Agreed. At Pinfest (God willing) that game would be a no sale at $4K.

Nope...try 10-12ish.

Maybe 7-8 ish PLUS the base game, so both are right. LOL.

Chris

Nice game worth the price IMO. Game is restored to some degree if it matters. Settings cards are bright white. Black paint line inside cabinet. New post that are a different blue than original lighter more translucent. Interior cabinet sanding edges. New plug on driver board. Paint never totally covers the bottom of the head interior, unlike this one with a solid bright finish. Nice restoration. Again, I do believe it is worth the price to the right buyer. I can’t see EBD in this condition selling for much less. Anyone with an untrained eye would say it looks new. What else could you ask for?

The market will decide its price

Usually does.
In this case, Op is looking for that filthy rich money is no object buyer who wants THIS title above all others.
Best of luck he finds that person - no harm in trying.

Looks brand new:
Likely was in a bar or arcade for 2 weeks before it closed down, then carefully stored.

As someone who restores '77-'81 Bally's & Stern's exclusively... it's pretty obvious it's not HUO. Most of the pertinent points have been raised in earlier posts as to why.

Coin door, inside cab & backbox all have major originality issues along with some on top of PF. Most of the pics are too "fuzzy" to go into specific details, but there are glaring major problems that indicate it is not a HUO original machine. Metal oxidizes over 39 years..... no matter where it is stored or used. This one has magic metal apparently that has better luster than when it was originally assembled.

That being said it's still a pretty game... & a fairly desirable 1981 Bally. Value? IMO Somewhere around $5500-$6000 tops to the right buyer, & when I say right buyer.... there are maybe a small handful out there who would pay that. I think there would be a decent amount of buyers in the $4000-$4500 range. Anyone paying over $6500 has more money than knowledge of Bally's. 8,250 produced.... it ain't no Fathom.

It's kind of a weird game... because there is a segment of buyers who would pay more if it had a Kruzman CPR in it & all new boards etc & advertised as a full resto....& not tried to be passed off as HUO & original. & Then there is a segment of collectors who want them to be legit HUO all original & are wiling to pay big $ for that... but this one is kind of a hybrid... mostly original, with resto work done here & there & it makes it look non original.... So it doesn't fit well into either top buyer category. Again, Fathom is a good reference..... a really well restored Fathom with a CPR PF, stenciled cab etc seems to always bring way more $ than even the nicest of originals out there. Just the way the market seems to work on these machines.

Did it originally have stickers on the lockdown bar receiver?

No...not 81 Bally

Totally agree with your analysis. Since you mention a well restored Fathom, I sold this for $6,900 last year. Had several buyers at that price point...even though folks thought I was asking to much, ended up being fairly priced since it didn't last long. https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/for-sale-fathom-19

... and plugged in as well!

It is a nice Eight Ball Deluxe certainly, but honestly, I'd rather have nice survivor with a little history to it (manufacturers certificate, original paint, etc.)

Some collectors value mint restores, some value lesser but still nice original examples. I fall into the latter, but can still agree that it is a nice one for sure.