duffbeerman Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 I have been looking around AliBaba and looking at the different machines on there, the key master and barber cut knock offs and the claw machines. I have been talking to them and the prices really don't look bad, shipping by sea takes about 35 days and costs about 500 to be delivered to a port thats about 3 hours away from me. Has anyone bought any machines like this? If so how was your experience? And how has the machine held up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musser Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 If you have no experience with amusement equipment I can think of no better way to go broke than to buy a machine from an unknown Chinese supplier. Spend the money and get something from a known supplier selling through a distributor. They will have tech support and parts that you WILL need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duffbeerman Posted September 12, 2017 Author Share Posted September 12, 2017 While i am new around this forum i am a current operator of about 4 years. I mainly do arcade and pinball but am branching out into some redemption type machines. I have seen a few members talk about the keymaster knock offs, and was just wondering if anyone has tried buying them direct and if so what their experience was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orsd Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 Look for ronsidneys old posts, specifically his ones on the import crane fires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orsd Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 https://vendiscuss.net/topic/19336-toy-paradise-crane/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musser Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 The problem is everyone selling is going to tell you the same story but 90% of the machines are going to be junk. That's a lot of risk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vendingjunkie Posted December 16, 2017 Share Posted December 16, 2017 On 9/12/2017 at 7:52 AM, duffbeerman said: I have been looking around AliBaba and looking at the different machines on there, the key master and barber cut knock offs and the claw machines. I have been talking to them and the prices really don't look bad, shipping by sea takes about 35 days and costs about 500 to be delivered to a port thats about 3 hours away from me. Has anyone bought any machines like this? If so how was your experience? And how has the machine held up? Almost every single import crane is made by one of 3 companies in china. Some distributes fight for contracts with those 3 companies. Its really not a big deal to order up a custom crane from china. The problem however, is in price. Larger companies get better prices becuase they have capitol for buying power. Purchasing less than a shipping container full of machines at a time is not going to save you any money. To get going you generally pay for a prototype to be manufactured. Then pay to have the prototype shipped by air from china to US. Your prototype will cost likely around 5k with air frieght etc. But once you get rolling if you can order a shipping container full at a time it begins to make more sense cost wise. Replacement parts should ordered also to have on hand and not depend on china for replacement. Machines will have to be ordered regularly to keep things going in china. The moment you stop paying for manufacturing it might be difficult to jump start again unless manufacture agrees to make stuff on an as needed basis. Good luck. FWIW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toy crane man Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 I have over 200 cranes in operation , that I direct imported from China. It can be done, but there is a lot more to it than just ordering what you see on Alibaba. And those prices are never the real pricing! Contact me, and I will help if I can Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havending Posted January 28, 2018 Share Posted January 28, 2018 On 9/12/2017 at 9:52 AM, duffbeerman said: I have been looking around AliBaba and looking at the different machines on there, the key master and barber cut knock offs and the claw machines. I have been talking to them and the prices really don't look bad, shipping by sea takes about 35 days and costs about 500 to be delivered to a port thats about 3 hours away from me. Has anyone bought any machines like this? If so how was your experience? And how has the machine held up? the 500 is freight only, There are other cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toy crane man Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 If you want to buy 10 or more,when I bring my next container in, you can get them for $1250 ea plus shipping costs from our NC location to your location. They are 31" cranes, with 2 coin mechs, and are wired/ready for the ICT A6 DBA. I have over 200 of this model in use, and have sold several hundred to other operators. They are good machines. send me your name/contact info and we can talk about the details. I imported 8 different cranes before I chose this model for our use. The stuff on Alibaba is a total crap shoot! I would not go that route. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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