Well 8 years ago I sold my TZ and it had $2700 worth of mods at that time and the guy didn't want them so i had to remove all of them and sell individually, quite a chore but I love mods and a machine with them adds value for me since I would have to go out and buy them separately if the machine is stock, different strokes for different folks. Personally I think it should detract zero buyers.

When someone says “X dollars of mods included”, and they’re not Cliffys or ColorDMD, the value has gone up $0 to me.

Some mods are cool, but most are not.

If it is from stumblor or Medisynl and a few others then it is worth advertising… but I could care less what they cost.

A EHOH with the Medisynl set… awesome. Saying that it has $500 in mods… so what

For me upgrades like art blades, shooter rod, shaker, etc are appreciated and help sweeten the deal as I would have added them anyways. Figures or lighting don’t add any value to me so I wouldn’t bite if that added to the price of the machine.

pinwoofer also adds value to me

For me just list what the machine has. I can research what they would cost if i didnt already know. And determine whether it impacts the overall value to me. Including the cost of what you spent on “successories” i usually associate with trying to justify a high price. I don’t think all add-ons are worthless, but those i’d never buy and/or strip off the game are. If there is a topper that is adding 2K to the asking price, i’d prob ignore that one and look for one without.

I never used to buy pretty things for my pins. I couldnt justify spending money on these when i could save that towards another game. That changed in the past couple years but that urge to be irresponsible with my disposable income didnt.

+1 on pinwoofer like Jamessays says. Shakers i’ll add. Really like Medisinyl mods - hell i almost bought the Stranger Things set and i don’t even own the game LOL.

I like playing pinball and don't want to pay more money for a decapitated head on a shooter rod or some weird animal toys glued onto a playfield.

Depends on the mods. A Godzilla with atomic Godzilla, shaker, invisiglass, upgraded speakers, Zombie Yeti art blades should demand a higher price. Maybe not dollar for dollar.

I take mods off any games I buy, most look gaudy.

Price bubble is the only think Pinside likes better than a good love or hate mod thread.

Mods decrease the value to me.

Color DMD excluded.

While I personally ignore "$xxx worth of mods" comments on listings, I ironically did that exact thing recently listing my LOV. When I did it, I thought "someone might care about these", not so much "I can get extra for them".

There’s something about pinball machines and Honda civics…..

Many mods look like cheap thrown-in junk. Pinwoofer, speaker lights, color dmd, shooter knob, and official toppers/accessories, and tastefully done powder coating are nice additions, but not much else would sway me to pay more. Personally I’d rather start from a clean slate.

Depends. Are they the mods I was planning to do anyways or just things I never would have bought in the first place? That determines the value to me.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/for-sale-terminator-2-judgment-day-183#post-7514482

Doesn't turn me off any more than "I love this game only selling because my Wife's best friend's sister doesn't like the theme" or "This is an awesome game but I need to make room for Galactic Tank Force!"

It's just bullshit in an ad. If I think the game is a good buy why would I care what used car salesman pablm accompanies it?

Personally, I could do without anything in an ad besides condition,
General description, price, and any issues, but I made my peace with all the extra nonsense years ago when I made the move over from RGP. The used car lot stuff is just a way of life here.

"Great game! <50 plays."

Generally, when the seller highlights the mods in their ad this translates into an overpriced game. 9 times out of 10, the seller will also love to add the overused and cliche phrase: fully shopped.... which translates also to overpriced.

I only accept " My dog needs a root canal" as an excuse in an ad.

Okay, I'm that guy. I like mods. I like toys on the playfield When I see "X$ in mods included" thats a big plus for me, but I'm not giving you $1 for each $1 in mods. However. If I were to see for example, The Simpsons Pinball Party vs The Simpsons Pinball Party with $500 worth of mods and both are about the same playfield wise, I might pay a little extra for the one with the mods. If there is something you can put on a playfield that gives it a little more nostalgia or replaces a flat plastic with a physical one, I'm probably going to like it. Replace 2d Mechagodzilla or 2d raptor with a 3d model or well mounted toy and I'm in. No, it doesn't effect gameplay but it entertains me. Got a little TV in that Simpsons Pinball Party that plays itchy and scratchy cartoons? I'm in! I'm a big believer in the idea of the "world under glass". Sideblades? Yes please (1990 or newer). Lit speaker pannels... meh.

We all have our own preferences. My for sale ads always highlight the mods, but I never say X in mods.

Depends if you’re buying the right mods .There’s some serious talent out there now .The cast ones will cost but look incredible and I’ve just recently got into sanding lines out of some cheaper printed ones and painted myself .I’ve done pretty well as we go through pins fast but I only go balls out on pins with long ,long legs I’m grabbing a 3D printer soon and actually taking a private casting class from a local craft person .I’m really interested in getting into this if only to be able to create my own .

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I couldn't agree more. The only thing I'd add is, if you're going to list a pin with all of the installed mods listed, make sure that the listed mods are in fact included or at least accounted for on pickup.

Depends, I would not mod a machine myself - but if it's already done and I like them ...............

Shame on you if you don’t value resellable, transferable items like:
Speakers
Mirrors
Shakers

It’s a played out old guard pinside thing to rag on mods.

Reality: mods are fun to many old and new and help drive the hobby. Don’t like them? They take minutes to remove.

Shame?
Because you don't want to deal with stuff you don't want and wouldn't have installed in the first place?
Reality: I'm not paying for stuff I don't want.

I just laugh when a game is incredibly modded & they never changed over the rubber. I also get a laugh when someone says it has custom movie code on SD.

Prices are negotiable usually.

IMO ColorDMD isn't terribly applicable with newer LCD pins I enjoy the Bally/williams but more into the newer faster games.
Def, pay extra for shaker & example real Godzilla opposed to flat plastic... every situation is different. The Goodie Bag & new score cards thang is stupid IMO.

+1 Mods do factor into my selection process. And I enjoy putting more on the machines after I buy them. It's just another way to "pay it forward" so the next person enjoys the game, too.

Not to turn this into a thread about Pinstadiums, a controversial topic, but I am curious: are Pinstadiums "mods"?

Sometimes when people say "mods" they're talking about figures or toys put on the playfield. To sataneatscheese's example, a colorDMD on a Simpsons Pinball Party might be a "modification", but I don't think of it as a "mod". The Itchy and Scratchy TV that plays episodes on a loop is definitely a mod.

Absolutely, but most folks don't value them. Personally, I like them.

Local place gets trade ins all the time and the mods people do.... ugh. Course it's tossed on as a "selling point", but when I see a bunch of action figures standing around the playfield.... nah fam. And then so many badly placed toys, crummy 3d prints, etc.

To me, mods like color DMD, powder coat, and shaker increase the value a bit but not the amount you paid for them. Kind of like trading a Harley; all the $1000's of chrome may be worth a few hundred more but nowhere near what it cost initially.

And to echo another thought, I've never understood the "great game <50 plays" thing. But then again, I buy games to play, not stuff in a corner and look at.

Hey Kevin, I was wondering in that last pic why in the hell you have a blue flying saucer in the back left corner on a Maiden. I quickly realized it was your speaker light reflection.

My opinion is list your mods, don't tell me what you paid, I can do my own math and it definitely won't add up to what you paid.
On Stern's I am fine with any factory upgrades. There are also a few good after market items that also grab my attention. Wire rails on a Mando is a must have.
When it comes to Bally/Wms most mods are puke. Cheap dollar stores toys that loosely work in a game glued on to a playfield part. Even worse is adding a $.10 Light into it and asking $80. I will exempt sideblades and mirrorblades because they don't look bad and most of the sides are scratched to hell on those games. Way easier then pulling a playfield, sanding, filling, and painting.

As others have stated, Color DMD is a good upgrade in almost any game. I also will add invisiglass to that.

I'll give a real-life example of how mods can affect different players different ways:
We have two Simpsons Pinball Parties. A few weeks ago I told my kids I want to sell or trade one of them and was giving them a choice as to which one it would be. When I proposed one machine, that has more mods on the playfield, my 12 year old daughter actually got upset. "But the mods, daddy, the mods." So some people put a premium on mods.

If you think about it, aren't the use of mods consistent with the additional expense manufacturers put on the premium versus the pro. And the Limited Edition and the premium? If anyone on here says they don't like mods and won't pay for them, but goes on to buy LEs on a consistent basis, I would say that's a bit of cognitive dissonance.

I have two machines with Pinstadiums but I bought them that way. Initially, I didn't care if they were or were not on them. But last week I realized they were, for me, an improvement. I like to play with the room lights off and pinstadiums improve visibility and aesthetics. So I bought them for one of my TSPPs and will be able to do a side by side comparison of one with PSs and one without.

Hey buddy how are you ? I agree 100% I always list them ,take good pictures ,leave OBO (the FIRM looks bad imo) and let them decide where they want to be .I still have not figured out that flipper/autoplunge out yet I had to walk away for a bit

Yes they are .$300 for a sheet of glass is nuts .I’m waiting on a Glazier at work to have me by his shop to see what we can come up with .Hopefully something will come from it .

As you can see I’m in desperate need of good view glass

These threads always come down to that people want to buy machines with only the mods they are personally interested in. A sizeable minority of Pinsiders like their machines stock and see any mod mentioned in a listing as a headache because it will be harder for them to get the machine for a "fair" price, since to them the mods have no value. But there's probably someone out there willing to pay something for most mods that aren't absolute garbage (and probably even some that are). The seller could strip the mods off and try to sell them separately. Or include them in the sale price but accept that the market for a heavily modded game is going to be smaller than for a cheaper stock machine. Both approaches seem OK to me -- if the seller doesn't mind having the game sit until a unicorn buyer comes along that's their call.

But if you have a bunch of outlandish mods on the machine you're trying to sell, why not have a sense of humor about it when people poke fun? Mod talk remains one of the enduring joys of Pinside.

Yet when used pinstadiums come up for sale they sell instantly for good $.

I like mods but the value of mods depreciate. Also, I think there are different categories of mods:

• Feature Adding or Problem Fixing Mods (ie shaker motor, pinwoofer, headphone jack, mechanical knocker, flipper fans, HD Glass, etc.) -- When the additions either add a significant element to the play of the game, or fix a known issue, I don't mind if the seller tries to recoup most/all of the cost of the mods
• Official Inside-the-Glass Mods (ie official Stern art blades and expression lights) -- I can see someone getting half to most of their money back for these but not all of it
• Toppers -- Will I buy them for myself? Yes. Can I see myself paying $1800 extra on a used pinball machine for them? No. They're fun but I think they lose 90% of the value immediately. Probably put metal plating of things like legs and coin doors in the same category.
• Everything else -- Case-by-case, but probably good mods will make me more likely to buy a machine, bad ones less likely. But don't try to sell me on how much money you spent on them, it's probably going to only hurt your case

Now, this doesn't mean I'm LOOKING for all of these, just how I feel about the person trying to use the mod cost to increase the cost of their game. For example, based on where I keep my machines, I'm probably going to not need or use a pinwoofer, but I probably would pay the $400ish for them on top of the price for a machine I otherwise would buy without feeling like the seller was scamming me (more likely, I'd ask to see if he'd be willing to take it out, but that's a different can of worms).

^That's a good way to organize mods.

The first machine I bought was powder-coated. The seller clearly raised the price of the machine because of it. Right now, 3/4 of my machines are powder-coated to one degree or another, but I bought them like that. So, clearly, I like powder-coating. But toppers aren't a priority. A nice addition to a sale, but not something I seek out like I do with powder-coating. To each their own.

People love them and will pay for them no doubt.

I want it stock... I'm not paying for your stupid topper

I only mod machines I don’t plan on selling. Even then I think it’s a waste of money. Damn you mods!!!

Have a MET Pro, Added Spinners,Color DMD,Side Blades,Sparky Electrocution Wire, Rising Cross, PinWoofer, If I was to ever sell, I wouldn't ask much more except for the color dmd, and pinwoofer possibly. The other little extras are just my preference. Would never sell my MET anyway so doesnt matter.