The Spinner Is Lit - Episode 71_Premier Pinball and Amusement (1)
Andrew Lanners from Premier pinball and amusement shares his insight into pinball and arcade game appraisals. Dan makes interleague championships. Mark makes it to the Nevada state finals. Spencer...
Highlights
- Andrew's business survival has depended on homeowners due to lack of local options for used machines at affordable prices
- Sales breakdown is approximately 60-70% homeowners and 30-40% operators, with variation by month and season
- Premier Pinball sold 120 games in the previous year
- Appraisal service started after a customer's basement arcade room suffered water damage from burst pipes, leading to insurance claim valuation needs
- Appraisal pricing starts at $300-500 for local collections under 100 miles, with higher rates for larger collections and site visits
- Large venues like Can Wonderland in St. Paul use profit-share models rather than owning machines outright
- Many insurance agents and collectors have historically struggled to find industry experts for machine valuations, evidenced by old forum threads dating back 10-15 years
Notable quotes
“My business has really survived because there was really no option for homeowners... they're looking to maybe start with something from the 90s the early 2000s that's going to be you know a lot of my machines are anywhere from that two to four thousand dollar range”
“If you can't assess the value of pinball machines in arcade games, well, you probably won't be in business too long.”
“The fun thing for me is that, you know, last year selling 120 games throughout the year, you get to play all these things, right?”
“I'm hoping it's of value for, first off, just people near me in the Twin Cities area, but I'm hoping that we can kind of get the word out across the country and really be a service... with everything going on with the wildfires right now”
“It's called the wishful thinking price... You'll get that all the time in this industry”
Entities
- Premier Pinball and Amusement· company
- The Spinner Is Lit Pinball Podcast· content
- Paradise Fire· event
- Gottlieb Big Hurt· game
- Gottlieb Strikes and Spares· game
- Slugfest· game
- Williams Pitching Bats· game
- Andrew Lanners· person
- Dan· person
- Mark· person
- Sebastian Bach· person
- Aladdin's Castle· venue
- Can Wonderland· venue
- Kauffman Union· venue
- Pops Arcade· venue
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