I don't see a bubble bursting either, but you are in a pretty densely populated area. Local sales don't have to deal with shipping costs, which have doubled.

COVID pin inflation has attracted more flippers trying to make a buck...if they exit, some of the air will come out of the bubble.

I've been in the hobby 20 years and it's been hard to lose money. Chances are it will be hard to lose money the next 20 years...assuming we avoid a civil war, of course

Yep...smart post. I turned cautious coincident with the pandemic. I had 2 homes, 2 collections...decided to flee LA after a great 7 year run. The draught, air/water quality, fires, and homeless situation all contributed to the decision. Florida isn't perfect, but the clean supply of air/water are definitely pluses. North Easterners have always liked Florida, but the mass exodus from COVID is measurable in terms of home appreciation. I built my current home in 2017 and it's gone up over 3x in 5 years, which has never happened to me (and I've owned like 6 homes in 5 different states).

I admire your upbeat take. From my perspective, the problem with being upbeat is dependent on governments that function and make smart decisions. If smart companies were were always making smart decisions, we wouldn’t have baby food shortages, mask shortages (during COVID), healthcare machine shortages, etc. Shit, we’re even dependent on China/India for basic drugs in this country! I worked in Silicon Valley for 20 years and the success/wealth being generated in California doesn’t necessarily mean smart infrastructure decisions are being made. LA plans to repurpose sewage water apparently…for drinking! No thanks.

This weekend, I had my neighbors over for the first time...he is not a collector/enthusiast, but happens to have a Munsters Pro he bought from the local retailer (next to his pool table in the game room). When he played my collection, he turned to me as said how much fun he had, and that Munsters wasn't much fun by comparison. I told him Munsters lasted 3 months in my collection...shortest of any Stern (by far). Munsters is a dud, and even though this is only one non-Pinside dude, it struck a chord with me. Munsters is an outstanding license, which is why he opted for it. That's why it was a big hit...I'm sure there are many sitting in game rooms that rarely get played. Consumers like him just aren't motivated enough to switch things out when they are unhappy. I plan on prodding him to get something better, so he can at least enjoy the one game he has!

If guitarded's profile is accurate, it looks like he is disappointed with GZ Pro. Most of the positive energy on GZ has been on the Premium/LE model.

Nevertheless, I played a GZ LE at a collectors house and wasn't blown away. No doubt it has some great shots/flow (like all Elwin games), but it didn't immediately click with me. OTOH, I thought JP Premium was brilliant after only 10 minutes with it (and still do). From my perspective, JP Premium is a masterpiece...it has it all.

I'm still likely going to pickup a GZ Premium so I can spend more time with it. I wasn't initially impressed with Rush LE, but now that I have one it's a blast.

Years ago, everyone touted MM as THE BEST ever made. Picked up a Keller restoration of MM and thought it was fun, but THE BEST ever made? Nope.

Not for me...I owned the AFM/MB/MM trilogy and MM was #3 for me. AFM ended staying the longest. When I rate a game, earnings/popularity doesn't really enter the picture...that's why I still own WH20 after all these years. For years, it didn't get any respect, but I still loved it. Really the only "upper PF" game I've ever taken a liking to.