Gotta have something to do while you’re stuck indoors.

Most pins have always been sold between collectors, very few hit CL, FB, etc. A lot of CL, FB etc ads are collectors selling pins. Since demand amongst collectors is so strong right now, it makes sense that fewer are for sale to the general public.

I think your correct. People are hanging onto there games more these days and that makes the price go up beyond belief since buying something different to replace a game they already have just doesn't make dollars and cents.

John

Don't want strangers in the house right now.

Don't want to go to a strangers house right now.

I think the pandemic has forced people to focus on hobbies in place of social interaction.

The company I work for is the world's largest distributor of aftermarket accessories in the powersports industry. Parts and accessories for motorcycles, ATVs, snowmobiles, watercraft etc. With 53 years in the business, 2020 was our best year on record.

A couple people in the boat thread were talking about how hard it is to find one right now.

I have a game coming form a friend this Spring. Normally I would sell a couple I have to free up space and money. No way in this market. Too hard to replace with something else if I get the itch.

Simple explanation:

Pinball repair knowledge became more accessible. This in part lead to barcades and routes becoming more prevalent. (Lot of hobbyists went professional.) This lead to pinball becoming more mainstream.

Now you have a lot of people who still are drawing the same salary, but can't go out. Money that went to vacations, eating out, entertainment, just piling up. You also have ones who do not want to deal with the public during a pandemic so they are not listing. Supply has gone down. Demand has remained steady or even possibly increased during the pandemic.

Curious how long this goes on. I must admit I have a trade pending because the value of the game is just nuts to me. Can no longer justify it. If things continue on I can think of a number of games I'd let go of simply because the money can go somewhere else.

Speaking from 6 years of retail experience, NORMALLY this is the slowest time of the year, nearly across the board.
We’re right after Christmas and right before tax season.

This is that glut period where people are all burnt out and cashed out. Late March/April you’ll probably see things start to pickup again.
I always prepare and lineup projects knowing that the new year is slow at first and machines don’t start flying till Spring.

I would add an additional thought to the former comments. It is that the pandemic has significantly impacted the supply chain which has slowed production. So more homers and less production.

I think pins are selling like crazy, every time I look at marketplace there is everything for sale, not necessarily price I would want to pay, but its there! Buy buy buy!

Stern & JJP are backordered until late June & July as of yesterday, so no new Pins really available.

This is traditionally the slowest period of the year. That said I just finished a major realignment of my collection and I'm not watching the markets as close as I used to.

I feel like pinball was getting hotter and hotter. Then the pandemic happened. When I was selling stuff last year I was hearing more from people shopping for their first machine than I ever had in the past.

I got the impression that a lot of people who regularly visited the local barcades were trying to scratch the itch. Combine that with recent slowdowns in manufacturing and it isn't hard to believe that prices have done what they have done. I was expecting a selloff at some point, but that never really happened. Can't complain. It benefited me as I downsized a little.

There are a bunch of NIB pins available.

https://pinside.com/pinball/market/new-games

Seems to me, some of the Newer Sterns like Turtles and AIQ are turning over a bit. Some games like EHOH and JJP Pirates are rising in price pretty quickly and see to turn over. Some older Sterns such as KISS and GB also seems to be skyrocketing in price and they are also changing hands. The 1990's B/W games seem to be advertised less but when they do they sell fairly quickly also.

I think the non working EM's are getting snapped up as projects. Especially the 1970's wedge heads. Not a lot of financial risk in one of these up front. As long a complete, one can get them working and they are a lot of fun.

There are more people joining the hobby now than I can ever recall. Every time I open a thread there are more and more people with less than a year on pinside. Pinside doesn’t necessarily represent most of the people in the hobby, but I think it can be an indicator. I’m not sure if there is a way to compare number of accounts created over certain periods of time. That would be helpful.
Also, as others have said, more people have disposable income from not spending it on typical things like eating out and forms of entertainment like movies, concerts, sports, et cet.
More people, more money, and not really an increase of supply equals fewer games changing hands. Seems most likely scenario to me.

It’s just you dude. I continue to buy and sell at the same Rate as usual and I still see tons of pins for sale.

I need a Poll to answer the OP's Question...

I've noticed the same thing. Believe it is the lack of shows. Thats usually
where I buy pins.

Most of the old timers swear by the “summer is the slowest time” theory. Cause people are out doing stuff.

I’ve always done well post Xmas. People
Are in the mood to buy what they actually wanted for the holidays.

Pandemic there seems to be no “slow time.” Games are getting traded all over the place.

The last “slow period” was March-May when everybody was freaking out. Since then it’s been business as usual s far as I can tell.

Why no "Is it just me" option?!

Most of the pins are in areas cold or covered in snow.

That's the issue for some of us, yeah. I've put my planned sales on hold for a while now that the snow is falling every other day. We've had a mild winter up until now but it seems like a winter's worth of snow and cold was saved for February. Too difficult to get around here right now. It could still be done if really necessary, of course, but the world will still be here in April (I assume. Don't quote me on that).

I guess it depends what you are looking for. Haven't really noticed less quantity for my area, but prices have gone up, so I see stuff sitting longer ($3,500 High Speed, $4,500 Road Show, etc still sitting on FB) or good deals moving ASAP ($1,500 F-14 on FB last week). Ohio has always been pretty strong for games and collectors though so maybe it's regional. At least personally, my collection is in a good place, so I'm not really buying and selling at the moment - so probably some people like me who are not really going out just sitting on what they have for now and enjoying it.

No, there are not "way less" machines for sale. What, are you only finding partial pins for sale?

There may be way _fewer_ games for sale...

Also it’s not sataneatscheese it’s satan eats cheese.

Carry on

Two beater EM's just came up in my area today for under $500. I see that there's a College Queens for $550 just put up here, that game kicks serious ass, under a grand, what's not to love.
Go to PPM if you want EM's they are selling hundreds of them, Literally hundreds, I think Larry is putting up 4-5 titles a week, buy one from them, support PPM, they are one of the reasons pinball survived.
Pretty sure it's just you.
B

Question if pins are hard to find now ,is it a good time to sell my 58' williams deluxe short stop . Its in fair shape ,not sure its value ,maybe one of you can give me an idea its worth, thanks,

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In my view there are Sooooo many new selling platforms available it seems like there are less for sale. Back 15 plus years ago you had a crap shoot option via Pinball Classified or Ebay. Now with Facebook and many other selling channels and apps its impossible to see all the opportunities/deals.

pins are easier to find than ever
there are more for sale than ever

Pitch and Bat games with moving runners are always popular. Not really "pins", in that most folks who own pins aren't looking for them (sort of like the old woodrail and flipperless pre-war games-- it's a niche within the hobby).