I hope y’all realize I’m not talking shit, but hopefully this thread helps everyone realize that pinball is a stupid expensive venture. Now think about it if you were an operator and every location owner and patron of said locations were trying to tell you how to run your business and which machines to buy and place in their location and so forth. Every year, I hear of someone around my area that’s going to get into coin-op and “put greedy assholes like you (me) out of business!”

I’m amazed at how out of control many prices have become and as of late it seems that project games actually bring better money than refurbished games because nowadays anyone that owns a pinball is a pinball repair guru, restoration expert, etc.

If all pinball related purchases I make weren’t 100% tax deductible and capable of generating some form of positive cash flow, I seriously doubt if I would still own any machines. Generic parts (flipper kits, switches, semiconductors) have come down in price considerably in relation to the cost of a game, but that’s about it. Nothing else about pinball is cheap.

Well said! Don’t forget taxes too. We have a decal in lieu of sales tax, but it’s an extra cost. What happens when your collections are flat and you have to add 2-3 Stern Pros to your route?

No one else uses DBAs on route pins?

I had assumed you did already!