90s games were about $3k. Sterns were less than $4k up until around 2010.

NIB Monopoly was $3,195 delivered to the distributor in 2001. Never bought any NIB games before then; but heard CVs were on closeout for low to mid $2k range in '97.

Always comes out about the same:

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No

Compare full featured game to full featured game

ie TSPP vs JP Premium (not Pro)

That depends on the game. There’s plenty of bare boned Stern games in that period.

... <10 plays

... or just leave it in the box

Just a discloser before I post. Most all my games are LE's so that being said; I wouldn't take a bath, just keep them. It's like my older games. X-Men LE or Dark Knight (Not a LE) Spiderman (Older not comic), Big Buck Hunter and so on. I don't sell these games. Why? They are mint condition and lows play. Your right when I bought them before the crazy 7K to 8K plus showed up, I didn't pay that. However, why would I let my Spider-man go that is just as beautiful go for 5K or less and not have anything to replace it with. I dis-like pros because they are so bare bones. So I just keep the older games to play and enjoy. I can't replace them for that price tag later. I had a BM66 Premium for sale on here for $6999. Plus, hundreds in it. The topper was $499 new. People want to pay less and offer 3 or 4 hundred less. Why? Would I take that deal? I know a Catwoman is going to cost them $7699 plus a topper if they want it. So why would I do that? I'll keep it before I ever did that. Now, I understand health issues and getting out sometimes for whatever reason might make you drop lower but thank goodness I am not there. The famous shipping kills the deal, "Hogwash" you pay shipping every day on pinballs. That's just my two cents.

If you're buying an LE, it tells me that you have a little more disposable income and in turn, don't care about it.. you just want the best, full featured game the Stern has offered. That being said, LE buyers should expect the least amount of sympathy for losing money on resale IMO.

Sometimes wanting to be a baller means swallowing the bigger loss later on.

Less. $3300-$3400.

Games should drop about 20% of their value the minute they are taken out if the box. We are just returning to normal, it's weird that a lot of pins haven't lost value.

I've only purchased 1 NIB LE over the years (STLE). Paid $7,300...sold it 6 months later for $6,700 to a local collector.

In general, NOB LE's usually find me within 6 months of their release (with low plays and a great price). Currently own 3 (DILE, SWLE and TRONLE).

Shouldn't be surprising that the more you pay, the more you lose. The notion that LE's are good investments is BS. Very, very few LE's have gone up in value after the Pro/Premium/LE leveling (which doesn't include TRONLE).

The reason Stern is charging these crazy prices is because AC/DC BIB LE & Tron LE skyrocketed in the aftermarket. Stern figured “why not cut out the flipper and make that ourselves”. That model more or less stopped the ability to flip LE’s as they already started at top dollar, and not due to scarcity, demand, or game reputation.

I wish I could buy a STLE for that price, they are now $7500 + on average. I still think STLE is the best LE Stern ever made as it has substantial LE only features beyond the standard armor and cabinet artwork change that has sadly become the norm today. Beautiful and fun game.

You get DI LE for $7500 that’s $2k discount. And Hobbits for $6500

What's your point with this? The question wasn't what do you get for an LE machine. It was "what is the definition of limited" as you claimed they aren't limited.

Limited Edition means they are only making a set number of that specific version of the game. To date, with Stern, I haven't seen that not to be the case so it is still "LIMITED".

Whether LE's are worth the value or not is a completely different and unrelated conversation to the question/statement I answered.

Obviously, but TRON didn't have a "Premium" and had a ton of little differences that added to a lot. AC/DC BIB has a badass look. With the exception of STLE (which had some cool aesthetics), Stern's LE's have been really boring. If they actually had some cool additions, they would have an easier time holding their value and potentially appreciating (assuming it's a solid license & fun game).

There are still details/parts about the LEs that are not available in any other version - that's all "Collectors" or "Limited" stuff usually is in many products/things. Some set number of a thing with slightly different details. To say that LEs somehow aren't justifiable because the premium versions exist is a weird point.

This is why I’m switching to games in the early 80’s (90’s are cool too)The ball times are much shorter and they’re extremely reliable once you get them set up right. With cpr and mirco cranking out playfields and pinball life selling these Altek boards, you can create a beautiful machine that looks like it rolled off the floor in 1980. Plus the designs and code are complete and fantastic.

A used BM66 @ $6999?

Why would I take that deal?

NIB games just arrive. Without effort. With a warranty.

Used games require driving + moving them twice

BM66 is $7323 shipped after 2.625% credit card rewards & 1% ebay bucks rewards

Did your game sell?

In his defense that game had a topper and about $1k in mods. It sold or at least was archived pretty quickly.

You factor "rewards" into your cost? If you pickup a game, do you factor in gas mileage? Wow.

I just picked up BM66 Premium 20 miles away. Had 20 plays on it. Got to inspect/play it. Had tasteful mods and none of the "issues" mentioned on Pinside. One day, folks will realize this is better than NIB...especially when it's from a local you know/respect.

I include 3.625% rewards in the effective cost of a purchase much like others including 7.25% sales tax when making a decision.

20 miles = I'm not counting that

Hundreds of miles = yup

I also look at the value of my household's time to determine if the HUO price vs NIB has a positive ROI of my time & materials.

Guess I'm weird

No, wait, I know I'm weird lol

I'd buy a local BM66 @ $6350 but anything far or higher = nah hommie. I'd rather take a shit & buy NIB on my ipad Monday morning so the game lands in my driveway by Friday.

Plus if I buy a game say Oct 5th I dont have to pay for it until Dec 1st.

Aaand if I factor in 2 mos of currency inflation its another 500bps... hahaha, gotchya, jk on this part.

That's just me. Not saying I'm right or wrong.

How many NIB games have you actually purchased? Your schtick sounds more like rationale for negotiating with someone looking to sell a BM66.

Well, I am not in the market for a used BM66. (Even @ $6350). Not saying it's not worth its price, just saying it's not really on my radar. When I said I'd buy a BM66 @ $6350 I meant if I were interested in the title thats my sweet spot of pricing on a used game.

I am however in the market for a new JP premium!

It will cost me $7227 NIB delivered. Or something like that. Close enough.

Bought my Aerosmith NIB.

Next NIB = JP, Elvira & Bill/Ted?

If all goes well of course.

I don't think I'd tell a seller my logic as a way to negotiate. I'd just pass on the deal. Honestly I'm probably just super lazy & overvalue my time

Good news is I sell my games cheap because I value my time. So at least I'm consistant

Often it includes a shaker motor and non reflective glass as well. But no, unless it is a dream theme that you honestly think you will own for a very long time, it’s rarely worth it. Even the premium is rarely worth it. TWD premium was the last game that I felt was worth it, and that is the last game I bought NIB. Still enjoy playing it more than any other game.

Got it...thanks for the detail. I have a lot more NIB purchasing experience and I’ve seen a steady increase in NIB “issues” (Munsters CPU died after 30 games, KISS Node board failure, IMDN PF issues, etc.)...roughly around the introduction of “Spike”.

I value my time as well. I could make an argument that dealing with Stern and their distributors *cost* me a lot of valuable time. OTOH, just picked up a BM66 Premium from a great locale collector. Got to play it, inspect it. Knew what I was getting...no NIB “surprises”. Oh yeah, the code is also now worth playing after the update!

I understand the attraction of NIB...I’ve been a NIB buyer since LOTR/TSPP over 15 years now! Based on much experience, the last 5 years have been much more of a crap shoot than the first 10 years (slowly pushing me away from NIB joy).

I’m not trying to convince you of anything. Just documenting my experiences. I’m also considering a JP Premium and will be patient and wait for one to pop up on the local market.

Good post and hard to disagree with. one issue though...if you talk everybody out of buying NIB, who you gonna get your games from? Lol.

I hear ya mang, all good!

Truth be told I'm reluctant to buy a new JP at the moment due to PF bubbles so I hear ya on the crap shoot stuff. Plus my AS had a shit cabinet & you're right that did cost me some time!

Yep, I’ve been a Stern NIB buyer since FGY and agree the NIB problems seem to have came around the time of Spike. All the problems can’t be placed on Spike of course, the cabinet issues were atrocious. I had a GB with a cabinet split when they decided to test the cheaper cab hinges. Totally sucked watching the cab split...didn’t stop me from buying a BM66 but I won’t own more than two Spike games at the same time.

The impatient addicts likely outnumber the thoughtful collectors (I'm an impatient addict in recovery

For me, it all about being truthful/transparent...folks will make up their own minds.

No doubt that Stern is unlikely to change without feeling some financial "pain". Distributors are hoping speaking up...they feel a lot of the heat when problems arise.

You roll the dice with NIB, my results have been mixed:mostly losses with a few huge gains mixed in.
Stern POTC. Sold for about $600 loss
Tron LE. Sold for about $5,500 gain
Avengers Hulk. Sold $1,000 loss
WoZ emerald. Still own. Might break even.
Ironman. Sold around break even.
Hobbit Smaug. Still own. Lose maybe $1,000
DI LE. Still own. Lose maybe $2,000
Alien. Still own. Gain maybe $4,000
JJP POTC LE. Still own. Might break even.

Itis always fun to slide that new pin out of the box, but I’d like to go more to the “nice shape previously owned”

Ya pay your money, you take your chances

Yeah. You are paying a huge premium to be the first owner that is almost impossible to overcome.

This thread seems to rest on the idea that overpriced toys would hold their value really well. I guess I don't see why that would ever be the case. I am happy none of my machines are losing value as quickly as, say, a car. But I certainly didn't buy any of them expecting to break even, let alone make money.

Definitely a roll of the dice. I like to think I'm about even, but who knows, could be a net loss. Couple of biggish gains, but plenty of small losses.

Honestly Stern LE is not worth $9000.00. You can say whatever you want but we all know the truth you can't compare a Stern LE to a JJP LE much less a CE. I honestly don't even know why Stern needs three models, there is almost no difference between a premium and an LE. Some powder coating, I can get that done for $100 bucks. A change of art but who's to say one is better than another? Gary Sterns autograph... cmon.

Stern LE aren't worth it... look at Munsters, no topper, technically its not even powder coated, playfield exact same as the premium. The differences between the LE and the Premium can hardly be guessed if you don't look at the side cabinet art.

Beatles what is the difference between the 8k version to the I don't know 25k version? Different powder coating and a plaque.

Deadpool again nearly the same thing, some $100 powder coating, and some of the cheesy plastic see thru toys are real toys bought off ebay. LOL

Black Knight I mean seriously what is the big difference between premium and LE? Almost nothing. I don't think BK sold many LE's so why even have it?

Just my opinion but Stern should just have two models PRO and LE and make the LE the price of the premium. That is my opinion why.

As for Jersey Jack I would almost say the same thing, their LE is incredible, powder coating, all the playfield features. There really is no reason to buy the CE unless you just have money to burn.

With any game, car, or anything you drive it off the showroom floor it loses value. In very rare cases like the Dodge Demon, or some limited built Ford GT, blah, blah is the value going up. You drive a hellcat off the showroom floor boom you just lost $8000 more or less. I think Sterns LE lose a lot more value than a JJP because people who buy JJP games are high end collector buyers. I think Stern is more of a players game, so you're more into the buy sell trade group. I hardly ever see JJP games for sale because when people get them they keep them.

Either way all games go down unless like in Pirates case everyone wants one and you can't buy it... its gone up but that is rare.

Would you even want a shaker motor on a spike game?

Shakers are fine on Spike games but they do take a different kind. They arent the same ones that go on the older games.

Shaker "units" could be redundant... become Virtual, just like the knocker. Audio effect through a good sub.

There's No Way I need a shaker in my TNA with the sub in that sucker! Lol

Easily stern will emulate the shaker. ... unlock the code

"Quality" seems to be the key word, if you want NIB. If people keep buying sub par then the sub standard will continue.

Get Pros. Just sold my 3 year old GOT pro with like 8k plays for a zero dollar loss.

Some do hold value. Others don’t. Economics 101.

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Amen Brotha!

Whaaa? Sold soon after the code update? Or just before?

Edit:. Sorry I see you have a premium or Le now!