Winston-Salem, NC Auction Results (2012)
June 2, 2012
This was one of the tiniest auctions I've been to in a while. Classic games were really scarce (which is why I recorded a few very non-classic games from the first row--just to have something to do). There weren't a lot of pinball machines either, although there were an unusually large number of electro-mechanical pins (usually if there are one or two that's a lot). I thought about buying one of the non-working EM pins as a project, but I didn't want to spend more than $25 on something that I might never get working. It only went for twice that...but still. There were a lot of low prices. It seemed like the auctioneers just wanted to get done and get out of there.
Video Game Prices
Pinball Prices
August 4, 2012
The last auction was one of the smallest I have been to...and this one was one of the biggest I've seen in a while. Lots of good classic video games in the first row and a few scattered around the room. The first row bunch included a couple you don't see often, including a Stunt Cycle, a Rally-X, a Zaxxon, and a Gyruss (both not working), as well as a pretty decent Track & Field. Some definite deals--a couple of really nice Ms. Pac-Man machines went for under $300. If they keep trending down like that, I might just have to break down and buy one.
Because the auction was so big, I didn't stick around for the pinball machines. There were some pretty nice EMs and a number of newer Sterns (including Spider-Man, which I actually didn't care for--first time I had played one). Nothing that really said "buy me" though.
Video Game Prices
October 13, 2012
This was a pretty big one, and the layout was really good. They arranged the equipment so that the juke boxes were in one of the game aisles, thus eliminating the need to spend an hour at the front of the room selling jukes before they got to the pinballs. As a result, despite the size of the auction, I was out of there by about 7 PM. Yes, I stayed to the very end for the first time in a LONG time. But that was only because I bought something and the checkout process is a nightmare.
There were lots of classic video games, some that you don't see very often. The first row had a pristine, fully-restored Defender, a beautiful Asteroids cocktail, and a Warlords cocktail that looked like it had just come out of the factory. I missed the last row (while sitting in line), but I listed the classic games that were in that row for the sake of showing what was there. The tradition of giving away (literally) the huge games (like Alpine Racer) continued--nobody wants them. It seems that Daytona USA has joined this category. There were three 25" twins--one went for $60, one went for $70, and one was given away. The $60 worked all the way! Wish I had had a big truck...
There were a ton of pins, too (as you can see below), including some rarities (Theatre of Magic, for example) and a bunch of newer Sterns.
Price-wise, the video games were about average (some really good). The pinball prices, on the other hand...I have never seen so many pins that went for $4000 or more in a single auction. There were a couple of older games that were really nice and fully working that sold for very low prices, though...I lusted after them, but I didn't have any way to get them home.
I went to the auction looking for a beater, dead pinball machine to use for my virtual pinball project. Mission accomplished...although, the one I really wanted went for far more money than any completely dead pinball machine should go for (in my opinion).
Video Game Prices
Pinball Prices