You are spot on...especially if you are buying from a collector that dials his/her games in! I purchased a DILE with ~20 plays from a person that had no clue on what was/wasn't working...not all folks are plugged into how a game is suppose to work.

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).

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).

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.

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

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.

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.

Plenty of high integrity sellers on Pinside that I’d buy “sight unseen” from. Part of the fun of the hobby is doing business with high integrity people. This forum helps quite a bit...