Don't own one yet!

By MBridge57

October 19, 2023

I've always loved pinball and I've always considered have a legit full size machine, but it wasn't till recently that I decided to become more interested in the idea of actually owning one. I saw listings from various Google searches and alot of them pointed back to this website, but not being a member means you can only see limited info. I decided to join to see and learn more and hopefully settle on a machine I would like to purchase.

I see the site kind of assumes that you already have machines in your possession, but I don't so I don't have anything fun and interesting to post to the site except that I'm interested in obtaining my first machine.

No photos are attached to this story.

I understand how you feel. I joined in May of this year, with similar thoughts, and have spent a good deal of time learning about pins, the lingo, the attitude and just how to get more involved. I'm not one to jump into things quickly but thru the education here and lots of watching ads on pinside.com and other selling websites, I decided to purchase my first pin. It has been lots of fun and I know I will continue to spend much of my spare time reading, looking, learning and hopefully discussing about this wonderful new hobby. Good luck to you and enjoy.

Probably the smart way to go about it - I bought my first machine on a whim and found Pinside afterwards.

And while I am happy with my game (and the two I bought subsequently), had I poked around here first to read game reviews, see comparable pricing, etc. I would have done better....

Consider yourself fortunate. When covid struck 3 years ago, the wife and I missed out on vacations. I thought I'd surprise her with a high end collector game for Christmas. A KISS LE. Did a search on the web, before I knew about Pinside. Found a game room supply company in Vegas. " Billiards n More". The owner showered me with his used car sales tactics and I bit. Game was nice, but he added fees on top that weren't discussed originally. Thought I'd establish a good relationship as I considered a 2nd game 3 months later. We struck a deal with a TZ. Expressed that it was a beautiful collector game. Received the game, unpackaged, and to my dismay it was the biggest POS I've seen. After 6 months of promises with replacement parts which were never received, I tried to stay composed and requested to send it back and be refunded. He received the game, jerked me around, finally reimbursed me minus a bunch of BS costs. He became very unprofessional and abusive because I was apparently "too fussy". "You just need to play it, it's over 20 years old, have to expect some wear" The left drop off had a divot so bad, the ball got stuck and wouldn't roll over the switch. I was a newbie but knew this thing was real bad. An expensive learning experience. Later I found a beautiful TZ locally through a connection and bought it. The seller asked if I was a Pinside member. I asked Pinside? " Oh man you gotta get on there". He sponsered me and we became good buds. Great guy with a collection that was beautiful! " Drummer Mike". Couldn't of expected a better transaction. On the flip side. " Pinballdude1 " is the Vegas store owner. BEWARE of Craig who ever reads this. Take your time, try to buy games that you can drive to in person. Or of course new, if funds permit. Once you find a suitable candidate, you'll know it. Then it starts. You won't be content with 1. I thought the KISS would settle our itch. Wrong. 20 games later and still always looking. It's very addictive. But the search is part of the fun and we've became friends with many close by. Welcome a board!

Hey MBridge57, I didn't use this site until after I purchased my first pin and that's only because I have a close friend who has a large collection and was super helpful in helping me locate my first pinball machine just a couple years ago.

If you are trying to buy your first one on a very tight budget like I was, then you will need to be very careful shopping for a used one and you will want to understand what your limits are for working on it, look for something that was released late 80's and up. For instance, if you are not mechanically inclined or good with working on electronics, then you will want to look for a newer machine, but isn't as popular. If you like the challenge of working on a machine, then you can look at some games that are little more popular, but need a lot of work.

If you have a mid tier budget, you probably want to still stick to the mid 80's and higher, but you can look for popular games that need a lot of work or less popular games that don't need any work.

If you have an unlimited budget, then look at the top 100 machines listed on this site, try to find one that you think you'd enjoy and use this site to help you find it.

This site is the best that I've seen for trying to help decide what to get and who to buy from. I trust the classified section on here over any other place. I would use this site for sure over Ebay, Facebook or Craigslist. If you can find someone local to talk to and see their collection, that would be helpful also.