Pinside.com - Pricing and Refunds

We are often asked if Pinside is free of charge and how we manage to operate the website. This document will try to answer any questions related to the business side of Pinside.

Is Pinside free (as in 'free beer')?

Yes, using Pinside.com as a guest or signing up for an account is completely free of charge! However, we offer two forms of memberships: the Red Heart and the Pinside+ ("Pinside Plus") memberships.

Red Heart membership 

Show your support for Pinside and donate anywhere from $10-$25 to get a red heart behind your username. Red heart members enjoy several small discounts, for example on our ad listing fees. Your account will also get verified through the payment details.

Pinside+ membership 

Pinside offers the Pinside+ membership for our power users. It adds numerous features to enhance your Pinside experience, like PinsideMail attachments, higher sending limits and more. Pinside+ members enjoy some great discounts on ad promo and listing fees.

Do we sell/disclose any of your info to third parties?

No way! We take your privacy very seriously. We do not sell or disclose any info to third parties. Take a look at our privacy policy where this is outlined in finer detail.

Pinside Marketplace fees

Pinside offers a Marketplace for used and new pinball games, parts, mods etc.

• Listing a game ad is free of charge for verified members. If you are not yet verified, you will pay a $10 listing fee, which automatically also verifies your account and awards you with one year of the Pinside Red Heart. 
• For NIB part (as a mod creator or aftermarket parts seller) we charge you 8% of your items list price. The thought being that your one listing may sell you several items.
• There are paid promotional options to select when you place an ad. Pricing is listed right beside each option.
• When you successfully sell a pinball machine via our Marketplace, there is a sales fee, based on the game value, via a tiered system.
• Wanted ads and pinball parts ads do not have a sales fee. A voluntary donation upon ending the ad is requested (and appreciated!).

A sales value fee based on a game price tier? How does that work?

Pinside assigns each game in our database with a Game Price Tier (click link to display current prices). This price tier is constantly updated and determined by actual sales on Pinside. We use sales data from the past two years and calculate a median. 

The tiers are:

Tier 0: Items under $10
Tier 1: Games between $100 and $1,500
Tier 2: Games between $1,500 and $2,500
Tier 3: Games between $2,500 and $3,500
Tier 4: Games between $3,500 and $4,500
Tier 5: Games between $4,500 and $7,500
Tier 6: Games between $7,500 and $10,000
Tier 7: Games between $10,000 and $15,0000
Tier 8: Games worth $15,000 and upwards

Each tier has an associated selling fee, which is charged when ending the ad and only upon successful sale of your game.

Are there any refunds on donations, market promo- or sales value fees?

• Donations are not refundable. Once a donation is made, a red heart icon is added to you username and will be displayed in red for a year. After a year, it turns gray as a subtle reminder to donate again :-)
• Marketplace paid promotion fees are not refundable because they are effective immediately. Once an ad is promoted you might well sell it within an hour!
• The sales value fee upon successful sale of your game (requested when ending your ad listing) is not refundable because the service you're paying for has already been provided.