Oh no.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/sterns-game-release-history

Calling CRAZYLEVI

LTG : )

I was hoping for a new price thread...seems like it's been days since we had one.

You see pinball machines are like cars ...

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I can see a face turning very Red and Steam exiting the ears nose...

I’ll chime in here since you’re not likely to get a lot of help other than maybe getting beat up for this post. Be thankful you didn’t compare a pin to a car...they eat this stuff up! Purchase what you like. If it’s a theme that resonates with you cost won’t matter within reason. In my opinion the market is somewhat out of whack just look at some of the classified ads. Manufacturers cannot make them fast enough and Covid has created a surge because we are all stuck at home and bored apparently with too much money.

Paging Levi (who has a 20k pin up right now, lol)

Could we be in the middle of a price bubble...?

Seems like we should have a thread that discusses this somewhere.

I think we're past that now...probably best to register a separate domain. Maybe pinball price guide live etc?

Talk about a horse beaten up by a broken record. They got a GIF of that yet?

Every time a noob questions the cost of pinball machines, a demon gets it's wings

1,000 threads of prices by Christmas.

Well, that wood cabinet is handmade from a solid piece of California Red Oak. The metal used to create the ramps are from the forges of Moria. The playfields, oh the playfields, they are also handmade using the finest wood the Amazon Rainforest has to offer. This is how we've gotten to $6k - $10k+ games. The prices are justified by quality, and numerous mechanical devices spread throughout the playfield to dazzle the senses.

Yeah everyone is out of patience and grumpy lately.

Is this what passes as a hazing these days? Sheesh, getting off easy

I’m just here for the jokes and watch Levi’s head spin.

Looks like you have Pinbot for your first pin...good choice there.Also have Bride of Pinbot on the wishlist, another good choice.If you have the space and money go for the trifecta with Jackbot.Probably best not to dwell on what the going rate of a NIB or other highly desirable pins.The prices aren't coming down.Pinball is about fun not about status or standing.Enjoy what you have as you can always play the other titles on location.

A wise pinhead once said

4. I'm now middle aged and I hate everybody
By CrazyLevi

I'm actually receiving PMs to alert me on these now.

There will be no comment, beyond to say I can't believe I'm the price bubble Beetlejuice now.

There is a dedicated thread for pricing discussion.

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

As the "new guy" don't you think maybe just look around for a bit and read some old threads instead of signing up and immediately asking a question like that. You think nobody before you has ever asked that question?

I wouldn't worry too much about it. They get like that sometimes. I've been in the business for decades and I get sticker shock from the prices of machines. I can only imagine how you feel. The good news is that they tend to retain a good bit a value depending on the machine. So, if you buy one and ever decide to sell you can get a decent price for it.

Welcome to Pinside as I see you are in your rookie season.

Congrats, welcome to the club

No, prices keeps going up at a fairly steady rate. Demand keeps growing.

Yes, a bit. People locked down at home with few entertainment opportunities and vacation funds just sitting there.

And it's been an ongoing trend.

A while. Sometimes the secondary market is a little cheaper for certain titles, though.

Oh, don't mind them. They're just entertained by the fact people seem to keep asking general price trend questions every few days now.

Omg. This is the best price bubble thread I've read. I needed a laugh today. Thanks fellow pinheads.

Welcome to pinside and congrats on your new (to you) pinball machine. Do you know where the second one is going already?

With all due respect to the OP and all newbies I think we are long overdue for a new Super Stickie thread. There is already "Welcome to the Pinside! The Official FAQ". We really need another one right under that one: "Welcome to Pinside! The Unoffical FAQ (strongly suggested reading for all newbies)" and have Levi as thread president and he elects a board of 5 others to come of with some Q&A's to get newbies started off correctly.

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Take it with a grain of salt.
Pinside is sort of like a room full of chihuahuas where their bark is worse than their bite.

You are the reason. New people keep coming into the hobby. Supply and demand. Finite supply with rising demand = rising prices

Who said anything about a bubble

The best thing you could do is leave the hobby immediatly. Prices are stupid and pinheads are even more stupid. I warned you.... the only reason I come here now is laugh at the insane sale ads and the idiots who are buying this inflated crap.

New games will depreciate. Down the road they may appreciate. Older games are selling well when well restored or nice originals. Look at Fathom from 20 years ago. $500 now to $5K. Centaur the same. I passed on a Stern Star Gazer for $400 20 years ago from an operator's warehouse, Stupid then because I didn't like like Stern games, felt cheap compared to a Bally. Instead of picking up the SG, I hauled home a Mata Hari and Lost World for the same money each.

You can't predict what will be hot 10-20 years from now.

Okay, so you stumbled on your first step. No big deal. Pick yourself up and try again. Post a classified ad asking $8k firm for your Pinbot...be sure to allow comments. Then start a thread stating why you think Stern is awesome and JJP sucks. You'll be the toast of Pinside in no time!!

Hang around a little longer, and you'll find that enjoying pinball is a close second to bitching about pinball. For example, the sweet irony of all of the same complaints about "another price thread" in another price thread!

Welcome to the club!!

No. Three years ago you could get a good machine for under a hundred bucks. Sure, you would pay at least $200 for a Medieval Madness, but that was an amazing game. There were only like 12 people in the hobby at that time, and we just kept trading games with each other. But then in 2019 a bunch of new people came in. They started adding $20 when they would wax the machines. And then the next person said "If they can get $20 for a coat of wax, then I can get $40 for TWO COATS of wax". That was the beginning of the great Wax War of 2019. All of a sudden there were three, four, and even 10 coats of wax on a game. That was adding $200 JUST FOR THE WAX!!! But then Kaneda showed up, and he started stiffing people. He was charging $20 for each coat of wax... but he was charging for 10 coats, while only putting on two. And he was getting away with it!

And that brings us to 2020, the great wax pandemic. Everybody stayed inside, and just kept waxing themselves silly. All of a sudden games ended up with 290 coats of wax!!!!! You would still be paying $200 for the game, but the cost of that many coats of wax brought us to this mess. THAT is why games are $6000 now.

And whos fault is it?

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That’s a brilliant GIF, and if people haven’t seen that actual show, you’re doing TV wrong. My 12yr old loved it, and we always know by heart 0118 999 881 99 9119 725... ... ...3.

Short answer. Not as much. Like anything in life things get more expensive. Seems to be new games go up in price, used game values rise a bit as well. A rising tide lifts all boats.

Ah...the wax wars. We lost a lot of great soldiers out there.

The smart money was selling wax during that period of time.

Apparently you haven't been bitten by a Chihuahua!

Will sell you a Ghostbusters topper for $5k lol.

It's because of all the new guys that just started this year. So thanks...

We need a 2 week pinball lockdown to flatten the curve.

I was you 5 years ago! I am up to 6 machines now (maxed out and out of room!). As for the wife, to my great surprise and delight, she warmed up to the hobby and plays them as much as I do now! I hope you get as much joy and happiness from the hobby as I have.

There is a lot to discover here on pinside, some of it informative (eg, you’ll no doubt discover Vid’s helpful guides) and hopefully the rest you will find entertaining (I do).

As you can see d-bag transcends all races, politics, religions, genders...and hobbies. Could be worse in this hobby since the community is composed mostly of men who play with toys and many have made it the main component in their identity so they get offended when someone doesn't know as much as they do. To answer your question...I got into this hobby in 2014. 7 years ago. Just bought my 81st game after taking a 2 year break and jumping back in a couple of months ago. Prices are significantly higher than 2 years ago and I do believe the pandemic has impacted it.

Stern pro NIB games are still around for under 6k but not for much longer probably. Call around and you’ll likely get prices under MSRP.

My last comment sounded a little negative towards this community. Let me clarify. Just disregard the stupidity because there are a TON of great people on pinside. If you need help this is the place to come. You just may need to weed through some stupid comments but it's worth it.

RB