Quoted from Hazoff:

Most times? Crappola
So because u can recoup most of ur money its fine to spend more than u really want to? The OG post never even mentioned resale so not sure what the point of that was, theres a cap some people have with certain items and eventually it becomes unworthy of the investment. I like pinball but 9K for a Stern Pro regardless of resale has me out of the game.

Quoted from KingVidiot:

When I was 26, a $60 game was a huge investment for me...
Didn’t buy my first machine till this year, but then I bought 3 more immediately lol. I’m 41.
About 10 years ago, I started my own business. I made a promise to myself that one day, I’d buy a Star Trek tng pinball machine as a reward for busting my ass and a symbol that my business had made it. Back then they were like 3k, and every year, they went up in price, just out of reach.
A decade later, and while I still love that Star Trek table, time and tastes changed the landscape of pinball, and I decided I wanted a Jurassic Park premium instead as my first pin. But I’m married to a fellow pin head, so one just wouldn’t do, haha.
Got a Godzilla premium on order, and might preorder an Elvira for next year too.

Quoted from rx3:

From what I've seen, most electronics and computer technology have gone down in price. Flat screens, computers, gps, mixers, dvd payers, cell phones, etc...
This is most likely the result of newer technology allowing devices (like pinball machines) to be made cheaper. Seems like pinball manufacturers are taking advantage of peoples' addictions? Or is a pinball machine an exception?

Quoted from pookycade:

So agree with you on this point. Most people don’t realize your cost is driven primarily by a) volume and b) labor. The actual parts not so much (well except that volume thing)
That said this recent price jump is (single data point as it may be) an aberration from their previous delta. Yeah yeah I know COVID this, part shortages that, dash of inflation there, etc. But really it seems more testing the waters of “How much will people pay before my total quarterly earnings levels off (or worse … declines)”.
I will say it is pushing operators immensely, as the economics of all this have never been particularly favorable to us. If I can put out a $400 Ms Pac-Man versus a $7K Godzilla, other than personal interest the Ms Pac wins every time.
I am BTW getting the Godzilla to go in my arcade so they haven’t lost me yet. But I’ll be honest the mental pause I have each time I do this is becoming longer and longer.
It would be interesting to see what the customer demography. breakdown really looks like and how much it has and continues to shift from operators to collectors (men with money). I suspect operators are diminishing. And then it really becomes a question of how much revenue is driven to stern by people playing games on location.
If the Stern Connect is to be believed they are sort of shooting themselves in the foot here. Less games on location, less stern connect subscription fees, more flogging of their new business model.