Locally it seems the latest NIB sterns take a value hit of about 20% in the last year or two since our local prices went up a fair amount. If you route a game it will take another hit because it gets a bit more wear and tear, say another 10%. So I would estimate (conservatively) that I would need to take in about 40% of the value of a game when I route it to pay for parts and depreciation.

There is some variability here. A good title will do better than one that fades after the release hype dies down. Buying early in the NIB cycle makes it hard to gauge where a game will sit.

So for me the price of games is important but so is the game itself and what I think its resale value will be. I was all set to by a GB but couldn’t get one early on without a longish wait. That turned into a good thing given the PF issues. Sorted or not it just adds too much risk to a new title still in release hype mode so I dropped out.

By far the best ROI comes from older games. They don’t earn as much but I can buy one, spend a few hundred on parts, and sell it a year later for what I paid for it or often more. NIB are riskier and only really make sense if I want the title. If I was just in it for the money I don’t know if I would ever by NIB.

I can't speak to the USA but I would estimate in NZ about 70-80% of NIB sales are for home use.

Similar for me on WOZ it is my best earner, like 2x or more what the others do. I have a Hobbit now and will route it early next year when people come back from summer. I am hoping for earnings similar to WOZ. Theme wise it should be well placed here particularly since the movies were shot locally and WOZ isn't quite as iconic here as in the USA. Hope it doesn't disappoint. My friends all like it a lot better than WOZ.

I can't see the economics of routing an LE. People here are happy to get a game in good condition that plays well. People thought my WH20 was a new game! I can make the case for a Stern pro easily enough though. I am better off buying someone's year or two old HUO game and going with that and letting them take the depreciation hit and work out any issues.

I totally understand him. I have a new location that wants a game or two. I can't justify putting a new game there but will put in a 3k game once I can get it. I just have to find onr which is hard here at the moment.

Yes but operators will not buy high priced NIB games so then you can't play them...

I know my local market VERY well. I organise the IFPA comps and run the most pinball friendly venue in town. I will make FAR more money buying and routing older games than NIB's. Not even close TBH.

I only buy NIB's because I want them and I use my location to subsidise it. I really hope new games suddenly start earning a lot and my WOZ does very well but I bought WOZ because I wanted it not to make money on.

Wow I am surprised about WH20 but you are right every location is different. Different pricing for games too I can get a WPC game for 3k to about 7k for a TZ. A NIB Stern pro will set me back 10k. Big difference is that I will not take a depreciation hit on the WPC games but I will take a significant hit on the Stern (probably 20-40%). Again, local conditions

I agree 50 percent is way too high. I don't do a direct split, I keep it all, but I do give back. I put up bar tabs for high scores and selfies with the most likes each month. That rewards players, helps promote us and gives back to the bar. In practice I give back around 10 percent in bar tabs. They definitely make money on people coming for the games or staying longer. I also take very good cre of them so it works for both of us.