...Why I bailed on Pinside... wait I din't bail on Pinside did I ? Nevermind....

Looks like we found the guy that paid 14k for his Luci.

Don't worry, "it'll even out in a couple of years" they said....

I liked the article and thought it had some good points, but what you fail to include is that your hypothesis and the entire article really only applies to NIB. The title of the article should have been, “Why I bailed on NIB Stern”.

All the proof you need that Stern doesn't care about collectors? I present the Munsters and their Limited Edition set to 500.... until they moved it to 600 a few days later. The ultimate stick-in-the-eye of anyone who considers themselves a collector.

So I guess I don't get all of the fuss.

1- The OP says that he isn't buying anymore Stern's because they don't protect the collectors. Everyone agrees that he is correct, Stern doesn't really give a hoot about collectors. (for the record.... other industries do protect collectors... checkout Disney limited edition runs...and others.)

2- He says that Stern's are bad investments... and again... everyone agrees. However, people pile on and ridicule him for the mere thought that they could be collectible (despite Stern actually selling things that they call "Limited Edition")

too funny

FFS, want my time back from just skimming the article. Boo f’ing hoo.

The collection mentality is just the wrong mindset to have in anything. The joy I get from this hobby is playing the games with family and friends. Watching others enjoy themselves is the best part of life. These are just games. I understand wanting it to last for decades. And that’s about it. Restoring pins is about the game. Watching something old be reborn. I’ve had many hobbies over the years and I have lost my ass on all of them. At least in pinball you don’t totally lose your ass. You need to focus on the fun and let the money part go. I just got 2 nib this last year and I know that I’ve lost 1 too 2k on them. But who cares. The money is just money. It comes and goes. The experience that myself and others had playing them is what matters.

I agree with you, but it just highlights there are two types of people who buy pins. You have players and you have collectors (who happen to play). They are just two different mindsets within the same hobby. Everyone has their reasons for buying.

I am glad the industry has collectors
- It means that people try to keep older machines in better shape
- It allows companies like Stern to make more than base models in hopes to drive up margins with LE's (giving us more choices to choose from).
- It keeps the market place a little more active. If you want a game bad enough you can usually find one for sale... and if needed... someone to possibly restore it for you.

So while I personally don't expect to make money, or even breakeven, on anything I buy... I do hope that Stern, JJP, and CGC are able to make games that collectors want

The number of people who are just “collectors” is far fewer than people make it out to be. I’ve done numerous restorations with the sole purpose of making my games as nice as possible at playing. The aesthetics are certainly taken into consideration, but nothing is as important as how the game plays. I would say that 9/10 people I know feel the same.
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The notion that a game shouldn’t depreciate as soon as it leaves the box is really new, and hopefully over already.

This.

ACDC is one of the best pins ever, why should we care if Stern wants to keep making Acdc or ST or GB or Got...

Or CGC with MM or Spooky with TNA if/when they ever decide to produce more???

What’s wrong with people who have so much bile that they don’t want more great pins to be made?

I got the first vault of IM and the first re-run of Tron they weren’t called Tron Vault but it was just a quick few hundred games.

What’s wrong with that?

YOU'RE TAKING MONEY OUTTA MY POCKET YA JERK

I bought my ACDC from a Pinsider like 3 days before they announced the Vault. We all knew it was coming. And guess what? I wouldn't change a damn thing. My original run premium is a WAY better build than any vault. Cab, pf, everything.
Pretty sure the federal laws mandating clearcoat ingredients hadn't been put into effect during the og ACDC run. But by the Vault, they had. Just a guess.

I just hope spooky puts out more Rick and Morty so collectors don’t hoard it in their collection. Then you will have to pay over inflated prices. Just to get one.
I let my bro talk me out of the preorder because we hadn’t even seen the game play yet.
Damn him.

For the millionth time....THEY WON'T.

Yep you are probably right. Oh well

Everytime I see my brother I punch him in his drug addled face. Need any tips?

You should've stayed in just because trying to find games to buy in East Texas is like trying to find a sustainable amount of water (as a human) in the middle of the Atacama Desert.

MY GOD, there hasn't been JACK SH... for sale in Texarkana/Shreveport/Tyler in YEARS!

Bingo. If I were advising someone, I'd give them exactly the same advice. Newer doesn't mean better. I understand some folks love getting a new/big box delivered straight to their home, but the results over the past several years haven't been great.

The original IM Vault made sense...demand was way out of sync with supply. For other titles, not so much.

Not going to happen.

People will sell R&M just like any other pin. It’s not going to be unobtainable.

But Spooky will never make more than 750.

Don't buy nib and this won't be an issue. I waited and hunted for years on the right deal for my MET and ACDC. And they're rock solid.
Used premiums are the way to go, for me at least.

Yep nothing comes up around here.

The article/blog posting is totally about money. Not really anything about pinball except that's what he spent his money on...

LOL.
Perfect.

Honestly, another reason to bail on Stern is the whole thing with different trim levels.

Did Williams do it with Firepower? No.

It's just BS.

LOL, here we go again.

Further confirmation, it's not Stern, JJP or any other pinball manufacturer that make pinball a "negative experience", its some of the people involved in the hobby. Key word, "hobby".

Nobody is holding a gun to anyone's head. Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

What a stupid thread. There may be plenty of legitimate reasons for someone to be upset with Stern but not for the ones the OP cited. All he did was inflame both the fanboys and the haters.

Now that I think about, maybe that was his intent. Well played.

Right on, "used premiums" are the smartest way to go G man. Yep that Ac/dc was/is rock solid!

Does anybody here really give a shit about what anybody else thinks? I don't.

Blows my mind, people can't f ing think for themselves. Pinball is a hobby and supposed to be fun.

Man can't folks just buy or not buy their Damn machines for whatever F- cking reason they want. Some collect, Some collect to make money, some play, some play to make money, wait how do you do that... anyway There aint a damn thing wrong with making some money with your hobby. I have done it for years. I never buy NIB. Why the heck would you do that? Wait... I bought a crushed NIB Hobbit once. Made money on it too! So you can make money on NIB just not if its new...

Wait long enough and I'm sure you'll be able to get one at a reasonable price. The OMG I GOTTA HAVE IT NOW crowd is what is driving the prices at the moment.

I care. I’ve had many sleepless nights due to pinside. Goodnight.

Lol

You’re a funny guy.

I’m going to place it NIB on a cart and wheel it in to the depths of that warehouse at the end of Indiana Jones. You’re NEVER seeing it again...certainly not for $500 below retail within 2 years.

Don't know about new stern pinballs, I got Bally, Williams and Data East, just had the chance to buy a 2007 Spider-man and just love the machine and quality, I was very skeptical about Stern, not any more!!

Gustavo

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Had a new Houdini they are 13k here
Wife wasnt enjoying it so after 3 mths and very few games took a hit of 3k less than 150 games only 1 interested buyer otherwise id have had to keep it or lose even more itd need to be one hell of a title for me to ever put my hand in my pocket shit then there is the quality issues

So is the OP really down $1,000 bucks a game after playing the shit out of them at home. Well I think he loves pinball and would be playing them for $1 a game on location . Its not hard to put 2000 games on a HUO game so I say he is really money ahead on these sterns .

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If getting burned by vaults is the concern, buy Stern LE’s that are truly limited in numbers. They never release an LE as a vault and that is what makes them more special. 10 years from now, someone that wants the best version of JP2 is going to have to buy from one of those owners to get the grand version. Vault editions won’t ever be as nice, without real mirrored back glass, original artist side blades to match PF, shaker, HD glass, Lollipop rails, powder coated body armor, etc.

Imo, modern Stern games offer more than the old games of the past, are just more fun and generally have greater last-ability for HUO, than old games that were only meant to be played for 10 minutes of your time for a quarter.

So let me get this straight, u bought something and now as a used item its lost some of its value? This is ground breaking. I have a tasty bit of info that I wasn't gonna share but seeing as how we are breaking the mold I'm gonna have 2. Now this is big and only a couple words, "Sliced bread" could u do an little article on that.

Pinball playing, collecting, trading, etc is supposed to be FUN. Sure I’d love it if my pins didn’t lose value but I bought them to PLAY them, not break even or make money.

Sounds like you lost the plot. Maybe take a break from the hobby?

I have already said this:

Stop eating out. Even fast food. You will be amazed how much you can save. If you buy nib and sell for a loss, you are still ahead if that was the money you used to spend going out.

I said " enjoy playing your games and if you sell them for a profit consider it a bonus " and that's a looser mentality ? You're the one crying about losing thousands on pins and millions in the .com market . I think I know who has the looser mentality .

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Yeah, all of these VHS tapes are going to be worth more than gold one day!

Interesting that you mention that

ebay.com link: i

wait until this guy starts getting into boats

This thread is so negative and is a good representation of what pinside and this hobby has become. I have been in pinball for a long time and on pinside for a few years. I was posting way more a few years ago but now I read and doesnt comment very often. Pinside, like many social networks is like a high school cafeteria. Everybody Shouts and don't listen and like all schools it's never the sharpest and nicest people who are vocal.

Financial value ? Investment ? If it helps convince yourself to make a move or convince your wife and friends you are not totally insane to buy a wooden box for thousands of dollars but in the end you buy a toy.

If you buy pins for other reasons than playing the hell out of it with friends and loved ones there is something in life you did not understand.

Yes prices have increase and pinball companies like any other companies want to cut corners to increase profit margins but if you are not confortable with that you are always free to move to another hobby.

Pay more for less is a common thing now in everything......wake up