I am guilty of this on a couple games

As for buying any pin without getting a chance to play first, in my experience:

- Sometimes you don't have the ability to really play a game before there is an opportunity to buy. Especially depending on where you live. I'd rather have a pin and try it.

- As others have mentioned, pinball depreciation is relatively low. Even if you get a game that you decide you don't like you might end up being out a few hundred (or not), or you can trade it. So low risk to getting a new game in to try.

- Sometimes I don't know if I am going to like or dislike a pin after 10, 20 or 30 games. It is a process for me, I like to take my time which means some dedicated play time, tweaking things that are off/broken, which you cannot really do at someone elses house or out at a public location.

I understand the "live and let live" nature of your question, but in a way all others in the pinball community have a vested interest in how you spend your money when it comes to pinball.

When people pay $10K for an original MM, it suggests a NIB remake positioned just under that would sell even more... and then because that's really just a very good 90s B/W game, it suggests a newer manufacturer can sell their title with more features/code than MM for $10K... and then because a newer company can sell NIB games for $10K, it suggests to Stern that they can modify an existing table and sell it for $15K.

Is that example 100% true? No. But the point is that the hobby reaches many different people, and when some spend money like drunken sailors, it shifts the supply/demand scale artificially high which has an effect on others.

Do what you want with your money, but also know that if it wasn't for ridiculous prices on some used games (including people buying $5K NIB Stern Pro's, gluing on $500 in mods and then selling a used machine 2 months later for $5300), manufacturers wouldn't think they could get away with what they're trying. It's the reckless spending that allows the manufacturers to do these recent price hikes which in turn prices out certain people from NIB, and those higher NIB prices raises the value of quality used games. So I can understand when people question the buying habits of others as it can later affect their ability to purchase, which sucks for them AND the hobby!

I did it because Medieval Madness. I regret nothing.

If nobody ever bought pins they had never played, then how would the pins exist for people to play in the first place? It's a natural process. There has to be a segment of collectors that take the initial risk and, as others have stated, the risk really isn't that high.

For me it has to be a "buy on theme alone" or "the price is right", otherwise, I want to know how it's going to play. There are a few themes that just take me back to the good ole days. For some, it's a muscle car, for others, it may be a certain song on the radio... for me, it's WWF, TMNT, and GNR.

Why do people pay big $ for games they have not played?

I'm one of these guys:

I was watching The Walking Dead one night and I saw a commercial for the pinball machine. I Googled it, saw the price, and was immediately intrigued on why a pinball machine could possibly cost so much. I did some research, discovered pinside, saw a couple distributor names that were recommended in a thread, called a distributor and my LE was drop shipped from Stern 3 weeks later when it became available.

One of the things that peaked my interest was a picture of the complicated rat nest of wires and gadgets on the underside of a raised playfield along with reading the adage, if it's not breaking/broke it's not pinball. The whole concept was novel to me and I wanted to have one for my home theater/play room.

After the delivery driver had me sign and I moved it inside and set it up I clearly remember the first time I pulled the plunger back and let loose... that was the first time in my life I actually played a pinball machine, ever. I'm 47.

The Alien theme was announced and that will be my second pin, besides maybe adding future playfield swaps through the Heighway cabinet, I'm done buying pins. I refuse to let pins overtake the space in my rec room, I'm not a pin zealot like so many I admire here on Pinside, 2 tables are enough for me.

Cheers!

Maybe someone already said this, but as long as you aren't overpaying, there is almost no risk to buying a game you've never played before (other than a few hours of your time).

Don't like it? Sell it for close to what you paid for it.

(There are some exceptions, like NIB...where you will lose a few hundreds just for opening the box.)

What is artificially high? If enough people are willing to spend that much on a particular game, then that *is* the market value. Nothing artificial about it. Lots of new people in the market, a lot of demand for machines that wasn't there five years ago, is going to cause prices to rise. Just the way it is.

Personally, I am priced out of anything over $7kUSD. That is my personal limit on buying any pin. However I am not going to look crosseyed at someone who will pay 15k for a Batman SLE for example. That is their business.

Phrases like reckless, ridiculous, "drunken sailors", are insulting quite frankly. I am very responsible with my money, which is why I am in the position to spend on a hobby I enjoy. That is due to twenty years of hard work, saving and sacrifices, and I am not going to make any apologies for it. Or in other words, none of your or anyone else's business how I spend my money, whether it is on pinball or a giant ball of elastics (which would be cool).

Nice line up. Wish I had all those.

Watch out! You get 2 and they start breeding quicker than rabbits.

Hype

Ehh, so far I've managed to "choose wisely" and at worst have eaten the equivelent of a shipping fee on maybe ONE game my whole adult collecting life.
Most of them have held or raised their value over the years and are continuing to do so.

Restoring the beaters from the barren remnants on CL is usually what I do to get myself closer to the games I WANT to own.

Guys on here that are taking the big NIB losses just aren't patient enough to wait until their premium/LE/SLE game is waaay out of production first before they sell. (Pro's thankfully are still pretty stable to sell after a year or two.)

Heck, most of the pre-order guys can't even wait until the code hits 1.2 before they're itching to jettison and start the cycle again!
*SQUIRREL!*

And on the other side of the NIB fence,
Some folks out there simply have no option BUT to buy NIB due to remote location or lack of local places/shows to go to.
Thankfully the silver lining to this small group is, as long as they wait long enough to get some good gameplay footage via YT or Twitch, then they can usually (hopefully?) formulate an educated opinion (or at least a healthy desire) if they are actually going to enjoy the game or not before the game is out of production and the prices start to climb.

GB has to be the 2016 poster child of why you should wait for the later runs of a title anyway!

Never drove a new Ferarri but if I had the extra cash I wouldn't hesitate to buy one.

What if it drove and had the features of a Honda Civic? Would someone still buy it?
I am gathering a buyer's expectations might be quite disappointed, maybe even outright hostile if considered in that market.

This is why Stern has to rethink strategy.
They burned serious bridges with anyone that understands the hobby and industry in lightest degree nearly overnight.

If Stern put six troy ounces of gold in the machine, it might be different.
I will give them an ounce off for the LCD and development as a supporter of technology.

And because they know there is a secondary resale market to minimise the initial outlay. Being able to recoup close to 90% plus of your outlay whilst making minimum monthly payment on a credit card is sufficient justification for some to live the dream.

If NIB machines lost a more significant amount of their original value after 12 months usage and that trend was repeated across subsequent title releases, initial sales figures would be far more conservative.

Wouldn't have to drive it to see that. As for BM66..... im not in as I owned a BDK IMO its the same game with glitz.

If you consider the question carefully, it's asking not about pricing but instead about risk associated with a purchase. If you're getting something at fair market value then the risk isn't that large. You end up eating the shipping, worst case. If you're asking whether some pins are overpriced that might be a differently-worded question.

-E

I bought 2 nib titles this year,Spiderman vault which I had played,liked and have no buyers remorse whatsoever,Great game.Second one being rob zombie which is the only pin I have ever bought without pre playing and checking out,Maybe It is crazy on some level and not the way I'd prefer generally but I liked the theme enough to take a chance.The only way for me to see one would have been to take a long trip to track one down.I also just like the spooky company from everything I've learned about them and felt like supporting them buying this game versus getting another stern or whatever.

Sportbikes and Pinball are my two hobbies and I have no way to test ride or play either one before I buy. So all I can do is read as many reviews by people that have ridden or played them, etc. before I buy one. Everything I saw and read about JJP's Dialed In leads me to believe I'm going to love it. So I ordered an LE early to get the number I wanted. Now I happily wait

You know that saying about why did the guy climb the mountain?
With the answer being "because it was there".

Kinda' the same thing here: because they can.

I call bs to this, and actually insulting in certain phrases. Everyone buys and sells EVERYTHING at different price points in hobby land. No one has to justify spending whatever they are comfortable with on whatever toy they want to a public forum.

All markets are driven by demand, and trying to lay accountability ( blame) for trends on fellow enthusiasts is completely ignorant and offensive.

There have been some pretty sound reasoning in responding to the Ops post, but this is not one of them.

Thank you for giving me permission to "do what I want with my money"....I was lost previously....good grief...

Simple answer for me, its pinball, even bad releases still provide me with plenty of bang for my buck, its always awesome flipping a new pin for the first time even if its not an instant classic.

But my main reason for buying before playing is theme, if I like the theme then I am about 60/70% of the way to making a purchase I will be happy with.

I do consider price a lot though, but only because I have to be comfortable with what I am spending on items I am lucky enough to be able to even consider buying in the first place, plus my two kids get what they want before me but that's enough to make me a buyer.

In the old days (a few short years ago) you could pick up a lot of decent players pin for $2 - $2.5k. If you didn't like it you sold it for pretty much the same (maybe lose a hundred or two) and moved on to the next one. Now (gulp) you are talking double and triple that and that is a higher risk/reward than many of us can take too often.

It is too bad because you had a lot more shuffling of more affordable games and that is what the hobby is about for many of us.

Stern started the "rarity" thing and that compels many people (with money) to have to leap first. Wasn't it cabbage-patch kids that started the whole "make people buy because of rarity"?

I ordered TRON LE not only without playing it, I had never even seen it! That worked out pretty well...

Why did I? Because I wanted to!

Probably the shortest and most concise answer to Ops question

For years and years LOTR was proclaimed by many to be this amazing game with incredible rules. All those years I never had a chance to play one. Then Stern announced LOTR LE so I figured I'd buy one. I always loved the books and I had been into pinball since the 90's so I ponied up what I figured was ridiculous money at the time ($6,500 Canadian) and I bought one.

Everyone was right,....... amazing game, incredible rules. I just listened to the masses to make my decision. What's the big deal about buying a game you've never played?

QSS

Wow, cool story! I guess this is why the market seems to be expanding..

I either watch YT videos or try a table out on that Pinball Arcade game to find out if i want one or not.