If it is its still too hard.

It has and it also depends where you are. Seems like mid west/ west coast prices started to soften earlier than in the east. But it is happening everywhere. Pinball manufacturers should take note

One of them just announced an expansion

In my area it seems like games that are priced right still sell pretty fast

FIFY -
In my area it seems like games that are priced right ALWAYS sell pretty fast

You are trying to sell a Time Warp - one of the worst and least desirable or sought-after pinball machines of all time - with heavy playfield wear, a shitty backglass, and display and other "minor issues" for $1,100. That's why it's getting no attention, not because the bubble is bursting. Your friend on Facebook is experiencing the same issue. The market for Time Warps has never been "hard," therefore, it cannot "soften."

Price that game appropriately - $600 obo - and you might notice an uptick in action on your ad. That's an optimistic "might" as you'll still be trying to sell a beater Time Warp, and that's just not on too many folks' Christmas list.

As far as the rest of the market...it's always best to wait before making "bubble burst" proclamations:

2000:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/rec.games.pinball/high$20prices$20market$20collapse%7Csort:date/rec.games.pinball/gzU8ZAOxvUE/qII_fx4klQ0J

2001:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/rec.games.pinball/pricing$20decrease%7Csort:date/rec.games.pinball/3XZf_itbXjY/QI04T4Qr9UkJ

2002:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/rec.games.pinball/pinball$20price$20bubble%7Csort:date/rec.games.pinball/8CDhldb5kyw/JxQRQPIGmQwJ

2003:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/rec.games.pinball/pinball$20market$20price$20fall%7Csort:date/rec.games.pinball/clAO0zIHHfQ/CbExiOZrldIJ

2004:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/rec.games.pinball/pricing$20decrease%7Csort:date/rec.games.pinball/pXZDb-2V6Yk/GSPWq06-nWsJ

2005:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/rec.games.pinball/pricing$20bubble%7Csort:date/rec.games.pinball/ACTs0HpQktA/x-C5LZAF180J

2006:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/rec.games.pinball/pinball$20price$20bubble%7Csort:date/rec.games.pinball/dBrqPnk7mkk/nQYyh65_fewJ

2007:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/rec.games.pinball/pinball$20prices$20fall%7Csort:date/rec.games.pinball/femnxuH8a1k/oeXzsItDbOQJ

2008:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/rec.games.pinball/high$20prices$20market$20collapse%7Csort:date/rec.games.pinball/44iMVjwb68o/wXb8-3F9vOIJ

2009:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/rec.games.pinball/pricing$20market%7Csort:date/rec.games.pinball/JsgTrS05pCc/8pB5t9oUqTAJ

2010:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/rec.games.pinball/pricing$20market%7Csort:date/rec.games.pinball/hNRZGnOAZ-Y/bs8Js1M7sUAJ

2011:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/rec.games.pinball/high$20prices$20market$20collapse%7Csort:date/rec.games.pinball/DlcZoruS0Bo/VO_cueyPCEQJ

2012:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/pinball-price-bubble-think-it-cant-happen-think-again

2013:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/pinball-price-bubble-will-pop

2014:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/this-is-not-a-rebirth-of-pinball-its-a-bubble

2015:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/we-all-want-the-ass-to-drop-out-of-pinball

2016:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/when-will-the-stern-bubble-burst

2017:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/are-we-in-a-pinball-bubble

2018:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/why-i-feel-pinball-prices-are-going-to-plummet

2019:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/will-pinball-prices-come-down-

2020:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/prices-dropping-

2021 (this year was a fuggin BANNER YEAR for price bubble threads...maybe it's something in the vaccines! here's a pathetically partial list):
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/pinball-pricing-bubble-due-to-covid-one-nine
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/similarities-with-pinball-market-amp-the-2008-housing-crash
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/next-pinball-depression-
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/how-to-feel-about-these-exorbitant-pinball-prices/page/2#post-6254131
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/pingreed-is-a-cancer-is-there-a-cure
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/prices-of-pinball-machines-today#post-6229413
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/pinflation-or-inflation
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/price-gouging
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/f-you-stern-and-your-price-increases
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/are-pinballs-the-beanie-baby-craze-of-the-2020s
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/we-have-jumped-the-shark

2022:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/it-appears-the-insanity-is-ending#post-6954499

The market is getting soft. Right now were hitting the wall of people who are sitting 1 of 2 ways. They bought heavy when prices were high, and now are looking for something new and cant find a value unless they trade (likely with someone who is equally in debt into their game). Or they bought a ton of projects thinking they could learn to fix them, Can't, and then tries to move their broken project.

Not too many turn key pins that aren't Stern/JJP out there. I am grateful to have what I have.

As money tightens up, so will the mentality that games like Shadow, Totan, or other games of the sort will continually come back down to reality. They were just the flavors of the month during covid.

I have a genuine interest in how the market will react to the manufacturer price increases (and near future), general economic decrease as of late, and the ideal of flipping LE's

Those antics, or potentially lack there of, IMO would dictate how soft the market really is.

Tell us how you really feel though.

OP Time Warp with its "banana flippers" is a great game that has a killer art package and a pf layout that was unique at the time and still fun to shoot today. I haven't seen your ad but if its not selling its not because its one of the worse pins out there.

Voted but clearly haven’t had enough coffee yet.
A lot of “hard as a rock or softening” talk here.

Beat me to it ha.

Prices keep going up and people keep paying them. You have people plopping down 13K on Bond LEs and in the same breath complaining there is no code yet and how the release has been a mess. People are lining up to buy an Elwin Bond they haven't seen yet for $20K+. The "market value" of most of my games is up 50%+ since I got them. Not exactly what I would call "softening".

Can't argue opinion. But would you at least agree with the "one of the least sought after or desirable" parts of my diatribe?

There's a shitty Time Warp on every goddamn Craigslist on the planet. There's 4 of them at every pinball flea market and show. There has never been a world where the going rate for a beater Time Warp with issues is anywhere near four digits.

Regardless of your opinion of the game, I think you'd agree the lack of interest in his ad has zero to do with the flaccidity or rigidity of the market and everything to do with the fact that it's a Time Warp.

Dairy Queen has self-serve ? Who knew ?

Just saying I buy and sell games constantly each weak and I'm having no issue selling stuff so the market doesn't seem that soft to me. The only thing softening is people being able to over price games and get away with it.

Exactly.

I knew this was coming...people are gonna claim victory and bubble burst just because people aren't selling Rescue 911s for $4,000 anymore. Last year, things were insane, but never as insane as it seemed. A slight settling down of folks' expectations and asking prices does not equal the bubble burst that people have been clamoring for for 20 years.

After a typically slow summer, I sold THREE games this week (Beatles Platinum, Liberty Bell, Top Card), and I got good prices for them. Maybe that's because they were nice examples of games people actually want and they aren't riddled with "issues."

I agree with your last statement for sure. And certainly with the craziness that grantopia posted. Many pin heads are still and have been paying ridiculous prices for quite some time.

More details here: https://www.thisweekinpinball.com/pinflation-2022-slower-rising-prices

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The pin market increasing 250-300% over the last 10 years and then coming down maybe 5% over the last year is about all that has happened. And I’m one who is always hoping for a crash. But the reality is that pinball is dominated by a disproportionate amount of rich people (not me) who have historically been much less affected by an economic downturn than the “average” person.

Ouch Man! That Levi reality check oof....

"IF" you are looking to soften the market prices by starting this thread..hoping that prices go lower...Ha.

Supply and demand still play a part in this crazy world we are currently living in.

LOL... at least I'm not the only one who likes Time Warp. Not sure why but I enjoy having it in my collection.

I do agree the market appears to be softening though. Saturation...

Disses Time Warp, then travels 22 years back in time to make point, hence time has been warped.

I love my Time Warp.
But I paid $300.00 for it. Might have been $350.00.

Now that there's inventory once again at Distros, people have options. When no one had stock it was a period of batshit-craziness. The market hasn't softened, the trajectory is still up. We just lost that awful period where nothing made sense and HUO games were more than MSRP, and now we're just back to "I'm getting priced out of this hobby each year" normality.

Meh, not again...

Here for the Time Warp and hardening talk.

190A2ADF-7B73-4F60-A65F-53D36806F15A (resized).jpeg

It’s just a jump to the left!

I just lower my price until the game sells.

Always seems to work. I know it’s crazy.

Do you have any examples ?Doh Links maybe Doh.

Still plenty of ridiculously overpriced used pins out there. We are all guilty of the 'buy low / sell high' attitude.

I hope it all burns down

A little bit from earlier this year but up & down she goes.

Lets face it,We throw thousands of dollars around here like its play money.The prices are coming down due to past inflated prices and the inflation factor keeping less money in our pockets.Games that are the best in terms of play,bang for the buck and time capsule condition will stay high.Im struggling selling some nice games at pretty good prices but am only getting offers that I cant do.The market in my area is also flooded with games like Ive never seen before.Im buying a nice EM tommorrow instead of a high dollar game.

Theres absolutely nothing wrong with liking Time Warp, but Levi is right. That's a tough game to sell even in good shape and at a low price.

SSSHHHHHHH. It might go to his head. Too big..Too big....He floats away.

OP is not stating bubble burst - asking if softening and I think it is somewhat. Looking at the FS/FT ads machines are sitting longer than they used to and prices are ticking downward. Mint/high desirable machines excluded. Will be interesting to watch prices over next 6 months.

I understand the perspective...if you've only been in the hobby for a year or two.

But the market is simply returning to normal - distributors have healthy stock levels again, new games are expensive and are purchased knowing you may lose a grand or two when you sell them.

Used prices on good clean titles continue to slowly climb as manufacturers raise the price on new games.

Used prices on mediocre titles or heavily routed games are tapering a bit to pre-pandemic levels.

It's like saying Gas prices are down when it drops 3 cents.

You run this thread based off a $1100 Time Warp??
Drop $300 bucks off that turd and kick it out the door and move on.
I mean we are talking banana flippers for crying out loud. Lol.
What’s the next one up for sale? A Thunderbirds? Lol.

Hardly...$1100 bucks for a solid state isn't highway robbery when toppers are selling for $2k. Let's start there and move down

Deals on NIB games such as The Mandelorian and Rush Premiums prove the market is softening...

Who said it was highway robbery?

Just said it’s a time warp in bad shape, and it won’t get anything close to a bite at $1,100 (in any year or economy we have experienced) and it has zero bearing on how limp or erect the market is.

If it’s such a good deal, YOU buy it!

To expand on that I literally bought one for $50 last month and sold it like a greedy flipper to someone for $200. They got it working in a day and now may sell it for a few hundred more after they are done with it. Anything but late model Gottilieb EMs is a hard sell at those prices.

Edit. I'm completely wrong and don't know what I'm talking about. Mine was a time zone.

Prices still seem pretty high but machines posted on the local facebook board for my province definitely sit longer than they were a year ago. A year ago if you didn't buy within a day or two of the posting it was gone. Now I see machines sitting for much longer.

It's good thing Pinside doesn't shit all over your for sale ad... wait... this isn't a for sale ad!

I'm not saying pinball is an investment but it's definitely an inflation hedge as long as there are buyers at these prices.

Stern's thinking it not going to soften. Going from a 110,000 sqft to 163,000 sqft building.

Increasing production seems like a no brainer, all of the scalping and prices going up is because supply is far outstripping demand. I'm interested how they are sourcing enough parts though considering how slow they can be honoring warranty claims...

More puzzles … “Lifestyle brand”

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