no this is the welcome to page 3 post

I own like 20 games, and of course have the space for it, mrs Don Hop…some people can make it in New York, some people can't, and pretend to be their wife on pinside! Figures.

Stuff like this makes me really wish I had bought an Aerosmith Pro through the Marco "Show Pick Up" special years ago. I'm not a huge Aerosmith fan, but that was a really fun game and had a really great feel to it for a Pro. Same thing with Star Wars Pro. Sometimes Stern's Pros are better games than their more upscaled models.

That, and the fact that it would've been under $5k for the game and this many years later, I'd probably have beaten it and been tired of it now and could sell it at least a $2k profit. That's madness.

You sold a Monster Bash for $20k!
Damn. How much is that in shekels?

Us? No. Only those buying into this hype or looking to cash in quick. I’ll just sit back and watch this show unfold thread by thread.

I NEED it mentality has its costs. I NEED IT NOW is even more pricey.

Levi is definitely the most homophobic guy on pinside. Got him again!

I'll be the first to admit that I'm poor, but my modest collection of 12 games is certainly not the least number of games here.

Based on recent trends, ridiculous NIB demand, continuing part shortages, and crunched production timelines.....it seems fairly obvious IMO what will happen in 2022 & beyond....

LE's have always been collectible, decked-out, and limited....and they all get built very early in a production run.

All that still holds true, but the buyer's main reason for purchasing an LE has now shifted to guaranteeing they get their game early, so that none of the manufacturing or production issues will apply. They want their new toy, they don't want to wait, and willing to pay Stern's rising MSRP to make that happen. Plus they still getting the best, decked-out version of the game.

IMO most buyers aren't going to care if Stern pushes LE runs to 1500 units or more. Oh I'm sure vocal minority here will complain that these LE's aren't really limited anymore, but they be drowned out by the sound of Stern's ringing cash registers. People will just be happy to purchase the larger number of LE's available.

So Stern will produce larger runs of LEs with each release. We've reached 1000 units with Rush. How about 1500? 2000? And they'll keep raising prices & still keep selling out instantly. Is there a limit? I mean the LE's have the highest profit margin for Stern. Why leave money on the table using those same limited custom parts to build premiums, when you can use them to make more LE's and increase your profits. Just one initial Premium run. And when you have the time, pump out a run of those lower BOM Pro's. Then move onto producing the next big seller in 3 months. Rinse & repeat.

The Premiums are eventually going to become the "limited" games, because Stern just won't have the time to set aside to build them. Just look at what's happening right now. Look at all the premium runs of old titles that keep getting pushed back further & further. They'll only have the build time if they release a dud, but that hasn't happened in a really long time.

Just my thoughts. 2022 seems pretty obvious to me (until this white hot market starts to slow), but what the hell do I know?

GREED IS GOOD! Did I stutter?

Deadpool, Iron Maiden, and Metallica (among many others) Premiums are either nearing the $10K mark or have passed it.

Pros, I have no idea how they'll perform long term, but Premiums tend to meet or exceed MSRP as time marches on.

After seeing how they've exploited Elvira, I'm sure we will see a Rush SuperMegaLEAnniversary++ edition where you get their signatures + a splinter from one of Neil Peart's drumsticks .

I don't mind Stern doing stuff like this right now with certain titles if I'm honest. I like to joke about it since I could never see myself paying $25K+ for a pin, but I can understand why Stern is doing it (I never saw myself paying over $5K for a pin, but that happened far too many times over the past several years ... and I am pretty damn sure my first $10K+ pin is going to happen very soon ).

Stern is currently in a situation where they can only make a number of pins equal to the part they have the least in their inventory. Prior to the global semiconductor shortage, you could usually find parts somewhere at some reasonable price if you were running short. That is not the case now. I'm 100% sure the CPU they're using is basically impossible to get at this time. I'm sure they buy the CPUs by the thousands to get significant volume discounts, but seeing that Mandalorian, Godzilla, and Rush have people drooling and throwing money their way, I'm pretty sure their stock is dwindling. The price increases + "exotic" pins like Elvira Anniversary Edition almost seems as if they're adding some cashflow to keep things status quo until all of this passes. If this shortage doesn't pass by next year, there could be problems, but that's a whole other discussion.

Except Star Wars. It might be collectible, but that LE was a premium for the most part. They made 750 of them ... that's a lot for an LE. It was not decked out at all unless getting the other translites compelled you to buy the LE. When all is said and done, I think most people will prefer the Comic Premium in that it will be rarer and people seem to prefer that artwork. Even the LE translite isn't exactly "limited".

Seems like comic premium is already the most expensive/desirable