I do.

Because I love bringing a machine back to life, no matter what.

Also, I find that the entertainment value between the really expensive games and the more reasonably priced ones isn't always that different.

And - living in an area where pinball machines aren't abundant you sometimes take what you can get.

Outside the new CE/LE game, it also seems like there is a lot less snobbery going on from when I initially joined Pinside. People are liking these previously underated titles and talking about them more and more.

I came into this hobby in 2009, just when all seemed lost. But then something remarkable happened, and it's quite obvious now when you think about it, that all those kids that played pinball in the 70s and 80s where now fully-grown adults with good jobs and a healthy income.

So... demand for nostalgia increases and so do all the prices.

The next phase is the retirement phase. These 70s and 80s kids are fast approaching old age and retirement, and their priorities are changing. So, naturally these prices will fall once again to match the value they once were, as collections are sold to fund the final stage of life - retirement, family and health.

The 90's kids are now starting to take over but no where near the volume of the earlier generation. And the 2000 kids? All playing video games.

You’re all wrong. The reason turds are selling for $5k is because they will be $10k by Christmas and it’s already December 10th.

The “over-priced” in the title is presumptive of the OP, if it sells for $5k and you think it’s worth $500 just because its a “turd” is also presumptive of what a “turd” is and how you define it. One man’s turd is another man’s treasure. We are getting to the point where working pinball machines bring one thing to the game these days that some of us old galoots discount but to most of these buyers it’s THE thing they are paying for-

Working.

That being said, it’s a risk/reward thing at that point. Do you risk spending $500 to get a machine that smokes a little when you first turn it on, will work for the first 30 to 40 minutes flawlessly, but then starts resetting every third ball? Or do you drop $5000 on one that is “more shiny” and “fully shopped”, or “partially restored”, or “gone over by my technician”? The market has been flooded with unknowing customers and you wonder why “Raven” is going for $5000?

I don’t wonder at all.

It was a great offer. Yeah I put a few blinding lights in it. I had to put some white stickers over led the flashers. It was melting my eye balls out. I was busy with my friends. Sorry we didn’t get to talk. See ya next year for sure.

I’m so glad we get to rehash all of these pricing thread tropes in this not a pricing thread.

The bullshit you are saying is EXACTLY what people were saying when I got into the hobby 10 years before you did. Like, literally exactly.

In 20 years, all the pinball collectors will be old men and prices will plummet. “Just like the jukebox hobby!”

Well, here we are.

I really don't know what machines are turds, if every good game was gone and only so called turds were left we still would have a treasure chest

Fair price as long as it doesn't have the original translite.

I have introduced a number of new people to the hobby over the last decade. Most of them have since accumulated dozens of machines and haven't reduced their inventory whatsoever. If anything, their love of the game has only increased.

Thus, one new person coming into the hobby can suddenly disappear many machines from the market at once. As mentioned earlier I think covid times greatly accelerated this trend. So, when you have a finite inventory to begin with, supply and demand spell out the rest.

I noticed the seemingly bottomless well of Craigslist projects beginning to dry up around mid/late 2015. Still plentiful but trending steadily downward through 2019. Finally with covid and The Great Banning Auction and global inflation all hitting at the same time... here we are.

Lately prices seem to have stabilized, albeit at a new normal with A+ games setting new records. Should have bought that Bad Cats in 2019...

Did anyone say don’t worry the pinball fad will “age out” yet?

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After one game they all went back to their iPhone. I kid, I kid. I have one kid that still turns the game on and plays one or two games and moves on. It's not a lot, but I still get joy hearing the game get powered on.

mine get powered on, one ball goes into play, drain, and kids walk off. I have adult parties and NO ONE plays them. It is still a very small niche hobby.

This looks staged lol. And if it wasn't it didn't last more than a game or so.

Like the above post, I have tons of friends who ignored and never asked about the pinball machines when they were over for decades. Now it's a 'thing' because it's popular, but they still only play a couple games before moving on to something else.

Is that another row of pins behind those? Not one kid on the other row of pins hmmm seems odd.

What are you saying is not correct? I didn't say people don't play pinball. I'm saying that shot looks staged because of everything else 'not' going on in that picture. Also, the next statement was my own experience..so I'm confused what you are saying is not correct.

Bubble burst is the natural evolution of a pricing thread ... I mean not bubble burst .. or wait. This is confusing.

Funny as it's one of the better WPCs I've played IMHO and a current favorite in my line-up. Great shots and the music is so bad ass. Fun rules too. Really surprised me as it wasn't a title I was seeking out.

Disposable income. Plain and simple.

Bingo.

Stuck at home through Covid with a working remotely, stable income and expenses that went down because there was nothing to go and do. And our restrictions in Ontario lasted a lot longer than in many of the US states.

My teenage playing years were that sweet spot for Bally Williams in the late 80s and early 90s. A few titles rotated through my small town arcade. Getaway, Funhouse, Diner and Party Zone were the main four. And now those four are all in my house. So old player but new owner comes along in this perfect storm timing and takes a few titles out of the market almost overnight.

Oh, and +1 on whoever said you sometimes take what you can get. My first game in August of 2020 was a Lethal Weapon. I learned a lot on it and then not too long ago traded it for a Bride of Pinbot, which then got traded towards a Theatre of Magic. The last couple I picked up came through trades (World Poker Tour for my World Cup Soccer) as the prices for cash on the glass purchases has gotten really high IMO.

So now I'm good with what I have. Still eyeing up different games and have dozens on my list I'd like to get. It's time to slow down though... so what's here stays where it is.

I suppose I sit as a passenger in the modern boat of "price suckers". I am just starting out and am pricing out classic, SS machines from the early 80s. I thought about holding to see if the recessionary pressures drive down pricing, but collectables can go either direction when people shift from cash/stocks to physical goods.

It's too early to tell; but, at 52, the one thing that is certain is that I have fewer years left living than what I have already lived. Being increasingly cognoscente of my mortality; life is too short, and it is what it is on pricing. With that in mind, I decided to move forward. If they drop, I may pay a grand to twelve hundred more than what it was two years ago but that extra $3-$4k spread across three machines isn't worth losing a year of playtime when there is a chance they may actually go higher. Fortunately, I have no desire for modern Sterns, CGC, etc that have gone through the stratosphere. I hope to build my collection of 3 classic SS pins for less than the price of a NIB Stern. I have the desire to get back into the hobby with the disposable income, so why not? It's not like I can take the cash with me to the other side and at the rate they are printing money, it's going to become Monopoly money in the end so why wait? If the Great Reset occurs, at least I can play some pinball in our newfound poverty.

I was thinking that possibly one day in the future someone on the Internet might say that pinball is going to die off in a generational shift.

I then thought to myself I wonder how big the local pool of child actors is.

A plan was born

Everyone hated Congo back in the day, too, and look how that turns out. My former roommate passed on a Congo back in the day for $600, funny enough.

Black Rose isn't the BEST game, (it's no Congo) but it's quirky, has some interesting shots and stuff, and it's FUN. I'd take it over a lot of other early WPCs

I'm thankful I have a nice collection of pins I like and little room for another. I doubt would have more than 1 or 2 at today's prices.

.

Well I said it 'looks' staged. I didn't say it was.

But since you brought it up, it's 2022 and people are always staging stuff for likes and attention, so I mean, it's not out of the realm someone would go out of their way lol (yes, I realize that would seem unlikely on pinside, just a worldly observation).

Still an hobby or a mean to earn money? Now pro model is premium price, premium is LE price, and LE is CE or SLE price. Why???
this inflationary increase in new games leads mechanically to that of second-hand games. And Everything is an excuse to raise prices, the war, the climate, energy crisis, making soft poop…everything.

Cats and dogs living together…

I paid $3400 for a Congo years ago. You had more than a few people who still thought it was an $1800 game at that time. Of course you were a "newb" or just plain stupid if you paid more than that like I did. Sold it for around $5000 a while later.

My kids have friends over and head to the garage for pinball. They split between that and and Jackbox games for gatherings.
When my pinball friends come over, we never leave the garage(it also has a beer fridge, so that helps). When my "non-pinball" friends come over, it's about 50% of the time spent in the garage.
In terms of lower end games, I think that people are finding the charm for games that were good but overlooked for whatever reason. I recently had some new players over, and when I asked about their favorite game at the end of the night, the consensus was that the new players like my Jokerz the best. Mine was the first one rebuilt with aftermarket ramps(I donated mine for the molds and got the first new set). Combine that with general inflation, and you see the prices spike.

I think these 2 talking pinball will answer this question perfectly.

Just having fun with you. It was an event for the girl scouts where we brought their troop in and showed them our operation, let them cook food in our kitchen and then play pinball for an hour.

We do have a large amount of kids playing our pinball machines. The sound of double flipping is maddening.

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lol. I hear ya. A friend brought his daughter over one day and lots of double flipping ensued. She did let me know about a previously undiscovered 5 volt power reset problem on my Party Zone though. Would never have realized it was prone to resetting with some constant double flip testing

Funny thing is that these 30 year old pinall machines are exciting new technology to most of these kids

I would say R911 is a good game. Easy rule set. Good shots for beginners. Hard to master. I think you all have played broken down examples. A well maintained R911 is fun to play. Stop drinking the Koolaid!

It's the only game you own, of course it's a great game...

In answer to the OP's question, I bought a Queen Rhapsody Edition.

So there you go...