I love threads where route 'operators' are not actually local or regional scum bags with 1800+ machines, 20+ field 'techs' (spit, shine, hack job specialists) and really care about having their games either new, top notch used, or just fantastic titles.

Interested in the total cost of acquisition (purchase, taxes, transportation, installation time and travel/gas), gross revenue installed, net revenue installed, and cost of maintenance (parts, labor), split percentages at various sites (50% or varied). I'm curious as to the actual numbers on this experiment. Tx.

The honest truth is what it is, there is little to no money for routing pinball at all, at any level really.
Large collections, small, medium and professionals (real vendors, real guys and gals with full time
jobs doing it, 18 hours a day over worked, and with 1800+ machines or more in their collective
possession [pins, vending, pool, etc])... Its slave labor for their employees, over worked and underpaid,
non technical work cleaning, polishing, moving heavy stuff in trucks... Same for small to medium
vendors, and about the only way it can make any money at all is like VFW or PHoF, and the former
isn't doing it as a job, and the latter is charity no labor costs (for the most part). Sadly, it just doesn't
seem to pan out as a profit maker for anyone other than GaryCo and maybe JJP. The rest are hobby businesses,
and even those two companies sell mostly to hobbyists via distributors, so they too are hobby businesses with
a twist on the meaning.