Surrey, BC
Quoted from jackd104:Hey all,
We all know that pinball machines can be considered an investment. I was curious exactly what return my collection has brought (by the way, this is not of great importance to me, since pinball is a love/hobby, but I was curious since I’m a finance nerd in other aspects of life). What I mean by return (APY, annual percentage yield): what did I pay for a machine, how long ago was that, what’s the current value, and therefore what was the APY? How does that compare to other investments I could have made? All the machines are in good condition, 100% functional, players machines, except TSPP which is a superb condition HUO. And the results:
Funhouse
Purchase price: $1,200
Purchase date: March 2001
Time owned: 18.5 years
Estimated current value: $4,000
Return: 6.73% APY
The Addams Family
Purchase price: $4,500
Purchase date: December 2011
Time owned: 7.75 years
Estimated current value: $6,000
Return: 3.78% APY
Twilight Zone
Purchase price: $5,000
Purchase date: May 2012
Time owned: 7.33 years
Estimated current value: $6,500
Return: 3.645% APY
The Simpsons Pinball Party
Purchase price: $4,500
Purchase date: December 2014
Time owned: 4.75 years
Estimated current value: $5,300
Return: 3.51% APY
Average APY for the collection: 4.41%
My reaction... my emotions led me to believe the returns were going to be higher, but there it is. And I know I paid top dollar for most of them, so that affects the return of course. Finally, I suspect that if I factored in repair costs and parts, it would pretty much destroy my return. Boo hoo!
If you want to do something similar, find a future value calculator on the web (something like the link below). Num. of periods = the years you have owned the machine. Starting amount = the price you paid. Interest rate = fiddle with it until Future Value equals your estimated current value, and that is your APY. Leave Periodic Deposits at 0.
https://www.calculator.net/future-value-calculator.html?ctype=endamount&cyearsv=18.5&cstartingprinciplev=1200&cinterestratev=6.73&ccontributeamountv=0&ciadditionat1=end&printit=0&x=0&y=0
Not really sure what is with the downvotes, it's fun to discuss, and interesting to see your costs from some time ago (for me anyway), as I only began coll---- accumulating 2 years ago or so.
That said, I think you definitely need to factor in repair and maintenance, and perhaps even factor the plays as an entertainment assessment, not necessarily coin value, but perhaps some estimate of play factor, since it is not like you have them vaulted up somewhere.
My biggest problem is I love to hunt the deal, but typically end up with something that needs 10+ hours of work to get it running and cleaned up (at least), + parts and plastic, so I'm lucky if I break even, but I get the feeling this is the 'fun' of the hobby for me.
All that said, the machines can also be a liability, something to insure and maintain. As with many collectibles, there will be a time when the demand will dip, and so to will the value of many of the machines. Fun topic tho.
Livermore, CA
