Smart I think. IE - TAFG a wiped out TAFG is worth more than a TAF just because it its what it is.
Both would have to be restored but the TAFG will bring more in the same worn out condition as a TAF.

I believe the same will go for Sterns le's.
One thing I will say is Sterns LE gold and chrome trim is thin and wears out quickly on route.

Route 'em!
You will make up most of the extra cash spent buying when you go to sell it.
Routed or not, the LE is worth more.
The operator has more tied up in the equipment cost, but might get more money per play, , get more respect and interest from casuals, , have option to keep the LE for personal collection if wanted
Or just get most of the difference back on the resale market, with a great deal on an LE that would get snatched up pretty quickly.
How you could lose is by "Ruby Red Luci" versions added after the fact, but everyone loses there.

It's a pinball, not a museum piece. They were made for all to enjoy

+1
They are made to be played.

Do you have non-LEs on location, do the LEs bring in more money ?

I support routing them, more people get to enjoy them. I can imagine that if the LEs are more fun to play then an non LE (subjective I know), that I would throw more money in the machine.

UR My hero

That is where you are wrong, I have several enthusiasts that play my games, I earn LESS from them than the

Because the only replays they earn are through match, several of my regular players play for 30 minutes or more on one credit. And they drink less than the "unwashed" because they are to focused on scoring well, the "normal" players will get buzzed and keep playing (most of the time, if the games are set to hard and they can't figure out how to make stuff happen they just stop playing)

When my OP wants a shiny new pin he buys a Prem, or LE and routes it for a year or two to offset his out of pocket expense.
Putting LE's or A list titles like TZ, MM, TAF, or MB on location, is a service to pinball and pinball players less fortunate than us that can't shell out 3 to 10,000 for a new pin. And when all is said and done there is very little harm that can be done to a machine on location that can't be repaired or restored (in the worst case scenario)

Well that's just my two cents, I could be wrong...

Yeah, just made that repair yesterday, luckily for me it was still under warranty, got the in line drop advanced repair kit for free, and it only took 2 hours from start to finish to replace

A friend of mine is putting a Star Trek LE on route, we talked about and we both thought the LE would retain a better value in the long term then the premium would. But we did both worry about the condition after it was done

My friend Marc who was in our league here in Champaign recently moved to the DC area, and started up a region for it on Pinball Map:
http://pinballmap.com/dc

-Mark

Agreed...except I have very few enthusiasts from our league that actually play outside of league...and the few that are enthusiasts are the ones playing on a couple bucks forever with replays and matches. My machines are generally set to have the most conservative outlanes for the regular peeps...which makes the other "problem" worse.

-Mark

Problem with the Premiums are they come out way after the Pro's and LE's,,so if you want to route the premium game, you have to wait and the new game factor is diminished.

I have seen that. Very nice.
And looks to be kept current.

Pinball machines are made to play, no one should have a rule to keep any particular model at home. You ever see how many MM's are on site? They cost much more than an LE and earn accordingly. Besides LEs tend to have more bling so they would attract more players.

There is an ST LE on route at an arcade. Every time I am in there it is being played. The other day there were 2 guys on the game for 3 hours straight. They let me play a game or two with them. It is a great game. I like being able to play an LE in the wild. It is good for pinball.