I'm similar minded. Well said!

Agreed^^^

I think the true answer is a mix of the above.

Gee, where is MaxAMillion to tell us how rich he is? Miss that guy. Kind of inviting braggart behavior here. Since you asked, 10k is not a lot for me for something that brings me a lot of joy. Some guys have an 80k RV or boat. I have 10 or so nice pins.

You are right, just got too crazy wether you can afford it or not.
A Thai massage brings much joy for a few bucks!!!!!!

Every hobby has its tiers and every participant their own acceptable budget.

Haha! I’d rather have a nice pin than 100 Thai massages. And it won’t even make me feel gross.

It was easy for the past couple of years to trade in Gilligan’s, Demo Man’s, and Road Shows that you paid 2k for and trade it towards newer Sterns for way more value.
That was/is my case at least

Roadshow better.
Keep it

Money in the bank isn't as fun especially if it goes belly up.

Although I wouldn't waste any of it on an Addams, I do like having quality machines as playable, tangible assets.

It’s long gone. Sold it for/towards a JP pro

Over the years, I’ve bought some $5k+ games from guys who clearly prioritized the hobby over new trucks, remodeling their house, etc, but are far from rich. I’ve also sold games to extremely wealthy collectors where money doesn’t matter. On average, there are more in the first group than second, but the influx of rich collectors has really changed the face of this once bowling alley, blue collar hobby. My first games were off location, Roadshow for $1800, TZ for $2 grand, MM for $4k, etc. There are still great games below $5k, and they way things are going, that’s increasing.

The mindset is “I’d rather have that cool pinball machine than $10,000.”

This is rocket science?

OK. This was the mindset right here.

https://bid.captainsauctionwarehouse.com/lot-details/index/catalog/119/lot/30644

We are flush with cash. Royally flush.

I don't spend $10k on a game. I only spend purchase price - sales price + games played.

As the resale market sags I am less excited about buying, especially NIB.

I just turned 40 and have had a well paying job since 24 and have always been ultra conservative. My savings are in a real good position for retirement, college for my kids etc.

Over the last few years I’ve lost a few good friends. Just a couple weeks ago a real close friend of mine was murdered. I can’t take my money with me so I may as well enjoy it, with my family and friends, while I’m here. This is all a very long way of saying, I’m going through a mid life crisis.

$3k to you can be the equivalent of $10k to someone else. Not a knock, it's just that everyone's financial standing is different and $X may mean a lot to you but be pocket change to someone else. Someone may not be all that passionate about pinball yet will think it's cool to have a $10k pinball machine sitting in a room in their house (rarely ever played) because $10k means little sacrifice to them.

It’s a crazy hobby. These machines cost more than most used cars. I use to say I won’t spend more than $5k on a pinball machine. Latest game bought, CCr SE for $8.2k. I guess my limit is now $10k because I have a PF LE on order. Am I crazy? Maybe, but that $10k sittin in the bank isn’t even keeping up with inflation and I’m not getting any joy out of it. At least with a pinball machine I can play it and enjoy it until I want to sell it probably for a loss. Oh well life is too short, buy what makes you happy.

Seconded midlife crisis.
It was either a Mazda Miata or some pins. I went with pins and am happy. I made sure I could pay in cash and that if they go up in smoke there would be no impact on my life. The depreciation or appreciation was not part my my decision

A. I'll take the $10K out of pocket change.
B. I'll trade or sell pins and buy it.
C. I wish I had $10K to blow on a pin.
D. Midnight pinball ( similar to midnight auto parts )
E. I'll save up and buy it.
F. I'll sell a kidney, a kid, or the wife, and buy it.
G. Maybe I'll make a cardboard sign and stand on the corner begging for money until I reach $10K.

Pick the mindset you like best.

LTG : )

Fortunately, I’m only interested in EM’s. If I want to go expensive, think I’d go for a 289 Mustang.

YOLO?

1) Obey all driving laws and you are unlikely to get stopped.
2) Make sure your cash is well hidden in your car
3) In the unlikely event you are actually pulled over, politely but firmly refuse to consent to a search of your vehicle without a warrant. People have rights - even in today's america!

I was surprised that banks ask what cash is for if you withdraw more than $10k, citing it’s an IRS requirement. I can say first hand that bankers don’t think it’s funny if you say “hookers and blow”

I dropped 10k on a luxury massage chair. Trust me, pick your worst favorite pin and trade for a massage chair.

I turned my hobby/entertainment into a job. I own a a Family entertainment center and am getting ready to open another one. I could never justify buying as many Limited Edition machines as I have without making money on them also. We're building a house right now also. Eventually a lot of the Limited Edition machines we have will go Into our personal collection that I will cycle in and out back to the arcades

There is no such thing as a $10,000 pinball machine. Pinball has been, in my experience, a unique hobby where I have reliably been able to get my money back out. I've rotated 60 machines through my basement in the past 5 years, and have made money on some, and lost money on some. With the exception of my P3 Multimorphic, I've never lost more than $2,000 on anything and have actually made a little money more often than losing it (if you don't count sweat equity, drive time, refurb time).

I love pinball. I get alot of enjoyment from it.

I'll probably clear out a system 11 machine to buy a $10,000 pinball machine this upcoming year. But I'm doing this knowing I'll get a ton of enjoyment out of it and be able sell/trade it for something else down the line if its not a forever pin.

Would I buy a $10,000 pinball machine if it sold for $500 after 2 years? Probably not. And if the pinball market crashes and I'm stuck with what I have... O no! I'd have to live with 6 pins in my basement (my max) and never change them... the horror!

I could totally play at some of the local arcades that have pins (and I do) but have way more pinball time with pins at home. I have a family and can play guilt free at 5 a.m. during my dedicated pinball time without taking time away from them. If I played as much as I do only during open business hours here I'd be mistreating my kids.

Also...

I really just like pinball. Who cares what others spend on pinball. I go into some people's houses and think, "damn... what do you do for a living"? Sometimes people come into my house and say the same thing.

Now... to Stranger Things or not to Stranger Things.

It's going to vary for everyone. But this is also why you see so many threads complaining about prices, and pricing bubbles. People DON'T want to spend that much money on one, and for the most part hope that it keeps its value or goes up so they can justify the next purchase. It's been a long road of increasing prices on old and new...and we are just now at the cusp of what might be a turnaround. 15 years ago I would never have imagined considering paying 10k for a pinball machine. Today I can't fathom paying 20k for a pinball machine. lol.

While I owned a few games years ago, I stopped buying them when they went up in price until I was debt free, so now yeah....I have cash to burn I guess. I've never actually sold a game, but my hard limit is still 10k. I'm a lifelong pinball lover so if they lose value I don't really care too much, but it would definitely play into my decision to buy any game that is as high priced as they are today.

I am thankful I have a place nearby that gets most of the latest games.
20 bucks in quarters later and ready to move on.
What I expected to be great gets boring.
Can't imagine the investment in a newer game. Plus would worry about a board becoming obsolete.
With me something died when Bally/Williams left the scene.
Or maybe its part of getting older.
Still return to EM and SS classics whenever they are available.

Stern node boards are fine. I have owned EVERY Spike I and Spike II game and never ever had a single issue with any node boards. The issue is blown way out of perspective.

That's awesome!!
I've been in business for almost 11 years and have all of sterns newest LE machines aside from the Beatles and have only had to replace node boards on Ghostbusters. Maybe I've just been lucky?
I started collecting arcade and pinball machines back in 2005 while I was still in the military as well, I even started a small route near where I lived that mostly funded beer at the time. Haha

I agree, I have every newer stern LE machine aside from the Beatles and have only ever had issues with my Ghostbusters many years back.

Pretty sure 10k by Christmas was a joke around here only a few years ago.
Hobby changed as newer folks with a different mindset about pinball value don’t mind throwing money into these barrels of fun.

The issue is not over blown when it hits you. I’ve had three games fall victim to the issue. It sucks when you can’t diagnose the issue without blowing another board. Those things are expensive.

Since 1996 my self imposed ceiling was always $2.5k. I swore I'd never buy anything over that price. But back in 2003 after much struggling, I decided I'd like to have a MM. So, ok, $5k it is. That then has been my pin buying ceiling until pretty recently with Rush and Godzilla. But honestly, it's still hard for me to go over the $5k limit even to this day.

Well said. Absolutely 100%.

Replicate mini-arcade communities lose their minds when a game breaks $200. When I retorted that pinball machines were going for $20K earlier this year, that crowd got silent real quick

Glad I got my games when they were cheap, or at least compared to today's prices. I bought and sold another 600 pins over the years that I've paid for my collection twice over. Basically I have nothing in them at this point. It's my 401K sitting here.

John

Yep, some people make more monies than you.