This isn’t actually true, At least this century. Just some old Wives tale.

Curious to see how things will play out this summer

Then call me an old wife... but let's hear an old NJ operator debunk it, because that's who told it to me in Seaside Heights NJ circa 1992, Coin Castle or Leo's perhaps? Been awhile...

I've got a couple of good deals recently. Working on one right now.

Recent History of Pinball Pricing:

What I feel comfortable paying for nib pro/prem/LE >
$5.3k
$6.8k
$8.5k

Current nib pricing (these are published MSRP) >
$6.3k
$7.8k
$10k but unobtanium

Real pricing after you buy a few Stern upgrades that are necessary to fully enjoy the pin (final hit to wallet) >
$7.5k
$9.0k
$13k 2nd nib buyer

SOON Stern will be increasing current pricing $500 on all models. Real world pricing SOON >
$8.0k
$9.5k
$13.5k

Pinball prices will continue to rise for the foreseeable future. I can’t get into paying these prices but would for a brand new, top 20 pro or premium. Pinball machines hold their value reasonably and after they have been played and enjoyed, can be resold for a small loss.

The 'money to burn' collector's mentality is starting to spill over into other new gaming products as well, such as limited-run physical copies of Switch games with no download option.

Glad to see this thread got some legs. I'm with another poster that is a one pin owner. I feel like I got in before the lock last summer buying my pin after not having one for a long time. I used to enjoy searching the ads to see what's for sale. Now, I don't bother. No way I'm getting a second pin any time soon at these prices.

Pins will continue to rise with all the cheap money out there and inflation caused by government bailouts. It will cause another tank like 2008, but that was a short term tank. Next one might be the same.

Spenders are rewarded while savers pay for it. This will reverse, but the international shell game may continue for decades to come. If it does, pin values will rise and fluctuate around 15% as they have in the past. Stern huo titles were selling for less than nib price for a while. Now they are back up to or more than nib.

Cars are the same. A new Lexus rx350 is almost 80k CAD. Fuckin crazy.

I'm with you on not buying anything in the used market. I've been sending out offers using the Pinside estimated value on a used game,but so far no one has gotten back to me.
If I do buy a pin, it'll probably be a NIB,if I find something I really like.

I just pulled out my PS3,to help me wait and see what's going to happen with pin prices. Can't beat paying 10.00 for a PS3 video game that provides hours of fun.
And if the pin market doesn't become affordable to me in the future,I'll get off my wallet,and buy a PS5.

The good news is,I picked a great time to buy a new house in January 7 2020. If I had waited, there's no way I could afford the house I'm living in now in today's real estate market.

My 1st pin was a Williams F-14 Tomcat I picked up about 9 years ago for $1,100 that needed nothing and still have that. 2nd pin was a project Space Invaders for $900 around the same time frame that I got up and running for $50 in parts and have since sold.

Fast forward to now and as I'm putting the final touches on my home theater room I decided to purchase two additional pins for the back wall. Kind of knew what I wanted and went looking thinking it would just be a find it and buy it thing. After a couple days back on Pinside, Craigslist and FB Market I was like holly crap you want what for that. To say I got sticker shock was an under statement. WOW!!!!!!

I did find a non-working 1976 Bally Captain Fantastic project for $500 that I now have up and running and once cleaned up and presentable will be in it for about $750. Wasn't really looking for an EM pin but decided to pull the trigger on it anyway, glad I did.

Now the hunt starts for #3 which might also be another project but something non EM. While I could step up large and buy that $5K used pin my brain says no.

Prices are crazy for sure.

I just bought JP premium cost me as much as my nib STLE bought in 2014. Add a shaker and I’m paying more than what a Stern LE cost six years ago.

I can’t believe the price people are paying for a JJP CE or Stern LE these days and they’re selling out in hours.

$10k by Christmas used to be a running joke.

Is the key point here... pinflation is caused by demand outstripping supply, and the only way to satiate that "got to have it" feeling is pay thru the nose for what you want. Since all the new corona-fueled interest in the hobby, people have been looking at top 100 lists and assuming that if it's on the list, it's worth owning. They then find someone (who has had the machine for 10 years and paid jack all for it back then) who sees dollar signs in that minimally played corner lurker from their collection, and Boom goes the dynamite. This is why titles that you would have had to give away years ago are raking in bank now. I remember when they couldn't give away Ravens and Genesis machines, but look at the price on them now.

No, once a pinhead, always a pinhead. They may drift away, but never truly go away completely.

POTC LE - Bidding starts at $30,000...

“ My firm price is the best offer over $30000 'cash on the glass'; no cashiers or bank checks”

https://pinside.com/pinball/market/classifieds/ad/116464

I'm gonna go find a cash machine.

Dude atm.jpg

It does seem like the sales have slowed a bit now except for really desired titles or really (relatively in this crazy market) cheap games. I dont pay any attention to these crazy LE prices......not an indication of 90% of the people interested in buying/selling.

I think it did initially for sure - seemed like every game was being sold in hours or minutes at inflated prices. Now seems 80% of the games are sitting longer before being sold - even if they are sold. I do not have stats just my observation as I have been glued to the market pages for past 2 years. I also think with Mandalorian being released and having Stern seemingly having another pin release likely in fall and CGC rumored to be close to having a couple games come out people may be a little more reluctant to buy used games and instead sell games or save the coins for these new releases.

Agree with the LE/CE prices - those seem to still be way up and holding.

Gotta love the increase in Investment Value. Even just to buy&hold.

Except we only sell games to buy other games...so it really doesn't help.

Oh yay, money.

You love increasing investment value, I love increasing bonus multipliers. Something in this hobby for everyone, I guess.

Yep. I'm glad I bought in a little early. I buy, hold, enjoy, and sell for a profit. I keep my games for a long time, so I'll enjoy a great collection for a decade or so and walk away with 20%. What's not to like?

I guess I'm one of the few who isnt motivated by money in this hobby.

If I ever get rid of a machine, it's only so I can get one that I like a little more instead. I've never had to rely on my hobby for income.

Is there a thread for "missed opportunities" (not counting Bally Kiss)? I wanted to get a CV shortly after they came out, but there were problems with the ringmasters on most of them, so I didn't. The prices semi-crashed, I should have taken a chance and bought then. Later, they worked it all out and now CV's are well above original list. I rarely buy, and never to invest, just to play.

If you buy new and wait long enough they all sell for more I believe .I don’t really care though i just buy themes I want at home and play whatever on location .Right now buying NIB is the way to go and never sell one until code is complete .The one question I have is with all these new company’s putting pins out and the rumors of more ready to roll come expo there has to be a hault at some point dont you think ? The bug hit me hard and I worked a ton to have 4 in my first year and a half but it’ll be awile for my next without selling .

Logic 101?

Motivated by money and being smart with money are two different things. Condemning those who consistently make smart decisions with their money is just plain ignorant. I've made over 50k on my MTG collection over the years, and I'd say I've had equal if not more fun than my friends who didn't bother investing in rare, expensive cards.

Your silly and insulting insinuation that I rely on pinball for income says more about you than me.

Wow. Relax. I'm not condemning you or anyone. It's just me making a statement that i've always kept the two seperate. Jeez pinside lately. I'm happy for your success and i'll even give you a thumbs up if that makes up for my insulting and offensive posts.

"I've never had to rely on my hobby for income."

This is your reply to me taking about making money off my machines when I eventually sell them after a decade of ownership.

Unreal.

I'm glad you enjoy them and i'm glad you made money. I dont relate because what I get I keep until death or trade. People are different. Give it a rest.

Sure, had you said that, I would have given you a thumbs up. We all approach things differently, and I respect your approach.

I'm not against making money or being smart with it, etc. Of course that would be silly. I think I'm just at a point where I have what I like and sure I can make money on it but I rather always have pinball instead of extra cash. That's just me. For others it's different and that's totally fine. Apologies if the tone was snarky or demeaning.

All to often I’ve bought my pins at a value that was way too overpriced and the only upside for the pinflation is that I can eventually get out of a pin what I paid for it. Not all bad I guess.

Who shot who in the what now?

I wonder how much of an impact websites like Craigslist and FB Marketplace have had on pricing.

I got into the hobby 4 years ago because I was searching CL for old cars and somehow came across a Sky Jump-which turned into my first pinball purchase.

Probably not as much as you’d think. Both have been around a lot longer than the high prices. Craigslist was around back when I had to shove firepower and flash cabinets into the dumpster (with playfields) because nobody wanted them.

IMAG0335 (resized).jpg

I have a new policy when going to look at/pick up pins.. especially off of Craigslist or facebook. Always bring cash for one more, and space to bring another one home too if you can. The best deals I have gotten have been when I went to pick something up and asked if there was anything else they wanted to move, particularly projects and gotten a package deal. Then take the package deal home spruce it up a bit, and sell the second game at a reasonable price to offset the cost of the first. I've pulled this off with my last few game deals.

Picked up a Torpedo Alley and added in the booting Robocop, sold Robocop at a good price for someone and that offset the Torpedo Alley.

Picked up an El Dorado. Guy had a Space Shuttle under a tarp on his deck he wanted to get rid of. Long story short, the Space Shuttle project sold within 20 minutes of listing it, was gone in under an hour, and I ended up getting the El Dorado at almost 1/2 price when all was said and done.

The results of this? I got my games cheaper, other people with headaches got them removed, and new buyers got everything working pretty quickly. Got a video of the completely trashed and wet Space Shuttle flipping a full game the day he brought it home so it worked and was surprisingly complete. Guy is restoring the cabinet and putting a hardtop on it so a new Space Shuttle will re-enter the world.

Its hard to get a pinball project but if you can scoop one up and get it to someone who will finish it, do it.

I'm not too concerned with the current pricing trend. I go into this hobby with the intent to have fun. Even if the market does start to come down and I lose a few dollars in the process I won't lose sleep over it. Hobbies by their very nature aren't meant to make anyone rich and anyone who is in it for that reason is in it for the wrong reason IMO.

3, 2, 1, POP!

Sold two of my machines and bought a Video Pin with 1000 machines loaded in it ....it has the 5 machines that would cost me 50,000 on the open market. Sure it is not exactly the same but when I play the real machines on site I can beat them on a regular basis. So for me it solved the problem of wanting expensive machines and it's like having an arcade in the basement. Also gives me an idea of almost any cheaper machine I would want to buy ....whether it will be any good or not before I even think about buying it. Never spent over 3 gran for a machine and now I never will .....pretty much solved the problem for me. My kids and friends end up playing with this machine more than the others I own. The bonus ....I don't have to fix anything unless I buy another older machine and want to fix it up for a project. I don't have to complain about playfield issues or mess with goofy mpu problems. Just made the hobby more enjoyable and more affordable and I can play TAF, MM,MB and many others every night without leaving the house.

There ya have it folks, the cure for the pinball pricing blues is the shittiest thing on earth:

Video pinball!

Problem solved.

not to mention the 10,000 dollar piece of gum stuck to the bottom of it

Video pinball has come a long way... and is increasing in popularity with the newbs just because of prices.

And for those of us who can build and configure a VP cabinet from scratch, we are laughing all the way to the bank. I can play hundreds if not a 1000+ titles and never drop another dime. Does that mean I am going to sell all my real machines? No, but it can really take that itch away to buy some of these outrageously high priced used pins right now. But, Hell, I'm dropping ~$1700 on a Gottlieb Subway this weekend and I can download a working virtual copy for my VP cab for nothing.

Am I worse off for having a virtual cabinet? I don't think so, but actually owning some of these old titles is part of the hobby too. I think going forward, eventually everyone will have a VP cabinet in their collection, it supplements the hobby more than detracts from it IMHO. YMMV.

BH

Yah hate to agree with this but video pinball blows....

and yes I have played the super expensive really nice ones and they blow also.

I'm not going to read through all this stuff. I'm just going to say two of the most common and overly used phrases re; pricing when I entered the hobby 7 years ago was... "judge dredd is a 1400.00 game" and "never look at pinball machines as an investment" Nether aged very well...

And my right hand is a good substitute for an ex wife which can also be very expensive.

Video pinball can have everything that ever existed and i'd still take an EM over that.

Ok, that made me spit-take my beer...

So there you have it, video pinball is as good as a hand job.