Is it my imagination? please set me straight if need be

[pinball god]

I am seeing a few newer Sterns hitting the second hand market these days ie. trons, acdc, star trek etc. And they seem to be from collectors rather than from operators. It just seems to me like there's as many of these if not more than the older b/w, DE games on the market on the forums.

Are people just moving them on to change their line up or are these games not holding their attention like the older games/rule sets?

[oldskool1969]

I wish! Still looking for a wanked out AC/DC to clean up sub $3
People think you can kill the pig with buying Ne popular title pinball ( wrong ) 

[Caveoftreasures]

I don't see the numbers of Sterns for sale being anywhere near the 1990s pins u see up for sale. I would have said not even close. I think times are tough for some people and they spend 6 or 7 grand then either need money in a hurry or decide to sell one pin to buy 3 cheaper titles. Also, operators always try to pass sited machines off as home machines only.
Some people don't seem to mind buying a new in box pinball, they play it for 12 or 18 months, get bored and move it on and lose $1500 or $2000. But at the same time, they sell a ACDC and then buy a Star Trek Pro for the same money, so they move sideways so to speak and get something new to play.
Pro rata, I reckon 80 percent of BNIB pins stay in collections for decent periods of time being 3 to 5 yrs plus. All the guys I know who regularly buy new Sterns keep them. Of say about 6 or 8 people, only 1 mate moves sideways every 18 months.
Either way, most Sterns usually don't have a problem getting $4500 to $5000 plus for good examples. There's probably only a few hundred of each model brought in each year, being the Pro models, and a half to third of that being the LE or Premium model. You only see apx half a dozen per annum being sold if they are home use only. Perhaps some get sold privately between collections without an advert ever being seen by the public. I am sure some collectors probably swap sterns for sterns as well. Either way, they all seem to be holding their value quite well and usually sell quite quickly. So the Stern resale values are still excellent IMHO. Food for thought....

[delarge]

I wish! Still looking for a wanked out AC/DC to clean up sub $3
People think you can kill the pig with buying Ne popular title pinball ( wrong ) 

haha I hear ya! I saw a post on Pinside where a guy got a cheap water damaged Iron Man and brought it back to life. If only....

"people think you can kill the pig...." I don't know what this means, but I think I like it?

I'd like to buy an old Stern title like The Sopranos to have a bash, but those things still seem to be expensive. Of course, like any product, they'll drop in value after you take them out of their box (or drive them off the lot), but do a Stern pinball search on ebay and they're all high in value.

Cheers!
Adam.

[oldskool1969]

kil the pig means make loads of money 
Cavey,I love your enthusiasm for Stern, I really do, but let's face it, most of the year 90,s pinballs from for sale are usually dog titles, CLASSIC TITLES ARE HIGH PRIC D OR NOT FOR SALE. Cashed up bogans get caught in hype and then realise that pinball is aluxury and they need maintenance which costs lots of coin. It truly is a hobbyist past time now as pinball in the wild is virtually non existent.
People who can't be fxxxked then flog them off and try and KILL THE PIG. AC/DC will prove this in years to come, heaps sold in Aus and I hope to pick up a bargain as it is a great game IMO.
Hope that makes sense 

[Strangeways]

Hard to really gauge the market these days. It is a moving target most of the time. As collectors, many want the cookie titles, and Stern's don't fit that category (yet). Data East games are an example of the unpredictable market. Nearly every week, I am asked if I can source a Gun's N Roses. Recently, the Star Wars and TFTC have become popular. Yet most collectors want Bally Williams. I'm sure that in time, Metallica and AC/DC will become the Addams Family and Twilight Zone's in collections.

Operators see pinballs in the context of their earning capacity. So we can only judge Sterns on their own as they probably dominate routes. Operators will move on games that don't earn any longer, or they leave them onsite in poor condition. It has been a long time since I've seen a Scared Stiff or an Addams on location. AC/DC appeared on container lists quite some time ago. Operators overseas moved these off location quickly. I've yet to see a Metallica appear on a list, but I've seen tons of Rolling Stones and Trons. Mustangs have just appeared - which I find strange.

The other thing to consider is the volume of the titles. Bally Williams production figures are well known, whereas Sterns are not. Maybe its a generation thing - Us older folks hold on to games longer.

[Boots]

kil the pig means make loads of money 
Cavey,I love your enthusiasm for Stern, I really do, but let's face it, most of the year 90,s pinballs from for sale are usually dog titles, CLASSIC TITLES ARE HIGH PRIC D OR NOT FOR SALE. Cashed up bogans get caught in hype and then realise that pinball is aluxury and they need maintenance which costs lots of coin. It truly is a hobbyist past time now as pinball in the wild is virtually non existent.
People who can't be fxxxked then flog them off and try and KILL THE PIG. AC/DC will prove this in years to come, heaps sold in Aus and I hope to pick up a bargain as it is a great game IMO.
Hope that makes sense 

Phew, I thought it was just me that was thinking that.