How we work

Specs and history

We checked everything on each machine page (dates, designers and artists, production figures, the boards and displays, known faults and the stories behind them) against sources we could cite. Those include the Internet Pinball Database, PinWiki’s repair guides, the makers’ own manuals and sites, and reference sites. When we couldn’t confirm a detail, we left it out or said so. These games spent years on location before they reached a home, and no two have been treated the same way, so use every page as a starting point and check the machine itself.

No guessed prices

We don’t publish price ranges from memory. A price shows on a machine page only when it comes from a dated snapshot of that game’s eBay listings (more below), and it always carries the date we checked. Asking prices aren’t selling prices. Before you make an offer, look at eBay’s sold listings (filter to “Sold items”) for the exact game and base your offer on those.

Finding listings

Games without a snapshot link to a plain eBay search for the title in eBay’s pinball machines category. Sellers list LED kits, mods, plastics and other parts there too, so read each title.

Condition first

Used pins fail in ways a listing can hide. Batteries leak onto the CPU board, playfields wear through at the flippers, toys and ramps break, displays fade, and a machine can boot fine and still have dead switches. A game that lights up in attract mode hasn’t proved it plays, so we always ask for a video of a full game, the CPU board and the playfield in good light. The checklist on each machine page covers what to look at in the listing and what to ask the seller, and our guide to red flags in a pinball listing goes deeper. We want you to pay the right price for what a machine really is, including what it needs.

Product photos

The big photo on a machine page and its cards is a representative image, not a photo of any machine for sale. We make it with an AI image model from several real seller photos of that exact game, then compare it with those photos before we publish. Every game gets the same plain studio backdrop so they look consistent side by side.

So the photo shows what the game looks like, not the condition of any one machine. Wear, mods, lighting and repairs vary from one to the next, and some small details may be simplified. Judge condition and completeness from the seller’s own photos, and ask for close-ups of the playfield, the backglass and the boards before you buy. Wherever a representative photo appears large, it carries the caption “Representative photo, made by AI from real seller photos. Every listing differs.” Games without one show no photo.

Market snapshots and picks

For each game with a buying guide, we go through the matching eBay listings on one date. We record how many there are, the price range, where most asking prices sit, and a set of listings with their price, shipping, format, seller feedback and condition. The date sits next to the listings, and by the time you read it some will have sold or ended. The “See every listing on eBay” link always opens the live search. When a snapshot has listings, the game’s typical price on the page comes from it. When nothing was listed, the figure is labeled an estimate.

Then we tag the listings worth a look. Cheapest is the lowest delivered price for a complete, working game. Best value is a game with some evidence it plays, at a below-typical price. Best for beginners and Easiest to get working go to complete games that play, with the boards and toys sorted. Collector’s pick is a sought-after version at a sane price, and Project piece is a cheap game worth fixing. Two warning tags flag listings to approach with care. Check the seller means little or no feedback, and Priced high means well above the typical range with no clear reason. These are judgment calls from the listing text and photos. We haven’t handled the machines ourselves, and nobody pays for placement.

Independence

No affiliate links. We earn nothing (see the disclosure). We’re not paid by sellers and we’re not affiliated with any pinball maker. We run no analytics or tracking cookies.