People have been saying this since Stern’s went from $3700 to $4000. Seems like for every person who drops out, 100 more enter.

You have 8 games. You could never buy another game and still be “in the hobby”. I’m sure all your games have risen in value. Sell 1 if you want a new one...I did that recently and ended up with a new game to play & a few extra bucks in my pocket as well.

What a shame if they’re pushed out of the jet hobby!

Foodgument!!!

Restaurants have endless options & competition. Don’t like the prices somewhere, you can easily eat somewhere/something else.

Pinball is niche and unnecessary…ya want it, pay the going rate.

I’m not convinced they’re doing BTTF. Rumors aren’t always right.

Tim & Eric need to get into the pinball biz…they’re very competitive about prices!

I’ll take a swing at that! It’s because of the perceived notion that Sterns are crafted from lower quality materials & in high volume, so they should be cheaper….like the fast food of pinball. Collectors who were always used to Sterns being cheaper than A tier B/W games or high end restorations can’t comprehend how cheapie dinky Stern McPins can be priced so high now.

I’m not saying that’s my opinion. I’m explaining the psychology of people who get more upset about Stern prices than other company’s prices.

The great thing is, you can play all your favorite games with Everdrives & ODEs on original hardware. I’ve got a MODE in my Saturn, and as soon as I stop being lazy, I’m gonna cash in & sell off my Saturn, Dreamcast, PS1, and GBA games.

So you want stern to go out of business?

A factory needs to churn. The reason they do the 3 tiers is so they have guaranteed sales before anyone even plays it. If the LE sells out, and no one even buys a Prem or Pro, they’ve broken even and made profit. The rest is gravy. A pinball company that doenst leverage this marketing doesn’t sell games, as buyers will just “wait and see” …and while they’re waiting and seeing, they lose interest anyway. There’s a reason American Pinball hasn’t sold shit, and Stern churns.

It’s harder than it used to be, but try to keep your eyes/ears peeled for local deals. Craigslist, FB Marketplace, garage sales, etc. My best deals came from those purchases…from non-hobbyists with a random game in their garage & they don’t know how to take the glass off & they don’t want to pay a repair person.