outside the UK nor would I courier it within the UK. It's explained too (and heard this story before in a post some years back) that if the glass breaks you will have a nightmare refitting the trips. This doesn't mean that somebody else wouldn't post but i think you've got to be realistic, although I admire your passion, in your aim to get such an item sent to you as the onus is on the seller to ensure it gets to you; could you say to seller, "look, I know the risks, I will BACS you the money direct to your bank and it's down to me the buyer if its smashed to bits". Another thing I thought about were customs charges too or legalities of it if inspected via a dip check at port of entry in Canada? I did some googling and came across the following. (source CanadaOne).

There are no provisions in Canada Customs guidelines that prohibit you from importing a slot machine. But, once it gets here, you won't be able to use it.

Here's why. Slot machines are not listed in the Canada Customs prohibited importations tariff items guidelines. Duncan Smith, a program support officer within Canada Customs, advised that the actual importation of slot machines – working condition or otherwise – is not prohibited by customs. But the use of a working slot machine on a premises without a provincial gaming license is an offence under the criminal code for an illegal gaming house. It is not the item that is prohibited, but the use of that item.

Smith said that if you want the slot machine for decorative purposes (such as placement in a recreation room), it has to be de-activated so that you are not charged under the Criminal Code of Canada (section) for operating an illegal gaming house.

We also spoke to OPP Inspector Larry Moodie of the Ontario Illegal Gaming Enforcement Unit who advised that it is against the Criminal Code of Canada for individuals to import, sell, buy or manufacture slot machines. Please see section 202.1B of the Code.

202. (1) Every one commits an offence who
(b) imports, makes, buys, sells, rents, leases, hires or keeps, exhibits, employs or knowingly allows to be kept, exhibited or employed in any place under his control any device or apparatus for the purpose of recording or registering bets or selling a pool, or any machine or device for gambling or betting;

heh, definitely not worried about customs giving me issues for it.
These are not considered slot machines by any definition within Canada. I ran through this when bringing an Japanese arrangeball machine in to the country.

is it really hard to redo the metal mechs if you take them out and package them separately? It all seems pretty simple.
Good to know the cabinet is sturdy enough.

And yeah, in the end I would be looking for someone to do a custom packing job, and if the glass ends up smashed, c'est la vie. My risk, my loss, and yeah I'd look for a reproduction then.
I imagine if the glass was removed, wrapped, and placed up against the back of the machine in shipping (on the outside, rear of the machine) it would be rather sturdy and have a decent chance of survival.

Anyways, thanks for running through these logistical hypotheticals with me everyone.

malcymal wrote: ↑Mon Oct 15, 2018 5:25 pmthat if the glass breaks you will have a nightmare refitting the trips.

Ahh I missed this part of your post initially, apologies. I guess I don't know what I'm doing then because the trips look all fairly basic to me, I don't get why they would be so difficult.

Re-installing the trips is not hard it's just one of those Goddam' Awful jobs!!!!
Especially if you're home is prone to sudden gusts of gravity.

I seem to remember laying on my back between two dining chairs that were supporting the front and glass above me. Offering the playfield upwards using both hands to keep it level I used another hand to realign the coin trigger and my spare hand to move the coin entry over. Having got that lot controlled I reached behind me to get the bracing strap and held each end of it over the two threaded bolts while I hunted for the two wing nuts so I could tightened them up equally.
Otherwise it was a doddle.

BP

As BP indicates, putting them back in place is straightforward once you know the pattern, but keeping them there as you manoeuvre the playfield up against the glass is another matter. It's a skill which improves with practice and which all Cascade owners must master, as occasional coin jams are inevitable.

I seem to remember laying on my back between two dining chairs that were supporting the front and glass above me. Offering the playfield upwards using both hands to keep it level I used another hand to realign the coin trigger and my spare hand to move the coin entry over. Having got that lot controlled I reached behind me to get the bracing strap and held each end of it over the two threaded bolts while I hunted for the two wing nuts so I could tightened them up equally.
Otherwise it was a doddle.

BP

Ah, is this why this particular machine is favored by octopuses?

Looks like this one has now sold on ebay.

If the glass did break, it would be straightforward to replace it with a flat piece of glass cut to the right size, but obviously it wouldn't have any graphics, like its German ancestors.