I was waiting for someone to mention this. The real economy, that is, the economy that you and I live in, is getting worse by the day for a number of reasons. The pinball market, like any market (whether collector autos, antiques, or whatever) is a non-essential market, and as such it is sensitive to the overall condition of the economy. Personally I'd love to buy a few machines, and I've been looking, but my money is going to other things which are only increasing in cost. Eventually I'll buy a machine, but I have a feeling that there will be some fire sales coming within a year or two, so I'm keeping my eyes open and my powder dry. As I've noted to others I've talked to about this topic, one non-scientific indicator of the true state of the economy that I track casually is used cars for sale. I don't think I've ever seen as many used cars for sale in parking lots, etc. at cheap prices as I have in the last twelve to eighteen months. A lot of people are feeling the pinch of this so called economic recovery (which I feel is a recovery in name only).

True...
https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/credit-card-data/average-credit-card-debt-household/