Plasma

Seems like the most common answer should be 'make and sell mods'.

I repair mostly. Occasionally sell.

Prob in the minority here......but I find if I turn several tricks a week i can usually buy a decent pin every 3 months Or so.

I drive a nearly 10 year old Prius with almost 160k miles lol. The savings in gas and car payments helps fund my pinball hobby.

+1

Giggolo

Actually I mow commercial lawns in the summer.

I recycle old pinside threads.

50 cents a post?

I used to buy cheap projects, play them for awhile and then sell for a little profit. This allows you to upgrade slowly. The trouble is I discovered the less than perfect project games turn out to be as fun or more so than some of the upgrades. So I'm still drawn to them.

I heard that some pinheads got a small, million dollar loan from their dad.

Hit man for the mob.

LTG : )

I have done this too. I see it as sort of a physical savings account for pinball funds. Problem is I'm also not very good at being able to thin the herd. I currently have 16 on route (the way my post is on topic, my answer is I route them and they multiply... very, very slowly) and several at home. Too many at home so now I have to try to sell some, which is tough because the lesser known games are still fun to me.

I just work 60+ hour weeks. . . are you telling me there is a better way?

I have only bought one pin in the last ten+ years, and that one pin was funded by an unexpected one-time-only bonus for working twenty years at the same company (or my wife would have vetoed that purchase).

For me, it's simple - don't get married, don't have kids, make your home a rental property (three or four family.) Don't need a side hustle when you're alone and have others pay your mortgage.

This setup allows me to be myself and spend my $$$ however I wish. Not a rich dude, but I get to enjoy what I do make. Livin' the dream.

You need to get a side hustle going so you can devote more time to your Paragon restoration

I prefer not being a genetic dead end myself. Man did that dream cost me.

I think Pinside can agree that the Moberg name should end with me.

My Pinball Mod hobby does not fund my Pinball habit.
I have never bought a machine to develop mods for... I have "considered" it... but just haven't.

I usually just send the Wife back to the hospital to pick up extra hours and tell her we are investing the extra cash.

I have machines on location. My wife runs wanted ads for machines. She finds them I fix them and she sells them.

I took the thread recycling to be a joke and not a shot at the OP. At least I hope it was not meant to be negative.

I would just take it a a joke, if it’s an insult at least it’s overt. That’s a step up for pinside.

The way prices keep going up its really hard here lately to find anything decent to flip. As stated earlier though buying cheap and flipping them for small profits is the way to go. Just my 2 cents

I try to pimp myself out. It is not going so well.

My pinball mod business helps a little. It really doesn’t feel that way though this time of year when it is time to pay Uncle Sam.

I agree. Did not seem like bashing the op to me. Carry on. All is well in PinsideLand. Have a Little Chocolate Donut.
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No side hustles. Just work really really hard.

I'm rich you dirty peasants.. I don't care, do you?

When I started this hobby seven years ago when it was easy to find project machines & flip to make a profit. Now they are very difficult to come by, for projects are way overpriced & the competition is stiff. At this point, my wife & I budget approximately five thousand a year to fund our arcade/pinball home play. With a coming addition of a Golden Tee Home arcade, our arcade backroom is almost complete. We have room in the front room for three pinball machine, as one slot was always open to a project machine. As mentioned, it is very difficult to find decently priced projects, so I've thrown in the towel. At this point, we always have two A1 pinball titles & will add another to make it three. So we just continue to save & live by our means, to complete our little corner of paradise.

I consider pinball an investment. While it is not making me as much money as my other passive investments, it is a hell of a lot more fun. And I am not talking about routing games. I used to do that but currently just have games in my basement. But the maintenance of value for both pinball machines and arcade games is pretty good. But to answer your actual question, I have real estate and stock market holdings that give me passive income equaling about $27k per month on top of my salary as a physician. I am looking to make that about $50k and then I can retire.

I drive a 20 year old Honda Accord with 200,000 miles. The suspension is worn, so she rattles down the road, and I have to nurse the clutch a bit, but she runs great. Not having a car payment really helps.

My first side hustle when I taught high school special ed was working at a local amusement park. It was near minimum wage, but the perks were fun: We could use our IDs at places like Dorney Park, Hershey Park, and Knoebles to get into those parks for free, and the side cash helped me buy my White Water. Growing older doesn't mean you have to grow up

I do home repairs and have some games on route. Home repairs are a huge hassle though and not really much payoff. Routing games at the right location can be worthwhile. The flippers still do a heck of a lot better than I do keeping stuff running. Hard to find now, and as annoyed as people get with them, they do make the quickest and easiest buck in the hobby.

I was honestly hoping to see some legit answers, most of these posts are just a waste of time.

I prostitute myself hehehe

Exhibit A about why machines keep going up in price.

The breakfast of champions!

If you find a side job that takes up from your time working on games.

I am self employed and all of my work are side jobs, as an electrician, solar installer, disc golf course designer, Frisbee wholesaler. I grow most of my food and barter alot. I don't buy many things. When I travel I go cheap.

Now my wife, that is another issue....

It's times like this where I'm reminded that jokes are all fun and good until someone gets hurt. Welcome to Pinside.

I used to fix up and flip games, nothing too crazy, but I made $30k my first real year doing it. That's how I started and built my collection. It was down hill after that though. There hasn't been much to work with the last few years. I'm trying to figure out what my next plan is to get my disposable spending up.

30k in one year is crazy!

That is legit incredible. Well done.

I run a business and I charge everything I can on my credit cards to earn the credit card points that I can turn into cash. Doing this on about 3 separate cards brings in enough "free cash" to approximately pay for a pro model each year. I am usually a premium or LE buyer so all I need to come up with out of pocket is $1500 to $3000 . Doing so makes it much easier for me to justify buying a $9000 LE model.
Of course this "free money" only works if you pay off the cards every month, otherwise this wouldn't be a good deal at all.

I use to fund the hobby by buying a machine that needed work for a respectable amount, shop it and repair it then re-sell it for a small profit. Today people have non functioning machines typically listed with something like, “Probably a blown fuse or minor power supply issue” and expect they buyer to pay full if not over value prices. (See it from pinsiders on here all the time). Side note: If it’s a minor issue and an easy fix, then fix it! Otherwise you are be deceiving and/or outright lying.

I would say the only way now is to have the expendable cash.

Wow, you ARE new....lol.

Just kidding. Welcome aboard, lots of knowledge here, and lots of sarcasm too. My wife and I used to make mods, but anymore I do the same as most. Look for a deal, try to beat the crowd to it, fix and clean it, play it awhile and eventually sell it for a couple bucks more than I have into it.

In my honest opinion, life’s too short to spend more time working just to be able to afford pinball. It would be a better use of time to work on getting a job that pays more than to work more hours just to buy pins. And I’m saying this as someone getting priced out of the hobby myself, not trying to be a jerk.

I make and sell mods.

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