Are Twilight Zone pinballs really selling for $12,000?

Seriously?

I bought my TZ in 2008 for about $2500. (Holy schnikeys does time ever fly right by!)

So that means an annual inflation of (say 11,000/2500)^(1/14) = 11%

But they were selling a year ago for $8000 ish

That means a one-year inflation of 37%

YOU HAVE TAKEN AWAY MY MIDDLE AGEHOOD! AND MY DREAMS OF OWNING A THEATRE OF MAGIC!

HGGGGGGGGGGNNGGHHHHH!

I like the way this guy thinks.

My wife wanted a Cirqus Voltaire, because she thought it was "pretty." I did not want it. I thought it was stupid. I hated it when we got it.

Now I'm a Cirqus Voltaire fan, I camp out on it. Like a heroin addict.

She wants a ToM. Who am I to disagree? She has strange wisdom.

I need to get spoiled, self-righteous college students to help me with my campaign for a free ToM.

They're awesome at convincing people that they are oppressed. Even though they go to an $80,000 a year college and drive a BMW.

It's been like a whole day now that I've been waiting for my free ToM. You know what, eff this. NOW I WANT TWO ToMs. One for a spare.

Untitled (resized).png

Joking aside, I don't think I'm going to buy any more "collector" pins.

I'm an engineer and I have a decent career going, I COULD afford to pay $12,000 for a pinball machine. And it's not like you buy a new pin every day.

But that's just paying too much. Eff it.

I'm just glad I bought into the hobby when I did.

well that escalated quickly

Okay, I made this thread as a joke, to mock (a little) on people who complain about high prices.

Like as if a.) complaining will fix it, or b.) they themselves would sell their own pins at half price in order to be a good guy.

There are "price complaining" threads on every collector forum you can think of.

Here's what's probably going to happen:

The price of the 1990s Bally-Williams "grail" pins like TAF, TZ, etc will continue to rise until it becomes profitable to reproduce them.

When these effers hit $15,000, you're going to see Pinball Shoppes start making brand new ones to sell.

Just like you can now literally build an entire 1969 Camaro from the reproduction part vendors.

The free market allows no vacuum to exist.