my first recommendation is to calm down, slow down...if you want to buy a used table, Tornado is the way to go but don't bother buying anything other than a coin op...forget the Cyclone II and especially a Storm, they are not worth the money...if there was a 10 point scale on build quality and one for playability and coin op would be 10 on both and a cyclone would be a 7 playability and a 8 build and the storm would be a 4 play and 5 build. It really not close because you can get a good used coin op, if you are patient, for the price of buying either of those other tables. So, there is no reason to compromise. You can learn and get good on a Cyclone (but not on a Storm) but you are missing the value and better play of the coin op. A coin op will last 30 years or more if its taken care of even the smallest amount.
the brown marbles that are out there, this one included, are all at least 20 years old and most have been used in bars where they are abused by drunks and usually not taken care of by the bar or table owner. Even so, they still survive and it is because they were build with all this in mind.
There is no way anyone should pay more than $400 for a Brown Marble (BM) and that would be assuming it was in great shape and it didn't need any rods replaced ($35 each) or men ($5 each). I have seen many many BM’s for sale and often people put these crazy high prices on them either because they genuinely don’t know any better or they do know and are hoping for a sucker. Its one thing though to see tables for sale and its another to see tables that have sold. Ebay is a terrible place to find tables the only good choice really is Craig’s list.
Expand your search on CL as far out as you are willing to travel and be patient. Sometimes you find a great value right off but some times it can take months if your area population isn’t very great. I can think of at least a dozen BM’s I know that sold for under $400. Heck, I know of at least half a dozen Grey Marbles which have sold for under $500 which is an absolute steal. It goes, brown, blond, mahagony/red, grey 30th anniversary edition, grey (not 30th), fridge (T2000…complicated several versions moving to current T3000 and at least one run of these that had serious issues), current T3000 Platinum Tour Edition.
They should be selling for about $100-$150 higher with each new model starting at the BM $250-$450, Blond $350-$550 (although I wouldn’t give you a nickel since I don’t like the way it plays AT ALL), Mahagony/Red $400-$600 (which pains me to say since I own one), Grey 30th $450-$700 (perfect w/merkel rods), Grey w/merkel $450-$700, Fridge (metal wrapped) $0 unless they can prove it doesn’t have issues they are known for…if they can, it is worth $500-$800 but I still wouldn’t buy it because I could never be sure…current model, I have never seen one used for sale (there is a table on eBay right now saying it’s the Titanium Tour edition but I would bet serious money it is the earlier Fridge version)…you can get these as “tournament used” for around $1450 if I remember right from Charles MacIntosh plus shipping…well worth the money, super good table, one of Tornado’s best and it has been coming out consistent for a couple years now and for Tornado that is remarkable…HIGHLY recommended if you can fit it your budget
So, about the current BM, I wouldn’t even look at the shape because there is no way in the world I would pay anywhere close to that kind of money for a BM…the most I would consider, and only then would I look at condition is $400….this would assume nothing needed to be replaced and there were no deal killing condition issues…you could offer that much with these provisos and take a close look when you get there but you have to be willing to play hard ball with the seller
Tell them you have an expert on these tables and he said it is overpriced by a lot and you want to make him an offer based on what it should sell for assuming nothing is broken or needs to be replaced…the them you understand if they are hoping to find someone willing to pay that much but this is the best you can do…they probably will say No and then say thanks, give them your contact infor incase they change their mind before you find another option. I will be flabbergasted if it sold for anywhere near that amount (and feel really sorry for the sucker who paid that much)
I think I cover all this and more in my posts on buying a table
http://foosball.com/forum/index.php?topic=2704.0still, feel free to contact me anytime and I am happy to help you study a table for quality issues when we find one at the right price…can only do so much with pictures, in the end, you will need to make some determination onsite BEFORE you agree to buy…this can be a good time to negotiate if the table is in price range but needs some men and/or rods
Hope this helps
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