Those options don't go low enough. There is the issue of being able to afford it, then there is the completely different issue of not feeling the product is worth what its selling for.

I just spent the "fun" budget on a new Wrangler. I'll start buying pins when the madness subsides.

Definitely agree with this.

7k is where I draw the line. Metallica was an absolute must buy...but I'm not paying $7000.01 for it...or higher.

Though that too...then I saw the OP is in Australia

I paid 7k for a hulk. I will not go any higher even if the game blows me when I knock the replay....well, maybe id go to 7500 for that feature

I'm out at $65,000

I was done at $6500

Yeh I voted for 8k but im not going higher then 7k - keep it below 7 and I would buy a Hobbit and or Metallica, but thats not happening

6 k

My grampa said he was never going to pay more than $20000 for a new car.
His latest new car......... was WAY more than $20000.
Never say never.

I also agree you didn't have a low enough option.

Plus, It completely depends on the manufacturer and what hardware comes with it.

With the tech that Stern is still using and lack of innovations / toys / hardware, my price point is mid 6k.

While mid 6k might be a tough pill to swallow of it was one of the small boutique guys starting out...

$5750 shipped MAX

I wouldn't pay more than $6500 with shipping included for a LE/Premium. Looks like AC/DC was my last NIB stern. Im happy saving my money for Skit-B Predator at around $5K.

How can you answer this without actually SEEING the pin in question?

I just don't get it... Kinda like the thread where people were ready to revolt over a rumored price increase....As if they would buy a machine sight unseen at the "current list price"

I dont care how cheap a game is if I don't enjoy playing it.

Conversely, if the next LE model includes a shaker, audio upgrade, stereo jacks, etc, etc, that folks are ALREADY shelling our extra $$$ for- what's the difference?

How much is too much? I guess it's like pornography- ill know it when I see it.

4 maybe 5 k for a toy. And that is still an enormous amount of money for a toy. But ok. That how far i would go if i had the money.

5k for a ac dc premium kinda game. Not avengers pro.

TronLE was like $5500 in the USA

That is my max cost for a NIB LE/Premium machine. A Pro is $3500.... Looks like HUO is my only option when shopping.

$8000 is better applied towards my final debt... The mortgage. I need that thing paid off by age 39 so I can soon after retire & fly my own future Decathlon stunt plane all day long while drinking kale juice & listening to Beastie Boys = far cooler than overpriced shitty made LE's

$4400 max for Pro, $6400 max for LE.

I thought you were asking us what our common sense thresholds are regarding pricing

Now it sounds like you want to know what a NIB sells for in Iowa?

Hmmm dunno man

In Australian dollars;

WoZ pushed my limit at $8000 to get it here
The Hobit at $9000 was too much

5.5K

Hey,

I have no desire to buy a new in box Stern. But if someone dredged up a brand new PinBot, or somehow a Flash or a Gorgar, to me, that has a lot more pull than anything being put out today. With that said, three grand could buy me the nicest example of any of those games that would ever exist, new or not, and beyond that, I'm just paying for the box.

Luke

anybody that would pay $10k for a pinball machine, certainly pay $12k

No more than 6k for me.

Poll options not valid. It was a stretch to get me to pay 7K. I will not be buying any future NIB. My wallet has spoken. For that price you can store them in a warehouse!

(after WOZ and Predator already vested)

Based on my average self imposed arcade room yearly budget of $1500 NiB purchases are a pipe dream unless I come across some good fortune.

Bullshit! Most of you guys are the reason why prices are the way they are now.

Stop buying pins sight unseen!

Period!

Why is this so hard?

I prefer to buy pins that I have played and enjoyed. However, if it was a NIB or LE, I think 4k is good for a Pro, and $5500 to $6k for an LE.

I for the most part agree with this statement, but the guys that can afford the risk/reward on buying a machine sight unseen probably don't bitch about pricing.

I have preordered Nemo and Predator, but that was not sight unseen...and I do bitch about pricing. I played Nemo in Madrid last September, and saw a number of pictures and videos before. Both pins were reasonably priced (4300-4425 euros for Nemo; $4750 for Predator). I have not played the Predator prototype, but I have seen a number of detailed videos explaining what was going on. My own pyschological limit is around $5k-$5.5k.

No way I would preorder the Hobbit at $7.5k, especially when all the info I get is a picture of the cabinet. Even for a theme I would crave for, I won't order a Stern LE, but I truly do not care. I 'll get an ACDC Pro some day - can't afford a premium now that I am committed to these projects...-.

$6,300 is my limit, and I think I'm 100% bat-shite insane for even paying that much recently.

Now that I've done it, though, I can work such desires out of my system, return to some form of sanity, and in the future, spend that kind of money on other things FAR MORE financially justifiable.

at $6200 I'm out for an LE

Until my house is paid off, I won't be buying either one.

That's about where I am. Which means I won't be buying a NIB pinballs for the foreseeable future. Oh well.

I don't understand why everyone is complaining about these LE prices? We have one person to thank for these high prices and that is JACK. Not bashing just saying STERN saw that people on here would pay 6500 for WOZ and 7500 for THE HOBBIT. Hence the higher pricing for the le versions

The way prices are dropping on the LE's after they are out of the box, I'm not sure there is anything to complain about. Seem's like a like a lot of LE's are going for $5,500 to $6,200 pretty rapidly with a couple exceptions. Just wait and buy one later.

Plus I agree with the prices dropping. What do you think will happen with WOZ when it comes out? 1000 les equal saturation in the market place; if it is not killer it will drop like a rock. Plus I know many people are already selling off their spots due to the waiting and being not impressed with the game.

Unless the theme is a wish list title for me, I am already out for LE's (Tron was a dream theme, but that was before the crazy price hikes, so I was lucky to grab one)

Well the main problem with a poll like this is that it's going to mostly draw in the people who are getting sick of the price increases.

Obviously there are still PLENTY of buyers who are willing to pay the increasing prices.

I can afford to buy a NIB pin....now, next year....for the foreseeable. That being said I will NOT be buying any NIB pins now nor anytime soon. Why? Because I think they are overpriced for what you get.

When I can buy kick ass pins like JM, DM, JD, WCS, HS2, JP, Stargate, Dr.Who, T2, Congo and many others all hovering around 2k why on earth would I shell out $7500+ for an unproven pin?

Even if a new pin does prove itself (like AC/DC) is it really worth 4.5k MORE than the pins listed above? For MANY the answer is unequivocally yes......for me.....so far, NO.

Very well said!

Also, regarding pre-buying an LE. If you buy a game before playing it, all you have to go on is the theme, perhaps artwork, perhaps playfield layout (toys, shots, etc...). You really have no idea what the "fun factor" will be.

If you take an objective look at what is put into most of the new games, it's hard not to notice that the majority of the older games had much more "stuff" put into them. On paper, the older games sure look like a better value (even if they were the same price!).

Doesn't mean they are more fun than the new game might be, but that's not even in the equation when you "buy-before-try".

There was that poll that showed something like over 50% of the people on pinside bought their first game within the last couple of years. I would guess many of them haven't had the opportunity to play a lot of the older games and might be better served exploring some of those titles. I don't think playing at a show counts much as you can hardly hear anything and usually only put in a couple of plays per title.

Even though the new game might be fun, is it really more fun and have more going on than many far less expensive titles that they have never played/owned?

I better understand those who have been around a while and have already played/owned the older games they were interested in and are willing to pay the price to try the latest thing.

Ah, but we also have fuller featured games with more *stuff* thanks to "Jack". Would you rather pay less for stripped games or pay more for better games?