(Topic ID: 170400)

Top 3 upgrades/mods with best ROI

By Neuromancer87

7 years ago


Topic Heartbeat

Topic Stats

You

Linked Games

No games have been linked to this topic.

    Topic Gallery

    View topic image gallery

    Afm-playfield (resized).png
    groundcut (resized).jpg

    #1 7 years ago

    What are the top 3 upgrades/mods in terms of return on investment for people looking to make a profit on their machine?

    #2 7 years ago

    I'm going to go out on a limb here, but maybe clearcoating the playfield (properly)

    It sure is a time costing investment though

    So much of the upgrades/mods can either cost $$$ or insane time, so it's hard to say or determine what will add held value, especially when it's all determined by knowledge and what someone is willing to pay for a machine +- cost of upgrades/mods

    Interested to see what others here say

    Edit:

    Quoted from Aurich:

    You don't get your money back out of mods, but I do think you get money back out of restoration. (You don't get your time and labor! But quality repro parts)

    #3 7 years ago

    Tron Pro ramp lights are pretty much the only mod I can think of that might get you a few extra bucks if you install them properly .

    Buying a Spiderman VE playfield and making a few *mods* so that it "makes sense" if you want to run the regular Spiderman software since you prefer the VE artwork to the original release (don't ask). Could be worth millions!

    #4 7 years ago

    My choices for mods/updates that might add to your profit when selling a machine.

    Pinball instruction cards. There usually a small donation and look awesome. I think the well done cards add a nice pop for virtually no dinero.

    Thats about it. Most mods are a losing proposition and I think you will get less ROI.

    LEDs have to be the worst ROI mod if you ask me, at least if you use quality LEDs. I still love them, but the quality LEDs can really eat some $$.

    #5 7 years ago

    While I don't think any mod will see a truly good ROI, the top three off the top of my head would be: PDI glass, color DMD, and LED OCD.

    #6 7 years ago
    Quoted from Chosen_S:

    I'm going to go out on a limb here, but maybe clearcoating the playfield (properly)
    It sure is a time costing investment though
    So much of the upgrades/mods can either cost $$$ or insane time, so it's hard to say or determine what will add held value, especially when it's all determined by knowledge and what someone is willing to pay for a machine +- cost of upgrades/mods
    Interested to see what others here say
    Edit:

    If you have your own equipment and do not value your time, sure. If you are paying Kruzman 500 plus shipping then no. Even then the time to fully strip the playfield and reassemble it quite lengthy for a low return on your investment.

    Best is most likely colordmd. People stupidly over charge for it when selling a machine. A working dmd is 100 used, 175 new which they pull before installing the color dmd. Then they expect to get between 300-400 more for their machine with the display installed despite keeping a good dmd for themselves.

    #7 7 years ago
    Quoted from BeaglePuss:

    While I don't think any mod will see a truly good ROI, the top three off the top of my head would be: PDI glass, color DMD, and LED OCD.

    I think you would get your money back on those, but you're not gonna make a profit by putting them in. Most would pay full value to have them already installed on a game they want, but not a premium, as they could just pick them up on their own.

    #8 7 years ago

    I really don't think adding mods adds equity. It's not a house.

    -1
    #9 7 years ago
    Quoted from MinusWorlds:

    I really don't think adding mods adds equity. It's not a house.

    What about a tron pro with 2 k plus in mods?

    #10 7 years ago
    Quoted from Chosen_S:

    What about a tron pro with 2 k plus in mods?

    overpriced Tron Pro if you tack on those. If you find someone that wants them and will pay, great. I would be happy with a stock Tron Pro (though I'd want the arcade and EL ramp lighting... that's not 2K in mods though.) I can't understand putting a solid Sys 11 or pair of SS pins in value into a game to not change gameplay.

    #11 7 years ago

    New leg bolts are a nice touch

    #12 7 years ago
    Quoted from Chosen_S:

    What about a tron pro with 2 k plus in mods?

    Depends on the mods. Adding to the price and adding equity are two different things. The OP is asking about equity or ROI. I know of no mod that gives you anything but break even. At best. Most you can expect to lose money.

    #13 7 years ago

    Just like old cars and motorcycles I would rather have a original machine. I would rather do it the way I want.

    #14 7 years ago
    Quoted from MinusWorlds:

    Depends on the mods. Adding to the price and adding equity are two different things. The OP is asking about equity or ROI. I know of no mod that gives you anything but break even. At best. Most you can expect to lose money.

    Exactly. Break-even at best. Buying mods does not lead to profits.

    Making mods might lead to profits.

    #16 7 years ago

    Mods are like chrome on a Harley. They are personal preferences......and a huge endless money pit. ROI is most assuredly in the negative column. There exists a wide body of enthusiasts that place zero value on mods/chrome. Certainly, mods/chrome make for a quicker sale......but one will never come close to receiving full value of whats invested.

    #17 7 years ago

    Powdercoat adds value. I charged 300 more for a nice Magenta PC on a GB pro. I could have sold it with stock trim for 300 dollars less The buyer chose the PC because of the hassle to remove it all , bring it in , and reinstall. This machine was also being put on route. The buyer had no down time waiting for PC, paid my cost for it. Its a break even proposition at best. If the buyer doesn't want to pay for the mods, just pull them off and sell them separately. That would be the best ROI on mods.

    #18 7 years ago

    only mod worth anything of value to me is a ColorDMD and that is still minimal as I am fine without it in most examples.

    #19 7 years ago
    Quoted from Neuromancer87:

    in terms of return on investment for people looking to make a profit on their machine?

    You are asking for it. You never mention-Investment, Profit, or anything having to do with money and pinball on Pinside. It is like oil and water and many people see profit and pinball as a sin. One of the only games I have really seen that has mods and justifies a premium for mods is Tron. People seek out already modded Trons.

    #20 7 years ago

    My top 3 would be LED's, shaker motor and mirror blades. A strong 4th would be Cliffy protectors. However, you're not going to make any money on any of those. The return on investment lies in your game standing out above the others and people are willing to pay a little more for some mods.
    Best investment in selling a pin? Take a little time and take as many pictures as you can of all the areas that you can. Put together Photobucket album or whatever website you use and that will save a ton of time for you and any prospective buyers.

    #21 7 years ago

    Labor.
    Clean, wax, troubleshoot, adjust, fix and generally get a dirty and neglected game clean and playing well. Much more sales potential after than before.
    However, those things require time, effort and know-how. Your overall return by the hour will likely be small.

    #22 7 years ago

    A new plug for almost every game I've ever bought.

    groundcut (resized).jpggroundcut (resized).jpg

    1 month later
    #23 7 years ago

    There is no ROI on pinball get the hint, if you buy for profit? You loose. Buy because you love it.

    #24 7 years ago

    A set of Cliffy's may help you retain value. If I could choose between two games, I would prefer one without a worn scoop.

    Mods under the glass are nice, but not everyone has the same tastes.
    Color DMD is a good one because you can remove it.
    Powder is tricky, I usually prefer stock.

    #25 7 years ago

    Depends on the buyer, too. I, personally, don't care for a vast majority of the mods out there as a lot of them are just repurposed toys or pencil sharpeners, but the right mod, in the right place, and installed well, can add a level of professionalism to a game that will result in bringing a higher price because it conveys attention to detail and pride of ownership.

    With that said, and with being a TZ owner, I think the best mod for the money that gives those results I mentioned, is the GLM mini playfield switch kit. At $85 and a couple hours labor, it really creates a nice, clean look with that mini playfield that looks like it should've been that way from the factory. It's also fully adjustable so you can really dial in the desired force required to trigger the switches. Plus, it has a secondary switch on each of the switches that you can use to trigger flasher posts, or anything else your heart desires. Way cool stuff for a great price.

    #26 7 years ago

    I've never seen a pencil sharpener on a game.

    #27 7 years ago
    Quoted from yzfguy:

    I've never seen a pencil sharpener on a game.

    Afm-playfield (resized).pngAfm-playfield (resized).png

    #28 7 years ago

    I stand corrected.

    #29 7 years ago
    Quoted from yzfguy:

    I've never seen a pencil sharpener on a game.

    TZ slot machine mod

    #30 7 years ago
    Quoted from yzfguy:

    I've never seen a pencil sharpener on a game.

    You have, you just didn't know what they began life as. Here are but a few I've found over the years that are really just $3 pencil sharpeners with some paint and a few LEDs:

    TZ slot machine
    TZ airplane(DC3)
    TZ/TAF cannon
    TAF train
    TAF phone
    TAF vault

    #31 7 years ago

    Holy cow!

    1 week later
    #32 7 years ago

    There you have it, results!

    #33 7 years ago
    Quoted from Miguel351:

    You have, you just didn't know what they began life as. Here are but a few I've found over the years that are really just $3 pencil sharpeners with some paint and a few LEDs:
    TZ slot machine
    TZ airplane(DC3)
    TZ/TAF cannon
    TAF train
    TAF phone
    TAF vault

    The same range of pencil sharpeners also includes a cash register (very similar to the TZ Greed DMD image), a camera (unfortunately too big to put on TZ without obstructing the view to the camera shot) and a skull.

    Reply

    Wanna join the discussion? Please sign in to reply to this topic.

    Hey there! Welcome to Pinside!

    Donate to Pinside

    Great to see you're enjoying Pinside! Did you know Pinside is able to run without any 3rd-party banners or ads, thanks to the support from our visitors? Please consider a donation to Pinside and get anext to your username to show for it! Or better yet, subscribe to Pinside+!


    This page was printed from https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/top-3-upgradesmods-with-best-roi and we tried optimising it for printing. Some page elements may have been deliberately hidden.

    Scan the QR code on the left to jump to the URL this document was printed from.