Well gang maybe most of you haven't noticed but the time has finally come. It now COSTS MONEY to buy a pinball machine and enjoy it. The days of buying pins and selling them for more money then you paid have come and gone. Why it has taken so long truly is beyond me......but supply is going up (lots of new pins coming on board every year) and demand isn't increasing with it. Wait until people start figuring out that when they buy a TZ for $5K they might only get $3.5-$4K if they go to sell it......might start to make them think twice.....or buy a NIB for $7K only to get $5K in a year or two if they decide to sell it.....those days are close as well (just ask some Avenger and X-MEN owners lately).
I have not seen so many decently priced pins "sit" and people continually having to lower prices. It is RAMPANT.
However, like I have said before "hobbies should cost money" and pinball should be no different. If this is a permanent change (which I feel it is) we will see how many people continue to expand their collections knowing a pinball machine is now a "depreciating asset" like it should have been all along in my opinion. Pinball machines are not CLASSIC CARS (which eventually crashed) or FINE ART (sorry guys a CC is not a PICASSO even though some on here believe it is....LOL). They are no different in my opinion then a playstation and if technology ever takes a drastic change prices will go the way of EM's....then what will most people do ????
Regardless....for me it will always be my cheapest hobby (sport tickets, boating and golf cost me many thousands every year) so if my collection starts to decline 10 percent a year it is still will be my cheapest hobby !!!
I am curious to see how many people start to bail once the new reality sets in....AND IT IS HAPPENING and ANYONE WHO DOESN'T SEE IT NEEDS GLASSES......the excuse of "seasonality" is gone as we are approaching the best months to sell pins and I don't see any "snap back" in demand and prices !!!