Quoted from futurepinhead:

Pinball isn't as popular with 20 somethings as it is with 30 somethings and 40 somethings. Being a 26 year old I am just waiting for all of you to die off so I can get the cheap games at the estate sales.

Quoted from Spencer:

As would I but say they made 4000 Elvira's in 1989, how many do you think exist today? Id venture a guess of around 1800.

Quoted from playernumber4:

Prices have slowly been coming down for 6 to 8 months now.

Quoted from Aurich:

Listed prices don't mean anything. So there's an overpriced game that keeps getting relisted and isn't selling? Isn't that just proof that the market isn't what these sellers wish it was? The games that sell set the prices, not what people list them for.
I could put my METLE up for sale for $14k, and that wouldn't suddenly double its value.

Quoted from changingGears:

Then again, as I said before I see a lot of games sitting. Looking up recent price checks they are in the ball park, but the demand is just not there?

Quoted from CrazyLevi:

Classic cars are huge, expensive, and difficult to maintain

Quoted from CrazyLevi:

But pinball machines are big!!!!

Quoted from tl54hill:

I agree, but if it is not sustained it could represent an artificial increase in prices.

Quoted from ryan1234:

I think it would be interesting to know how many new Pinside accounts are created each month, then compare that number to previous months.
If more people are starting accounts than the last month it would show popularity increasing=prices stable or rising.
If less people are starting accounts than the last month it could show popularity falling=lowering of prices.
I am not saying Pinside is the "center of the pinball world" but it could show trends.
Just looking at the "number of Pinsiders online" at any given time has changed dramatically since I started my account and so has the prices.

Quoted from luckymoey:

I disagree that pinball is a novelty that will quickly wear thin. Every product moves through a life cycle that can be 1 year or a 100 years. Hard to argue that pinball is on the down slope but the ride down can be a saw tooth vs. straight line and last a really long time. There is a huge % if the population that never had the opportunity to experience pinball. Why wouldn't 1000's of them be attracted to it for the same reasons it was so popular for decades. Most Pinsiders are only in their 30's. The new machines are fun as hell and have themes that are appealing to the younger crowd. No one that sees my new Sterns thinks they are from the 90's or look outdated. I see no reason pinball won't continue to grow in popularity for the next 10+ years, with prices determined more by competition rather than a shrinking pool of buyers. Prices are obviously softening but that doesn't mean they won't eventually rebound and move even higher.

Quoted from tl54hill:

Your thoughts are valid, and I would add the following:
1. People got bored with pinball in the past, that is why we do not have arcades in every mall and shopping center anymore. Games like TZ, TAF, AFM, MM could not keep the arcade doors open. The novelty wears off...is pinball innovating in significant enough ways to avoid this? I think JJP is the best thing that could have happened to pinball by driving innovation, but can he keep it up and keep moving forward? Stern is the industry standard, and while I LOVE a few of the newer machines, a lot of them look very much alike to me. Very similar playfields, layouts, ramps, etc. I am not sure how that bodes for the industry going forward.
2. When I have people over to play that are new to pinball, the 90's dmd machines look a lot like the 2000's and 2010's. Two flippers, brightly colored playfield, metal and plastic ramps, vuks, pop bumpers, a toy on the playfield, multiball, callouts, and dmd animations. The pinball innovations in recent years seem like a big deal to us, but I do not think they are game changers for non-enthusiasts. Take a pinball noob and have them play a nice Mustang and Corvette and see if they can even guess how much newer one is than the other.
3. A lot of us got into pinball because of the cheap prices following the collapse of arcades. For me, getting a JP or a T2 for $1000 was good times, and since they had depreciated so much value, reasonably safe. It is a lot harder to get new people in at $3000-$5000 per machine...heck, $1000 is a lot of money for most people. I don't think there are large numbers of untapped people willing to throw tens of thousands of dollars into a personal hobby like pinball. I know a lot of people that live paycheck to paycheck.
Sometimes I feel like I am the only non-millionaire on Pinside, but I know I am part of the overwhelming majority of people who are influenced by price point. I have hedged my bets on the industry and adjusted my collection accordingly. For me, it is not about getting out, but being truly comfortable with my exposure to loss.

Quoted from Mojosan:

To me it seems apparent that the top end finally hit a ceiling which is 8k. We now have TONS of new great games coming out in the next 6-12 months.
A buddy of mine with a top notch collection and I have been in agreement with this since STLE came out. I think $8k for NIB is somewhat of a top end for a while. And I think we're going to see very good condition classic B/W games topping out here as well.
I also think that if prices move down somewhat on NIB that MSRP will remain the same and the prices will be lowered to the distributor. I don't think Stern or JJP want to move off that MSRP.