No. Yes. Maybe.

Definite maybe

Not Sterns.

Old machines: are they worth the money?

The days of keeping a NIB game as an investment probably aren't coming back for a good while.

Older classic games are still generally trending up in price, but cetrain titles have taken hits because of remakes or sequels.

Is a new car worth the money?

At $5k-$7k, maybe. At $8k-$12k, no. My 2 cents

Not to me, which is why I have never bought a new one.

I bought a new IMDN pro for a decent price because I love the band and the design of the game and, for once, the feeling of getting a NIB game delivered to my house. Will I do it again? Probably not. But, I think I should be able to get most of what I paid for it in return a few years down the road when Stern’s done making them. That’s good enough for me.

Are we talking new or used pricing? Lately, the cost to drive it off the lot is pretty substantial

I don't think so. Especially with all the quality issues. It's going to take something special before I get burned again.

http://www.ask8ball.net/

As long as I get a mech that makes magic with the ball, I’ll pay 20 thousand dollars for it.

No.

Yes, if you're an operator. Don't forget this is still industrial grade equipment priced and built for commercial use.
They're overbuilt for a home environment, so... not really worth it.
Used to be worth it to pick one up used, after being heavily routed. But even those prices are getting weird.

define “worth”.

As long as people keep buying, the market says “yes”.

Or, did you mean, is it worth it for *you* to buy new?

No, but people gotta have what they gotta have.

If it makes you happy then its worth the money, if it dont then its not. Its really that simple. Nobody on this forum can answer your question for you other than yourself.

Luxury item, not an investment portfolio. Heck, a pinball machine can’t even be decent firewood if you break it down to its base components. Lol.

But the feeling of ownership and enjoyment of playing and sharing is priceless. I buy what my heart wants and damn the paycheck. The rest of my existence is about making the money for the family, this one is for just me.

Exactly! Is anything worth the money these days? I’d say no from a purely monetary standpoint.

But if the purchase in question gives you hours of amusement, fun and best of all gets the family together then it’s worth every penny.

No

Not to me.

I've had no regrets with the 2 JJP games I've bought new, and am considering buying Pirates because I want to support what they bring to the hobby, but the cost is steep versus waiting and buying on the secondary market.

Being the first and or only owner of a game is worth what ever you feel it is worth, no real way to quantify it, and is going to widely vary person to person.

HELL NO!

There’s something to be said about the anticipation of a NIB pin showing up and an ice cold beer sitting on the table while you do the initial set up. NIB’s are great and you can guarantee it is what it is...new.
Then there’s the side of buying a “HUO” pin and it shows up and it’s a total beater. Total buzz kill.
Life is short and it blows by quickly. If you can afford it then knock yourself out.

You see, pinball machines are kind of like cars...

Yes. Bought my first pin in1982, bought first new one in 2017, another in 2018, and saving up for 2019. I am hooked.

Even with out of box depreciation, pins are still holding their value pretty well, and for me there is nothing that provides more enjoyment for the $.

This is real simple if you have the money and want to buy a pin that you like then ofcourse its worth it, if not then its still worth it even if you have to finance or whatever. Everything you buy can have a "Is it worth it" factor from clothes to food to cars etc. another brilliant pinside question that will do little more than start a company vs debate.

The word "worth" is relative to the user. Only you can answer that.

For me, hell yeah it's worth it. I'm married with no kids, retirement is set and we have money to burn. We just started our NIB collection with Dialed In. Superb machine and it just makes us want to buy everything that's out there. I loved the feeling of opening the box and setting it up, and watching it in all its glory as it runs for the first time (I know that it was tested prior to shipping, spare me... ).

However if you asked me this question just 5 years ago, I would have said no. Why pay for a NIB game just to have its resale value drop $1,000 right off the bat?

Then again, if you're going to be owning the machine for several years who cares about resale?

Hard to say really. Even though it is my job and between all coin op devices I have opened 1000's of units, it's hard for even myself to justify some of these purchases. I do think all our current pinball manufacturers do an excellent job, its approaching vehicle prices on some smaller level. They are not held to the same standard so it's harder to make purchases of this magnitude. I think a stern pro is a great value for what we do. Everything else is a borderline investment. If pinballs are manufactured better and have less down time it will be ok for me to continue purchasing them all. If they stay how they are now, it will be difficult to continue to purchase at this pace.

Lol, stern pros might be the only nib games that offer anything close to value.

I have yet to buy a NIB game. I will hopefully someday, but for the high dollar cost EVERYTHING must be in place. Playfield layout, code, art, sound, theme & build quality. In the past because of price you could overlook some of these...but no more.

I'm lucky to live in an area with tons of location pinball so now I'd rather buy stuff I can't play anywhere else .

I can play dead pool at 9 places within an hour drive . Iron Maiden probably about the same if not more. 3 or 4 TNAs . Most in 15 min drive.

Life is good

Absolutely, Yes!

If one buys well, even new, plays for a year, and loses 10% or more, is having a new Pinball worth
$1.50 a day in ones home?
Get your coffee from Dunkin over Starbucks, and its covered.
IMHO

Hell yeah it is worth it. It is a hobby and the joy of picking up/opening up a NIB is euphoric. Plus this hobby holds it value so much better than anything else I have been into. I know that can always change but usually I keep games for a couple years and sell them for what I paid for them or a bit of a loss.
I bought a new boat last year and when I sell that I expect to lose 25% if not more.
My dad just bought a new Tesla and I am sure when he sells it, he will lose close to 50%.
Hobbies should not be treated the same way as investments.
These things should bring joy and satisfaction and if you get money back at the end that should be a bonus.

20K will be a bargain in 5 years at the rate they are raising prices!

OP Kaneda Owl resurfacing again?

Agree, on a hot title you may be able to buy pro, play it for 500-600 plays and move on. I did this w/Maiden. Worth it to me.

HUO will offer even more value on a newer pinball experience in the near future.

Good catch

Prices have gotten absolutely ridiculous.

It’s totally insane that we have to fork over close to $9K for a box of blinky lights with some crappy AAA license we never wanted, and then we can play and enjoy it for a year or two, and then... sell it for around $9K.

Everybody else responded to the topic as if it read - New Pinball Machines: Are They Good Investments? But it doesn’t read that way and you both got it.

Question for anybody - what are you hoping to get out of a new pin purchase? Pleasure of the NIB experience? Pleasure of putting the first thousand games on it? Pleasure of not feeding dollars in it? Pleasure from little maintenance? Pleasure of adding mods to customize it? Pleasure of telling others about it? Pleasure of adjusting game settings? Pleasure of sharing it with others? Pleasure of selling it when you are ready to move on? If that was what you expected, I’ll bet it was worth the money. You’ve pleasured yourself all along the way, and maybe you received a happy ending or two.

On a related topic ... Are pinball machines good investments? someone asked Warren Buffett. The short answer is no... but the real story was Tony Montana got his dick punched in the dirt.

Agreed. As an operator, they are head and shoulders above everything else in terms of quality, support, reliability, and themes. JJP makes games for collectors, but their price point, long production times, and unreliable mechs on location make them a dog to operate. Plus they simply don't earn next to a stern or a remake game. Two different markets, not a critique on their gameplay. Just what i've noticed. Stern Pros are the only games that you can really expect to make a return on in the wild at the price point.

Lol yeah he got bent over real good for sure!

And the best part is, he calls everyone F*cking idiots constantly. Bwaaaaa haaaa haaaa haaaaa

All subjective. I’ve owned 4 cars in my life and I’m 46, to me cars are a mode of transportation, but I see it’s not to most people. Whatever floats your boat is what’s worth it

I blew 2 Nib pins in Vegas a few weeks ago. Was it fun? Of course!

But I’d rather have the pins now

Pinball is FUN and these days it’s beautiful artwork on top of it.

The biggest problem for me is letting go. I like em all!