Pinball is a hobby where you wont lose your ass (unless you buy a virtual pin and try to sell it). You can even make a little if you are handy.

_{Post edited by Joshmx19 : F'd up!}

the machine very well could hold its own- but you will lose your ass, the time spent looking for the perfect machine for you, the time you spend driving states away to pickem up the rare dream unit, time you spend tweeking the machine to your likeing, maintaining, then guess what you want more machines and others to follow, now your combing every craigslist- in the 15 nearest markets, ebay , forum, and any data base you can think of- on an hourly basis waitng for that awsome deal to drop-------- pretty hard to make money there or even brake even, but is lots of fun.

Don't worry about value. If you start looking for games based on whether you think they will go up in price or not, then you are looking for the wrong thing & you might end up with a game you don't like as much.
Simply try to find a game you like, make sure the asking price is somewhat reasonable, then in the future when it comes time to sell, just hope for the best.
If you do lose money, even if just through maintenance, it shouldn't be too much of a loss. If you use some common sense it isn't too hard to at least break even these days.

I would say don't get in the hobby as an investment. In today's market, you will be hard pressed to make any money. Those guys who started collecting many years ago and held on to their machines have made some great profit. I think those days are over...I strongly believe that most machines will level off in price. I think the current market is almost at its peak.

Do it for fun, not an investment. It some of your purchases happen to go in value great! If they go down in value, think if the money and fun factor you had for that machine so it is still a win, win.

Do tons and tons of price checks And be ready to jump on a deal, best way to start ahead, buy games for 75% of what they are worth and you have that instant equity, sell at market value when tire or are ready for next one...and get another deal, or trade, trade up.

Definitely this hobby should not be an investment. That being said, I hope to always break even on any pin purchase. Stating otherwise would be dishonest. In my opinion, it is like saying I lost in Vegas but had a good time. Not buying it. Vegas is ALWAYS funner when you break even or come out ahead. Luckily, I think that prices will be at least stable for a good while due to continued demand and increase of popularity in the hobby. B list games (~2k) have not gone up too much, so there is low risk there if you want to be conservative. A list games seem to pose the most risk. For example, I would not buy a MM for the current going rate well north of $10k and bank on being able to get my money back down the road. Just be careful not to overpay. If you go to ebay and buy one of those listings chances are you have already lost a good chunk of money. Buying from a pinsider is one of the safest ways to buy IMO, especially when several people comment on the listing that its a great deal.

I fully understand trying to justify spending thousands on a game. The last thing a new person wants to do is get a pin and realize its not for them and take a bath selling it. The best piece of advice I can give you is this... The only thing you have control over is the price you pay for a machine. Make that a good price because you won't have the control of what price its sold at. Too many variables and unknowns that are out of your control when and if you sell. Happy hunting and the deals are still out there if you are patient and quick to act when you see them.

Buying a pin for the first time can seem very overwhelming. Especially if you don't think you will be able to fix problems by yourself. The most important thing you can do is find the pinball people in your area and make friends with them. This is what I did when I bought my first game last may. I did a search on mr pinball for registered people close to my area. I met 1 guy who was very helpful and introduced me to all the other pinball players in the area. All the used games I have bought have come from people in this network. They have also helped a great deal with repairs and repair questions. I learned very quickly who you can trust to buy a used game from and the few people that sell overpriced junk that you shouldn't buy from.

If you can't find any local friends to help you may want to go new in box for your first game or possibly a used game from a reputable pinsider. I would stay away from used games that need a lot of work until you get more comfortable or get someone that will help you out. Try to get a list together of 10-20 or so games your interested in as its easier to find a good deal then if you just want 1 specific pin

Here's my view on the volatility of the market:

If the market goes down and you are forced to sell a machine you bought today for less tomorrow, oh well. You also get to replace that machine with another machine that is cheaper tomorrow than it would have been today. And if the market goes up and you sell a machine you bought today for a profit tomorrow, oh well. You are also going to have to pay more for a replacement machine to take its place.

So the market volatility really shouldn't matter much, presuming you are planning to buy games to play and you will eventually rotate them out and replace them with something fresh.

To the OP, you're thinking about this too much. Just do what everyone else new does now, look at the top 10 pinside games and buy them at any cost. And then next year more new people will do the same, and your games will be worth more than you paid. There is no reality in the pinball hobby, games only go one way and that's up no matter how much common sense and the economy tell you otherwise. The common sense part of my brain keeps telling me that prices are getting stupid but reality is that they continue to go up and they only seem dumb to me because of what they were 2 years ago...so new people have no reference to 'how it was', building up collections over 5 to 10 years.

And if you get concerned about selling games, just create some fake ebay auctions that show your game selling for double what it should be, and you'll instantly be able to get way more out of your game, lol. It worked for AFM.

I dont know if its said or not but the first thing you need to do is look at this as a hobby and not a job. Jobs you look to make money, hobbies are for fun and entertainment. If youre looking to do this to make money then its not a hobby anymore. Im upside down on most of my pins and guess what? I dont care, its nice to get a profit when you sell but the fun I had when I have them has to be worth something. The only thing that drives me crazy in the hobby is the escalating price of pins but not how much I can make off them.

Since you don't know how to work on pins it will be a losing proposition for you.

B list games were $1000-1200 a couple of years ago. 80-100% appreciation is pretty high.

Sure....but that really only works if you already own pins.

The bubble may not burst but it will at the very least stabilize at some point. New people entering this hobby are only going to pay so much before the number of new people begins to dwindle quickly. There might be a large number of "hobbyists" who can jump in and buy 2k pins. But the number of people willing to shell out 6,7,8 or even 12k+ on a pin is really rather small in the whole scheme of things. I think once the B list titles begin to surpass their NIB prices we are going to see some stabilizing in pricing.

Then again I really don't own a working crystal ball and this whole hobby could blow up tomorrow or continue to rise indefinitely. No one knows.

Yeah I agree

We have some monthly get togethers at several people houses and rotate the schedule here in the Tri Cities. We go to Knoxville for UT games maybe come up our way for pinball. I have a TF:LE at the Space Needle to let me place for a share of the profits. Used to have pins in several places there even in Oak Ridge where MM left for good when it was sold. Your welcome to come to our next meeting.

Or you can go my route. Empty your house and your retirement account and
indulge yourself!

When the B list titles are costing 5k that is going to be a sad day for pinball as that will be a big barrier to new people entering the hobby. Even at 2k it is a difficult decision for many to enter the hobby.

my bubble is made of kevlar reinforced lexan

Only the first time.

Oh for sure, as many have said, getting a pinball machine is like getting a pregnant rabbit. More will come. That is why I think "the Pin" is such a good idea by Stern . . . it will introduce more people to pinball, I just wish they priced it at $1,999.

Most of the Time. NIB will go down in price. Your coming into this hobby at the wrong time as prices have shot through the roof on most titles lately. Double from what they were 2 or 3 years ago. You can't look at it as an investment. If you want it for fun, play it as such. YOu don't buy Jet ski's or 4 wheelers because you hope they are worth the same or more when it comes time to sell. Shouldn't look at this like that either. Especially when your coming into the high point of the market. To think it will go up from here, it really hopeful in thinking. Personally, I think we are on the edge of a big crash. Especially with so many new people making machines.