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Has the age of "Pinflation" and crazy prices finally ended?

JAG555 said:
There is a world outside of this luxury hobby and people that have to make really hard decisions to make ends meet. I doubt any of these people have been on holiday nor have any pinball machines.
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Some yes, others no. In Great Yarmouth - I over heard a conversation at the bar where one women proudly boasted that shed got food for the week for her kids from a food bank and used the money she had saved to get a new tattoo!
 
Neil McRae said:
Some yes, others no. In Great Yarmouth - I over heard a conversation at the bar where one women proudly boasted that shed got food for the week for her kids from a food bank and used the money she had saved to get a new tattoo!
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Yeah in those situations you can’t fix stupid lol
 
russdx1 said:
You shouldn’t have to spend your whole salary on Just food and energy just so a couple big companies can get crazy rich. System is very broken and the government has failed to protect this country.
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companies don't get rich - shareholders do, most of which have rightly invested their money. Everyone is looking for someone to blame. in this case blame the green idiots and the bozo's in the EU. Because of the stupidity of the green movement we became reliant upon wind, solar and hydro - without a plan for what happens if they don't deliver. Storage would help but not solve the problem. We need nuclear.
 
Neil McRae said:
companies don't get rich - shareholders do, most of which have rightly invested their money. Everyone is looking for someone to blame. in this case blame the green idiots and the bozo's in the EU. Because of the stupidity of the green movement we became reliant upon wind, solar and hydro - without a plan for what happens if they don't deliver. Storage would help but not solve the problem. We need nuclear.
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I thought it does not matter how this country produces it’s energy, we buy it at the global market price? So even if we made loads via nuclear we would still be paying silly prices?

Someone needs to be held accountable for this complete **** show or it will keep happening.
 
A lot of ppl are asking why there electric bill has quadrupled when they signed up for 100% renewable energy. Because whole system is ****ed and there energy is only partly renewable and most of it comes from the global market which is ****ed.
 
Hullshark said:
No, we need to invest in Tidal energy, we are an island with regular strong tides around our coast

It amazes me that we focus on solar and wind energy but not water as our replacement energy source
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It is very inefficient compared with wind and also uses a lot of space / issues with access, as it needs to be close to the coast to be efficient.

Nuclear is the way forward, alongside wind and more gas.
 
russdx1 said:
A lot of ppl are asking why there electric bill has quadrupled when they signed up for 100% renewable energy. Because whole system is ****ed and there energy is only partly renewable and most of it comes from the global market which is ****ed.
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I agree, that is also a load of rubbish. You cannot buy ‘green energy’, it all comes down the same pipe. What you can buy is ‘green credits’, but that is the biggest load of rubbish. It just makes people feel good about being ‘green’

I am going down the rabbit hole here……
 
JAG555 said:
I agree, that is also a load of rubbish. You cannot buy ‘green energy’, it all comes down the same pipe. What you can buy is ‘green credits’, but that is the biggest load of rubbish. It just makes people feel good about being ‘green’

I am going down the rabbit hole here……
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Is a massive con. Which they can’t hide from now.
 
Hullshark said:
An azimuth blade will rotate virtually 24 hours a day, I fail to see how this is inefficient
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It’s not the blade or how much it spins, it’s the size of the generator they are hooked up to, they just don’t have the power for the size and space they take up.

If it was more efficient, they would be the dominate green energy and they are not.
 
You shouldn't have to sell luxury items to fund your week to week living.
It's not sustainable, say someone sells their phone or TV, it pays for a months bills...then what?

People should be paid more, most Industries have had pay cuts.
Shouldn't have to sell your belongings to live week to week. Selling them to fund other items, or temporary emergencies is different to bills and food.
 
It is the initial cost which is holding Tidal Energy back …… spend for the future, a Tidal Power Station has a lifespan of around 100 years which is three times that of a nuclear plant
 
Hullshark said:
No, we need to invest in Tidal energy, we are an island with regular strong tides around our coast

It amazes me that we focus on solar and wind energy but not water as our replacement energy source
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I read a book in the 90's which was called 'The last hours of ancient sunlight' (I think?). Amongst a lot of other things about our reliance on fossil fuels it said precisely that about tidal energy.

To this day it was the most prophetic book I've ever read.

Observations and predictions about energy use and in particular how China and Russia were positioning themselves has been spot on.

Lot's of other bits about our declining agriculture and over reliance on other nations for our food and energy.

It argued that as a fertile island we were in a unique position to insulate ourselves from future energy and food crisis.
 
Neil McRae said:
companies don't get rich - shareholders do, most of which have rightly invested their money. Everyone is looking for someone to blame. in this case blame the green idiots and the bozo's in the EU. Because of the stupidity of the green movement we became reliant upon wind, solar and hydro - without a plan for what happens if they don't deliver. Storage would help but not solve the problem. We need nuclear.
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I'd agree nuclear is absolutely necessary, but let's be clear here - the current UK issues are caused because world prices of gas are high, because Putin cut down/off the gas supply to the EU. This has nothing to do with being green reliant, it was because the EU became Russian gas reliant. A catastrophically short-sighted strategic decision by EU countries, with a major knock-on risk to the UK that our government should have been planning for far more effectively than it evidentially had..
 
JT. said:
I'd agree nuclear is absolutely necessary, but let's be clear here - the current UK issues are caused because world prices of gas are high, because Putin cut down/off the gas supply to the EU. This has nothing to do with being green reliant, it was because the EU became Russian gas reliant. A catastrophically short-sighted strategic decision by EU countries, with a major knock-on risk to the UK that our government should have been planning for far more effectively than it evidentially had..
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Nailed it
 
David_Vi said:
People should be paid more, most Industries have had pay cuts.
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Massive rabbit hole....

Pay rises = higher cost to run a business = higher prices = more payrises

People nowadays seem to think that the easy way out is to just strike for increase in pay. in real terms it just fuels higher prices and then people wanting higher pay again... and around the viscous circle we go. It genuinely surprises me that people cant see it!

Completely get the whole "company makes £xbn, however wont give pay rises and returns this to shareholders".. this is where the issue lies... shareholders will also argue that they take the risk, therefore should get the rewards... i dont think there's a clear resolution, unless companies have a reality check, which of course they wont.

It's like pinball machines - the likes of Stern will hapilly raise prices for several reasons... Staff pay, cost of materials, profit to re-invest etc. However the only way they will stop is when people stop/reduce buying their products. companies (any companies) Just care about the bottom line. Even then, some companies dont get it and increase their prices further, those with £££ offset the lost sales from those who dont have as much "Disposable cash". Another viscious circle until people "get it"....

I've NEVER had a NIB. I'll never be able to afford one, or justify the price to myself. However i am grateful for what i have - i am luckier than a lot of people who are just starting out.

Anyhow... back on topic......
 
The answer is clearly no with NIB price increases. Will machines sell and will people be willing to sell is more likely the question.
The dearth of older BW titles available and the demand for will see them hold price at least, the constant increase to NIB will make all current titles already out there considered good value at whatever price they are now.
 
Neil McRae said:
Some yes, others no. In Great Yarmouth - I over heard a conversation at the bar where one women proudly boasted that shed got food for the week for her kids from a food bank and used the money she had saved to get a new tattoo!
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Whilst stuff like that does happen, it doesn't mean we tar everyone with the same brush fella.
 
I think the new TNA price has pretty much confirmed prices are sadly still going up. 😥

With regards to Paul’s comment about strikes leading to higher prices the problem is if people don’t strike employers don’t pay higher wages so you just get poorer over time. We simply can’t get staff now as pay levels are too low after 10+ years of real term pay cuts. It’s a massive problem.

The government is currently running an incomes policy in all but name. If you ask people to take a 1 or 2 year pay freeze to break a wage/price spiral then reluctantly they might do this. Is it sustainable for more than a decade though? 🤷

Without getting too political one of my roles is to gather information on students to see if they are eligible for funding etc. turns out that one of my student’s family actually gets more in universal credit than I do for working full time. Now I know most of that will go on housing but something is very wrong with the system. 🤬
 
Paul said:
Massive rabbit hole....

Pay rises = higher cost to run a business = higher prices = more payrises

People nowadays seem to think that the easy way out is to just strike for increase in pay. in real terms it just fuels higher prices and then people wanting higher pay again... and around the viscous circle we go. It genuinely surprises me that people cant see it!
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It needs a fundamental shift in thinking. The causational flow is closer to:

Pay rises = higher cost to run a business = lower profit margin

'Higher prices = more payrises' is just one way that companies might address 'lower profit margin'; but it's not the only available response by any means, just the legislative and normative status-quo now. If the (broken) cycle you identified is to be addressed, then fundamental change is needed, and in our current political system (i.e. first past the post) the only way your average citizen will contribute to bringing that about is to strike and thus force politicians to get some 'fundamental-shifts-in-thinking' on their agendas.

I guess my point is, major issues like this need ideas that aren't constrained by how things work today.
 
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Paul said:
People nowadays seem to think that the easy way out is to just strike for increase in pay. in real terms it just fuels higher prices and then people wanting higher pay again... and around the viscous circle we go. It genuinely surprises me that people cant see it!
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It's difficult to argue to low paid workers that they shouldn't strike when they see the rewards top people earn. The boss of South West Water somehow managed to get herself paid just shy of 1.5 million pounds last year. £1.5M for one years work and for what? Beaches have been closed for sewage discharges, pipes still leak, my water hasn't got any cheaper or any cleaner.

Back on the subject:

Yes, I think prices are about to slip back a bit. It's taking longer to sell things, and that's the first sign.
 
The £ against the US$ is nearing a long time (40 year) low ($1.07 in 1985). There "ought" to be very strong support for the £ at current levels and certainly at parity.

The US$ is also strong against the Euro and £ isn't at its lowest against the Euro, so its more a strong US$ rather than a weak £.

So, we should see an improvement in the price of NIBs from the USA in coming months and years. It could happen quite quickly - BoE needs to raise interest rates significantly in order for this to happen.

NIB prices are important to the second hand market - more so for machines less than say 2 years old, but also has a knock on effect into the older market.

2nd hand prices though are really dictated by supply and demand, and we should see supply increase and demand decrease during the current 'cost of living' crisis. This will soften prices and we may see less popular titles hanging around unsold. Sought after games will always move fairly quickly, and, for good money.
 
JT. said:
I'd agree nuclear is absolutely necessary, but let's be clear here - the current UK issues are caused because world prices of gas are high, because Putin cut down/off the gas supply to the EU. This has nothing to do with being green reliant, it was because the EU became Russian gas reliant. A catastrophically short-sighted strategic decision by EU countries, with a major knock-on risk to the UK that our government should have been planning for far more effectively than it evidentially had..
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that isn't the case sorry, here in the UK its super bad this year because of the yield from renewables being very poor, there is a load of other nonsense posted in this thread about renewables and how you buy them. At work I don't buy anything other than renewables, we don't use a sausage of gas, but the overall energy price is determined by overall demand and you are right in that gas is a huge factor in that but we only need more gas because the yield on renewables has been **** poor. But if you think its bad here, check out prices in Germany.

The French have just bought out EDF because it was going to go bust because the PM over there has frozen prices, adding 8B euro's to the debt pile.

The reason we are in this mess is because during covid loads of free money was given out to people who really didn't' need it or they were getting paid on some scheme not to work and then they were allowed to do work elsewhere (!) everybody started to buy stuff to build man caves, pinballs, table tennis tables etc meanwhile the debt pile goes up and up and up, and who gets rich from debt? Bankers and investors.
 
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