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Re: New Steve Hunt auctions

Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2011 8:46 pm
by coin-op
Well, I guess some got time off to attend todays auction. So I wondered if anyone wants to venture a report. I was wondering what the double decker, stereoviewer and matthesons machine went for...and really anything else for that matter.

Re: New Steve Hunt auctions

Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2011 9:19 pm
by treefrog
May have got one or two slightly wrong....

Lot 58 Crane 750
Lot 60 Ahrens Stereoscope 640
Lot 65 R&W Hockey 180
Lot 81 Bryans Clock 320
Lot 82 Payaramid 800
Lot 83 Bryans Double Decker 900
Lot 91 Bryans Bullion 1D 440
Lot 92 Bryans Fivewin 380
Lot 93 Bryans Double Top 840
Lot 94 Bryans Ant Viewer 180
Lot 101 Bryans Clock (imcom) 140
Lot 102 Whale Kiss-o-meter 320
Lot 103 FRog fortune teller 220
Lot 104 Bryans Bullion 1p 200
Lot 105 Football Allwin 200
Lot 106 Hawtins Allwin 320
Lot 107 Ultra slot machine 50
Lot 160A Mills Poinsetta No sale
Lot 191 R&W Yours to be won 400
Lot 192 Allwin deluxe 200
Lot 193 Big Top slot machine 140
Lot 194 Beromat No sale
Lot 195 Hawtins ciggie 195
Lot 204 Firmans Bandit 340
Lot 206 Jennings Victoria 380
Lot 213 Push em off - pusher 180
Lot 214 Easy push - pusher 220
Lot 218 Matthewson footballers 3400 (Star lot)
Lot 230 Furtune teller 160
Lot 231 Greyhound slot 400
Lot 232 Olly whales gift 320
Lot 238 Rolld down skill game 200
Lot 239 Samson Grip tester 210

Re: New Steve Hunt auctions

Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2011 9:25 pm
by coin-op
Thanks for posting that Tree frog. If that lot did sell, the prices were pretty good for some buyers. :!:

Re: New Steve Hunt auctions

Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2011 9:36 pm
by treefrog
To be honest, some machines were rough or needed restoration or had had restoration. E.g. the Fivewin was a mess, I can only assume it was some kind of rare version with the price it raised. The Hawtins needed restoration......The two Bryans Bullions both had very very fresh paint, the lower priced one, was slightly incomplete...The Double Decker looked nice !!THUMBSX2!!

The Automatic Sports company machine must be rare, the ones in cast iron casings fetch a fortune... it looked good and original.

The main thing I was happy with was the St Leonards Palace Pier enamel sign.... :cool:

Re: New Steve Hunt auctions

Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2011 11:23 pm
by treefrog
Just seen the Double Decker on Melrights site for £2750........a nice £1800 profit if achieved......I wonder how much of this stuff will end up being resold on within the next few days.....

Re: New Steve Hunt auctions

Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2011 7:21 am
by coin-op
tree-frog wrote:Just seen the Double Decker on Melrights site for £2750........a nice £1800 profit if achieved......I wonder how much of this stuff will end up being resold on within the next few days.....
Could always be that it was entered in the auction, didn't sell and the seller is now looking to sell it elsewhere. Who knows what's going on sometimes !PUZZLED! Equally, it may indeed be that the buyer is looking to make a NICE profit.

Re: New Steve Hunt auctions

Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2011 8:24 am
by funky
I see there a Byrans Ant Viewer on ebay. I'm guessing that this must be the same one?....I must decide to have a look at the next auction when it comes round and the Coventry one I hear a few people chat about. When is the next Coventry auction? Thanks !!CHEERS!!

Re: New Steve Hunt auctions

Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2011 1:39 pm
by coin-op
The next Coventry auction is provisionally set for Sunday 27th November. It's definately the established slot auction to attend. If you haven't been to one of these auctions there's a fair old spead of machines from all era's, from unrestored to restored condition. Basically, it's run by enthusiasts for enthusiasts. So, I think you would enjoy the day and hopefully find something to suit.

Re: New Steve Hunt auctions

Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2011 12:25 am
by pennymachines
Slot machine hammer prices and pictures from the March and June Elephant House auctions are now in the Arena.

Re: New Steve Hunt auctions

Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2011 6:07 pm
by treefrog
Looking at the prices you have posted against the value they attained above in the auction, quite a few did not make the reserve. What is interesting is I am sure they did not state this during the auction. Most auction houses usually make it clear at the time an item has not sold...
I notice a number of these have ended up on ebay recently and selling for the same as they reached in the auction, including the 5 win. There is a Bryans Clock on ebay now that was at the auction...

Re: New Steve Hunt auctions

Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2011 8:04 pm
by raj
Without wishing to cast any doubt about the validity of the SH auction, as I was not in attendance, there are many ways to rig either an ebay sale or a live auction to suck in a genuine bidder to pay over the odds. Shill bidding is one way, in which the owner bids against their own item to raise the price to its reserve. Often, once a second real bidder comes in, the shill bidder will withdraw the bid either during or after the auction, leaving a 'Second Chance' option available to the unsuspecting punter. Ebay are very quick to spot this & WILL jump on you & possibly prosecute people involved. !!JUNK!! Look for bidding history & see what % has gone against the seller, it may be a clue.

An old trick is to use a fuzzy photo of something deliberately to disguise flaws, e.g. shot chrome, or manipulate the picture to make sure flaws are hidden, for example the fact there are only 3 symbols on 3 reels, the rest being missing or damaged. Using pictures of a similar but better item, or library picture to get a sale is quite common, as is adding disclaimers to descriptions half way through an auction, e.g. spares only.

The usual 'selling for a friend' found in granddad's loft, 'I don't know much about these' etc. should be well known by now. !!YIPPEE!!

Another method is at a live auction, when the auctioneer will bid 'against the chandelier', in other words, a non existent person, or a plant in the audience, again to suck in a new bidder, who will 'win' the item at an inflated price. :oops:
As for items sold on ebay, it is very easy for an item to appear to be sold for any amount of money, 100s or 1000s more than the real value by using a couple of ebay IDs not obviously connected. After the sale has completed, the buyer then raises an online dispute with the seller, and they agree to cancel the sale. It only costs the entry fee, all commission is returned and there is now a history of a 'rare' machine being sold for an untrue price. The same happened during the '80s with classic cars, when bent auctioneers actually created a completely hyped market for old cars, which then gained a life of its own, making the early punters very rich. Obviously, the market eventually crashed, leaving buyers with cars they could never get a decent price for. dirtdog

I'm not sure about the legality of not declaring an item has not reached reserve, but normally the auctioneer will say something to the effect of 'sorry', or be more specific, 'see us after the auction'. To state something is sold when it is not is underhand if nothing else.
Anyway, I hope I have not given anyone ideas, but in a small forum like this, word soon gets around who are the good guys & who aren't. !!COOEE!!

Re: New Steve Hunt auctions

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2011 12:21 pm
by badpenny
Two little ploys I have witnessed in the past which have amused me at live auctions are.......
1) Opening with a low start and when half a dozen hands go up the auctioneer levels a rapid £20 increase on each one. This means the bloke at the end of the line with his mouth agape with surprise raised his hand for the opening bid of £50 and discovers he has just been taken for £120 ........... nice :NBG:

2) Dropping the hammer and then immediately re-opening the bidding because a hand went up late. Woo Hoo !!!RANT!!

Oh yes we've seen it all.

Mistakes happen, but one auctioneer in particular was very fond of the above two, within minutes of each other !!THUMBSX2!!

Re: New Steve Hunt auctions

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2011 12:44 pm
by JC
Is she still doing it, do you know?

Re: New Steve Hunt auctions

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2011 1:10 pm
by badpenny
Can't say, as I've not frequented that auction.

I prefer warm venues with toilets, food and drinks available and a free car park just outside the door. :lol:

Re: New Steve Hunt auctions

Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2011 8:09 pm
by treefrog

Re: New Steve Hunt auctions

Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 6:24 pm
by treefrog
Interesting, after posting yesterday's comments about the Elephant house auction, the website had been updated and it is cancelled... looking forward to Coventry.

Re: New Steve Hunt auctions

Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2011 10:48 am
by christopheb
tree-frog wrote:Mills Castle Front (...) There some was something not quite right and I cannot remember what it was, certainly the escalator had been chopped...
FYI : also, the Castle Front was missing the jackpot mechanism. The description did not mention anything about this, but I noticed on the pictures that the jackpot window had been painted over, so I asked the seller, and he kindly confirmed.

I really wish I did live in the UK and was able to attend one of these auctions !... Eday is fun, but nothing like the real thing ! (and the prices !!!).

Re: New Steve Hunt auctions

Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2011 8:39 pm
by coin-op
ChristopheB wrote: FYI : also, the Castle Front was missing the jackpot mechanism. The description did not mention anything about this, but I noticed on the pictures that the jackpot window had been painted over, so I asked the seller, and he kindly confirmed.
I think that with Mills old penny bandits in the UK, the jackpots are generally missing...but people, correct me if I'm wrong!

Re: New Steve Hunt auctions

Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 7:01 am
by christopheb
Yes, I think I read that somewhere else in this forum too. Was that not due to some law/regulation about the maximum amount which a machine was allowed to pay out ?

That's sad, because a bandit without its original jackpot is... well... It makes this beautiful machine somewhat less desirable (to me, at least)...

Re: New Steve Hunt auctions

Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 2:39 pm
by treefrog
It's not difficult finding jackpots, the issue is getting one that will handle large old pennies. Not seen one on a British conversion of these older Mills machines. Also as stated the reason they were converted was the legal gaing requirement, so the jackpot would have affected this. I do have a old Jennings Peacock on 1D with fully working jackpot. What is interesting with Jennings machines, the British variants often have coloured number reels instead of fruits, I have never understood this, anyone know the reason?