No. I simply own pins as entertainment, not as an investment. If I ever get bored of them then I will sell them, simple as that.

My collection is a fraction of .0001% of my net worth and take up .2% of my primary residence's square footage. So no, I never look at them and think about their cost in terms of their entertainment.

A few have posted about 401k. Thinking you “lost” money isn’t quite accurate. You have only lost it if you have sold while the price is down. Your 401k isn’t cash. It’s an asset whose value fluctuates. That is why it’s not lost unless you sell. It’s only temporarily worth less. The market goes up and down over time, but always up in the long run. Just hang on and it will come back. If you have been invested for 10+ years look at your apy return over that time, not the past couple. It will be healthy. If your nest egg is younger then don’t fret, you will gain later. Use the present as a great buying opportunity. Buy when there’s blood in the street. Sell when things look their best. Definitely not the other way around.

But the point many have made is true, pins have done better than stocks in last couple years.

If the day comes to buy a pin, keep this in mind: I used to feel this way too. But then I determined a) Some games are fun for awhile on location, but can get boring at home. Monster Bash falls into this category for me. And b) Some games are hard to "get into" on location but are great when you get them home. Wonka and Halloween fall into this category for me. The good news is, when you buy your first pin someday it won't be permanent!

Well said bro.

And you may ask yourself, "Where is that large automobile?"

And you may ask yourself, "Well, how did I get here?"

I am in the same mindset.. Think I've finely found a comfortable number of pins for now.. Though it just astonishes my that I have NIB games worth 2x what I paid now..

Gutter Trash Arcade?

That is awesome!

Seriously though, it would be cool to do a poll about % of home square footage used by pins. I visited a guy once who had 50 pins in a 2400 square foot home. They were in the kitchen, in the hallways, everywhere except in the bathroom. Sadly, he passed away.

I remember back in the day I had my very first job and the truckstop nearby had an arcade/pins. It was nothing for me to stop there and put a fraction of 1% of my net worth in the machines.

dude, spare a brother in pinball a free machine?

Buy as much as you can right now.

I’m down close to 60k. But it will rebound. It always does. And I’m only 44. I’m buying as many shares of the funds I’m involved with as I can right now.

Convert them to cash in $100 bills then set the money somewhere in your house where you see it every day. It won’t take long before you realize that doesn’t bring you 1,000’s of dollars of enjoyment either. If you are really done with pinball then sell your games, find another hobby where you can spend the money, or spend the money on experiences spending time and making memories with the ones you love. Just know in the end, focusing on the monetary value of something will never lead to happiness or contentment.

When you reach this tender age, and if you haven't screwed up somewhere in your life, you should be on decent money, and be earning way more than you need. We all have to spend this surplus money on something... might as well be pinball.

But certainly, no pinball game will ever give you 10 grand's worth of entertainment... that's just silly. I'd rather go to a local bar, play the game a few hundred times in a great atmosphere with friends and your beverage of choice. In the end, walking away seeing everything the game has to offer and only spending about 300 credits. What pinball games were originally designed for.

Kind of the way I look at it. Ive seen people spend 60k or more remodeling their basements and are left with grey walls, bright white led lights, and maybe some of those corny "In This House We......" signs. I spent less than that on fun stuff I can resell if the need were to arise.

Looking at the photo you posted . . . are all your friends in witness protection?

I don't put the faces of my friends on the internet without their permission, a courtesy I wish more had in this over-share social media era.

Pinball is a cheap hobby compared to some.. I have spent more on my saratoga including avionics and maintenance then all my machines combined (I own the same aircraft that JFK Jr crashed at Martha's Vineyard). I dont even want to add up what my training costed (private. Instrument, then commercial). Nothing compares to flying at 8,000 feet though and looking out over the landscape. Id sell my machines before my plane.

Regardless, we are fortunate to be able to even own these machines for sure, they certainly are a luxury and anyone who even owns one should be thankful (I know I am)

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Similar to what Mr. Dayhuff mentioned, there are all kinds of people in pinball. Some people only play, some only restore, some only collect and don't even care if anyone ever plays the games they own. Some people only flip NIB games... it takes all kinds really. So, your question does not have a clear cut answer for everyone.

I don't keep games I don't really like. I also don't keep games I don't ever have the desire to play. I sold all of those long ago. I don't buy games I can play any and everywhere (those are usually newer). I agree with a few others that mentioned they get absolutely no more joy or satisfaction when playing an EM game from 1972 or 1975/1981/1982 over playing a modern Stern or JJ machine.

For me, if it comes down to what to "have" and the "space involved". I have as many machines as I am comfortable maintaining, still making sure they all play great. But, I try to keep different era's value, playability, manufacturer's eras and variety of companies all in mind as well. It does not make sense for me to ONLY have 5-10 modern $10K machines because when the sun sets every day they would give me absolutely no more or less joy playing them over what I currently own and play daily. I am really a competitive player at heart and I do care how long a game plays... but I want it to play shorter than most of the modern deep games. So, when considering what a new expensive game costs and that they seem to play FOREVER, and I can play them in just about every city I am ever located, why WOULD I buy them? I would not play those machines any more than I play Alien Star or Little Joe. I do have around 6 machines that work perfectly that are folded up and also a couple play fields that are swapable where I only need one cabinet. I swap them around every 4-6 months. It helps to further keep the space that I need at a minimum and the maintenance easier.

I don't feel the need to own newer titles because I can play them any day of the week at one of multiple locations in my town or the next town over. There is no such thing as a dream theme for me. Probably because I am mostly numb and dead to the very concept of a "theme" in pinball. It's like a flavor of the week and keeping up with the Jones's. It really is very silly. The things I have bring the enjoyment and they get the play. More so in winter months. If they do not get played, out the door they go. They take up a lot of space and they are heavy.

Sure, I ask this question about lots of stuff in my life, hobby or otherwise. Sometimes it's about money and sometimes it's about clutter or space depending on the object. Whether you consciously asked yourself the question or not, everyone who buys a pinball machine has answered that question that yes it will bring them $X of enjoyment, because otherwise they wouldn't have made the purchase. It's a perfectly normal thing to continue asking yourself that question because maybe later the answer is no, so you sell it.

I don't understand the answers that asking yourself this about pinball is somehow ruining the hobby. If that's the case I can't imagine your angst when spring cleaning time comes around and millions of people are asking this question about millions of different things. Oh the horrors of healthy self reflection.

...."where can I put the next one?"

Gonna trade all this shit for a Muscle Car.

I've been thinking about this a LOT lately as friends my age (now 58) have begun retiring. Also going through a divorce, so a lot of introspection going on for me. I took a 2nd mortgage on the house to buy my ex out.

I could sell half a dozen games or so and pay off my rental house.

Or sell 10 or 12 and pay off the 2nd mortgage.

Or sell them all and just about pay off the rental AND the 2nd mortgage, but then what do I need this house for? One of the biggest reasons we bought this ranch was to build a killer game room.

I hardly play the games any more, the last couple years I have to force myself to start at one end and play a couple games on each machine just to keep them loose. I want to whittle it down to 10 or 12 machines soon, but not til I have a couple good parties so the people that have never been to my house can get to play all of them before they're gone. Sure, I think they're cool and like looking at them all lit up, but I dont really need 2 dozen of them.

With 16 games at $10k each for a quick round number equaling $160k even at a full 1% that would mean a net worth of at least $16 million, can I interest you in a few more games?

Or our entire business?

Even if I don't play my vids/pins all the time I still enjoy looking at them. The road trips are just as exciting sometimes. 20 hour road trip to pick up a BBBr.
What I've done to them if they needed something - shopping them out if needed how far have I made it through the game etc. Each one has a story on how they came into the collection.

"But now I know why I have always lost pins to guys like you. I mean, it's not just the uniform. It's the stories that you tell. So much fun and the imagination. Lee Harvey, you are a madman. When you stole that cow, and your friend tried to make it with the cow. I want to party with you, cowboy. If the two of us together, forget it."

Bonus points for all the old timers that know where that's from!

I love that movie - Thanks! And I didn't even have to mention my net worth !

Okay Mr. Push-ups, what's your story?

Not an old timer, just steeped in good culture.

Trade for 1989 Iroc Z-28.

This is a funny way to look at the question, but makes perfect sense.

Same, same or same make and model?

Humble brag 2.0

Same make and model. Mine is a fixed gear vs the retract that he flew but identical otherwise. My wife hates it when I tell people the connection, but most people have never heard of a Saratoga but they all knew jfk Jr's incident. The plane is actually quite safe and a great machine. How he was signed off by his instructor to be qualified to fly it solo and not know how to operate the autopilot is crazy to me. That coupled with instrument conditions (without instrument rating) would be a recipe for disaster for anyone. I won't enter clouds or poor visibility without activating the autopilot first to avoid disorientation.

All the time actually. I left pinball once because of this same feeling. I still think about it often. I wish I had time to play them more than I do.

This is what has happened to me over the last couple of years. Desire to go fishing more, travel and get out of the house.
Though once I start working on my Winter project game. Perhaps I'll find a bit more time. Still think I gotta get to six games somehow.