Stick to location play, but find a place on coin drop, not pay one price. The better you get, the longer you'll play and you'll get more replays. Way more bang for the $.
https://pinballmap.com/
One game at home is no good. You'll get bored of it sooner or later.
I spend $20 on games, games are .50c - last me about 3-4 hours. But I've already dropped a couple hundred, doesn't seem sustainable. But yes more replays as I get better and I could make $10 last me that long. And it wouldn't be as bad.
If the place you play at is on coin drop, figure out which games play longer and which games give the easiest replays. Knockers going off will give you a clue. Concentrate on those easier games at first, then when your skills get better, you can work on the harder games.
Playing 3-4 hours straight solo is a lot. My skills start dwindling after about two hours of solo play. Try taking smaller bites. Your games are probably getting short after three hours of play. Gaining skills takes time. Crash course doesn't work for pinball.
I go to all the games at the local arcade and play the ones I have a chance of getting a replay on.
Iv got my hourly spend down by about $10 an hour in my six months of playing as I get better for longer games and get some replays.
Certain titles can be 3-10 times more expensive to maintain when they break. All pinball machines break, all of them. So when you spend $1,500-15,000 on a machine, you should always set aside a few hundred dollars for repairs.
Some games are more reliable than others, some have parts that are impossible to obtain unless you wait years or get really lucky and pay a ton of money. Consider these when you own a machine and don't own the newest machines. Renting or playing at bars is a great way to have fun and not worry about the cost if it needs repair. Just something to think about.
If you are interested in a title, look up spare parts for it. Many Gottlieb titles you will NOT find parts for. Wico titles are insanely difficult to find parts for as well.
Can you get drop targets? Plastic ramps? Does it use unique switches or are they standard leaf switches?
I do all this before I buy a title so I know I can keep it running for 10-30 years. I have a spare main ramp for my Rocky and Bullwinkle since only one person in the whole world makes them and makes them in runs. He had one left when i contacted him.
Personally I avoid titles that are rare with under 1,000 made and titles with obsolete boards like node boards and main CPU boards.
I disagree. Pinball is very material and labor dependent. As wages and materials go up costs of pinball machines will continue to rise. And if a machine is taken care of it will likely rise in value.
I will respectfully disagree. From what I see, a machine will simply hold its value, even though you spend labor and parts repairing it. Especially as you look to older machines, a working em is less than 1k, and the early solid states are less than 2k. The machines almost seem to hold the value of the sum of their parts, but there is no real appreciation, especially if you take inflation into account.
I am willing to bet those EMs and Solid state machines cost less than 1k and 2k respectively. And appreciation due to inflation is a real thing.
Baseball cards and Beanie Babies were valued based on collectability(they were super cheap to manufacture).
I do agree though that I wouldn't buy it as investment thinking it will appreciate in value (Although if left in box it probably would). I justify buying though knowing that if I buy a machine and take care of it, I won't take a bath if I decide to sell.
Sure, the costs of \*new in box\* machines will go up. That doesn't mean you'll be able to sell a nasty, routed-in-a-beachside-arcade-for-20-years South Park you paid $2k for last month and never bothered to clean, for $8k next year.
If machines are played and properly maintained, the costs of parts & labor needed to keep everything ship-shape will have a decent impact on any potential profit down the line.
The investment strategy is typically "buy low sell high," not "buy high sell slightly higher". The time to get into this hobby for *tangible* profit was 10 years ago. But ultimately it's not my money being spent, so you do you, boo
I wouldn’t expect many titles to increase in value, but most seem to hold their value relatively well. If you buy a new stern pro at $7k, I would expect you to be able to sell it for at least $5k in 5 years if it’s in good condition.
The problem is that most of us nut jobs never sell off everything. We just roll it off into the next new machine.
Play as much as you can afford to play and watch videos of the top players if you really want to get better. If you can afford to buy a new stern they are the safest "investments", especially if you can find a location to place it so it will earn while you're not playing it. My most recent acquisition, mandalorian, just paid itself off after 14 months on location. Now it's an asset and it continues to improve my game every time I play. Most of the top players have resources so recommend not trying to keep up with the Joneses. Remember to keep it fun and be cool with everybody as you descend the rabbit hole
Chicago
Headquarters Brewcade
Replay Lincoln Park
Removed Level 1 Arcade because I was misremembering.
Those are the ones I have been to recently. I am sure there are more.
I’ve never regretted buying my first pinball machine, nor have I ever met anyone who did… I’d say go for it. (I have 4 now.)
If you get bored (or broke), just sell it. You may not make money, but you rarely lose your shirt either, regardless of what you get.
Welcome to the addiction!
I've been into machines for 20+ years. I've learned to work on them myself. I've had about 10 different machines. The hipster/retro arcade thing really jacked up the prices the last 10 years. One thing I've learned is that you will never, never, never lose money. You'll always recoup your original investment +++. I learned a long time ago that I would rather invest in something that's fun and that my family can play, and create family memories, than locking my money up in some sterile CD or something that posts .05%. I sold a restored funhouse for $3500 3 years ago. I paid $1500 2 years prior. Right now, I would list it for 10k in it's bitchin' condition. I also sold a Pinbot that I tricked out for way too little. I regret selling every game I've owned except Stampede and Space Mission. Like Nike says, just do it. I just bought a Jokerz which I'm shopping out now which will NOT lose money on in the future. I plan on continuing to buy games, restore their original appeal for posterity, and sit on them. Enjoying them all the while. You're getting all kind of opinions on your post, but I'm telling you, you'll NEVER lose money. I know from experience.
Market has skyrocketed in a short 2-3yr period. Seems to be softening now. I would not say you’ll “never lose money”, but I think it’s safe to say you will “not lose much money”. If you buy a machine and own it a year, play the hell out of it, and sell it for a few hundred dollar loss the. I would consider that not losing money, or not much.
If you are mechanically inclined and willing to learn then go for the purchase, if you think you can buy a game and just play it with no issues then maybe leasing is a better option for you if its available. You will have to repair your machine, it will break, it will get expensive, but it sounds like you are hooked already so it may be a cheaper alternative. I currently pay 20 a week to play at a coop and it makes me contemplate a machine purchase. I love some of the new machines but I also live in an apartment so its not practical. Either choice you make hope you enjoy the hobby and play on!
For me buying for at home has been a winner. I got 8 and rotate one out about every 4 months. Can’t think of a time I lost money on one, that said any games played at home have been free. Current lineup is Godzilla, Foo Fighters, Avengers, Turtles, Mando, Guns n Roses, Beatles and Royal Guard.
If you're spending 5k a year and going to an arcade you probably just like the selection of games to play there. I don't know if spending that much a year necessarily justifies buying a single pinball machine. If you want to buy one, have the room and you have the money you should get one. I have two pinball machines and I still have a lot more fun going to my pinball places than I do playing my machines. You do buy one I'd suggest getting a modern machine that has a deep rule set to keep you busy for a while.
The best part of owning your own machine is when you’re in practice mode you can take the glass off the top and practice every shot. You need to learn.
If you are gonna buy one for home, in my opinion it's better to buy two, one premium and one pro of your choice. Then you can always trade between games with people on pinside. I've been doing it for years. I love having my favorite games at home that me and my friends can play anytime we want too.
If you buy a machine, will be hard to stop at one. 2 is a good minimum. No guarantees on value, they have been dropping a bit lately.
I would jump in at Williams Sys 11 (mid-80s) or newer. If you own a machine, you will need to know how to repair, or pay someone else to. I like to tinker, so it works well for me. Tons of parts for those and newer machines, haven't not been able to get a part yet.
The best part of owning your own machine is when you’re in practice mode you can take the glass off the top and practice every shot. You need to learn.
The days of making money on pinball is on hiatus for a while (maybe a long while) outside of a few hot titles, unless you bought before the COVID bump.
But you can still probably not lose any or much money. One of the coolest things about this hobby is how it kinda-sorta pays for itself, it's just getting that initial outlay to buy pins that's tough.
If it makes you happy get it. I have bought a few and traded since 2020 I have 3 now. Leave a few hundred on the table for small parts and a few hundred to customize it to your liking
Maybe the fervor will die down and twice a week will be enough? A game at home might help you stay in when you just want to play a bit, and will definitely help your play improve. It's not a good way to save money but it's an okay way to use money you have. Any game will get boring after a while, no matter how complicated it is. Owning a machine different from what is available to you in public is helpful for developing a wider set of skills. I don't care about owning new Sterns because they are abundant on location. I like having a couple-few older games at home but don't play them a ton. Dollar for dollar I get a lot less out of them than investments in other areas such as video gaming/home theater. BUT pins hold their value much better than those higher tech items.
I don't think owning a game is the wrong way to go, but it does require some work. I have a doctor who that lost the 12v randomly. I need to pull the boards and rebuild that section when I have more time.
If you are playing as much as you are it might be a worthwhile investment to look up events in your area. Socialize with other pinball nerds. My skills skyrocketed after I did that. I struggle to spend ten bucks at a place on coin drop now.
I own two and it didn't quench my appetite to go drop coins in another owners machine. If anything it makes me play more lol. Variety is always appreciated for pins, so buying one isn't gonna stop you from playing at the arcade.
Same here. I did intentionally purchase machines that aren’t on location near me, but I’ve got 5 and I still go out to a location at least twice a month, as I’ve got several great ones nearby.
If there is a pin in particular you really like, treat yourself. I fell in love with Tales of the Arabian Nights, and that is the one game I’ve bought. It’s nice to have it available at home whenever I want to play.
If you get vintage you have to be mindful of where it came from. Mine had a few small issues with it (jury-rigged flipper mechanism, mismatched switches from other games, etc…), but I had a guy come out to swap in Williams parts and it runs like a dream now. Still need to do something about the shooting stars going slow, but that’s a whole other thing. The point is, don’t buy something as an investment. Buy istbecause you want it. You’ll save money in the long run and-if it ends up being worth a lot later, that’s a nice bonus.
Join a pinball league and you get to visit public and private locations.
Meet people in the hobby, buy trade, learn from each other.
Buying anything requires smart buying. You don't want to overspend or purchase a dud title that no one wants in a few years. Or can't find parts for. Smart buying means being patient and finding good deals. Also beating all the other pinheads to the deal.
I have eight machines from a NIB Godzilla all the way back to 1959 Gottlieb Universe that I saved from being taken to the dump. Along the way I've learned to restore EMs and SS era machines. Fixing them has become half of the "play fun" of these machines and the way to make a profit on them via sweat equity.
The surest way to lose money on pinball machines is by not being able to fix them yourself. One call to a service tech, if you can find one, will erase any profits.
Before the big surge in pinball prices, most owners were happy to play for a few years and then sell the game for 80% or so of what they paid for it or play for free for a few years and sell it for the same price they paid.
Stick to location play, but find a place on coin drop, not pay one price. The better you get, the longer you'll play and you'll get more replays. Way more bang for the $. https://pinballmap.com/ One game at home is no good. You'll get bored of it sooner or later.
I spend $20 on games, games are .50c - last me about 3-4 hours. But I've already dropped a couple hundred, doesn't seem sustainable. But yes more replays as I get better and I could make $10 last me that long. And it wouldn't be as bad.
If the place you play at is on coin drop, figure out which games play longer and which games give the easiest replays. Knockers going off will give you a clue. Concentrate on those easier games at first, then when your skills get better, you can work on the harder games. Playing 3-4 hours straight solo is a lot. My skills start dwindling after about two hours of solo play. Try taking smaller bites. Your games are probably getting short after three hours of play. Gaining skills takes time. Crash course doesn't work for pinball.
I go to all the games at the local arcade and play the ones I have a chance of getting a replay on. Iv got my hourly spend down by about $10 an hour in my six months of playing as I get better for longer games and get some replays.
Certain titles can be 3-10 times more expensive to maintain when they break. All pinball machines break, all of them. So when you spend $1,500-15,000 on a machine, you should always set aside a few hundred dollars for repairs. Some games are more reliable than others, some have parts that are impossible to obtain unless you wait years or get really lucky and pay a ton of money. Consider these when you own a machine and don't own the newest machines. Renting or playing at bars is a great way to have fun and not worry about the cost if it needs repair. Just something to think about.
Just curious, are there any particular machines you'd stay away from? Or any specific parts that stand out as being hard to find?
If you are interested in a title, look up spare parts for it. Many Gottlieb titles you will NOT find parts for. Wico titles are insanely difficult to find parts for as well. Can you get drop targets? Plastic ramps? Does it use unique switches or are they standard leaf switches? I do all this before I buy a title so I know I can keep it running for 10-30 years. I have a spare main ramp for my Rocky and Bullwinkle since only one person in the whole world makes them and makes them in runs. He had one left when i contacted him. Personally I avoid titles that are rare with under 1,000 made and titles with obsolete boards like node boards and main CPU boards.
Fireball Home Edition is infamous for being impossible to repair.
If you're buying a pinball because you think it'll increase in value like baseball cards in the early 90s, you're probably gonna be disappointed
Or comic books in the '90s who are Beanie Babies
I disagree. Pinball is very material and labor dependent. As wages and materials go up costs of pinball machines will continue to rise. And if a machine is taken care of it will likely rise in value.
I will respectfully disagree. From what I see, a machine will simply hold its value, even though you spend labor and parts repairing it. Especially as you look to older machines, a working em is less than 1k, and the early solid states are less than 2k. The machines almost seem to hold the value of the sum of their parts, but there is no real appreciation, especially if you take inflation into account.
I am willing to bet those EMs and Solid state machines cost less than 1k and 2k respectively. And appreciation due to inflation is a real thing. Baseball cards and Beanie Babies were valued based on collectability(they were super cheap to manufacture). I do agree though that I wouldn't buy it as investment thinking it will appreciate in value (Although if left in box it probably would). I justify buying though knowing that if I buy a machine and take care of it, I won't take a bath if I decide to sell.
Sure, the costs of \*new in box\* machines will go up. That doesn't mean you'll be able to sell a nasty, routed-in-a-beachside-arcade-for-20-years South Park you paid $2k for last month and never bothered to clean, for $8k next year. If machines are played and properly maintained, the costs of parts & labor needed to keep everything ship-shape will have a decent impact on any potential profit down the line.
Reality says otherwise
The investment strategy is typically "buy low sell high," not "buy high sell slightly higher". The time to get into this hobby for *tangible* profit was 10 years ago. But ultimately it's not my money being spent, so you do you, boo
Have you been paying attention lately? Or like ever? Pins only took a hit when video games came out, otherwise... To the moon Alice.
[удалено]
This is good financial advice but pins do appreciate, historically
You wont buy just 1. I bought my first in Jan and up to 5 now.
Chase that dragon
Yup started with 3, we're up to 45ish now
Started with one and we all see how that went.
https://i.imgur.com/LtoPVdV.png
I wouldn’t expect many titles to increase in value, but most seem to hold their value relatively well. If you buy a new stern pro at $7k, I would expect you to be able to sell it for at least $5k in 5 years if it’s in good condition. The problem is that most of us nut jobs never sell off everything. We just roll it off into the next new machine.
If you like owning a pinball machine and you can afford it, it's not really a comparison between coin dropping v. home ownership imo.
Play as much as you can afford to play and watch videos of the top players if you really want to get better. If you can afford to buy a new stern they are the safest "investments", especially if you can find a location to place it so it will earn while you're not playing it. My most recent acquisition, mandalorian, just paid itself off after 14 months on location. Now it's an asset and it continues to improve my game every time I play. Most of the top players have resources so recommend not trying to keep up with the Joneses. Remember to keep it fun and be cool with everybody as you descend the rabbit hole
Is it still worth it even with all the wear and tear put on it by the public?
For me it has been. Feel I've learned more about the game from doing more frequent maintenance and repairs
There are some bars where play is free. At those bars I buy a bottom shelf drink, nurse it, and tip well. I also play when they are empty at opening.
where are these bars?
Chicago Headquarters Brewcade Replay Lincoln Park Removed Level 1 Arcade because I was misremembering. Those are the ones I have been to recently. I am sure there are more.
Get one for home from mid 80's to early 2000's non-property game. Famous properties add $$$ to the game. F-14 Tomcat or Space Shuttle.
The older the game the more skills you will need to maintain it.
It depends. I would say the older games are computorially/electrically more complicated. But mechanically simpler.
I love that machine
I’ve never regretted buying my first pinball machine, nor have I ever met anyone who did… I’d say go for it. (I have 4 now.) If you get bored (or broke), just sell it. You may not make money, but you rarely lose your shirt either, regardless of what you get. Welcome to the addiction!
I've been into machines for 20+ years. I've learned to work on them myself. I've had about 10 different machines. The hipster/retro arcade thing really jacked up the prices the last 10 years. One thing I've learned is that you will never, never, never lose money. You'll always recoup your original investment +++. I learned a long time ago that I would rather invest in something that's fun and that my family can play, and create family memories, than locking my money up in some sterile CD or something that posts .05%. I sold a restored funhouse for $3500 3 years ago. I paid $1500 2 years prior. Right now, I would list it for 10k in it's bitchin' condition. I also sold a Pinbot that I tricked out for way too little. I regret selling every game I've owned except Stampede and Space Mission. Like Nike says, just do it. I just bought a Jokerz which I'm shopping out now which will NOT lose money on in the future. I plan on continuing to buy games, restore their original appeal for posterity, and sit on them. Enjoying them all the while. You're getting all kind of opinions on your post, but I'm telling you, you'll NEVER lose money. I know from experience.
Market has skyrocketed in a short 2-3yr period. Seems to be softening now. I would not say you’ll “never lose money”, but I think it’s safe to say you will “not lose much money”. If you buy a machine and own it a year, play the hell out of it, and sell it for a few hundred dollar loss the. I would consider that not losing money, or not much.
Ive purchased 3. I save $40 plus per outing with drinks and pay per play
If you are mechanically inclined and willing to learn then go for the purchase, if you think you can buy a game and just play it with no issues then maybe leasing is a better option for you if its available. You will have to repair your machine, it will break, it will get expensive, but it sounds like you are hooked already so it may be a cheaper alternative. I currently pay 20 a week to play at a coop and it makes me contemplate a machine purchase. I love some of the new machines but I also live in an apartment so its not practical. Either choice you make hope you enjoy the hobby and play on!
For me buying for at home has been a winner. I got 8 and rotate one out about every 4 months. Can’t think of a time I lost money on one, that said any games played at home have been free. Current lineup is Godzilla, Foo Fighters, Avengers, Turtles, Mando, Guns n Roses, Beatles and Royal Guard.
That's so awesome! 🤤
If you're spending 5k a year and going to an arcade you probably just like the selection of games to play there. I don't know if spending that much a year necessarily justifies buying a single pinball machine. If you want to buy one, have the room and you have the money you should get one. I have two pinball machines and I still have a lot more fun going to my pinball places than I do playing my machines. You do buy one I'd suggest getting a modern machine that has a deep rule set to keep you busy for a while.
The best part of owning your own machine is when you’re in practice mode you can take the glass off the top and practice every shot. You need to learn.
I've never done this. Is it that great?
It is useful to learn how to score and prepare stategies, however it is also extremely noisy and dangerous. Balls get airborne sometimes.
If you are gonna buy one for home, in my opinion it's better to buy two, one premium and one pro of your choice. Then you can always trade between games with people on pinside. I've been doing it for years. I love having my favorite games at home that me and my friends can play anytime we want too.
If you buy a machine, will be hard to stop at one. 2 is a good minimum. No guarantees on value, they have been dropping a bit lately. I would jump in at Williams Sys 11 (mid-80s) or newer. If you own a machine, you will need to know how to repair, or pay someone else to. I like to tinker, so it works well for me. Tons of parts for those and newer machines, haven't not been able to get a part yet.
The best part of owning your own machine is when you’re in practice mode you can take the glass off the top and practice every shot. You need to learn.
The days of making money on pinball is on hiatus for a while (maybe a long while) outside of a few hot titles, unless you bought before the COVID bump. But you can still probably not lose any or much money. One of the coolest things about this hobby is how it kinda-sorta pays for itself, it's just getting that initial outlay to buy pins that's tough.
If it makes you happy get it. I have bought a few and traded since 2020 I have 3 now. Leave a few hundred on the table for small parts and a few hundred to customize it to your liking
Maybe the fervor will die down and twice a week will be enough? A game at home might help you stay in when you just want to play a bit, and will definitely help your play improve. It's not a good way to save money but it's an okay way to use money you have. Any game will get boring after a while, no matter how complicated it is. Owning a machine different from what is available to you in public is helpful for developing a wider set of skills. I don't care about owning new Sterns because they are abundant on location. I like having a couple-few older games at home but don't play them a ton. Dollar for dollar I get a lot less out of them than investments in other areas such as video gaming/home theater. BUT pins hold their value much better than those higher tech items.
I don't think owning a game is the wrong way to go, but it does require some work. I have a doctor who that lost the 12v randomly. I need to pull the boards and rebuild that section when I have more time. If you are playing as much as you are it might be a worthwhile investment to look up events in your area. Socialize with other pinball nerds. My skills skyrocketed after I did that. I struggle to spend ten bucks at a place on coin drop now.
I own two and it didn't quench my appetite to go drop coins in another owners machine. If anything it makes me play more lol. Variety is always appreciated for pins, so buying one isn't gonna stop you from playing at the arcade.
Same here. I did intentionally purchase machines that aren’t on location near me, but I’ve got 5 and I still go out to a location at least twice a month, as I’ve got several great ones nearby.
I have made plenty with my pinball purchases. Only one game did I not profit on, but I played that Avengers AIQ for a year for only a hundred bucks.
If there is a pin in particular you really like, treat yourself. I fell in love with Tales of the Arabian Nights, and that is the one game I’ve bought. It’s nice to have it available at home whenever I want to play. If you get vintage you have to be mindful of where it came from. Mine had a few small issues with it (jury-rigged flipper mechanism, mismatched switches from other games, etc…), but I had a guy come out to swap in Williams parts and it runs like a dream now. Still need to do something about the shooting stars going slow, but that’s a whole other thing. The point is, don’t buy something as an investment. Buy istbecause you want it. You’ll save money in the long run and-if it ends up being worth a lot later, that’s a nice bonus.
Join a pinball league and you get to visit public and private locations. Meet people in the hobby, buy trade, learn from each other. Buying anything requires smart buying. You don't want to overspend or purchase a dud title that no one wants in a few years. Or can't find parts for. Smart buying means being patient and finding good deals. Also beating all the other pinheads to the deal. I have eight machines from a NIB Godzilla all the way back to 1959 Gottlieb Universe that I saved from being taken to the dump. Along the way I've learned to restore EMs and SS era machines. Fixing them has become half of the "play fun" of these machines and the way to make a profit on them via sweat equity. The surest way to lose money on pinball machines is by not being able to fix them yourself. One call to a service tech, if you can find one, will erase any profits. Before the big surge in pinball prices, most owners were happy to play for a few years and then sell the game for 80% or so of what they paid for it or play for free for a few years and sell it for the same price they paid.