Breakshot
Capcom, 1996
Wall Street
Bally, 1974I bought many WPC games in the early 2000s. Sure they were about 1500-2500 €uros at that time, and now the price has at least doubled.
But considering since 2006 I have paid about 500€ for a month of the storage, there is not much profit to expect - and anyway I`m not going to sell.
Kept all but one game I ever bought (medusa - my kids hated it) My "investment" is in family fun and the pleasure I get modifying and working on the machines. Because I bought games years ago I guess I have made a good investment. Paid $2500 for my absolutely beautiful diamond plated Creature. (Bought off Mr. Pinball classifieds sight unseen - not something I would do again) Paid $1200 for an Earthshaker in excellent condition. Paid $1800 for my Pinball Magic - which was overpaying when I bought it. Best investment I ever made was buying a massive collection of comic books 30 years ago which I recently sold to buy more pinballs!
Buy a pinball machine and have it shipped.
Pay to have a new playfield installed.
And Bingo, you just married a pinball machine.
Up to seven wives right now and currently engaged to another.
I figured it out a month or two ago: My current collection plus an additional $80k has all been paid for with pinball. I started in 2011 when I bought STTNG for 1500, sold it for 3500, took the money and bought 2 more and kept the cycle going.
Quoted from pinzrfun:Unfortunately I recently had to sell a half dozen games to pay off a divorce, but luckily I bought them years ago so they were worth way more than I paid.
Can you still get a BSD for $600?
So they bought you your freedom? Another great investment people!! 
Quoted from pinzrfun:Can you still get a BSD for $600?
Add a zero here in Canada.....
I’m wondering IF everyone is going to realize at the same time that we have all been paying for a bunch of $10k+ boat anchors and people are rushing for the exits!
I realize it hasn’t always been this way and I don’t really care what happens to our “investments” but one wonders 
Quoted from iceman44:I’m wondering IF everyone is going to realize at the same time that we have all been paying for a bunch of $10k+ boat anchors and people are rushing for the exits!
I realize it hasn’t always been this way and I don’t really care what happens to our “investments” but one wonders
It's like a lot of things. If you keep them too long, then a lot of the people that desire them and are willing to pay big die off and then you are stuck holding the bag. Unless you are determined to outlive them all and keep on enjoying them then it doesn't really matter.
If we are still in the sweet spot of 80s nostalgists, then all these 90s B/W still have a few decades left and I am fully stocked up there. Those investments still look great!
I just don't or no longer waste a dime on these new retro theme games that are outdated before they are even released and there is no real collectability or quality there that I can see. And good luck with parts down the road for them. But perhaps that's just me.
Quoted from o-din:It's like a lot of things. If you keep them too long, then a lot of the people that desire them and are willing to pay big die off and then you are stuck holding the bag. Unless you are determined to outlive them all and keep on enjoying them then it doesn't really matter.
If we are still in the sweet spot of 80s nostalgists, then all these 90s B/W still have a few decades left and I am fully stocked up there. Those investments still look great!
I just don't or no longer waste a dime on these new retro theme games that are outdated before they are even released and there is no real collectability or quality there that I can see. And good luck with parts down the road for them. But perhaps that's just me.
The collectibility today of these new games?
ZERO. And worst “investment” you can ever make.
The older games? IF you bought them back then ok.
Warren Buffet isn’t buying pins. Just saying
As far as a “collectible investment”, you had to buy long ago
Jig is up and game is over at these prices
Quoted from iceman44:The collectibility today of these new games?
ZERO. And worst “investment” you can ever make.
The older games? IF you bought them back then ok.
Warren Buffet isn’t buying pins. Just saying
As far as a “collectible investment”, you had to buy long ago
Jig is up and game is over at these prices
As someone who got into pinball a year ago I don't view it as an investment. Quite the contrary it kinda feels like a game of hot potato.
I don't expect there to be a "crash" but the market is definitely soft, and when we're talking 5-10k toys 20% or 30% hurts when the inevitable correction comes. I wouldn't consider that a crash when it happens, but I don't really want to set 2k on fire either when it does happen.
Hopefully the cycle of only losing a couple hundred bucks when I go to sell a game continues. So far I've been lucky.
Quoted from BMGfan:As someone who got into pinball a year ago I don't view it as an investment. Quite the contrary it kinda feels like a game of hot potato.
I don't expect there to be a "crash" but the market is definitely soft, and when we're talking 5-10k toys 20% or 30% hurts when the inevitable correction comes. I wouldn't consider that a crash when it happens, but I don't really want to set 2k on fire either when it does happen.
Hopefully the cycle of only losing a couple hundred bucks when I go to sell a game continues. So far I've been lucky.
Well. You better find another hobby as a newbie.
You will set multiple piles of $2k on fire.
Been around a while myself. Good luck if you approach it as some kind of money making hobby.
The title of this thread is ridiculous as Odin knows it Must have typed it in a moment of Max highness.
Quoted from iceman44:The title of this thread is ridiculous as Odin knows it Must have typed it in a moment of Max highness.
Not when you have a collection of hot rocks like I do.
Only the best for my pup, not a spec of cereal.
Unknown (resized).jpegPins are not a great financial investment (to put it mildly). They don't depreciate as much as some other "toys" though.
But for me they have offered that rare feeling of rewinding the clock 40 to 50 years and giving me a true Christmas morning level of joy, at least for a bit. That is priceless.
Quoted from naf_llabnip:Pins are not a great financial investment (to put it mildly). They don't depreciate as much as some other "toys" though.
But for me they have offered that rare feeling of rewinding the clock 40 to 50 years and giving me a true Christmas morning level of joy, at least for a bit. That is priceless.
That's it right there - I enjoy the 90s B/W games that I've owned for decades, but find myself playing the simpler SS games from my teen years in the 70s more lately. I can play Evel Knievel or KISS and be 13 again for a little while.
I got back into pinball about 7 years ago, now have 7 machines and today they are worth quite a bit more than I paid. Great hobby. But the serendipitous discovery of Pinside forums is a real bonus. There are some f**ing smart people on some of these forums, topics of all kinds not just pinball. Hell of a lot better in many regards than Reddit, even with some of the kooks that stir up trouble on a whim. rock on pinball folks!
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Tucson, AZ