Much bigger demand

You just need to go to the auctions.

"It's an optical illusion" bump...

Limited supply & the demand for it.

Just look at the dots on the east coast compared to the west coast. The east coast has much more pin density.

https://pinside.com/pinball/map/mapbox#3.85/40.02/-97.03/0/26

There are a lot more hot spots / population clusters in the northeast than out in california, thus more opportunities for coin op, thus more games. So, it stands to reason that there was more for games in the northeast than in california, so the result is more available in the northeast on the secondary market.

Then on top of that, everything is more expensive in california. It has a higher cost of living than most areas in the northeast.

it's all demand. California has a massive pinball scene that supports 4 yearly shows (3 in NorCal alone).

The difference in price is usually not enough to cover shipping in anything but the most desirable titles though.

Why is real estate more expensive on the west coast?

We take pride in being higher on the west coast.

Assuming you're talking about the cities and the coast and not, like, Modesto or Bend or whatever, it's because it's a desirable place to live.

It's my desire that all those that have moved here and have over crowded the place and are using up our valuable resources such as water, turn around and hightail it out of here.

images (resized).jpg

And backyard custom pools can be 100k plus

As someone who grew up in the central valley, I don't entirely disagree. I know so many people who are desperate to move to the West coast and are giving up everything they have to get there, and it's funny when they do get there and discover that most of it is dry and hot and poor. The development of high-speed rail and its effect on the housing crisis in the bay area will be interesting to watch, along with climate change dropping its big fat ass right on those snowpacks.

Earthquake insurance on each game.

Seriously this is what most of Orange County looked like when I was a kid. Now there doesn't seem to be one square centimeter of undeveloped land. And you can hear the freeways in the distance going 24/7.

With water the way it is they really should have quit building over 30 years ago. Or at least stop now.
--orange-county-california-interesting-history (resized).jpg

I live in the high desert of California, and unless you are selling an 'A' title game, it can be pretty hard to move a pinball machine without heavily discounting it. Like everything else in California, pricing is very location dependent.