what are your pins worth now,nobody has cash?

[mildflame]

  : awesome thread

[studley67]

will i get to 1000 posts before i am banned for life.lol

[Pinprick]

will i get to 1000 posts before i am banned for life.lol

Dunno my friend.

I was recently castigated (no, not castrated  ) for having a bit of a shot - so be afraid . . .

PP

[studley67]

castigated,, @.@please explain?

[Strangeways]

The Global financial crisis has never effected people who already have their money in a bank. The rich STILL have money to spend on Pinballs. It's the battlers who have really suffered, and the "luxury items" like pinball are now off the shopping list - furthermore - if times do get tough, luxury items are the first to go. So many machines are hitting ebay and privately changing hands.

Collectors still want good quality machines. They now expect machines to be better than "dealer quality", and dealers are having trouble competing with "backyarders", private importers and other dealers. It has been a "buyer's market" for almost 2 years. If you want to buy machines - now is the time to strike deals.

Container pins - Generally speaking, the quality is declining - that's because there is a delusion that container pins can make a lot of money for private importers, so they are paying (what they think) cheap prices for cheap pins and then ending up with lemons that simply won't sell. There are HEAPS of machines overseas. Prices have dropped (Eueo VS AUS$) and so has the quality.

[mildflame]

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/castigated

[studley67]

i coulld not have said it better myself

[mildflame]

The Global financial crisis has never effected people who already have their money in a bank. The rich STILL have money to spend on Pinballs. It's the battlers who have really suffered, and the "luxury items" like pinball are now off the shopping list - furthermore - if times do get tough, luxury items are the first to go. So many machines are hitting ebay and privately changing hands.

Collectors still want good quality machines. They now expect machines to be better than "dealer quality", and dealers are having trouble competing with "backyarders", private importers and other dealers. It has been a "buyer's market" for almost 2 years. If you want to buy machines - now is the time to strike deals.

Container pins - Generally speaking, the quality is declining - that's because there is a delusion that container pins can make a lot of money for private importers, so they are paying (what they think) cheap prices for cheap pins and then ending up with lemons that simply won't sell. There are HEAPS of machines overseas. Prices have dropped (Eueo VS AUS$) and so has the quality.

It almost sounds like your talking about pinball entering the black market With your quotes of "dealers struggling" and "backyarders" and "Private Importers"

[studley67]

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/castigated

not sure which meaning applies here.i'll ask my bikey mates.

[Strangeways]

The Global financial crisis has never effected people who already have their money in a bank. The rich STILL have money to spend on Pinballs. It's the battlers who have really suffered, and the "luxury items" like pinball are now off the shopping list - furthermore - if times do get tough, luxury items are the first to go. So many machines are hitting ebay and privately changing hands.

Collectors still want good quality machines. They now expect machines to be better than "dealer quality", and dealers are having trouble competing with "backyarders", private importers and other dealers. It has been a "buyer's market" for almost 2 years. If you want to buy machines - now is the time to strike deals.

Container pins - Generally speaking, the quality is declining - that's because there is a delusion that container pins can make a lot of money for private importers, so they are paying (what they think) cheap prices for cheap pins and then ending up with lemons that simply won't sell. There are HEAPS of machines overseas. Prices have dropped (Eueo VS AUS$) and so has the quality.

It almost sounds like your talking about pinball entering the black market With your quotes of "dealers struggling" and "backyarders" and "Private Importers"

All the dealers will tell you the same story - it is VERY tight out in the marketplace. Not because people have no money, but because of the massive amount of choice buyers have right now.

"Backyarders" - is one of my favorite terms. I actually am a "frontyarder". because my garage is out the front of the house !

[mildflame]

I always thought of "backyarder" being a term that a dealer would use. my terms are: "backyarder" being someone who dosn't know what they are doing but tinkers anyway, "collector" someone who collects machines and is 'proud' of thier collection, "restorer" someone who has knowledge of their actions and gets any peice of junk and transforms it to a masterpeice. "dealer" somone who dosn't always care for the machines or the quality but is always in for the extra $'s and business

[Strangeways]

I always thought of "backyarder" being a term that a dealer would use. my terms are: "backyarder" being someone who dosn't know what they are doing but tinkers anyway, "collector" someone who collects machines and is 'proud' of thier collection, "restorer" someone who has knowledge of their actions and gets any peice of junk and transforms it to a masterpeice. "dealer" somone who dosn't always care for the machines or the quality but is always in for the extra $'s and business

It is an interesting discussion. You are close, Mitch. I'd say a large percentage of the better games are restored by collectors and hobbyists as they donate their time and have no overheads. Dealers work to a budget. Some of the very best work is done by backyarders.

[studley67]

well said,mitch,now go to bed.as i am doing.nothing more to read here

[Pop Bumper Pete]

Prices on pinball machines are like any other ‘collectable’, the price will rise and fall

I think we have been through a period where people were expecting to sell their games for super silly prices, but those machines are not selling for as much at the moment.
After all, it is a wooden box filled with 15-20yo technology

The machines I own, I own because I enjoy the game, not for its perceived dollar value

[Cow Corner]

I flip my lineup around very reguarly....sometimes as quickly as a couple of months after purchase.
I find that I normally get the price I paid for the pin/s...sometimes a little more,sometimes a little less.
I am about to do it again, so it will be interesting to see what sort offers come in.
I think I enjoy flipping them as much as I enjoy playing them.