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Well we have all had this experience, not just at Coventry, but Elephant and other collectors' sales.... It still happens to me today however much advice gets passed to others...

As long as the mess is recoverable, I just write it off as yet another experience.

Was trying to guess the machine and still not sure based on what was at the auction. Looks like Bell Fruit slides to me. There was only one machine there, but the slide numbers don’t match the payout.

I was approached by one of the Elephant House organizers at the last sale to help a lady who'd just bought a French allwin. She wanted to know how to make the ball release work. Unfortunately, as the coin handling and ball release parts were missing I could only advise that this would have to be fabricated by copying another example - not a straightforward task. I suggested, if she wanted to try, she came here for help, but fear the experience may have put her off vintage slots for good. Fortunately, the price she paid somewhat reflected the condition of the allwin.

Fortunately, the price she paid somewhat reflected the condition of the allwin.

As did the price of the bandit above

If it was that little yellow French Allwin, this had been in two auctions and clearly stated in the description parts were missing. That is the key, if a seller describes a machines in complete working order and it is not the case, that is what affects people’s confidence and provides frustration.

I have always added 'good working condition' on machines I have sold I am happy to believe is the case. Whereas I may put down 'project' or not suggest working if not the case, especially electrical items.

Of course there may be different perception of 'good working order', against another’s opinion.

Yes, that was the one. Description says, "missing coin entry chute but otherwise appears complete". The ball release mechanism was also missing, so not a simple matter of fabricating a coin chute.

No matter what you are buying at a live auction one can only feel confident when staying within one's own skill set.
Use the description as a guideline to choose what to look at.
Choose what to look at in order to decide what you want to bid for because it's within your skill set to cope with
Finally decide how much you're prepared to pay for each item on your list. Then away you go.

By attending an auction you have every opportunity to check out everything to your satisfaction.
Or to walk away because for whatever reason(s) that troubles you.


In my mind that's essential and why I rarely buy anything from eBay nor leave a commission bid at live auctions.
Several years back I was at a live auction with TF we had a gander at a couple of Günter Wulff bandits.
The cases were held together by the woodworm linking arms …..the "Mazac metal moth" had taken a firm hold of the internals and there wasn't more than a few springs between the lot.
Not even fit for spares really.
However in the photos they looked passable, so when the Internet bidders took the first machine over £100 bidders in the room who'd clearly passed them by without a glance enthusiastically leapt in and they went even higher. When the second one came up the internet bidders went crazy and started throwing telephone numbers at it.
A lot of people learnt a lot of lessons that day. TF and I had a good laugh.

BP

The 'Cop-A-Lot' in question. I don't have any problem taking a punt on buying machines unseen, (in this case from the queue), and I am quite capable of making it right. I also don't have any criticism at all in the auction process, its all part of the fun.
Two of the other last min 'bargains' I also bought from the queue have a back door and bonnet missing I couldn't see from my vantage point, and were just one of those things. The parts weren't there and that's that.

The point I'm making is that the above machine had been prepared for sale, a good deal of effort taken to do up the case, paint over the payout tray, touch up paint loss on the top glass, fit new cheap locks and keys, cut various bits of aluminium tube of varying diameter and length and fit them inside each other, then fasten them to the slides in a vain attempt to make it work, and hand cut out slots in the wrong flat lock cams. The vendor went to such effort to create this and obviously thought it was a good job.

look,, we all know the machine was mine(if your going to claim you didnt then you must be the only one on this site who didnt as the machine was shown on the site at least four weeks before the auction), and a lot of people on this site( according to the private messages ive received) know this is about you being rude to me, (as you always are,I dont know why,but you are) you only have to read the wording of your original post to see that,as in the past it doesnt bother me but lets get the facts straight, you did NOT buy this machine from the queue,(BP can confirm this) you bought it during the auction and others (who presumably bothered to look in advance) also bid on it, you were not the only bidder,you simply bid on something you hadnt looked at so dont pretend it was a spur of the moment bid from the queue and your expert eye couldnt see the problems at that distance. But lets ,just for moment, consider if you HAD bought from the queue,are you saying you thought you were buying a perfect machine,that no one had bought during the auction proper for £230 ?? If so you must think everyone in the auction was a fool for missing a bargain.you should have looked at the machine,seen anything you dont like, and not bought it,simple as that! Impossible as you may think it is.you made a mistake, all us mere mortals do it sometimes, but then again, as your last post is rushing to make clear,this is not about buying a machine that wasnt what you expected is it? .Also,what makes you think I made all the changes? some I did some I didnt. Have another rant if you like, I wont reply.

I suspect it is one of the risks in ever posting pictures on this site, as if you notice how many regulars ever post anything about their machines on this forum...... Very few......they of course they probably don’t want you to see.....there are only a few of us that ever do

oh, was it yours? and there was me thinking you knew all about restoring bandits.

Oh dear, somebody's dropped a clanger. Welcome to the mysterious world of coin op and its participants.

After what I’ve just read only two things come to mind
YOU CAN DO IT WHEN YOU B&Q IT
And SHOULD OF GONE TO SPEC SAVERS

ha, and it only took you 9 hours 31 minutes to think up that too

It's hardly a 'clanger'. These Watling-based BFMs are surely worth £230 complete.
I'll take it on, if you want your 230 quid back!

great, how fast can you get here? (its not complete by the way)

PM Sent.

PM responded to.
Before that I appear to have received another message in error that I think was destined for you.

I'm rather incompetent as far as this 'e' messaging business goes.
It certainly saves on postage stamps, though!

User avatarcoppinpr
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Re: Coventry Spring Auction (24/03/19)
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Sent: Tue Apr 16, 2019 8:07 am
From: coppinpr
Recipient: moonriver

the machine is complete other than the cash tray (which is also the cash box door) It is working,lights an all! I sold it as a cheap project and at £235 that is what it sold as. Moonriver has a long standing grudge against me (Ive never known why,I dont think Ive ever met him (?)) which is what all the ranting and hidden rudeness was about. Nothing was hidden on the machine,all was clear to see and the description was correct, Yes it has cheap locks,I thought it a bit crazy to put 5 expensive locks on a machine selling for under £250. He will moan about me,thats fine ,hes one of a small number who want to turn the forum into an experts only bragging platform (which is what killed the slot forum in the USA) .In 350 posts he has never once attempted to answer a technical problem or help a member, I checked. He thinks you a fool for buying it, your not, its worth all of £250.
Paul........


I'm assuming this wasn't meant to come to me, or maybe it was? Either way you couldn't have looked very far re my forum technical problem help. Off the top of my head I recently answered a reoccurring starter issue someone was having on a bandit because they weren't using series starters. ( You will remember you told them "starters are starters"), so I'm not going back down the list.
In relation to " turning this forum into an experts only bragging platform" you appear to have mastered at least part of that statement.

People life is so short. You should go to the pub together tonight, watch the game of the champions league with a pint. The next game against AJAX i will join the two new friends.