This Month's Pinball Market | December 2025

LoserKid YouTube·video·8m 8s·analyzed·Dec 1, 2025

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.023

TL;DR

Dec 2025 market: Stern moderns slide, Williams classics hold; budget restoration opportunities highlighted.

Summary

LoserKid presents December 2025 pinball market analysis covering Stern and Williams pricing trends, with Stranger Things Premium and King Kong LE down significantly, while Bond 60th and Ghostbusters (LE) rise. The episode concludes with three budget entry-point machines (Genesis $1,500, Haunted House $750, Captain Fantastic $20) for collectors willing to restore broken games.

Key Claims

Stranger Things Premium down 6% to $8,000 average from $8,500
high confidence · LoserKid citing pinballprices.net and Pinside data
King Kong LE down 14% from $11,600 average, with new box recently selling for $10,500
high confidence · LoserKid market analysis
Ghostbusters LE rumored to be remade by Stern
medium confidence · LoserKid speculation: 'This is one that's been rumored to be remade. Don't know how much truth there is behind that'
Champion Pub appreciation has grown from ~$3,000 valuation 12 years ago to current $8,000 average
high confidence · LoserKid personal observation and market data
Captain Fantastic (arcade cabinet) available on Pinside for $20 in Palm City Beach, Florida
high confidence · LoserKid market listing at time of recording

Notable Quotes

“King Kong is probably one of the best shooting games that came out this year. The theme just doesn't hit on many levels for most people.”
LoserKid@ 1:15 — Explains price decline despite gameplay quality; reveals market tension between mechanical excellence and IP appeal
“There's only one of two ways to get into the hobby is either you buy new or you buy broken and fix up. That's how I got my collection.”
LoserKid@ 5:00 — Defines entry strategy for budget-conscious collectors; emphasizes restoration as viable path to ownership
“This game is selling for 20 bucks... You're going to have to fix this one up. But this is a game that averages for $2,200.”
LoserKid@ 7:39 — Highlights extreme arbitrage opportunity in broken EM machines for restoration-capable buyers
“Haunted House... holding the most coils and mechs on a playfield... selling right now in Minnesota for 750 bucks. This game usually sells around $3500, so 750 is quite the steal.”
LoserKid@ 6:20 — Example of significant underpricing in secondary market; mechanical complexity as collector draw
“If you're going to do this method, you go on Pinside Bids Guides... don't be afraid to ask for help.”
LoserKid@ 5:13 — Community resource recommendation for restoration knowledge-building; normalizes peer support in hobby

Entities

LoserKidpersonDoc FinleypersonZach MinneypersonNicolepersonDwight SullivanpersonStern PinballcompanyValley/WilliamscompanyStranger Things Premiumgame Foo Fighters LEgame King Kong LEgame

Signals

$
market_signal: Stern modern titles showing broad pricing pressure: Stranger Things Premium (-6%), Foo Fighters LE (-12%), King Kong LE (-14%)
high · Pinballprices.net and Pinside data compiled by LoserKid showing YTD declines across three major 2024-2025 releases
$
market_signal: Premium titles and IP-heavy games showing pricing resilience: Bond 60th (+4%), Ghostbusters LE (+12%)
high · Ghostbusters Ellie sells in $14,500-$16,500 range; Bond 60th one unit sold for $18,000
?
rumor_hype: Ghostbusters LE rumored to be remade by Stern; rising secondary market prices may reflect anticipation or scarcity expectation
medium · LoserKid: 'This is one that's been rumored to be remade. Don't know how much truth there is behind that'
$
market_signal: Valley/Williams 1980s-1990s classics showing long-term appreciation: Champion Pub +167% over 12 years ($3k→$8k); Highspeed still $3k baseline
high · LoserKid personal 12-year collection experience; current market data for both machines
?
collector_signal: Significant number of broken/restoration-grade machines available at deep discount: Captain Fantastic $20 (avg $2.2k), Haunted House $750 (avg $3.5k), Genesis $1.5k (avg $2.5k)
high · Active Pinside listings documented at time of recording; restoration community resources cited as accessible
?

Transcript

youtube_auto_sub · $0.000

0:01

This month's pinball market includes Stern Pinball, Ballet Williams, and I'm doing something different this month. How you can get a pinball machine for $20. You heard me right. It's this month's pinball market.

0:17

All right, let's dive into Stern numbers. I want to give a big shout out to Ted Finley and pinball prices.net. That's where I get a lot of the information along with Pinsside. Stern Moderns down right now. Stranger Things Premium is down 6%. Its average is usually 8,500. It has dropped to 8,000 for its average. One sits as we speak right now for 6,200 on pin side. Gobble that up. Foo Fighters LE is down 12% from its average of 9900 with three selling from 8,500 to 8,700. A fully loaded Ellie did just sell for 11K. So the that's kind of what helped keep its average up, but we're still down on those foo fighters. And King Kong LE is down a whopping 14% from its average of 116. Most selling around 9900 and a new box just sold for 105, which is a crying shame cuz seriously, King Kong is probably one of the best shooting games that came out this year. The theme just doesn't hit on many levels for most people. All right, let's talk about the up. This game has been dipping in price over the year. So, it's kind of shocking that is now up. Bond 60th is up 4% from 12,500. Currently, its average is 13,000, but multiple games have sold around 12,000 or less. So, the average might be coming down over the next months. What brought up the average is one sold for 18,000 recently. Uh, Ghostbusters LE is up. This is one that's been rumored to be remade. Don't know how much truth there is behind that, but it sounds like Stern might bring it back possibly if the rumors to be believed. Ghostbusters Ellie is up 12% from its average of $14,000. Three have sold right now though from 145 up to 165. So this is a game that is proving that is actually worth its average or higher. Want to give a quick shout out to Zach and Nicole from Flipping Out Pinball. Thank you for sponsoring this content. If you want new and used pinball, go to flippingoutpinball.com. Valley Williams right now. Let's talk about what's going down. Everyone loves this game. It's shocking that it's dipping right now. Monster Bash, it's only down 1% from its average of $8,900. It is selling as low as $7,500 and we have seen some recently sell as high as 105. Doctor Who is down 5%. It's an interesting game from 1993. Its average is usually $1,400, but four Doctor Who's are sitting as we speak right now on Pinside for $3,900 or less. It is a great game and what actually inspired some of Godzilla's uh mix. Highspeed is a classic. This is a game that helped drive innovation and inspired so many pinball designers that we have today. Highspeed is down 10% from its average of 3,000 with multiple units seeing between 2,000 and 2700. That is crazy. All right, let's talk about what is up right now for Ballet Williams. Pinsside says Circus Voltera is down 4% from its average of 10,500. But as I did the research, as I started digging into those archives, I found that multiple games were selling for 10,500 or higher. So, typically this year's average is closer to 11,750, meaning it should be up by 8% and we're probably going to see Pinsside start trending this up here in the next year or so. No good Gophers is up 10% from its average of 5,300 with three selling from 5,500 to 6K. All right. And the last game on the Valley Williams list, this game has shocked me because when I first got into the hobby, it wasn't revered as an amazing game, but mechanically it has some really cool stuff going on. So, when I originally got in about 12 years ago, this game was valued about $3,000. Today, this average is $8,000 for Champion Pub. That's right, you're hearing me right. Champion Pub. Really cool game. Dwight Sullivan was on this game and made it just kind of a unique piece of history when it comes to Valley Williams. One is selling as low as 7,600 right now and one as high as 10,600. All right, I promised you at the beginning of this episode you would have a chance to buy a pinball machine at 20 bucks. This is as I record and I'm I'm going to post next to me the evidence so you believe me. But I've noticed in your comments live, you said, "Hey Josh, we appreciate you're doing these deals on the high-end stuff, but we want deals on the low end." You know, there's only one of two ways to get into the hobby is either you buy new or you buy broken and fix up. That's how I got my collection. You see behind me, I've been doing this for 12 years. I bought broken. I put the elbow grease in to get it up to a good working condition and then I sold it. I didn't have to make it perfect. I do recommend if you're going to do this method, you go on Pinside Bids Guides. He does a ton of guides on restoration for pinball machines and just cool little just little techniques that can help improve the game that don't cost a lot. So, I do recommend if you're going to go this route that you dig into Pinsside and don't be afraid to ask for help. All right, the first game I'm going to recommend to you, this is these are all games you're going have to put some elbow elbow grease into. You ready? Genesis. This is a GOP leap from the8s. There's one right now selling in Massachusetts for $1,500. It is a cool and quirky game that is revered as kind of just this unique playing game. It's really fun. The game usually sells around for $2,500. This one does need some cabinet work, but is in working plain condition. So, that is a perk. If you're looking to get a game that you want to play as soon as you get it home, this might be the one for you. And then you can decide whether or not you need to fix up the cabinet or not. All right. This next game is another goal from the 80s. It's unique is holding the most coils and mechs on a playfield. This is Haunted House. It's selling right now in Minnesota for 750 bucks. This is a very unique game that has a bottom playfield, a a normal playfield, and then an upper playfield as well. The game usually sells around $3500, so 750 is quite the steal. Uh, this ad has is a little weird though because there are no pictures. So, I would recommend reaching out and digging a little better just to make sure that you know what you're getting into if it is truly for sale on Pitside that isn't a scam. All right, the last one I've told you multiple times. This game is selling for 20 bucks. It is an em which does scare a couple of people. There's amazing resources online to fix these up. This is definitely asis project game. The gentleman bought it for parts cuz he had this game and he thought he'd need more parts. Come to find out he didn't need them. This game's pretty solidly intact. As much as I can say solidly intact, but Captain Fantastic and the dirt brown cowboy, not to be confused with the home edition. This is the original edition that was in arcades. There was a home edition isn't as valuable as this one. So, it's currently on Plinside right now in Palm City Beach, Florida for 20 bucks. Like I said, you're going to have to fix this one up. But this is a game that averages for $2,200. And people do seek out these games. And the wonderful part about the old Captain Fantastic games, the cabinet art isn't really hard to replicate. You can go through uh pinball pimp stencils. He does ser sell these stencils. Might be worth your time. It is up to you. I've given you your options. You've got the highs. You've got the lows. I thank you for tuning in. Catch us next month.