I hope this doesn't turn into a "whose bank account is larger" thread with folks touting their disposable income they can drop on overpriced games just because they can. A poll I will pass on, thanks.

I started collecting at 14 and my income from my job was $175/month. No living expenses helps

It all depends on what you're willing to do without.

This. Its not what you make its what you keep! Disposable income is what matters most.

Not sure what the point of this is? How much money you make is really irrelevant, you’re either willing to spend some of your money on pins or you’re not.

Having met dozens of Pinsider's and other collectors I'd venture to guess most are under the 150K level. Plenty below $80K, depends where you live and your priorities in life.

it all depends on how much work you are willing to do. pristine games are worth more projects are cheap but can be made valuable again to be sold to buy more expensive projects or quality games

No one will or should be honest here. Someone making $40k can have more money saved and buy more pins then a guy making $140k who lives beyond his means and saves nothing. I like what my cousins friend, a financial adviser, said to him while they looked at a new subdivision of massive homes "this is where all the poor people live" lol. Also, just doesn't seem cool to ask what someone's income level is.

Income has nothing to do with number of pins. I have one pin and could easily buy more. However, my interest and money are in other areas.

my first game cost $100

Another dumb poll - who cares what your income is nor should we judge those that have either 1 pin or 30. This looks like another one of these dick measuring contests to see who has the biggest one. So sad what Pinside is turning into with some of these topics.

Income probably has something to do with number of pins. It’s probably the number one correlative factor.

Causality does not equal correlation. I have met a bunch of folks and see people talk on here that have more pins then they should probably afford. Sure, more money allows you to buy more pins but a lot of folks on here are addicted and will forego other things to buy pins.

I just don't get these either. Do you really care how much everyone makes or do you just like having a thread to draw attention? I just don't see why anyone would even care to know what is being asked. Unless it is someone trying to show off how much they make, which I don't get either.

Depends when you started collecting. They were MUCH more affordable 20 years ago. Also depends on how much work you want to spend fixing and cleaning games so you can pick up cheaper games. Also, you don't need to have a collector quality collection either. A great playing game with wear, bumps and bruises is just as fun.

Otaku needs to weigh in here , that dudes got collecting skills

This thread is basically meaningless. We’ve seen reports that a large majority of the country couldn’t afford an unexpected bill of $500.

We know that a lot of people driving monster trucks and “living large” are in debt up to their eyeballs. They have no savings for their retirement or their kids college.

A lot of people that appear to be living large are in deep shit, they’re just prolonging it and probably hoping for a govt. bailout or loan forgiveness at some point. Or they’ll declare bankruptcy. And dollars to donuts most of these shitheads are “conservative” and yet counting on social security and Medicare to save their ass.

Of course, the pinball hobby has no shortage of rich motherfuckers. God bless them. I guess.

I get that, but why do you care?

Tell us how you really feel.

Yep.. i don't make a ton of money but am very smart with it and live well within my means. I have older cars, simple house , no kids and i also buy my pins smart and have never really lost money on any i have bought and sold.

If that is really what you want to figure out, you need two series of data: Income and number of pins owned. You are not going to be able to draw any meaningful conclusions without this correlated data. As it is, all you can tell is income, not correlation of income to pins owned.

What kind of brackets are these??? $60k increments??? When you are making over $250k, your question becomes irrelevant to 98% of the population given the price of pins. It should have looked like this...

0-49k
50-74k
75-100k
101-150k
151-250k
251k+

Can’t tell if you are being sarcastic or not. Put me down for 1 pin I bought 20 years ago for 700 bucks. I live in Annapolis MD, so will allow you to interpret that however you like for income levels.

Five and a half inches.

LTG : )
Disclaimer : Sorry : Wrong thread.

Me too!

This is true but it also depends on what stage of your life you were in too. 20 years ago, 1,000 bucks might as well have been a million dollars to me.

From the ground?

Around?

Owning pins is not that expensive. Pay a fair price and the market may go up or down, but you usually wind up breaking even. It is better than a savings account because you can play pinball!

If you buy NIB or higher end pins you risk more, but still not as expensive as many hobbies.

I voted considerably high but that is my situation.

Too many factors:

Where do you live?
Do you have a family?
Do you have other hobbies?

If I didn’t have kids and didn’t live in California it would be considerably lower. Just the cost of my kid’s education for one year is more than all my pins. Personal choice but one My wife and I have made.

If you don’t have kids, I think you can definitely be rolling in the 60k-120k and really rolling on the top end of that if you are not in California or similar state.

11% of people make over 600k? Is this a case where people that don't make that much didn't bother voting? I'm not sure I know anyone that makes 600k. I'll vote and knock the average down a bit. I agree that the brackets are a little silly, as is the concept. I've owned high end guitars since my teens, and was super broke until my early 30's. I'm doing ok now, but don't own many more high end guitars. If this was a guitar forum the data would be skewed. I also owned a handful of pins when I was super broke. I've always found ways to acquire the things I really want.

I make $10 a year. Have 10 machines and don't know how to adjust the pricing settings.

Only get to play each machine once a year, kinda sucks - will start a gofundme soon

I earn $16 an hour which is a lot better than the $2.50 an hour I started out at.

I have owned 100s of pinball machines and currently own about 25.

I will admit these 24 hour work weeks just to live in California are killing me.

In the end, it's all going to burn anyway. How you treat people during your life and where you are headed in the afterlife is much more important.

I screwed up then. I voted for my personal income. It's 3/4 of the household income and the wife's income has no impact on my toys, so it makes no difference.

I think net worth is more important than income level, so instead of spending try saving and investing. Check out the book the Millionaire Next Door. It illustrates working people that save and invest whatever their income can accomplish amazing things. It's an awesome read.

Is that like all we are is dust in the wind?

Hey, you never know. That Kansas pinball machine might be just around the corner.

I have volume ceilings in my home just in case Shaq ever comes over and decides to do jumping jacks in my living room and you know what? It takes a complete secondary hvac system just to heat and cool said ceilings and the only thing that lives up there is my ego.

That’s how much $$ I make...

I have a more important question than income

When the whip cream can runs out do you toss it in the trash immediately or do you go into the garage real quick & do a whip-it?

Asking for a friend