What is a pinball worth?

[femto]

Just asking what do you guys reckon a machine is worth? I bought an EM a couple months back and it is in bits in the shed with stuff being done to get it operational. I realise I need another one to play while this one gets the treatment. Just curious is there concensus regarding the value of pinballs? I see you can buy an AC/DC pinball new for about $6000 but I have seen The Adams Family on ebay for $10000. I would love to think I could get another old machine for a couple hundred but this is new to me so have no idea. What are machines worth? ( I know this can depend on age, rarity etc but is there a range you work in)

[Retropin]

Lowest ive ever paid is $5... highest $3500

[femto]

Curious what did you get for $5 Gav? That has got to be a bargain.

[Retropin]

GTB TOP SCORE and GTB SOLAR RIDE... $5 each... both were in A+ condition... guy had run off with another woman leaving his pins behind... ex wife refused to accept any more than $5 lolly money each for the kids... oh boy was she laughing!!! Then again.. so was i!

[femto]

I can't imagine running off with another woman and leaving the pins behind. I bet the poor bastard has lived to regret this decision!

[swinks]

There is a difference between worth and value in my opinion. A machine is worth what what you are willing to pay and you be totally comfortable in making that purchase. A machines value can be determined by many things,  the more modern generally makes it more valuable especially of recent the LE's. Many popular Bally / Williams of the 90's still hold good value but some are over-rated but depends on personal taste really. Personally I don't like The Addams Family and think it is not good value. Some machines have a high value because of the theme, the designer or because of it's rarity (small numbers) and I am sure many other aspects as well.

Check out the Pinball Database if you haven't already and of the Solid State machines many of the 90's dmd's will be in the top of the list with probably the top 10 sitting between $4000 to $10000 for a good quality one.

http://www.ipdb.org/lists.cgi?puid=29684&browser=1334484217&list=top300

When you are talking dollars:
EM's probably low hundreds to $1500 for a very good machine
Early SS high hundreds to mid to high 1 thousands for a good machine
DMD of the 90's may if lucky under a thousand for a working project that may need some cleaning up and ramps etc up to $10k for a good machine
2000's Stern DMD - many holding a value of $3k and then going up

Having been in your position of first machine being a em that needs work and then wanting to get a working machine - make sure you do just that buy a working machine but maybe one that needs decals and new ramps one day as that way you can play now and do up later. And pick a theme that you like and enjoy.

[goodolddays]

Here's a site that will give you prices for sold pins .. for some reason it doesn't include every Ebay auction though , I don't know why not

http://www.pinpedia.com/

[vinito]

I always refer to the Boston Pinball site:
http://www.bostonpinball.biz/

click on the "eBay Sales Summary" button.
(I'd give a direct link, but it's updated now and then so best to get there from the home page)

It only shows eBay sales so it's not comprehensive. But it's a pretty decent gage for comparison. Seems to do fairly well on market values. Note these are US prices too, but still useful for getting a good ballpark idea of values, especially comparing one pin to another.

edit to add: I got to thinking it's just eBay, so it would include US and everywhere else too, so maybe more accurate than I previously considered.

[femto]

Thanks for the information and links! Very helpful.

[Strangeways]

A pinball is always worth the price a buyer is willing to pay.

EMs like Gav's $5 pinball is one end of the spectrum, and the Mermaid that sold in the US for $20,000 is the other.

KISS is a classic. As a pinball, it is worth what all SS from this period is worth to a casual buyer - $1500. But a KISS fan will pay $10,000 for a restored game.

There are so many factors to take into account. There's "market value", "the last eBay sale value", "Dealer's value", "Collector's value" and "casual buyer's value".

I always look at the "games in person" before deciding it's worth. At least detailed pictures and a report - "working" / "not working" etc etc..