Buying a pinball machine from a listing is a lot like buying a used car from photos. You might get one that never breaks down, or one that looks great and keeps failing. You can't play it first, so the photos, videos and answers you get from the seller are all you have. Most bad buys trace back to one of the gaps below, and each one has a question that closes it.
No photos inside the backbox
Many listings show the playfield and cabinet and nothing behind the glass. That's where the CPU board and its batteries live, and leaky batteries are the number one killer of pinball boards. Ask for a clear photo of the CPU board with the battery area in focus. A seller who has the game in front of them can do this in a few minutes. The battery guide shows what to look for once you have it.
Photos taken with the lights on in a dark room
A game photographed lit up in a dim room looks great and hides a lot. Worn paint, cloudy mylar and low inserts all disappear in that light. Ask for a few shots with the glass off, the game switched off and the room well lit, plus one low-angle flashlight shot across the playfield. The playfield guide explains what each kind of wear means.
No video of it playing
Photos can't show you whether the game works. Ask for a short video of a full game, with balls launching, flippers firing and the main toys moving. Each game has its own list. On The Addams Family you want to see Thing grab the ball. On Twilight Zone you want the clock, the gumball machine and the Powerfield. On Medieval Madness you want the drawbridge, portcullis and trolls, and on Attack from Mars the big saucer and the Martians. Game-specific parts can be hard to find and slow to source, so a dead toy is a real problem.
Ask for the service menu tests as well. The lamp, display, solenoid and switch tests take a few minutes, and you should hear every coil fire. On recent machines, opening the coin door also shows a list of problems the game has found, like switches that haven't been activated.
Vague words about condition
Words like "works", "just needs a battery" or "needs a little adjustment" tell you very little on their own. Ask what the seller has tried and what happened. If it's sold as not working, ask whether it powers on at all and what the display shows. A seller who has played the game will answer in specifics. One who hasn't will stay vague, and that's useful to know either way.
Long storage
A game that has sat for years needs a different kind of care. Ask where it was stored, and look for rust and corrosion on metal parts, since humidity is the enemy. Don't expect a stored game to work the first time, and don't power up a game whose condition is unknown. Check the line cord, fuses, capacitors and connectors before turning it on, because original filter capacitors may have dried out after decades.
Burnt connectors and "home use only"
Burnt or brown connectors happen when a machine has been powered on for long stretches, all day for months or years. So a game sold as lightly played home use with burnt connectors tells a different story. On recent Bally and Williams games, check the general illumination connectors at J120 and J121. Ask for a photo of the boards in the backbox.
Cabinet changes and the coin door
One restorer's write-up is a good warning. A buyer drove two and a half hours for an Addams Family judged from the description and a poor phone photo, and found an import coin door that had been fitted by cutting the cabinet. The fix was a new cabinet front. Ask for a straight-on photo of the coin door and the front of the cabinet, and a look inside the door.
Missing keys and manuals
Coin door keys are often lost, and a backbox can take a different key than the coin door. Ask whether keys come with it. Sometimes one is hanging inside the backbox or on the back of the coin door. Ask about the manual too. Most manuals are available digitally through IPDB, except Gottlieb's, which have to be bought as printed copies.
Original, remake or re-release
Several of the most wanted games have been made again. Chicago Gaming Company has remade Medieval Madness, Attack From Mars, Monster Bash and Cactus Canyon, and Stern's own code page lists an Iron Man Vault Edition next to the original Iron Man. These are good machines in their own right, but they aren't the same as the originals, so make sure the listing says which it is. Ask for the serial plate and a photo of the backbox boards.
The backglass
Newer games use a printed plastic translite, while older games have painted glass. Temperature changes and humidity can make that paint come loose from the glass, which is called flaking, and replacement glasses are hard to find. On an older game, ask for a straight-on photo of the backglass lit and unlit. Clear sealants can stop further flaking on glass that has started to go.
Pickup, freight and weight
These are heavy machines. One Addams Family was weighed at 255 pounds with legs, and Medieval Madness is 355 pounds uncrated. The backbox on Medieval Madness folds down for moving, to a height of 55 inches. Ask the seller how it will leave their place. If it's pickup only, plan for a helper and a dolly. If they offer freight, ask how it will be packed, whether the backbox will be folded and secured, and whether the legs come off. Ask as well whether it's delivered and set up, and whether any warranty applies.
Before you pay
Ask for a phone or video call and have the seller walk you around the game while it plays. It's the quickest way to learn whether they know the machine. Then compare what you hear with what you've seen in the photos. You can start a search from the full catalog, or read the first pin guide if you're still choosing a game.