No - i dont think its a joke ( unfortunately)
I once went to look at about 10 arcade machines - all were sitting out on a deck in the weather, none were working. In the middle of all this was a WMS pinball machine - approx 1972 ( i couldnt see the name of the machine), I asked how much he wanted for the pin.
REPLY???
Mate, that aint for sale - thats my retirement fund.
Unfortunately, this attitude to a shagged pin is endemic. No doubt next time i go look at a pin in someones home they will tell me that theyve seen them on Ebay selling for $20,000, but theyll take $10,000 for the non working shagged Wms Firepower.
Things will get worse!