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Pinball World Prices

websherpa

Active Member
Feb 10, 2013
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Waterdown, ON
cdnpinballer said:
websherpa said:
I blame it on the new 30 something's

For what? NIB price increases?

No, for
getting "beater" games
... apparently the art of reading is also lost on a younger generation... :roll:

The 30 somethings have enabled the old geezers to sell their beater's at inflationary pricing in order to "cash in" on the freely available credit. Look for the bubble to burst when Mortgage rates go above 10% - that's when this old geezer will be waiting, cash in hand ... :lol:
 

cdnpinballer

Member
Nov 15, 2012
342
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LOL Wayne most of what you dribble is way too long for me to read anyways so I'm not insulted by your underhanded insult.

Look the 30 somethings are only going to be able to buy beaters in the future because that's all that's going to be left. And out of those beaters there's only going to be so many to go around so they're going to go up in price so long as new thirty something entrants emerge into the market. My advice to those people woule be to gravitate to the broken rat shit infested EM and SS pins like the one's I've had to deal with to build my pinball equity. Then sell them off and recycle the cash into a nicer B / C list pin or maybe one A list pin.
 

websherpa

Active Member
Feb 10, 2013
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Waterdown, ON
Menace said:
10% mortgage rates... *shudder* We think things are bad now, if/when that happens it'll be an absolute nightmare.

D

I think I mentioned it before, but I remember when mortgages went to 21% for a bit in 1980. People who were stuck between mortgage renewals started losing their houses or had to sell well under market value because no one wanted to get a mortgage. Luckily I was still a "renter" at the time.... but having seen it happen once....

I think the best median was when Mortgages cost 5-8% and Bank Accounts and CSBs paid around 10%

@CDNP: Note, I doubt there will be another "wave' of 30 - somethings because pinball as a non-tablet based medium has all but disappeared from the public eye. Once this crop is gone, the new entrants into the hobby will start to diminish, other than perhaps some of our progeny. :lol:

However there is going to be a glut of old games on the market at good prices at some point - when our spouses either divorce us or outlive us and sell off our collections without knowing what they are really worth. ;)

@WFan: LOL - I was thinking about YOU when I wrote that bit about 30-something's! You know I was, I am SO jealous. :mrgreen:

My jealous angst will pass (it's just a phase one goes through when passing 50), we're going to re-finance our mortgage to build a house extension. I get a better pinball / woodwork shop and a rec / arcade room out of it, who knows, maybe I can squeeze a NIB onto the mortgage without my spouse noticing..... :roll:
 

Tcooper

New Member
Jan 20, 2013
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Cambridge
spiroagnew said:
websherpa said:
I blame it on the new 30 something's that are buying houses with ultra low mortgage rates ( I remember when they went up to 16%+), and squeezing in a few extras for their "man caves." If they have children their probably not out of diapers yet and haven't started costing hem an arm and a leg and eating them out of house and home yet. :lol:

According to this, it looks like I'm shouldering the blame here, fellas. Its all on me! I liked it better when we were blaming Mike/Mark/Jeff Uttley.

Just described my exact life, hahahaha
 

spiroagnew

Well-Known Member
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Dec 1, 2012
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www.creditdotpinball.com
cdnpinballer said:
LOL Wayne most of what you dribble is way too long for me to read anyways so I'm not insulted by your underhanded insult.

Don't worry, Wayne...there are still a few of us here that like to read your dribble! You are like the Obi-Wan of the Canadian pinball message boards.

The pinball hobby often gets likened to the classic car hobby...which may or may not be fair (I consider myself a member of both, owning multiple machines and "just" one classic car). Now THAT is a hobby completely driven by the 45+ crowd...so the old guys can take the blame for driving THAT market silly if us dudes in our 30 did the same for pinball prices.
 

cdnpinballer

Member
Nov 15, 2012
342
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Williams Fan - You're the exception buddy!

Sherp - I kind of disagree. I think pinball disappearing from the public eye is one of the key drivers of the market we find ourselves in now. If pins were everywhere on the street the majority of players would not bother having them in their homes. If people want to play pins (especially the classics) the only way (in most cases) is to actually buy the machine and play at home. There is a certain mystery and allure to playing and owning pinball. I think some of the reason why prices have gone up on the beaters is because of the 30 something’s but it's also because the only way to play pinball is to own the machine which increases demand for those machines and in turn increases prices. I also think there will always be some new entrants to the hobby such as people interested in electronics, mechanics and the junkies who get high on hitting jackpots and flashing lights. Playing pinball on a tablet blows in comparison to the real deal. Eventually the "new generation" who are interested in pinball and play the classics and new tables on a tablet will want the real thing so long as it's affordable. What I fear is pinball becoming a super elitist hobby with no 'entry' level pins for the newbs with $1K to gravitate to. At that point something is going to have to give and I could see prices coming down. I don't think we're even close to that point because it's going to take at least a couple generations for people to loose interest in playing physical pinball altogether and by then we'll be more interested in what flavor of tapioca is for dessert or we'll be dead.
 

WARLOCK

Administrator
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Nov 14, 2012
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spiroagnew said:
To be honest, I'm longing for the days when a pinball machine was worth a quarter of a dollar...or fifty cents, depending on the era you grew up....

Rob, Fantastic start. Always best to start at the beginning. Scott
 

WARLOCK

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websherpa said:
I blame it on the new 30 something's that are buying houses with ultra low mortgage rates ( I remember when they went up to 16%+), and squeezing in a few extras for their "man caves." If they have children their probably not out of diapers yet and haven't started costing hem an arm and a leg and eating them out of house and home yet. :lol:

Also, two income families are the new norm, we have more cash and less time ( no one is buying cottages anymore, for example). Essentially, they don't know he true value of a dollar yet.

But also, being a nostalgic sort, perhaps wages and income and inflationary reality have now moved beyond me.

Wayne,
Don't blame anyone. Pointless. Age and experience are the bonus or "specials" in life. Let everyone learn on their own
as you and I both did. Let them gain wisdom as we were allowed to do. They will. You will see. (the rest does not matter)
Scott
 

WARLOCK

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luch said:
As long as NIB's keep going up in price , all pinball machines will increase in price . We are talking about a few 1,000 units for world sales, in the grand theme of things compared to vehicle production this is peanuts.

Luch, You and I always agree. I always appreciate your insight, friendship and guidance. I hope the manufacturers survive. Scott
 

websherpa

Active Member
Feb 10, 2013
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Waterdown, ON
What I fear is pinball becoming a super elitist hobby with no 'entry' level pins for the newbs with $1K to gravitate to.
I think we're already there. Just a few years ago the base price of admission for an EM was about $200 (less if you were lucky), an SS around $500 - 700, and a low end DMD somewhere just over $1K ... the dollar hasn't risen that far with inflation, this is a demand / supply driven market and no one here has denied that yet.

cdnpinballer said:
If people want to play pins (especially the classics) the only way (in most cases) is to actually buy the machine and play at home.
I think you missed the fact that this has been the reality, particularly in Canada, for the majority for at least 20 years now.... for collectors of EM machines even longer. Hell I got my first used EM some time in 1978 ... EMs were on the way out in Canada and nearly worthless. 10 years ago, no one but a much smaller group of collectors (and operators) really gave a damn about pinball and mostly we were worried about disappearing parts and chips. So something else has changed to cause this renewed and growing interest.

What is an infinitely more interesting and likely cause is that Video killed Pinball, but it's also what resurrected pinball. Look at the value of Arcade Cabinets, they're way declined lately.

I think what's happened is that the sophistication and near universality of the home console game system has made some of us bored with its perfection. It has driven interest in the unmatchable physicality and "imperfection" of pinball that you rightly allude to. And so interest is renewed by those who are tired of their current toys by looking backwards instead of forwards.

Just as I think classic car enthusiasts are often driven by a nostalgic need to return to the excitement of a rickety old ride, because today's ride is too perfect. I dream of owning a Lotus Seven and a Twilight Zone. ;)
 

websherpa

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Feb 10, 2013
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Waterdown, ON
WARLOCK said:
Wayne,
Don't blame anyone. Pointless.

I think you bestow far too much significance to my humorous machinations in your new found pinball wisdom. One simply has to look beyond the trees to see the forest I am standing in. :FP:
 

WARLOCK

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My wisdom is not new found. It is earned.

I don't respond to any "one man's forest".

You should know that by now, even though
we have yet to meet. Perhaps tomorrow....

Stop "stopping the flow". Get on board. (?)
We will require your wisdom in a short time.
 

quarter grabber

Active Member
May 29, 2013
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Ottawa
WARLOCK said:
My wisdom is not new found. It is earned.

I don't respond to any "one man's forest".

You should know that by now, even though
we have yet to meet. Perhaps tomorrow....

Stop "stopping the flow". Get on board. (?)
We will require your wisdom in a short time.

So much for drama free. Hey yo! :lol: (joke)
 

WARLOCK

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Nov 14, 2012
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No drama, just content Ryan. (smiley face)
Everyone is entitled to say their piece.
I respect Wayne's opinion regardless of
the facts of if I agree with him or not.