But that's actually, like, five years ago. $416.67 / month on average.

If you split that 60/40 with the house (which, by the way, is a relatively poor split nowadays if the locations want newer equipment, 70/30 or even 75/25 have become common among locations I know that want newer stuff), you're making $250 / month. Even if you were guessing at $75 / month on maintenance which would be high, you have made in coin drop:

$175 * 12 months * 5 years = $10,500.

The game probably cost $6,000, so you profit about $4500, and that profit is achieved after year 3.

Which, if you look at just that part, I would argue it backs up your argument pretty solidly. It's not terribly efficient for the spent.

But, if you operate pins, you need to actively think about the sale price of those games. No game that is even 10 years old has depreciated to a wild extent, even routed. Let's pretend you only got half of your purchase price for the sale, which would be a worst worse case scenario that hasn't really happened since the early 2000s. You now have $4500 + $3000 = $7500, or $1500 / year of average profits on a machine.

If you factor in that part of it, routing isn't nearly as bad. Having said that, some machines work better and some work worse in certain locations. If you're not earning enough for the new games to make them useful, get some older ones if they work better! You need to know your location and do what works the best for that particular location. Certain locations don't work with the older games at all. Others flourish.

Good luck, I don't think it's easy, but I do think it can be done.

It's odd to me that flynnibus basically said the same thing that I was, and it seems you flipped your opinion of it. Or maybe I don't understand what you meant in the first response.

I was arguing that coin drop pays for your depreciation and then some, then when the earnings for out in a worst case scenario you sell the game for 50% of its original price. The game earns that entire time, thus your profits. When it drops earnings, you sell the game (or, as Flynn put it, the mule). If you do it right, this works just fine.

But again, and what it seems like people kiss, this is wholly dependant on your locations. Some locations you can put F14 into and make similar coin drop to putting in a new Dialed In. Others that Dialed In will make you gobs of money more than the old game.

Some locations want specific machines, or the latest and greatest, and are willing to divvy up the coin box far more in your favor if you can provide that.

Everyone wants a simple answer, but there are no simple answers in routing. If you aren't making money though at the current rates, and the ideas to make money you don't think will work for you for whatever reason you know your business best.

I think you mean you're losing money due to depreciation, but like I showed with the original explanation, the machine should be more than covering depreciation with location coin drop. If it's not, then buying a new game would be absolutely stupid, unless your plan is to sell and replace with a cheaper, older game.

If you have a game making money like that ACDC, I was pointing out how you can make a decent amount by switching up the machines regularly and flipping the old. This doesn't work with every location, however.

A successful route would have a few locations where they want the new shiny games regularly, a few decently earning locations that they don't, and more going further down the earning hole. Then, you don't sell, you just keep rotating and hopefully gaining new locations. I have a few friends with huge routes that do just this. The new games definitely don't make sense everywhere, but they buy a bunch every year for the places they do make sense. And they have even invested in some Premium games recently for the return they get from certain locations.

If you don't have the locations that support the new shiny games, you shouldn't be buying them for those second and third tier locations. You're correct, you'll lose money.