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Episode 16 - So You Wanna Buy a Pinball Machine?
PodcastAnalysis updated 3d ago41 min listen
Highlights
- New Stern Pro machines now start at $7,000, Premium models around $9,700+
- Owning a pinball machine requires commitment to fixing/maintaining it; most machines break within first year or show intermittent issues
- Virtual pinball machines are poor investments that depreciate rapidly and don't replicate real pinball physics
- Playing on location is far more affordable than home ownership; reaching break-even on a $7k machine requires 7,000-10,000 plays
- First-time buyers should purchase new Stern machines rather than used classics unless they actively enjoy electronics repair
- Used Stern machines (6-12 months old) can save ~$1,000 from new price with minimal quality difference
- The pinball collecting community is significantly smaller and tighter-knit than the location-playing community due to high costs and space requirements
- Deep ruleset games are not necessary for home enjoyment and may actually be disadvantageous for beginners
Notable quotes
“Owning machines means fixing machines. Yep. Period.”
“It's not pinball. The physics aren't the same. It'll never bring you the same satisfaction of what you're looking for.”
“Don't buy a project for your first game. Even if you're confident in all of your abilities, even if you've repaired electronics, you should probably have a working pinball machine in the house before you touch it.”
“A very cool car that you like a lot doesn't mean shit if that car doesn't run.”
“If you're set on one thing, you're either going to pay out the nose for it or you're going to be waiting around forever for the perfect one to pop up.”
“Everyone's going to ask you how much that thing costs, so you kind of have to be braced for that.”
“If only for max your 401k prior to purchasing a pinball only for the reason that you will then have room to put the pins that you buy later.”
“The pinball hobby is a very very very affordable hobby in its truest sense which i think is going out and playing on location.”
Entities
- Stern Pinball· company
- Deadpool· game
- Godzilla· game
- Grand Prix· game
- High Speed Getaway· game
- Lord of the Rings· game
- NASCAR· game
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles· game
- The Hobbit· game
- Portland, Oregon· location
- Craigslist· organization
- Facebook Marketplace· organization
- Pinball Wiki· organization
- PinSide· organization
- Wedgehead Pinball· organization
- Alan· person
- Alex (The Waterboy)· person
- Rodsey· person
