The pragmatic answer is to add up the retail cost of the mods you don’t like, and value those at 50% of retail - IF they can be removed and sold. There will always be someone on Pinside who will happily buy a mod for half-price. Of course if it’s a mod in high demand that’s no longer available, use common sense - it may be worth more than the original cost.

I would caution buyers against saying things to the seller like “That mod is only worth $X to me”, or “I hate those pinblades, I’ll have to take them out”. Just make an offer like you would on a nice house with bad wallpaper. Otherwise, you’re just getting into a debate about taste that you won’t win.

That said, there’s nothing wrong with saying, for example: “would you be willing to sell it without the ColorDMD and the Invisiglass?”

This thread reminds me of a funny story. When we bought our house, we had a contract already signed by both parties. At the closing, the owners said “oh by the way, if you want the play set in the backyard, we’ll sell it to you for just $1000 more.” It was massive and pretty nice, we had a 3-year-old, and I knew it would cost me a lot more than $1k to replace it. But I said “no thanks”, because I knew that they weren’t going to back out of the closing, and they sure as hell weren’t going to take it apart and move it (the had already moved out). So, we got a “free” wooden playset.

It always pays to know what cards you’re holding

Scale model figures (not “dolls”), signs and vehicles are sunk cost. I have no expectation of getting any money back out of those kinds of mods when I sell the game. They’re probably the most subjective mods of all, except maybe art blades. Man, I hate most of the art blades on the market right now, except for the ones that the manufacturers are putting out (using the same art team). Think before you bling.

Yeah, if you want a game with no mods, you could be waiting a very, very long time. Best to come in as buyer with an understanding of the mods’ intrinsic values, and some flexibility. Nobody wants to hear that they made bad decisions. Having said that, if someone posts a game on Pinside with lots of crappy mods and wants 50% more than the stock game, I’ll be happy to join the mob in ridiculing it.