I'm going through the same thing right now . I have a Rocky & Bullwinkle that I haven't played in almost 8 months , but it was a game I used to play in high school with my buddies and it reminds me of that . I really should sell it and put the money in the business but I'm on the fence . I feel your pain

LMAO Phat! That's one of the best handles on Pinside!

I think it all depends on your attachment to the game and if you think you'll come back around to it. A lot of people sell a game they weren't playing only to regret the sale later on and then get another one back.

Held my Tron for a long time because it was pretty. But I never played it. Finally let it go and have room for a game I enjoy.

I've been thinking the same about my TOTAN, T3, TFTC and about 10 others, lol. The games i don't give two squats about seem to be what everyone else likes. My friends daughters spent about 2 hours on totan this morning. I think the only time i ever spent that much time on it was during the resto.

Yes I do. These days I do not play my TMNT much at all... but I would never consider selling it because I love the theme and it was my first pin.

Twin Win was a family pin passed down from a few people and then it sat in my parents basement for 23 years until I brought it to my house. It's been shopped, waxed, prettied up, and plays well. But honestly it's boring compared to the rest. It does get played by guests more than I'd imagine it would, but I rarely play it. I won't get rid of it, because it's not worth that much anyway, but it does hold some sentimental value in addition to just taking up space. One good thing is that the playfield glass is flat, so it makes a nice pretty work table to put my stuff on while working on the other pins.

nah, i sell them. I wish everyone who wasn't playing games would do the same but that's up to them. more power to them if they want to hold onto them.

I like all of my games but there are times where I can go weeks or months without touching some of my games. I simply don't have enough time to play them all. I go through phases and just play the same game for a week or two and then I will switch to playing another. It sort of helps to keep things fresh because no matter how good a game is it can always get old. Right now I am in the honeymoon phase for my recently acquired MM which I am enjoying very much. I did play a game of Tron last night and was on the fence about selling it. I think I will keep it a bit longer now even though I choked again during SOS

I had this dilema earlier this year with my TSPP. Bought NIB (oh so long ago), still immaculate, but I'd never play it when I went down to play pins. So I swapped it out for a Metallica. Don't regret it one bit.

That's cool! Talk about sentimental value, the fact that that may very well be the machine that started your family into really loving pinball is awesome!.

Instead of saying, I remember the first game we ever played as a family. It really got me into this amazing hobby. Wish I had that machine.

Instead, you can say, I DO have that machine and you can pass it on to your children one day.

I just sold my STTNG because I found myself going out to play Metallica instead of playing it.

Thats a VERY astute question really. We ALL can be attached to our machines for various reasons, for example, i have an Atari Championship Sprint arcade machine that i would have bought 3 times over with all the cash i "inserted" over the years i played it as a youth but i only play it from time to time (maybe every few weeks). Having said that i would not even think about selling it despite the fact i could double/treble what i paid for it. The same goes for most of my pins but i think, end of the day, if you are out of space, in need of cash, whatever the reason, common sense wins!! Do you want to sell your TRON cheap?

This is one of the great questions in the hobby really. Do you keep a game because everyone else thinks it's cool that you have it or do you keep it because you really like playing it? Do you keep a game because when you have non-pinball guests over they like it and will play it? Do you keep a game because you remember playing it when you were a kid (even though it seems much easier now)? Do you keep a game because you know if you sell it you may never have a chance to own it again, even though you really don't play it?

Ultimately, space dictates what you do and every once in a while you have to make the hard decisions on what goes and what stays and often times "playability" isn't at the top of the list of factors.

Dave

Well said space and collectible pinball machine . My HUO Attack from Mars is the one pinball that I just do not play . Owned it since 1996 . I am out of space . Could get some good dollar amount for it. But I just am having a hard time selling it . As a player and a collector it is a pin I just like owning . I should think in term of parting with it but I do not know .

I don't play my PotC much at all, but when I do I enjoy it. So I ask is it worth keeping for maybe 20 games a year? but to me it is, I have not conquered it or any game yet, maybe if I beat the game already I'd sell it.

At any one time there are about 36 games I don't play. Some I haven't played in a year, but I've not thought of selling any because of that reason. They all get played eventually by myself or someone else.

Let that pin go.

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sharing is caring.

Yep...I'm not the only one that lives in my house.

This just comes down to each individuals situation. Personally, I've never sold a pin before. I still own every one I've ever bought. I have the room for them and don't need the small amount of money that they would bring and when I look at how hard they are to come by...Purchase, transport, haul into basement, etc... It's just not worth it. Besides, my games are not only for me to play, but for my guests to play as well.

I keep pins I don't "play every week", but it is not because I don't want to play them- it's because I can't play them...

I have around 5 games that are "folded" and I have absolutely no intentions of ever selling most of them. I can really only keep 18 games set up at a time and I rotate things in and out quite often.

It is much more likely that I would trade a game that I do not play often enough, rather than sell. The reasoning is a bit more complicated than the topic presented by the OP.

For me it totally depends on what happens when I do play it. I tend to ignore some games in my collection for months, and then I go to play it, and it reminds me why it is there. The first game is a bit forced, but the second is usually out of anger at how bad the first one was. And then everything I love about the game screams out at me.

So if I get to that play, and say "That was ok", it is time to sell it. The magic is gone, and these machines need to be loved. The game that I am now blase about is the same game someone else will play and say "Best game ever!". so out it goes to a new home. It is very rare I miss it after that, because I'm usually done with it... Except LOTR... gotta get back an LOTR soon...

My grail pin get's the least play as I have played more games on it then any other it will always stay.

Funny you should say that. I hadn't touched my LOTR in several weeks and then decided to play a game on it the other day. Unaccountably, I got my all-time high score. That certainly re-enlivened my interest in the pin!

As several people have already said, interest in a particular table comes and goes. At this point, I only want to sell a pin when I am pretty sure that what I am replacing it with is likely to be of more interest. That gets harder and harder as my little collection gets better and better. I honestly don't know which pin I will sell when I have to let one go.

LOTR is a great game and you truly need to own it to enjoy and see everything or as much of it has to offer in your own collection. It simply can't be played casually at a friend's place unless you are there for a few hours or days

The same can be said about TSPP which I have owned twice now. I found that I had to be in the mood to play and could play a game on either and be content to not touch it again for 1-2 months. That is a lot of money and a potential spot tied up for another game I could put in its place.

Another thing I ask myself these days if I think about selling a pin is what would I replace it with that is just as much fun? What's worse is will I want it back again and will likely pay more for what I sold it for too.

If a game isn't getting played regularly it goes. By regularly, for me that is maybe once a week. The only exception that rule is if the game is hard to replace. Every game I have sold I could find again with little effort. The only exception being Jolly Park. It took me over 12 years to find a nice example at a fair price, and even though it doesn't get played as much as the other ones, it would be near impossible to get one back.

At one time I had a large collection - about 50 pins. There was an article penned by Tim Arnold in the old Pinball Trader. It asked if you wee a collector or a hoarder. Did you own machines because they were fun, or because they were collectable?

I sold my '60's wedgehead add-a-balls with animation, all my '70's Bally's, and everything else that didn't have a "fun factor" to me. For me, it was time to let them go and let someone who truly enjoyed them own them.

I have a smaller collection of game I like to play. When they get boring, I sell them.

I derive very little joy in having something just to have it. If I am not using it I am annoyed at the space it takes up and the time it takes to keep it working well. This applies to many things in my life, cars being the worst, but pins are not much better. The only thing good about pins in that they are smaller and they don't have the recurring costs of registration, inspections, and insurance.

Is this a wee collector?

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You know, I have a LOTR for sale in Milwaukee.

There you go. I have 13 of my 16 pins squeezed into my pinball room and hardly ever play the three that are in an adjacent area. Maybe I'd consider selling them (Baywatch, Barb Wire and X-Files) if their value was higher. I think they should all be worth more than what they currently sell for.

Maybe your grail pin is a real Doozie?

Every one of my machines gets played on a regular basis. Maybe that's because I have a variety and all good ones.

We all have different tastes. For example, I see Big Hurt in your collection and I would not consider it a good one.

Maybe not, but I played it last night and it was a lot of fun. I see you have Barb Wire. To me, that looks like the best (or should I say funnest) game in your collection. Twister is the machine that gets the most play around here and it is not highly rated, but everybody that comes over loves it.

Different strokes for different folks.

I like having pinball games to play, but if I'm not playing them as much, it's time to move on. I can't imagine holding onto a game for years and years, honestly. Maybe if I had more space.

what are you smokin'? Seriously, i want some.

I's the one machine that everybody asks where it went. Nobody cares about METLE, ToM, CFTBL, MM, or any of the others that are now gone. It's always "what happened to Barb Wire?" I should have kept that one.

God Barb Wire was frikkin horrendous.

Wrong pin but that's funny.

I can't sell any of my pins now because Whysnow broke into my house and rubbed his balls all over my lockdown bars and then dropped a deuce inside of my Woz cab! Thought it was my cat at first but then figured he couldn't lift the play field although I'm sure his nuts are about the same size!

That's why I had three different people hounding me to sell it to them before I finally succumbed to the pressure.

I'd say give it a couple of months. If you still aren't enjoying Tron then ship it out.

I keep games I think are fun and worth keeping until... they either aren't fun or aren't worth keeping.

True, people only throw money at really great things in this world.

I fire up BSD maybe 1 time a week ,, but its going on 5 Yr's in the GRG .. Yea I like it !! HS2 is a Keeper 2

Just wait-n on my IM VE 2 arrive ..

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Your lucky I did not have to send "Big Worm" or shall I say "Big Fatso" to get the deal done-LOL

Big Worm.jpg

Do you still have it? Man, that thing was a ton of fun!

It is my favorite right now-Pam is going nowhere. It now has me looking for a Stargate-Dammit