I see what you did there...

I'm sure it's a nice looking portfolio.

I don’t get Hollywood heat ..other make sense

Bad pinball is the new good. Hollywood Heat, Bad Girls, etc.

Except Ghostbusters - that's just garbage there

alien just listed, sold in a day. 14k.... pinball funds are fine!

The economy over the past several years has been built on the backs of discretionary consumption. All the non-essential stuff consumers have been buying was approximately 40% of GDP. Obviously, that's a sizable amount in terms of dollar contributions and people employed. A couple trillion dollar stimulus package would probably be needed to alleviate some of the damage done. The pinball industry will definitely suffer some headwinds. Whether they drop prices a bit to restart the machine or stay "stubborn" and hold the line will be interesting to see.

Regarding investing, everything is a falling knife right now and although trying to time the market is futile, I would wait before entering if you have cash on the sidelines. Buying on a dip is one thing. Buying on a meteorite crater when larger meteorites are still landing is quite another thing. Just about every stock will be a screaming buy when we begin stringing together some positive sessions. If there are any "winners" right now it would be streaming companies and telecommute technologies.

I'd say we haven't reached a point yet where people are desperate for money.

All that proves is that there is still ONE rich guy who has money to spend. It doesn't mean that the pinball market is fine.

Maybe the pinball market IS fine, but one guy buying one high-priced machine doesn't mean much.

Possibly hypothetical question for the peanut gallery:

You have a chance to buy a Beatles Platinum HUO / Mint for 6500 today.

I know people who paid $12k for these things new.

Do you pounce?! Or are you thinking maybe it's a bad idea given...you know...all the stuff.

No, because, yuck...and the bottom fell out on that anyway.

Let's do one I do actually care about that sold recently: Alien or BBB. Yes in that scenario. I think they are overpriced at their current rates.

I'm not sure about that. For MONTHS you never saw a JJP POTC for sale on Pinside. But Zach Meny sold his last week (not saying he's desperate - but more likely "wise") , and there are FIVE for sale on pinside right now. This is supposed to be "bolted to the floor... I'll never sell it" for most owners. Five. Unreal.

Pounce. I bought my HUO Gold edition for $6K and that was a steal a year ago.

Never trust any 'bolted to the floor' comments, that always goes out the door 3 months later. There may be people trying to get theirs sold before a bottom does fall out, and there may be people willing to pay a premium now, but in two months that could change drastically. I don't know what the average pinball owners reserves are, but I'd say in two months, an out of work family looking for quick cash is more likely than right now.

No. Wait for the vault edition that highlights their psychedelic years.

Disagree.

Alien is high for a reason (I own it and am not selling so I don't gain anything if it goes up nor lose if it goes down). Limited amount made. Of those many are not able to run the later code and don't have all their features working. It is hard to upgrade them (I know I am doing it now). Chances of it getting remade are slim. Electronically its a mess and would need to be reengineered and the code altered.

POTC LE is too. Lebowski I get at 12.5k because that is what they are new now, but I do not get paying over for open box ones. Bar is high because the story. Gameplay wise its not as good as Pinball Magic. With remakes there is 1/6th the supply though.

I have a Gold and never understood the Platinum/Diamond appeal. It's a great game, but if you aren't in a rush, I wouldn't be surprised if Gold's pop up for less $$.

I'm sick of the bellbottoms and all that hair. And the sitars! 1964 forever!!

Yea don't take it personally. I just meant they are higher than I would pay, and you have no idea how bad I want an Alien.

If you can swing it, pounce! Don’t care personally about which version it is, but that that would help with future value I guess?

I waited by the sidelines for a while and recently snagged a nice used Gold and it’s brought me great happiness in these dark times.

Someday check out Ravi Shankar's jam at The Monterey Pop Festival.

I'm pretty confident that having some of your "portfolio" in pinball is goodness. The stock market is currently in a free-fall. All equities are getting hammered. Most of the top-tier games aren't taking a 30% hit (like the DOW).

And, pins are a helluva lot more fun!
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There's really only 3 for sale right now, 1 is priced too high, and another is priced too high for being on location. 2 are listed as sold pending. Just for reference I sold my HUO LE (mint, no issues, $150 -$200 in mods) for $12k yesterday outside of Pinside. Not a panic sell, just will eventually be moving onto a different pin.

Also, I think Zach bought a Wonka CE after selling Pirates.

I'll be darned if that graph doesn't remind me a lot of this.

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Bolted to the floor is total BS...no such thing...everything is for sale at the right price...all those POTC's sold for big profit

Absolutely gonna crash!

As much as people don’t want to admit it when times get tough your gonna have to unload a game or 2 and buyers are not gonna pay 5 grand for an Adams family

It's going to hurt the pinball market. If you look at my post history I have been Rick and Morty's biggest cheerleader. I just put my spot up because if I got the call today that mine was ready I'd hesitate before writing the check. I still love pinball and am still keeping my machines, but I need to keep my powder dry and an additional $6,000 outflow just isn't in the cards right now. This is coming from someone with a very stable job.

In Australia our dollar has tanked against the USD. I paid in Australian $13850 for a Munsters LE. I have been trying to sell this since September as just got sick of it having no code, I think it will be a great game but aint got 3 years of my life to waste like people did on GB.
So i finally sold it the other day for $10750 so a loss of over 3k in 1 year. The person that bought it is new to pinball and it will be no 1 buy for them. Some people i know have a Rick and Morty coming now these will be bewteen 13-14k landed. It is not looking good for pinball. When i got into the hobby i wanted to buy 2 nib a year as i have the space. Not now i am waiting to buy from people that are desperate to sell. My logic is if i am going to loose a few thousand a year on a pinball i would rather spend that elsewhere.

Not for some of us. When I buy a pinball machine, I don’t buy it, I really adopt it for life. So sits every machine I have ever owned in my game room from Pinbot to MBrLE, and none will move unless I need money to feed my animals, because that was the contract I made with the fury babies when I adopted them. “Bolted to the floor” also means they are not for sale, at any price, because, honestly, I own these things for my enjoyment, to play on, work on, restore, maintain, and keep working. They are not an investment, they are entertainment. Just like they were in the Great Depression, like they will be during this “event”, because you gird you’re loins before ever calling this a “recession” around this place.

I have a hard time believing they ever did.

Times must be tuff since you had to list your spot for only about a 2k profit.
Sheesh.

Has anybody here actually completed a buy/sell deal since the shit went down last week?

Yes. I bought a super nice High Roller Casino on Saturday.

Now you can't say I'm anti Stern.

Yes, I sold IJ4 & Met Pro in a matter of hours Monday night, they were picked up Tues evening.

uote cite="#5536309">Not for some of us. When I buy a pinball machine, I don’t buy it, I really adopt it for life. So sits every machine I have ever owned in my game room from Pinbot to MBrLE, and none will move unless I need money to feed my animals, because that was the contract I made with the fury babies when I adopted them. “Bolted to the floor” also means they are not for sale, at any price, because, honestly, I own these things for my enjoyment, to play on, work on, restore, maintain, and keep working. They are not an investment, they are entertainment. Just like they were in the Great Depression, like they will be during this “event”, because you gird you’re loins before ever calling this a “recession” around this place.

Ha....I don't buy it....If some idiot walked in and offered you $20K for your MBRLE u wouldn't take it....come on admit nothing u own is bolted to the floor ...I like all my games, but for the right $ I'd gladly sell every one of them.

That is my favorite pure coaster. The last set of high-G turns typically causes people in the back to black out I can only hope the park will be still be afloat so I can get some more use out of my seaons pass...ugh.

Thats funny

Bolted to the floor means nothing when the floor collapses.

noob-a-tron is 100% correct - NIB game prices were already at "that's ridiculous" price levels before this. They'll really be unobtanium now - $16k TMNT LE anyone?

Just sold it to a local pinsider who has hooked me up before for the price of the deposit.

Yeah, I can't ride the back seat anymore. Last time I thought I was having a stroke.

Good man.

I sold an Elektra to a pinsider last week. He came and picked it up on monday. I still have a pair of games for sale. BH I expected to be hard to move, as it somewhat of a niche game. I have had some offers on JD, but so far they have all been low ball offers. I may take the color DMD out of the game and lower the price again.

Agreed. Panic selling is exactly the wrong thing to do. If everyone will just remain calm, we can weather this and come out well. Economy is in better shape and judging by the grocery store selfs, retail is doing the best ever, because of all the panic buying.

Pinball will continue to do fine. It has been going all these years through all the economic ups and downs. If you hold a machine currently, it has value now and into the future. It is an age old pass time that many continue to enjoy. Pricing may have to be adjusted somewhat however, to attract NIB buyers.

The shock to this economy will be much broader than the financial crisis of 2008. IIRC, the bailout was focused on the banks, investment firms and GM (since GM is also in the financial services biz). In this situation, the airlines, restaurants, hotels, autos, and oil is being hit hard. Fortunately, the banks are in much better shape...one positive. It's possible we may get lucky and have this pandemic dissipate in a few months. If not, the unemployment rate will go up dramatically. If it does, the masses will understand how incredibly screwed up the U.S. private healthcare system is. Not affordable by most...especially those with no job!

yeah, pinball market toooootally gonna collapse, and Grizzly Adams had a beard

I’m already out of work for the moment. If this drags on for months lots of unneeded entertainment items will be cheap. Pins, motorcycles, musical instruments... If you can live without it and get a few hundred or thousand to stay afloat for the next couple months lots of people will be doing that.

You do what's necessary for you and your family period.

This machine saved on site pinball for us back in its day... this was the ONLY new pinball machine we had seen for EVER when we thought Stern was about to close its doors, it also spurred me on to buy my first Stern to either get one of the last new pinball machines made in America, or help keep them afloat just a little longer.

Move to New York no job equals Fidelis/Medicaid so you get free everything including eye and dental.

Nope... the wife and I made the decision to buy MBrLE together at Expo in 2018, and we unboxed it together last April, our first true NIB experience. Its never leaving, 20K or not... We have made every purchase together since Pinbot, and each machine has its own special story on how it came into our lives... Call us sentimental, but 30 years on, and we still tell each other we love each other more than 10 times a day. And that is the secret to a great marriage. Not just saying the words, but meaning them like its your last time you will ever get to say them, because, if you accidently walk in front of that bus, you suddenly would be correct.

Also, she was the reason we bought Pinbot first and not a Sorcerer that had been left in the rain and had terrible water damage to the back of the back box for $500. She said to wait until we came back the next month to the operators auction, they were bound to have a Pinbot, and sure enough they had 3 up for sale. I got the best one out of the 3 for $750, the second one they sold that day. The second best machine went for a cold grand, and only because the operator needed a machine that earned, and at the time, it kept near the $900 price tag because of that, the first machine went for $875, but need shopped bad. Mine went for less because switch 22 (Vortex 100K) made it do the Knock Knock Knock check switch dance when powered up. I checked the switch in test and it worked fine, but someone had rebuilt the ramp plastic cover wrong and so the ball would hit the cover and fall in the 5000 vortex hole, or if you full plunged, it would just smack the glass and hit the 20K every time, you could never hit the skill shot 100K, so it thought the switch was broke. That check switch knock sound scares every new buyer to death, so I ended up bidding against the owner who only needed $750 out of it. Win-win in my book.

I am selling my WOZ to fund a SS purchase. The guy who is buying it is selling his X-men to fund the purchase of WOZ.