(Topic ID: 165920)

Bingo price lists from 1950s

By BlackCatBone

7 years ago



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    Bally_Price_List_1960-06-01_Laguna_Beach_(resized).jpg
    Bally_Price_List_1958-11-25_Carnival_Queen_(resized).jpg
    Bally_Price_List_1956-08-01_Double_Header_(resized).jpg
    Bally_Price_List_1956-03-15_Night-Club_and_Crosswords_(resized).jpg
    Bally_Price_List_1955-09-10_Miami_Beach_(resized).jpg
    #1 7 years ago

    I've got a handful of those Bally operator price lists that show up on eBay occasionally. Fun to look at and interesting to consider the costs in today's dollars. Using an inflation calculator on the US government BLS web site, here are the "then and now" prices:

    Miami Beach: $775 in 1955, equivalent to $6,970 in 2016.
    Night Club: $785 in 1956, $6,956 today.
    Double Header: $799.50 in 1956, $7,084 today.
    Carnival Queen: $902 in 1958, $7,523 today.
    Laguna Beach: $1,075 in 1960, $8,753 today.

    It shows the pricing power Bally was able to command by developing the magic screen games. The first three (non-screen) games retailed for approximately $7,000, while Bally was able to jump the price point up to $8,753 (in 2016 dollars) by 1960, a nice 25% increase. Good for them.

    Bally_Price_List_1955-09-10_Miami_Beach_(resized).jpgBally_Price_List_1955-09-10_Miami_Beach_(resized).jpg

    Bally_Price_List_1956-03-15_Night-Club_and_Crosswords_(resized).jpgBally_Price_List_1956-03-15_Night-Club_and_Crosswords_(resized).jpg

    Bally_Price_List_1956-08-01_Double_Header_(resized).jpgBally_Price_List_1956-08-01_Double_Header_(resized).jpg

    Bally_Price_List_1958-11-25_Carnival_Queen_(resized).jpgBally_Price_List_1958-11-25_Carnival_Queen_(resized).jpg

    Bally_Price_List_1960-06-01_Laguna_Beach_(resized).jpgBally_Price_List_1960-06-01_Laguna_Beach_(resized).jpg

    #2 7 years ago

    Interesting adjusted price equivalents. The vintage price lists are pretty neat.

    What is Speed Queen - that a game or a really expensive washing machine ? LOL

    #3 7 years ago

    I should have mentioned that a nickel in 1956 is the same as 44 cents today.

    Does anyone have a 1962 price list showing Silver Sails?

    #4 7 years ago

    Speed Queen was the payout version of the Maytag 20 gallon Speed-Wash

    #5 7 years ago
    Quoted from BlackCatBone:

    Speed Queen was the payout version of the Maytag 20 gallon Speed-Wash

    If only! Would make going to the laundromat much more exciting.

    #6 7 years ago

    Hey - there is probably somebody somewhere that collects washing machines. I saw a story on the news once about a young man that was into old vacuum cleaners. He had quite a collection. ahhh - Bingo Pinballs are probably better.

    A washing machine that occasionally paid out quarters would be good though. Unless you just earned replays... Big deal if your same batch of clothes got washed several times.

    3 months later
    #7 7 years ago

    https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&hl=en&q=bally+bingo

    Browse through some of these Billboard mags from the late 50s and 60s and you can see distributor prices for new and used games.

    (BTW: Here is an inflation calculator: http://www.westegg.com/inflation/)

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