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I'd keep the MMr and WOZ. You named the first 3 games I'd sell (I sold LOTR), and I'd add SS to that.

Have you spent any time playing the new games? Or is your interest in them just based on the themes?

Suggestion on the transaction itself. If you're pins are in nice condition I would think you've got $15-$17000 value in the ones you mentioned(TAF, LOTR, STNG) plus or minus on a retail level. Why not just sell them yourself and get the games you want as you sell you're current ones? You might also consider putting ads for trades on the titles you want. NIB Pros are somewhere around $5200 delivered and there's no shortage of SM's out there. If you factor in the money you were going to contribute to make the deal you may end in in a position where you have enough to do some premiums or buy another used pin in addition to the three.

As far as game play goes, I think a lot of that is personal preference. Both NIB titles you mention are a blast! Quick ball times, great over package. SM is an absolute winner as well, long ball times though which gets old after a bit in my opinion.

If you have a dealer willing to make that swap you have to figure it's because he feels he can make a considerable profit, especially on two of those pins (LOTR and TAF).

They are both very desirable, and if yours are in really good shape will be highly sought after.

I have GB pro, love it, and think it's a great new pin, but I don't think I would ever trade my LOTR for it, it is just an undeniably classic fantastic machine. I might consider swapping my STTNG, because they're more of those around and easier to get at a lower price.

Have you considered just selling one of your three and then picking up a nice used SM, GB, or TWD, or even a NIB one of those versions if you feel you want to go that route, instead of swapping so many all at once? At least that way, you're keeping the profit from the sale rather than giving it to the dealer. ( assuming you bought those three pins several years ago and can sell them at current market prices?). I think it's a valid point that your wife is making about relative values.

Sell the one you are tired of and just buy the one you want. A machine in the hand is better than 2 in the bush.

Whilst I would encourage you to go for newer games (I did it and it rekindled my love of the hobby), I am not sure you getting the best deal. NIB prices are much dearer here in the UK so it would be a good deal but over there in the US I'm not so sure.

All of your games are worth more than he'd be giving you - and he wants cash on top!? Screw that. You're better off selling your games to fellow collectors for what they're worth, then buy the games you want from a distributor like Trent or JJ for a good price.

This is a simply awful idea. You've got all time classics in your collection, and you are considering trading them out for some run of the mill new release - it's like trading in a Mercedes for a Kia. Moreover, all of the games you listed are worth more individually than any of the games you're considering. I understand a dealer wanting to make a straight up swap (they need to make money too), but for you to trade in higher value games AND include cash is unreasonable.

On Pinside the LOTR,TAF,STNNG would probably sell in a week, especially the first two, crazy to swap to a dealer, buy the ones you want individually on Pinside then, why throw money away.

I think STNGG is your tough sell, as it's all over the place in price and closer to 4200 just assuming good condition. I think LOTR has stayed the same and worth around 5k or so. TAF has gone up n value and seems to fetch 5500+

Sometimes conveinence is worth it though. Nice to have games picked up and new ones delivered without doing any work.

Sounds like a pretty even trade, NOT counting whatever cash he's asking you to add on top. Dealers need profit to stay in business, so I get the cash part. If you think throwing in some cash is worth the convenience of pulling this off in one swoop then why not? It takes a fair bit of time and effort to sell/buy 6 pins.

STTNG = $4000-something
LOTR = $5000-something
TAF = $6000-something

= $15k-ish

2 NIB Stern Pros plus nice Stern Spider Man

= $15k-ish

The numbers don't lie. It's a very fair trade not counting the cash.

Assuming we're talking a small amount of cash here, I say ask for a Met Pro instead of a GB Pro and then pull the trigger. Having 3 great new pins arrive is sure to jump start your lineup.

Depends on where you're at and how cheap you price them. I see good pins sit all the time. In some areas the only way to move a pin is to price it cheap enough to entice someone sight-unseen and to also cover the cost of shipping.

For whatever it's worth... I sold my very nice ST-TNG 10 days ago for $4600.

But even the best games get old. He's owned TAF for 18 years! Clearly he's not a collector that wants to have/can afford/can fit endless games building up because they are "collectible". Once I made that mental jump from being a "collector" to being a "player", i haven't looked back.

I would go for the trade on all three but switch the LOTR for the SS and see if your distributor will go for it.

May want to list the STTNG on Pinside too. You mentioned you had it on CL (where you said you were getting low balls). You should be able to get atleast ~low/mid 5000s for LOTR and atleast ~6000 for TAF if you sell on pinside(/CL) most likely. It all comes down to how much extra $$ the dealer wants. I am interested in one of the titles above and sent you a pm last evening if you decide to test the waters with the private sale route on all three. The one thing I would be careful of is how much extra cash you would have to give to a dealer to make the deal work. I think the titles you have are in demand enough to explore the private sale route if you want first, with the option of doing the dealer trade in, at any time, if you do not get the price you want in the private listings. Best of Luck!

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