Financing pinball

[Deleted member 2463]

@Neil McRae for example has alot of wonderful games, is very active and has opinions on “all things” pinball you would think that he started in this hobby back in the 90’s . but has only been here since 2016..

[Post updated as requested (and rightly so by the moderation team))

well I played BoP and T2 almost every day until 1992 the only two games in my local arcade in Edinburgh, I then went and started my own company and frankly can't remember anything about the 90's other than work.

I wasn't active on here but I've been active on Pinside for ten years - I even got a new cheevo! What I find incredible its folks who have been in pinball for years claim to be one of the good guys and all knowledgeable in pinball; moan about prices all the time then try and stitch people up with half baked piles of junk dressed up as "mint" for thousands of pounds more than they are worth!



But then again the current World Champion of pinball is 16 and learned more about pinball in the last few years than many of us put together in the last ten.

Regards,
Neil.

 

[Sako-TRG]

well I played BoP and T2 almost every day until 1992 the only two games in my local arcade in Edinburgh, I then went and started my own company and frankly can't remember anything about the 90's other than work.

I wasn't active on here but I've been active on Pinside for ten years - I even got a new cheevo! What I find incredible its folks who have been in pinball for years claim to be one of the good guys and all knowledgeable in pinball; moan about prices all the time then try and stitch people up with half baked piles of junk dressed up as "mint" for thousands of pounds more than they are worth!

View attachment 163365

But then again the current World Champion of pinball is 16 and learned more about pinball in the last few years than many of us put together in the last ten.

Regards,
Neil.

You made your fortune but
Damn, you missed the 90s dude ….!

 

[Pop Bumper Pete]

New pinball companies have come to life, and, if they can weather the initial cost of getting a game to market will sell them.
Haggis - .. well maybe..

Haggis are good people
I spoke with one of the guys at a pinball meet, nice to talk to and was willing to debate this old curmudgeon until I could complain no more

 

[Sako-TRG]

Haggis are good people
I spoke with one of the guys at a pinball meet, nice to talk to and was willing to debate this old curmudgeon until I could complain no more

Who names a pinball company ‘Haggis’?
Have you eaten it?
No one likes it, epic fail from the get go.. lol

 

[Dave Bishop]

Haggis is also based in AUS..

 

[VeeMonroe]

I wasn't active on here but I've been active on Pinside for ten years - I even got a new cheevo!

Well, no offence @Neil McRae, but I’m a notable pedant and a troll, so I feel compelled to say this…

You registered on Pinside in 2012, but you started adding owned machines in 2016, and the owned machines were some of the ones you no longer own (Star Trek, etc). And according to the ‘activity pulse’ function, on page 65, you didn’t actually contribute until the same year. So, theoretically speaking, it’s possible you didn’t own any pinball machines until 2016 (I suspect they were purchased before 2016 as you added several in a single year… but I could be wrong) - despite being interested in pinball before that time.

In terms of playing, my husband used to play Lethal Weapon and Terminator 2 in motorway service stations throughout the 90s, but that didn’t make him active in the hobby.

 

[Deleted member 2463]

Haggis are good people
I spoke with one of the guys at a pinball meet, nice to talk to and was willing to debate this old curmudgeon until I could complain no more

I agree I met with them in Chicago and they've brought on a couple of great people. They have shipped the first game. I'd be surprised if they don't make it but Pinball is a tough business.

 

[Dave Bishop]

But then again the current World Champion of pinball is 16 and learned more about pinball in the last few years than many of us put together in the last ten.

Regards,
Neil.

Agreed Escher is a great player, and to win his first championship at the age of 13yrs! Amazing!
Playing pinball since he was 2.. so I guess his Dad was into pinball, maybe had some at home..

Current pinball championship numbers. (IFPA)

@VeeMonroe - could we see Poi boy and flipper beast sometime in the future

 

[Deleted member 2463]

Agreed Escher is a great player, and to win his first championship at the age of 13yrs! Amazing!

Current pinball championship numbers. (IFPA) View attachment 163366

Not talking about Escher - Talking about Zach McCarthy.

 

[Sako-TRG]

Well, no offence @Neil McRae, but I’m a notable pedant and a troll, so I feel compelled to say this…

You registered on Pinside in 2012, but you started adding owned machines in 2016, and the owned machines were some of the ones you no longer own (Star Trek, etc). And according to the ‘activity pulse’ function, on page 65, you didn’t actually contribute until the same year. So, theoretically speaking, it’s possible you didn’t own any pinball machines until 2016 (I suspect they were purchased before 2016 as you added several in a single year… but I could be wrong) - despite being interested in pinball before that time.

In terms of playing, my husband used to play Lethal Weapon and Terminator 2 in motorway service stations throughout the 90s, but that didn’t make him active in the hobby.

So are we saying Neil isn’t a Pinside Daddy?

 

[Jib]

well I played BoP and T2 almost every day until 1992 the only two games in my local arcade in Edinburgh, I then went and started my own company and frankly can't remember anything about the 90's other than work.

I wasn't active on here but I've been active on Pinside for ten years - I even got a new cheevo! What I find incredible its folks who have been in pinball for years claim to be one of the good guys and all knowledgeable in pinball; moan about prices all the time then try and stitch people up with half baked piles of junk dressed up as "mint" for thousands of pounds more than they are worth!

View attachment 163365

But then again the current World Champion of pinball is 16 and learned more about pinball in the last few years than many of us put together in the last ten.

Regards,
Neil.

did you do the cheevo song though?

 

[Dave Bishop]

Not talking about Escher - Talking about Zach McCarthy.

Ooh I missed that last month.. must have been working..

Again that’s amazing that Pinball is getting the attention of younger generations. It ensures that pinball will live on!

 

[russdx1]

So are we saying Neil isn’t a Pinside Daddy?

Might be a sugar daddy? (u got my number Neil? I’m free this week!)

 

[Sako-TRG]

 

[VeeMonroe]

@VeeMonroe - could we see Poi boy and flipper beast sometime in the future

Well, the Pi-Bo Wizard got 1.5 million on Fish Tales last night and the flippers aren’t even working

He started ‘playing’ at about 18 months old.

 

[russdx1]

Pinfest last year?

 

[Jay Walker]

My theory is it’s ‘analogue renaissance’ - same thing that drives our other big hobby, tabletop board gaming. Loads of us have grown up as video gamers, especially in the days of LANs, and find the way video games have moved to be about spending hours online, sometimes never meeting face-to-face (and being distracted by email/social media) to be really off-putting. Social media is also really really toxic and unpleasant.

At the risk of de-railing the thread, I could never see the appeal of the early video games, e.g. Space Invaders. I couldn't get 'through the screen' so to speak. The final electro-mechanical and early solid-state pinballs that I preferred weren't as mode-driven as recent games, allowing more choice of strategy (if it doesn't sound too grand for games of that age). The player was still mostly just pressing buttons, but seemed to have more choice of what areas to work on, rather than more or less having to follow the programmed sequences.

Hold on, 1.5 million without the flippers working?. That's, what, the spinner/a slingshot rally/return and/or outlanes for each ball?.

 

[Deleted member 2463]

Well, no offence @Neil McRae, but I’m a notable pedant and a troll, so I feel compelled to say this…

Troll, actual LOL - FINALLY @VeeMonroe says something funny! - a troll really?! No you aren't a troll - I kinda wish you were! Then we might find something to laugh about at your posts - but you try to be a "'pedant" - but no sorry 100% no no and no again. You've never demonstrated any real underlying pedantry. In nearly every post the details you are trying to be pedantic about are often totally incorrect, in fact not just incorrect but quite often complete and utter nonsense.

There are loads of people on here that are into pinball as much as the rest of us who don't own any games. In fact those people are the heroes of pinball in my view as they tend to appreciate the game more than most.

Regards,
Neil.

 

[Pooman2084]

It’s a shame members feel the need to snipe at each other. People come and go in this hobby and others dip in and out as circumstances change. That’s just life.

People like @Will @Sgt GrizZ @Matt Adams contributed massively to this hobby and kept interest going during the dark early years of the millennium. Just because newer members weren’t around to see it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. I regret that for whatever reason they don’t feel able to contribute as much any more.

 

[Sako-TRG]

A lot is just banter.. I’m sure most don’t take it to heart

 

[Pooman2084]

I welcome the post editing in this thread, but it makes my post now seem like a bit of an over reaction.

Never mind, I’ll get back in my box!

 

[VeeMonroe]

Hold on, 1.5 million without the flippers working?. That's, what, the spinner/a slingshot rally/return and/or outlanes for each ball?.

The ball save went through the lie lanes, and then bounced back through the lie lanes again. He got a two times bonus, which is worth more than 500,000. We’re not entirely sure how he got the rest.

A lot is just banter.. I’m sure most don’t take it to heart

Yeah. It’s banter. That’s what I mean by trolling I’m aware of my own deficiencies and one of them is deliberately saying stuff to provoke people who get provoked easily

I think the north of England expression is ‘wind-up merchant’.

I notice @Neil McRae didn’t tell me when he *did* buy his first pin - given the original sniping (not by me) was aimed at people who own long rows of modern LEs not procured through sales of older pins acquired in the distant past. Or, as Margaret Thatcher famously said: “I always cheer up immensely if an attack is particularly wounding because I think, well, if they attack one personally, it means they have not a single political argument left.”

 

[Sako-TRG]

Yeah. It’s banter. That’s what I mean by trolling I’m aware of my own deficiencies and one of them is deliberately saying stuff to provoke people who get provoked easily

I think the north of England expression is ‘wind-up merchant’.

Yep, “guilty your honour”
Same… it would be a pretty boring place otherwise, patting each other on the back all the time…lol

 

[JustLikeMe]

I notice @Neil McRae didn’t tell me when he *did* buy his first pin

I’m honestly confused - why does it matter? I bought my first pin 18 years ago but I’m definitely more of a casual than Neil is. The date you bought your first pin really doesn’t mean anything at all.

 

[JustLikeMe]

Well, no offence @Neil McRae, but I’m a notable pedant and a troll, so I feel compelled to say this…

You registered on Pinside in 2012, but you started adding owned machines in 2016, and the owned machines were some of the ones you no longer own (Star Trek, etc). And according to the ‘activity pulse’ function, on page 65, you didn’t actually contribute until the same year. So, theoretically speaking, it’s possible you didn’t own any pinball machines until 2016 (I suspect they were purchased before 2016 as you added several in a single year… but I could be wrong) - despite being interested in pinball before that time.

In terms of playing, my husband used to play Lethal Weapon and Terminator 2 in motorway service stations throughout the 90s, but that didn’t make him active in the hobby.

**** me I missed this one! This isn’t trolling, this is just weird. Watch out @Neil McRae, looks like you have a stalker.

 

[VeeMonroe]

I’m honestly confused - why does it matter? I bought my first pin 18 years ago but I’m definitely more of a casual than Neil is. The date you bought your first pin really doesn’t mean anything at all.

It doesn't

**** me I missed this one! This isn’t trolling, this is just weird. Watch out @Neil McRae, looks like you have a stalker.

It took ten seconds. I was just nosy

The entire context of the conversation is that I thought many of the people with the huge collections had funded them by buying (and doing up) older pins in the past when they were cheap - and selling them in good condition as they got more expensive, thereby allowing them to buy modern Stern LEs - which are seriously expensive, even for quite well-off people.

Dave said he thought that wasn't the case for Neil. I was surprised - I know Neil has an enormous collection of pinball machines (30+) and is very noisy on the forum. He said he'd been active on Pinside for longer than 2016. I checked to see whether he had, indeed, bought older pins like Quicksilver and swapped them for the modern Sterns.

I was genuinely curious about how people fund very large collections - which is the topic of the thread. I have bought three pinball machines in less than a year, one of which is an modern Stern Prem. We are not poor. I'm aware of the sacrifices we've had to make regardless to do that - in particular, using money from liquidating a frankly ridiculous-sized collection of board games, some of which were collector's items (but which we no longer have the time or childcare to play with young kids).

I mean, obviously, mystery solved - I'm just going to leave this here...

 

[Deleted member 181]

I welcome the post editing in this thread, but it makes my post now seem like a bit of an over reaction.

Never mind, I’ll get back in my box!

I saw it mate and thanks appreciate it

The Naughty boy had to withdraw and edit his nasty unfounded comments but it's remembered.

And one of the main reasons those who you mentioned don't get involved so much now is pretty much due to that one individual.

 

[JustLikeMe]

The entire context of the conversation is that I thought many of the people with the huge collections had funded them by buying (and doing up) older pins in the past when they were cheap - and selling them in good condition as they got more expensive, thereby allowing them to buy modern Stern LEs - which are seriously expensive, even for quite well-off people.

I mean it’s a flawed assumption from the get go. It would be like believing that most people with a McLaren funded it by buying and doing up older cars in the past. Everyone’s circumstances are different. Some people got in early and saw their collections increase in value, others got in late but have the disposable income to drop a few hundred thousand on toys.

Let’s say you have a job that covers all you expenses, and a million in savings invested in a broad portfolio. Using a conservative withdrawal rate of 3.5%, in most markets you‘d be able to buy three LEs a year without touching your capital. There are plenty of people out there who have a million plus in savings, and some of those people like spending their disposable income on toys.

 

[cmrl9]

Hi all. After buying my 1st pin early last year for what I later found to be very cheap,I’ve recently moved on to my 2nd.
Now my 2nd I believe to have been market value and I’m very happy.

I’ve seen some of the collections on here and it got me thinking.
How does joe bloggs finance a collection nowadays?
I mean cheap pins are obviously few and far between so to build a reasonable collection in this day and age do you have to be wealthy?

I’m financing my 2nd pin by selling arcade cabs. Some of my cabs I sourced from the US where you can pay by F&F PayPal and so I put them on credit card and then banged it on interest free balance transfer.

Is this a practice that members on here do or do people take out loans etc?

Just find it interesting especially with the price of new pins and 2nd hand not far behind.
Wondering what peoples thought are.

You could use divide buy, it's interest free over a period of time, I think only the games room have the facility available, unfortunately most of there machines seem overpriced.

 

[Sako-TRG]

Let’s say you have a job that covers all you expenses, and a million in savings invested in a broad portfolio. Using a conservative withdrawal rate of 3.5%, in most markets you‘d be able to buy three LEs a year without touching your capital. There are plenty of people out there who have a million plus in savings, and some of those people like spending their disposable income on toys.