I know anything is worth what someone will pay, but asking $28K for a pinball machine? Yes, the TRON LE listed is what I am talking about. It is going to become a point when this hobby prices itself out of the market. It will become the rich man's game and the everyday guy gets pushed out all together.
My rant.....
Quoted from sbmania:People can ask whatever they want. It's a free country.
Today's "It's a free market" post! We can now close down Pinside for the rest of the day and start up again tomorrow.
Quoted from Yoko2una:We can now close down Pinside for the rest of the day and start up again tomorrow.
Not until someone chimes in with a cryptic post about how they know definitively that Tron will never be re-run.
That's not what every game is selling for.
Yes, prices jumped up, but so did the prices in other collectors markets. It's not just pinball.
It’s like eBay when people try to sell their game locally.
Someone has a beat up Captain fantastic and see one on eBay for $8500 mint.
1) your captain isn’t in that condition
2) that’s the ASKING price not the SELLING price.
Quoted from wontwa:Not until someone chimes in with a cryptic post about how they know definitively that Tron will never be re-run.
Right, but it's not just TRON. That was just the convenient example. Facebook $6995 for a routed WPT??? C'mon? Yes, ask whatever, but who the hell is paying these prices? Not your regular/average collectors. Used to be able to find starter machines or projects for a few hundred bucks, now it's $1000 plus.
It's also getting to the point that operators are going to either stop buying or have to charge $2 bucks a game to have any chance of recouping their money.
The real problem as always, are the people that pay the money. I have no doubt there are speculator types pumping all of this up and most likely the pins never sell, it's all about the long game with these people and they get off on finding their white whale of a sucker.
This just in...some pinball machines are listed with unrealistic prices...in other unexpected news, political trouble is brewing in the Middle East...
Quoted from EJS:It’s like eBay when people try to sell their game locally.
Someone has a beat up Captain fantastic and see one on eBay for $8500 mint.
1) your captain isn’t in that condition
2) that’s the ASKING price not the SELLING price.
Quoted from ForceFlow:That's not what every game is selling for.
Oh yeah, that's my favorite...I have seen them selling for $10K on Ebay. NO, you have seen their asking price on Ebay. Oh, BTW it's been there for 6 months.
Here look at some of the toppers going for $2k + alone. That's just nuts! Play the machine, the topper does nothing but flash some lights.
I think these bitching topics always come from people who are just to stressed they can’t buy games anymore and it’s becoming a wealthy hobby for the elite class. If prices get to high Just go find a new hobby. Or build games in your shed. those topics about prices.... Everyday and again and again.
I’m in the car industry , do you know how many cars I’ve had that are worth now 20x times they where a few years ago. And I can not buy them even if I wanted to.... Should I hang myself ??! Or just continue living and forget about it , I use to buy for 20 cents a whole bag of candy I now maybe can get a freeking gummy. Inflation,demand etc etc . Where money is to be made and people willing to buy . It WILL keep rising again and again
Quoted from Beechwood:It already is a rich mans hobby.
It doesn't have to be. Take some time to seek out a Stern Meteor, a Bad Girls, a Star Wars pro or GOT pro, and a Whirlwind... for less than what a Godzilla LE is going for on the marketplace... you'd have a killer collection and definitely would not have to be rich!
A pinball pricing thread?
How refreshing!!
May this courageous, groundbreaking thread be the sharp pin of truth that finally pierces the bubble!
Godspeed.
Quoted from GorillaBiscuits:It doesn't have to be. Take some time to seek out a Stern Meteor, a Bad Girls, a Star Wars pro or GOT pro, and a Whirlwind... for less than what a Godzilla LE is going for on the marketplace... you'd have a killer collection and definitely would not have to be rich!
I think Whirlwind is the best deal in pinball today!
Quoted from AMSNL:I think these bitching topics always come from people who are just to stressed they can’t buy games anymore and it’s becoming a wealthy hobby for the elite class. If prices get to high Just go find a new hobby. Or build games in your shed. those topics about prices.... Everyday and again and again.
I’m in the car industry , do you know how many cars I’ve had that are worth now 20x times they where a few years ago. And I can not buy them even if I wanted to.... Should I hang myself ??! Or just continue living and forget about it , I use to buy for 20 cents a whole bag of candy I now maybe can get a freeking gummy. Inflation,demand etc etc . Where money is to be made and people willing to buy . It WILL keep rising again and again
If it’s such an elitist hobby for the ultra rich why are people trying to squeeze every dime from the games they sell? If money was no object people would sell games to sell, to move them. What’s happening now is the exact opposite
I agree.
I downvoted you because the only thing worse than the crazy prices are the constant threads and posts whining about it.
It's just one of those things. The value of a pin on the market is beyond it's value to me. The hobby is moving upwards for sure, the level of disposable income has just rocket up in this hobby. It is the exact opposite of what I thought would happen with the pandemic. I know a lot of people say asking price and sale price are not the same but pins are moving. It's everything in the hobby, what people are willing to spend on mods and toppers has really changed.
Quoted from jdoz2:I agree.
I downvoted you because the only thing worse than the crazy prices are the constant threads and posts whining about it.
Thank you...
Jeff
Prices suck yes, but primary issue is wages havent risen proportionally or even at all. The top 10% are fine, but the middle class is getting priced out of everything. Today its pinball tomorrow it will be bread. There are real problems right now…
Quoted from GorillaBiscuits:It doesn't have to be. Take some time to seek out a Stern Meteor, a Bad Girls, a Star Wars pro or GOT pro, and a Whirlwind... for less than what a Godzilla LE is going for on the marketplace... you'd have a killer collection and definitely would not have to be rich!
You just listed $13-14000 dollars worth of pins. I'm not sure where the cut-off for rich is, but I'm pretty sure the average person doesn't have that much laying around.
Quoted from vdojaq:I know anything is worth what someone will pay, but asking $28K for a pinball machine? Yes, the TRON LE listed is what I am talking about. It is going to become a point when this hobby prices itself out of the market. It will become the rich man's game and the everyday guy gets pushed out all together.
My rant.....
You think that's crazy, if anyone wants my POTC CE it'll be $100K cash on glass. Of course no one is going to pay that but you have to keep in mind what someone asks is not what someone gets. Yes things are quite a bit more expensive now than they were but I don't think getting hung up on specific examples is going to be a good use of time...
Jeff
Quoted from vdojaq:Right, but it's not just TRON. That was just the convenient example. Facebook $6995 for a routed WPT??? C'mon? Yes, ask whatever, but who the hell is paying these prices? Not your regular/average collectors. Used to be able to find starter machines or projects for a few hundred bucks, now it's $1000 plus.
It's also getting to the point that operators are going to either stop buying or have to charge $2 bucks a game to have any chance of recouping their money.
Completely agree prices should never go up so sell me the Stern Dracula you have for the $700 it cost new and the world will be right again.
Ever notice it’s always people with 10+ pins complaining about prices? Guys, you’re sitting on $30,000 or more in pinball machines. Stop complaining that used games are now $4,000. Sell one and buy one.
High prices make it harder for people to enter the hobby. If you are already in it with a collection the size of a small arcade then who cares if prices go up? End of rant
Quoted from AMSNL:I think these bitching topics always come from people who are just to stressed they can’t buy games anymore and it’s becoming a wealthy hobby for the elite class. If prices get to high Just go find a new hobby. Or build games in your shed. those topics about prices.... Everyday and again and again.
I’m in the car industry , do you know how many cars I’ve had that are worth now 20x times they where a few years ago. And I can not buy them even if I wanted to.... Should I hang myself ??! Or just continue living and forget about it , I use to buy for 20 cents a whole bag of candy I now maybe can get a freeking gummy. Inflation,demand etc etc . Where money is to be made and people willing to buy . It WILL keep rising again and again
Ok for one, this has Always been an elite hobby. Nobody NEEDS a pinball machine and second, you don't have to leave the hobby you simply need to buy what is within your budget or means. I Want to drive a Ferrari to work, but my budget gets me a honda yet I am still driving.
Quoted from gamera9:Why are people always pointing to the highest. Saw a great Sinbad posted recently for 700. One of the best games in my collection.
It’s like the news. The bad stuff leads.
If you look in other threads there are always people picking up games for free.
Quoted from porkcarrot:You just listed $13-14000 dollars worth of pins. I'm not sure where the cut-off for rich is, but I'm pretty sure the average person doesn't have that much laying around.
I never said to buy them all at once! Also, there's a rather large financial range between "average" and "rich". I was simply making the point that just because people are buying Godzilla LE's at 15k it doesn't mean everybody else has to spend that much on a single game.
What gets me is not so much the prices, but that people are asking top-end prices for games that are not top-end. We can debate if a Whirlwind is worth $7K all day....my opinion is it might well be IF it's an especially nice example. But when it has hard-to-remedy and expensive-to-remedy issue issues...not so much.
But take a look at musclecar prices....a rusty '68-70 Charger that is missing lots of pieces and needs a complete re-do is highly sought after and brings big money.
Quoted from AMSNL:If prices get to high Just go find a new hobby. Or build games in your shed.
Quoted from Yelobird:Completely agree prices should never go up so sell me the Stern Dracula you have for the $700 it cost new and the world will be right again.
$700? No, but I WILL make you a deal and sell it. Perfect playfield and plastics.
The BGR glass for it should be here any day!
Quoted from vdojaq:$700? No, but I WILL make you a deal and sell it. Perfect playfield and plastics.
The BGR glass for it should be here any day!
You do have me intrigued.... lol Love that game.
The gist of all this is a Pinball machine is nothing more than a big toy once it is in the possession of a homeowner. None of us NEEDS a pinball machine, it's a want, a desire. We all need vehicles/transportation and a roof over our heads, money to pay for food and our lively hoods. None of which includes owning a pinball machine as a necessity unless you are an operator.
So I ask again. How long can these price increases be sustained until the operators say no more? The price per play has to go up with the increase of costs. Are people going to be inclined to drop $2 bucks for a 3 ball game? There is a domino effect here that is certainly plausible.
This thread was never meant to be a "price police" The TRON just happened to be an easy target for an example.
Seems like the line between being a "rich people hobby" vs "everyday people hobby" is relative.
There are probably some people that think the hobby crossed that line 5 years ago. There are also probably some people that think the hobby isn't "exclusive" enough yet.
I think the only data companies like Stern need right now is that they can't even meet the demand for games. Until that changes....
Quoted from nicoy3k:If it’s such an elitist hobby for the ultra rich why are people trying to squeeze every dime from the games they sell? If money was no object people would sell games to sell, to move them. What’s happening now is the exact opposite
you have never been around any millionaires have you? thats what they do. most will still bend over to pick up a penny on the street.
Quoted from vdojaq:So I ask again. How long can these price increases be sustained until the operators say no more? The price per play has to go up with the increase of costs. Are people going to be inclined to drop $2 bucks for a 3 ball game? There is a domino effect here that is certainly plausible.
This thread was never meant to be a "price police" The TRON just happened to be an easy target for an example.
Who are these operators that are buying the NIB machines?
Locations close to me in NJ -
Jillys in Ocean City buys 2-3 Pros each year.
The Silverball in Asbury gets the latest JJP, but never buys a new Stern.
Jenkinsons in PPB picks up one Stern Pro every other year and has given up on JJP.
At this point, aren’t the homeowners buying most of the NIB?
As a player, I find myself unaffected. Lots of great value, excellent shooting machines out there.
New machines coming out, with what appears to be amazing playability (Stern Godzilla?)
Some people ask silly prices.. some people get silly prices.
If you have a desirable grail title.. then, yeah.. you need to buck up or be patient... :/
Quoted from ccbiggsoo7:you have never been around any millionaires have you? thats what they do. most will still bend over to pick up a penny on the street.
The term "Millionaire" is really losing its' name. Here in the Bay Area, if you own a home, you're pretty much a millionaire, yet you don't feel rich at all and most would still pick up loose change on the street.
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