Changing times...

[Exarach]

You still weren't going to get a good used TM for $120 back then.

$500 wouldn't buy you a good stock Marui aeg hahaha

[Fung Li]

Played for 4.5 years give or take
First gun was a JG g36
I've spent maybe $1200ish total

[Toast]

Years playing Airsoft: 7 or 8ish
First Airsoft replica: CA M4
Total Spent: Thousands

It sure is a lot cheaper these days. My first AEG, a CA M4 was close to $300 used. Similar for a used G&P URX-16 I bought shortly after. When E-1's hit the market and were heavily promoted the acceptance of low priced AEG's started to take off. Before no one would look at anything in that price range because lets face it, even most high dollar guns were pretty much junk. You get much more for your money these days. There was a lot less knock off gear as well, now you can get about anything tactical in a Chinese copy. It's still not exactly a "cheap" hobby. A big out of state national OP can cost you close to $1k between all expenses. The expense used to keep most of the riff-raff out, however I do think the lower costs help bring in some good newer generations players as well a good people who really couldn't afford it before.

[XavierMace]

You still weren't going to get a good used TM for $120 back then.

$500 wouldn't buy you a good stock Marui aeg hahaha

That's odd.  That stock G3 SAS went though 300k rounds and at least 5 other owners after me here on the forums.

[xtremeairsoft]

Years Playing:  about 3.5
First Gun: Echo-1 ER16 Commando M4
Total Spent: Not too sure. Less than $5,000, but definitely more than $3,000.

[Mooncruiser]

Gotta ask, how does a child get that kind of money?

[-MAD- SARGE]

Years Playing:  10
First Gun: KWC M9 Pistol, then TM MP5A4 (1996 model)
Total Spent: $4,000-$5,000


Here are just a few memories to share, good times....

First AA game: BT weekly summer games of 2003

First major airsoft injury.





First airsoft team challenge to pull Mark Anderson out of a 90ft vertical mine shaft.



First time Airsofter1 got tired of Ian's shit.


First airsoft Battle buddy: Gregg McClendon


First AZ game to use large explosives: Red Dragon 2004

First game to be deployed from real armored units: Irene III 2005


First Game to utilize pyrotechnics on a large scale. Irene III 2005


First build of a fast attack vehicle: Balkan Hammer 2007


First time diffusing an awesome Nuclear weapons case.


First converted Bowman headset for airsoft use, developed by CT, 2005.

First time Airsofter1 saw Metal Gear Solid.


First time using airsoft while running as opfor for U.S. Marine training. 


First ever prototype of an airsoft AT-4 developed by CT and it's use at a major op 2007.


First time using airsoft BB can to bust car windows.


First time Ed realizes what he got himself in the middle of.


First use of smoke at indoor shoot house.  Not such a good idea.


First Choke out at game by a Ranger.

[svataz]

Playing for 12 years
First gun classic army ar15 still have
Spent around 20,000
Worth every penny the sport

[carbon14c]

5 years, close to 5 or 6k including travel.


doesn't really seem the same anymore though

[Bob Z Moose]

A bit over a year.
First GBB: WE M9 Cutlass
First AEG (I got to play with): TM SOCOM 16
Money spent (guns, gear, BBs, admission): About $1200 (bump that up to close to or a bit over $1400 if you want to include gas and expenses)

The hard part about calculating all this is that I've sold guns and gear for about the price I payed or for a bit of a profit. Others I've got through trade ups, which makes it that much harder to figure out.

I'm all with Chip here. Used is the way to go. Craigslist is often a goldmine for deals. Hell, there's regularly deals on here for G36s and clones that are smoking. I've never paid more than $5 for a midcap (though I'm going to have to start purchasing some MAG stuff sooner or later). It's all about being a crafty consumer.

I'm glad I didn't get into airsoft in the "bad old days" of TM, CA, or SOL. It not only kept the kiddos out of the game, but also kept a lot of good people out. I know there was never a point in my life were i could afford to drop $800+ on a single gun and mags for it.

[Mooncruiser]

In the last year..
Got a G&G UMG and a 1911MEU for 80 bucks, off Craigslist.
Bought a working Thunder B for 5 bucks at TP.
-Horsetraded some guns, got better guns, cheaper than what I paid for the originals.

Year after year. I don't give a crap what someone spent new for it, I didn't pay anyway near that when I got it.
People that know me wouldn't say I'm slick at the used game. But in the ten years of give n' take, I've come out very well.
Surplus camo, Craigslist and the For Sale section here and other Airsoft forums keep the price-to-play cheap.

[XavierMace]

I'm glad I didn't get into airsoft in the "bad old days" of TM, CA, or SOL. It not only kept the kiddos out of the game, but also kept a lot of good people out. I know there was never a point in my life were i could afford to drop $800+ on a single gun and mags for it.

It was by no means the "bad old days".  Some of the change is good, some is not, at least in my opinion. 

The rise of cheap clones has made the sport more accessable which was the catalyst for the change.  Cheaper costs means more players which means more facilities (fields, shops, etc).  But it also brings downsides.  More negative publicity, less of a "community feel".  Back in the "old days" you could go a year without going to a game, and you'd still know who everyone was at the next one.  While it's great that there's new people, there's something about showing up and being able to recount good times.  There's also the side effects.

Players have become too focused on "winning".  Don't get me wrong, being competative in and of itself is not a bad thing.  Ask anyone who's gamed with me, I don't like to lose.  That said, I can still have fun while losing.  Some of my best memories in airsoft involved my team being on the losing side.  A smoke grenade that back fired, accidentally team killing half your squad, etc.  It also shows in the guns these days.

We'll use Tokyo Marui as the example here since I know Exarach and I have different viewpoints.  My TM G3 chrono'd 280fps-ish.  It ran forever.  I was happy with that.  Then I started getting into ICS M4's.  Those chrono'd 320fps-ish and ran forever.  I was happy with that too.  I never walked up to a chrono worried about making it under the limit.  But these days everyone is trying to run their guns right to the absolute field limits or even trying to cheat their way past the chrono.  I'm not saying it never happened in the past, just saying it's a lot more common.  Back then you'd buy a gun, play a few games with it, then maybe buy a tightbore if you felt it was really lacking.  You often only upgraded when the original part failed.  These days people are already planning their upgrades before even buying the gun.  Don't get me wrong, I like tinker as much as the next person but there's a mindset that you HAVE to upgrade your gun.  Even if you're only doing CQB.

The lower costs also effects R&D.  Less profit means less money to spend on making new stuff.  You look and most of the "cool" new stuff is from small startup companies or individuals (P*, HS5, SeigeTek) and is priced accordingly.  Again, don't get me wrong, this new stuff is great.  But there's a limit to what the home shops can do (at a reasonable cost) which means either prices will have to start going back up or companies will stop releasing new stuff.

I like cheaper stuff as much as the next person.  But eventually you start paying a price for it (see: Wal-Mart).  I'm not faulting anyone for playing the used game nor am I saying you can't get good used guns for cheap.  I've bought my share of $50 guns myself.  My point is the only reason you are seeing so many guns for that cheap is because of the low prices for new guns.  Back when most guns were $300 new, getting a good used gun for under $100 was far less common.  Now that you can get new guns for $100, that drives the cost of most used guns down.

[Mooncruiser]

Once, I paid $600.00 for a new King Arms SVD, then $200.00 more for the trick scope. Man, did that hurt when 5 years later.. I got a $300.00 M249 for it -Ouch. That was the last time I let my desire for "RARE! COOL!" override my pocketbook.
I'm taking the Luddite Approach to guns, too. Really, nobody needs the XXXX rps cyclic rate of the new stuff. One hit, maybe three, should be enough to get a guy out. This garden-hose, spray and pray thing is bullshit, and to me, tells me the guy is (a) -Too lazy to aim, and (b) -A fucking shitbag who HAS to WIN AT ALL COSTS, spirit of the game be damned.
The slowest rps rate is enough for a good player to kick ass. This current mindset is way beyond the tactics that make airsoft the skill game it should be.

[xtremeairsoft]

Gotta ask, how does a child get that kind of money?

I figure you're referring to me? If so, mostly from odd jobs. I'll also go to a lot of thrift stores and buy stuff really cheap, and sell it. I also get an allowance of $10 a week, which isn't much, but over time adds up.

[Fightertown 1]

Been watching airsoft from the side lines for 4 years.  Got my first gun as a gift, an m14 from the great guys at S9 airsoft.  So far have spent 8 dollars on sealed eye protection.  Will be playing my first game this weekend.