Whether you are young or not, for sure, at least once in your life you look at or play with a pinball machine.
Pinball is considered one of the most famous arcade entertainment machines; it has served for a long period and has made enjoying an infinite number of people worldwide.
If you are part of the pinball era, and you are wondering about buying a new one or a second hand to insert in your home, you are in the right place, since in that article we will take an in-depth look at all the informations you need to know for purchasing a pinaball machine.
Table of Contents
How Much Do Pinball Machines Cost?
The cost of pinball machines ranges from a minimum of $3,925 with basic features, while a new pinball machine with more complications can reach more than $8,345. While the cheaper option of pinball machines, like second-hand, may cost around $500 to $1000.
As for every type of electronic device, it needs proper maintenance to last for a long time.
The cost of purchasing a pinball machine is not the only outgoing cost that you need to afford, there are other important considerations that you have to consider, as the cost of maintenance the cost in case of broken parts, cost of electricity and so on, but no worries because in this article you will find everything you need to know about the cost of pinball machines.
Why are pinball machines so expensive?
The first question that may sound not so obvious in your mind could be why pinball machines are so expensive?
In the end, we are discussing an arcade game. Well, there is more to know about that.
One of the reasons why pinball machines are so expensive is hidden in their structure.
Pinball machines require a lot of work to be built.
The design of a pinball machine is not one in one day; it requires a lot of works and tests to satisfy the exigent of the market in the best way possible.
Another important reason that increase the cost of a pinball machine is getting the license to utilize images from a TV series or famous movies.
All other reasons why pinball machines are expensive includes:
Internal structure cost
The functionality of a pinball machine is hidden inside the internal circuit, the working principle of a pinball machine can be compared to a normal personal computer.
The system detects the input given by the user, and it makes moving all the parts, lighting, and making sound accordingly.
The cost to project the internal system depends upon the complexity level that the producer wants to achieve.
External structure cost
A cabinet surrounds all the structure of the pinball machine, the cabinet style is the only thing that has been kept for decades.
It requires a lot of material, and choosing premium material for building it will make the difference between a poor pinball machine and a high premium pinball machine.
Project management cost
Making working all the pieces of components is not an easy task; the producer of pinball machine have to collaborates with dedicated engineers that work on a specific project to ensure that the pinball machine, once assembled, will work perfectly.
As you notice, many things are involved in building a pinball machine; all of the mentioned above is why the pinball machines are selling at such a high price.
Cost of pinball machines by type
If you are truly considering purchasing a new pinball machine, you cannot miss that part of the article since we will closely look at all the types of pinball machines present in the market.
There are 3 types of pinball machines, they are:
- Electrical mechanical
- Solid-state
- DMD
The main differences among the 3 are the following:
The electrical, mechanical relays on the spinning mechanical reels can be considered the first technology ever used on pinball machines.
The solid-state relay on the use of circuit and some mechanical part as well.
While the DMD that stands for Dot Matrix Display, are pinball machines with a plasma display, and they are the most recent one.
The electrical, mechanical types of pinball machines are usually researched by people that love the old style; they can be easily purchased for less than $400.
While solid-state pinball machine will cost you $600 to $1,200.
How much do cost used pinball machines?
The best option that you have to save some money during the purchasing process of a pinball machine is to buy it second-hand.
It is not easy to find a used pinball machine since the majority of the person that own one are passionate people, and they will leave it only for urgent economical exigent.
If you are so lucky to find one, you can expect to spend around $600 for a good model of a pinball machine.
How much does it cost to ship a pinball machine?
Once you find a good deal for a second-hand pinball machine, your next step should be the one to consider the shipping cost for bringing it at your home.
If you live close to the seller, there aren’t problems, but if you found a good deal far away from your home, be ready to spend a lot of money on the shipping cost.
The pinball machines weight about 325 lbs.
Having a pinball machine shipped by DHL FedEx,UPS,United States Postal Service (USPS) means spending a lot of money.
The best option that you can find to save money is to find an agency that specializes in shipping heavy objects.
They usually have lower rates, and you will stay quieter that the object will reach your home in the best condition.
Important Things to Consider Before Purchasing a Pinball Machine
Before jumping on buying a pinball machine, there are important considerations that must be done to avoid any future delusion.
The first thing that you should evaluate is the size of the pinball machine.
It can sound obvious to consider its size before purchasing, but it is not like this; many times, as human beings, we are so focused on the dream to have it that we do not even consider all the particular surrounding it.
The pinball machine’s dimensions are variable but typical; you can expect an overall length of 130 cm with a width of 72cm and 192cm.
Weight of pinball machine
Another important consideration, that is compulsory to do it to consider the weight of the pinball machine.
Since the pinball machine has considerable heavy, you have to make sure that the pinball machine’s location can stay safe without causing any damage to the floor.
Level of noise
It is not a pinball machine if it isn’t loud; the pinball machine is built to be loud since its main purpose was to place it on the bar and in loud locations.
But in that case, since you are going to place your pinball machine in your house, you have to consider the noise level that can make.
Examples of cost for pinball machine
To give you an overview of the cost of buying a pinball machine, we have decided to list the cost of buying a new pinball machine.
- Aerosmith Limited Edition Pinball Machine by Stern $12,999
- Batman Dark Knight Pinball Machine by Stern $7,999
Best practice To follow Before Purchasing a Second Hand Paintball
If you are considering purchasing a second-hand paintball machine, the best thing that you can do to avoid any possible trouble is to evaluate its condition.
There are some important points that you need to check before you proceed with purchasing it.
The first thing you have to take a look at is the general condition status of the paintball machine body.
Since we are discussing a second-hand paintball machine, it could happen that the paintball machine has received some damage during the years, and you need to take a particular look at it.
Because the external status of the paintball machine has huge importance as well as the internal status,
If there is something that you want to avoid, is the one have in the home a damaged paintball.
Our advice is to evaluate the condition and look at some potential measures to repair it.
In the majority of the case it will not be an expensive cost, but it will depend upon the damage.
The second thing that you have to take a look is the condition of the playfield.
The playfield can be considered the fundamental part of a paintball machine; since the ball will run on that space, you should check that all the mechanics and lighting as well sounding systems are working properly.
Backglass condition
The backglass condition must be checked properly because replacing a cracked or broken backglass is not an easy task.
In fact, only a few specialized centers offer that type of service, and in the majority of the case, it will be translated into a very high costly operation.
If you consider that the backglass must be replaced by taking the proper measure, you can easily consider a minimum of $300.
What is the maintenance cost of the pinball machine?
Unfortunately, the cost of purchasing a pinball machine is not the only problem that pinball owners must afford, as there is another particular thing that must be considered, “the maintenance cost of pinball machine”.
Restoring or doing maintenance works on a pinball machine is not an easy task, as it involves a series of processes.
This type of job is usually performed by people who specialize in those jobs, and they have a pretty high cost per hour rate.
The cost for hiring an expert to do maintenance works or restoring a pinball machine can range from $60-90/hours.
Cost of maintenance on the playfield
It all depends upon its condition; if some part is not properly painted, the only solution could be to paint by hand, involving a massive amount of time.
Anyway, for more information, I will let below a useful resource to know more about the cost of restoring a pinball machine.
Conclusion
Having a pinball machine around the house is part of the dream of hundreds of people; anyway, the purchasing process involves knowledge of different aspects. Luckily, the internet world can give as many options as we want, and purchasing a second-hand pinball machine has never been so easy.
The only thing that now you have to do is to evaluate if the cost of a new pinball machine is affordable for your pocket; if not, you can always consider purchasing a second-hand one.
