I've been happily divorced since 2000. Happy as a pig in sh*te. My current girlfriend LOVES the pins and actually encourages me to buy more!
That's a good thing, isn't it?
That's a good thing, isn't it?
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Pinball ownership and cash flow advice/input needed
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I like this quote -
'Beware of destination addiction - a preoccupation with the idea that happiness is the next place, the next job, the next partner or the next pinball machine. Until you give up the idea that happiness is somewhere else, it will never be where you are'.
'Beware of destination addiction - a preoccupation with the idea that happiness is the next place, the next job, the next partner or the next pinball machine. Until you give up the idea that happiness is somewhere else, it will never be where you are'.
Having read all the good advice in this thread I m coming to the conclusion that I should spend my money on cocaine and whores instead of beer and scratchings
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Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Probably fit some pins in there Ian
D
Deleted member 2463
get your life sorted then the optional extras in my view. nice house to live in is second t none.
Is that next to her lady garden?she has her she shed
Unfortunately I will be stepping away from the hobby. It's just too damn expensive when there's priorities. I just wish I started building a collection when the 90s games were alot cheaper. The price of most of the games now are crazy. I'm just worried that when i come back into the hobby the prices will have doubled again.
OP
OP
Unfortunately I will be stepping away from the hobby. It's just too damn expensive when there's priorities. I just wish I started building a collection when the 90s games were alot cheaper. The price of most of the games now are crazy. I'm just worried that when i come back into the hobby the prices will have doubled again.
That's a real shame mate but completely understandable. I knew this might be on the cards for you.
@darren_ross
Surely, keep your toe in the water. At least keep one.
Low interest rates, printing money, rapid growth in massive countries like China/ India has increased demand for all real assets - gold, classic cars, houses, art, antiques etc etc
Surely, keep your toe in the water. At least keep one.
Low interest rates, printing money, rapid growth in massive countries like China/ India has increased demand for all real assets - gold, classic cars, houses, art, antiques etc etc
How long have you been together?
Is pinball actually expensive though? If you are lucky enough to be in a position where you have spare cash then buying a game, spending relatively small amounts keeping it going and being able to sell it for similar cash (or more) is a pretty sweet set up. There's always the potential for pin prices to drop but even if your game fell by 10% after you bought it does it matter if you've also had fun.? There's big barriers to entry and the depreciation on NIB games is potentially huge but if you enjoy it isn't that what it's all about?
Personally I don't like watches, jewellery, flash clothes, cars etc. I actually spend very little on things apart from pins, cooking and going out. I enjoy a good meal but apart from an expanding waist line I have nothing to show for all the money I've spent there. I know my wife would love me to give up the games room so she could have it as a "garden room" and if she was genuinely unhappy about it then the games would go.
I'd never encourage anyone who needs the cash for their family to spend it on games instead but if you don't need the money for other things then why not spend it on something you enjoy? I like knowing I have a fall back position if the **** hits the fan. Need money desperately? Stick a pin up for 90% of it's "market value" and there are enough people on here who would swoop within minutes. If I lost my job tomorrow then my collection would get whittled down. Strangely I don't think I'd ever even dream of asking my wife to sell her jewellery but the pins would be fair game to bring in cash. (alternatively I could actually get off my **** and site some games and let them bring some cash in)
I occasionally look at the money I've got tied up in pins and wonder if it could be better used elsewhere. I could knock X amount off my mortgage. What difference would that make to interest payments each month? Do I value the fun I'm having at more than that? If so then it's money well spent. If I didn't have games at home I'd be more likely to go out in the evenings and I'd easily spend far more cash in a pub or at the cinema.
Guess it all depends on your circumstances and how much enjoyment you get out of different things.
Personally I don't like watches, jewellery, flash clothes, cars etc. I actually spend very little on things apart from pins, cooking and going out. I enjoy a good meal but apart from an expanding waist line I have nothing to show for all the money I've spent there. I know my wife would love me to give up the games room so she could have it as a "garden room" and if she was genuinely unhappy about it then the games would go.
I'd never encourage anyone who needs the cash for their family to spend it on games instead but if you don't need the money for other things then why not spend it on something you enjoy? I like knowing I have a fall back position if the **** hits the fan. Need money desperately? Stick a pin up for 90% of it's "market value" and there are enough people on here who would swoop within minutes. If I lost my job tomorrow then my collection would get whittled down. Strangely I don't think I'd ever even dream of asking my wife to sell her jewellery but the pins would be fair game to bring in cash. (alternatively I could actually get off my **** and site some games and let them bring some cash in)
I occasionally look at the money I've got tied up in pins and wonder if it could be better used elsewhere. I could knock X amount off my mortgage. What difference would that make to interest payments each month? Do I value the fun I'm having at more than that? If so then it's money well spent. If I didn't have games at home I'd be more likely to go out in the evenings and I'd easily spend far more cash in a pub or at the cinema.
Guess it all depends on your circumstances and how much enjoyment you get out of different things.
"garden room" zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
OP
OP
4 and a half years. Bought a house this year.
I'm aware that many of the members with large collections, started when arcades and pubs were getting rid of machines for next to nothing. Even when they were sold on privately they were still cheap in the whole scheme of things. With the increasing price rises since then, it would be quite easy to trade in your game at the inflated price and buy another. For members that are relatively new to the scene, to outlay 2k+ for a game is hard. I've worked my way up to a newish game that has really smashed right through the pinball budget. To sell this game and buy a 90s Bally/Williams game just isn't worth it anymore as they are commanding high high prices. Even for unpopular titles. And they're just so damn unreliable. Yes they all break eventually but I've not owned a 90s game yet that hasn't needed extensive work carried out.
The only thing that's really kept the hobby going for me is the fact I site a machine. It doesn't make alot of money, but it's just enough to make it worth my while.
I love pinball, I really do. If I could of kept all my games I would.
I think it's been 3 years since I bought my first machine from Mr. Whitfield. I've owned. Bf, 2x cftbl, a13, black rose, Congo, tftc, t2, hs2, twd, im, wcs, Dr who.
I have to say the best two imo are HS2 and TWD
The only thing that's really kept the hobby going for me is the fact I site a machine. It doesn't make alot of money, but it's just enough to make it worth my while.
I love pinball, I really do. If I could of kept all my games I would.
I think it's been 3 years since I bought my first machine from Mr. Whitfield. I've owned. Bf, 2x cftbl, a13, black rose, Congo, tftc, t2, hs2, twd, im, wcs, Dr who.
I have to say the best two imo are HS2 and TWD
13 games in 3 years is pretty good going though I managed to stay at just the 2 games for the first 2-3 years and then got another 2. I don't think it was until year 4 when it all started getting out of control 2 grand for a first game has got to be daunting. I remember struggling to justify the £500 for a knackered Hook when I first started. It's like house prices as it's scary how quickly you get used to it.
I managed to stay at just the 2 games for the first 2-3 years and then got another 2. I don't think it was until year 4 when it all started getting out of control 2 grand for a first game has got to be daunting. I remember struggling to justify the £500 for a knackered Hook when I first started. It's like house prices as it's scary how quickly you get used to it.
This is a broad hobby a lot of which is affordable and accessible. Tbh, I don't know a way to own and collect popular or new titles, which is one aspect, but there are more ways to get/stay involved;
- clubs, meets, shows, local league, good pin places in the wild etc - £5 at SWL gets me a fix of top notch machines (thanks moonraker)
- babysit a machine - courtney kindly loaned me one through here
- virtual pinball, pinball arcade, Zaccaria pinball, Stern VR on Gear, good detailed pinball info contained in these
- pinball videos and streams on the up
- participate here and pinside
- buy EMs or less popular titles, not for everybody, but my EM purchase earlier this Summer < £100 I've really enjoyed
Unfortunately I will be stepping away from the hobby. It's just too damn expensive when there's priorities. I just wish I started building a collection when the 90s games were alot cheaper. The price of most of the games now are crazy. I'm just worried that when i come back into the hobby the prices will have doubled again.
Hi Darren,
You definitely need to stay in the hobbie. In time your collection will grow. Your still young. I'd try and pick up some of the lower end titles and keep TWD. This hobbie is better than most, at least in most cases you can sell for close on what you paid.
Honestly, yes it is. You have to separate enjoyment-to-sunk-cost ratio away from the 'cost of entry'. Yes, it's easy to keep money liquid in pinball with all of the resales going on and the fact that the older games are only appreciating in cost (NIB Stern completely excluded obviously) but not too many people have the ability to put a grand at a time into a game machine. I'm not going to have that kind of spare cash for a second machine for a long time - my first one was a very long time coming.
The only efficient ways of playing a broad range of games nowadays is to play stuff like Pinball Arcade or to attend local meets wherever possible. Pinball ownership is definitely now a luxury hobby. The only way this can change is more venues like Tilt and Electric Circus show up - kudos to them dearly.
I am notorious for trying out many hobbies quite intensely to see what sticks, so I'm quite sure when I say that pinball is probably the most expensive one I've jumped into. Even gear-orientated hobbies like airsoft have had their expenses totally dwarfed by pinball - so far.
Nowadays unless you do a lot of legwork in finding 'barn fresh' type of finds from people with no more interest, you need to be able to kiss goodbye to £1.2k in a single step - as well as having the physical room to house the game! That's honestly not common, remember everyone here self-selects for the kind of people with that ability!
R
RobZombie
It's not that expensive a hobby if you keep it sensible. Changing games every couple of months and paying for transport costs, eBay fees etc can certainly make it an expensive hobby.
alternatively attend NLP in Manchester in October. Have the opportunity to see 100or so games, and play many. Come to the lockin in the evening on Saturday and socialise too.Simples
tickets available www.ukpinball.com/twilightzone
Compare pins to the cost of liking football
Season ticket 1-2k a year. Sky Sports £300 a year+ Travel costs to go to away matches. Residual resale value zero.
Now to me that's bloody expensive and yet to many "normal" people this is a good use of their cash but it's the same cost as buying and keeping a pin each year. I guess if you really want to stare at young men's ****s in tight shorts for 90 mins a time then it's good value but I'd rather have a pin
(Disclaimer I might have got the wrong idea about sport but it bores the crap out of me)
Obviously if you are buying 2-3 NIB games a year then you have to be loaded. Attending league meets though has to be one of the cheapest days out there. £2.50 to play a range of games often with food/drink thrown in. Even joining a book club would probably cost more than that.
What I do think is insane is the credit agreement deals from HLD etc to buy what essentially is a toy. However using 2k of your mortgage to buy a pin works out at about 60p a week in interest if you sell it when your bored for the same price you bought at. (disclaimer 2: It's this type of dangerous thinking that means I can't currently get into the back room
)
Season ticket 1-2k a year. Sky Sports £300 a year+ Travel costs to go to away matches. Residual resale value zero.
Now to me that's bloody expensive and yet to many "normal" people this is a good use of their cash but it's the same cost as buying and keeping a pin each year. I guess if you really want to stare at young men's ****s in tight shorts for 90 mins a time then it's good value but I'd rather have a pin
(Disclaimer I might have got the wrong idea about sport but it bores the crap out of me)Obviously if you are buying 2-3 NIB games a year then you have to be loaded. Attending league meets though has to be one of the cheapest days out there. £2.50 to play a range of games often with food/drink thrown in. Even joining a book club would probably cost more than that.
What I do think is insane is the credit agreement deals from HLD etc to buy what essentially is a toy. However using 2k of your mortgage to buy a pin works out at about 60p a week in interest if you sell it when your bored for the same price you bought at. (disclaimer 2: It's this type of dangerous thinking that means I can't currently get into the back room
)
OP
OP
Yeah that's part of the problem. I do football as well. And ****nal tickets are not cheap...!
Love how it censored that. Arśenal tickets are the most expensive in the country. I'm taking up watching bowls
Effing cars take all my pin money.
Effing cars take most of my pinball time between march and November! But that's my choice and costs me nothing extra really. Marshaling gets me closer to the action and keeps me out of trouble buying extra that I can't afford.
My last purchase of HS2 was a steal. Played it and then needed money fast. Sold in 5 mins on this great forum for the same price I bought it. Could've flipped for so much more but that's rule no 3 I believe. Experiences will never leave you, good or bad. Pinball can be expensive but owning a car that lets be honest, can get you to A&B without any hassles is really all you need. I'm sure you'll do what's best for you. Stay in the game, swap with cash with something cheaper that you like and go do the experience. Just my two peneth[emoji55]