4 years later, prices are pretty similar to what they were. NIB have gone up, used games have stayed pretty steady. Certainly no bubble popping. MM took a slight hit from the remake but even that wasn't a bubble.

Prices ran up for years, then fell overnight to back under $10k which in retrospect looks like a better valuation than the $12-15k prices being fetched, with or without MMr. If MM wasn't a bubble, I'm not sure what is.

Owners of nice/restored MMs might disagree about the hit being "slight." This guy had way over 100 thumbs down at the time:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/my-thoughts-on-the-mm-announcement

Ten years on and how we doing?

Five years ago is looking like a pretty good time to stock up on games eh?

Still waiting for that bubble to burst…

This thread does provide a nice time capsule on pricing, which I’m hoping the dedicated pricing thread will also do:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-pinball-price-discussion-thread

The only bubble more resilient than the pinball price bubble is the pinball price bubble thread bubble.

And, despite your efforts, I have my doubts about that bubble ever bursting either!

A guy from Facebook came by today to buy my Cactus Canyon. He said he's bought 40 Bally/Williams games since entering the hobby last October.

This bubble just doesn't seem to be on the burstin' path when there's new people like that coming in every day.

Well, all those millennial bitcoin millionaires gotta do something with all that cash!

This guy was well into his 50s!

Pinball fever is just infectious!!!

The pinball bubble is the most elastic of them all, apparently.

I still have that Superman comic. Bought it on QVC when I was a boy. Willing to trade for a WH20.

Pinball is a rich man's hobby! Those guys' bubbles don't burst as easy lol.

“Rich” is relative but I meet a lot of people in the hobby buying high priced games and many are far from what most would consider rich. More and more 30’s and 40’s with “middle-class” jobs.

I don’t think pinball is in a bubble but wouldn’t be surprised with a temporary drop for many titles from the current exuberance if the economy turns south and some start to question if pinball is a sure thing. Especially mediocre titles caught in the current run up.

The larger picture is all about the rate of new hobbyists vs. relatively fixed supply. If the number continues to grow exponentially, prices will keep going up until there is a fundamental change in supply.

Funny this thread was recently resurrected as I've been colleting for >10 years (on here forand since my first pin I heard people saying "the sky is falling!"....never did and people have been saying it for literally decades now.

I am curious how prices of MM and MB have fared with the remakes...Did the "originals" hold their value like their owners said they would?

I think the prices of the original MM and MB have dropped a lot since the remakes but have slowly been gaining in value again and will eventually and always will be worth more the reproductions. Same goes with probably just about anything that gets reproduced. Always buy the original.

John

I just sold a Shadow for $7000 (half paid now, half being paid once Beltmann gets here).

Prrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetttyyyyy sure my AFM would go for more than that. Which means the remakes haven't done jackshit to the prices to those who REALLY want an original.

At first, the price of the originals plummeted when the remakes were announced and in full production. Once production slowed, the originals have now crept back up, but an original mm and mb I don’t think are anywhere near where they were pre-remake, which if I recall, was north of $12k, though maybe that’s changed in this crazy market. Afm original never really commanded a high price relative to mm and mb and could always be found in the $6-7k range, though they have gone up recently like everything else.

That’s a pretty insane price for a shadow, good for you for getting it.

Do they need a second one?

Looks like remakes are going from $13-19K...Are originals really going for more than $20K?????

I’m that guy. I stopped and bought two more in Ohio ( o fear hurricane) on the way home from your place. Finally found an original MM so I’m just about done.

I’m not buying for personal use. I’ve got a coin op license and these pins get rotated through my restaurant (19 on the floor at a time) so I’ve accumulated enough rotation depth at this point.

Pins are something no bar in my area is doing so I saw pins as a post pandemic opportunity to differentiate my business from competitors. The pins have been very well received and the overwhelming majority of our players are either new (children/teens) or haven’t seen a pinball machine in along time.

Needless to say, there’s constantly switch not hit credit dots on my pins
8C2FD900-0DA4-4E6B-900D-BC1512A527FD (resized).jpegF9F7836D-C53D-4A90-B77A-D59B7BD80AD3 (resized).jpeg
9EA58E87-9947-425E-8CB3-3D8C818CBBC3 (resized).jpeg

Curious if the original MM was over $20K?

$11 Playfield was in really good shape beneath all the dirt.

And you aren't worried about the impending immediate pinball bubble bursting that everybody has been predicting for 20 years?!

There's a bubble? I haven't seen it mentioned here before...

The only way there is an appreciable bubble is a severe recession. I think you may see a bit of a small correction in pricing the next 6-12 months, as the free COVID monies were used by people for lots of things other than to pay mortgages, buy groceries, etc. And I think some of the newbies that jumped in are going to find that pinball machines often break and need repair, which will be above their skill level and patience, so they will sell at a small loss.

But for the most part, pins (and arcades) have proven to be a better investment than stock over the last 2-5 years.

Things are silly is all I know

Main thing I learned from this thread is that there's someplace I absolutely need to hit on my next trip to the St. Louis area.

Well done, sir!

Later,
EV

People were saying that in 2002 when MM was going for $4500.

I guess what I'm saying is, one day it may please us to remember even this.

jeez, I hope not

I think a dollar invested in the S&P 5-years ago would be worth about $2.50 today with dividends reinvested. So pinball has done well but not that well - unless you add in all the fun, then it wins by a mile.

New York Dolls, baby!

So much for "originals" always holding their value more than remakes I guess.

Great album

You cant compare that way. I picked up a heavily routed MM that never tested the market. I bought it as is as it sat (half the bulbs burned out, playfield so dirty around the pops you cant even see the artwork.

Has there ever been a scientific study on what exactly creates a Pinhead ?Is there solid proof out there of anyone taking a “break” from it ? Just asking for a friend .

Last I heard, a pinhead is created from curiosity. Once you become one, there is no coming back.

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Thanks ,my friend is terrified.

I'd love to go back to "prebubble" pricing.

Yes you and 100,000 other people.

That’s why it won’t happen.

Everybody seems to have this erotic fantasy that the bubble will implode violently and they will be the only person on the planet left who wants pinball machines, and they’ll swoop in and build an A list collection for $3000.

It just doesn’t work that way.

Yeah but there's probably a lot of them that can afford to just call a technician to fix there game.

Says the guy with the Mike Lindell profile pic, lol!

Yet there are some tables out there that seem to be immune. STNG can be had for less than 6k. $5,500 for many years now.

Immune to what?

Not so long ago that game was $2500 or less.

Anyway, don't worry, it's just a bubble. And if you think it can't bust...THINK AGAIN!!!!

You got a problem with me?

Immune to more recent pinflation. Becoming a good value at this time. Bubble can burst but it would be slow more like landing a hot air balloon.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who thinks the guy in your profile pic sucks, I’ll just leave it at that.

grumble grumble toil and trouble
who will burst this pinball bubble

That guy's awesome. A pillow scammer somehow connected through Trump. You couldn't write this shit. Thanks to all Americans. Your system produces pure entertainment.