not that i have had to downsize, but if you ain't playing them, you might as well put them in the hands of others that will...

Same here. I went from 2 pins to, I think, 8 or so, and now I'm down to 5, and likely going to settle at 4 in the end.

I happen to like it more. Personally before I had too many pins, and I felt like not only did I never really get a chance to get to know them, I felt like there were just too many projects to get done. This one needs a switch fixed, this one needs to be shopped...

It's also like the "800 channels and nothing to watch" scenario. Too many made it too hard to choose from

But plenty of people have a ton of machines....and they enjoy...so to each their own!

I went for 4 to 1 - do not regret it at ALL. So much nicer, more room, less maintenance, and is more of a conversation piece than a "Are you a hoarder?" moment.

I got rid of one and picked up three more. Does that qualify as "downsizing"?

Yes, I sold many of my Machines. Only to miss them and buy them back at double the price. I am a hot and cold player. I may play pinball for 2 months. Then I will not even turn them on for 6 months. I feel that even if I could use the funds , and I am not consistent player. Selling them only makes me wish I did not. But am a tad bit O.C.D.

I got to 8 and it felt too crowded. Holding at 7…for now.

I have my "hard 8" that aren't going anywhere (MM, MB, LOTR, SM, XM-LE, TronLE, ACDC Prem, JM).

Everything else is negotiable :-p

Yep you defiantly had the fever there for a bit newpinowner. I still want more pins but I can see how the grass is always greener.

I'm having a little trouble letting go. I have bought a few that were popular, but not special to me. They were easier to let go.

I went from 23 at once down to 12. One of the best things I have done, especially because I only play about 5 minutes of pinball a week...

I think having some play variety with enough open issues/upgrades in the grouping to keep you busy for a while is key. That threshold is different for everyone. For me its going to be 5 (though I may fall back to 4 when 5 is reached) and that's putting me right at the tipping point. Besides that I am only going to allow so much cash to be tied up into one hobby, I need to keep diversified.

Yes it is that bad. Just can't do it. I had one once, that only lasted for a week.

I went down from 29 pins to 14 1/2 (the half is a RFM playfield for SWEp1). I have no regrets downsizing as I can keep the machines cleaner and running better with less to work on. I also got all of them on one side of the gameroom, where before they were everywhere and certain areas never got played. I also took many cheaper games and sold them to buy more expensive titles that were in better shape (and a few NIB as well). My collection isn't the biggest or the best, but its exactly what I want (though there are a few left on my want list)

I think you enjoy your machines more when you have less. You have more incentive to really learn the games and try to advance further in them. I've been whittling a little...Not sure I have it in me to go much further cuz I love most of my titles too much...I think maybe there are 3 or 4 I could definitely send to the chopping block right now. I could see myself getting down to less than 20 in the future though.

I'm spiraling down from 25 to 16 at the moment. I plan on downsizing even more to where I'll end up with 6 or so. I'm even selling off my video games as well. It is nice to get the space back, but the money back is even better. I had my doubts about selling at first, but it was the best decision I've made. I can always go to a show somewhere if I want to play them again.

I thought you said JP was a keeper for you since it was your first?

As the old adage says, "less is more".

I'm currently down to 3 machines in the collection, and am much happier for it. With a big collection, it seems like all I was doing with my pinball time was maintenance. That's fine if you're one of those cats who likes to work on machines far more than actually play them (and there seems to be a lot of you out there), but dammit, I'm a player; I want to PLAY my machines, not constantly tinker with them.

With just three machines to keep up, I've found my pinball playing time has increased, and I appreciate the machines that I have more than I did when they were part of a bigger collection.

I'll have 4 machines whenever my AC/DC Premium arrives, but I'm thinking that 3 might be the magic number, and may be cutting a game loose in the near future.

(Also, there's something refreshing about having some actual space in the gameroom.)

Just dont go from 12 to 0.... then try to buy them back 10 years later

I was at a peak of 6 machines. After my kids arrived (they are still young at 5 and 2) I literally didn't play at all. My 5 year old all of a sudden got into pinball. She only played IM and SM though. Since I didn't really play my other pins I sold them. They were a gorgeous MB (decalled, cleared Bill Davis PF, etc...), a beautiful MM and an equally fantastic ToM. I got a BDK (only because my daughter wanted a Batman) so I am down to 3 Stern Superhero pins.
I may at some point bump back up to 4. But no more than 4. I'd like to stay with the Superhero theme, so it may have to be an X-Men for me. This is funny because I used to be such a Bally/Williams snob. Now I am all Stern. I never have to work on them. I love that. I swear my STTNG would break down once a week.
In all honesty the only pin I really, really miss is JM. I have gone through pretty much all the A list B/W. (except Addams Family and AFM) How crazy is that?
I just don't know how out of place JM would be next to those Sterns that I have. Decisions decisions.

I have, a couple of times. If you aren't enjoying playing it, sell it. I find that once I decide I am going to sell a game, even if I like it, I can't wait til its gone.

I was curious about JM next to all those Titan machines?

Wow. Pretty cool to see JM in your Hard 8 list. I'm a fan of JM but its my only DMD in a collection of 3 pins.

Retirement is right around the corner. Time to start letting go while the market is nuts.

Pending divorce is going to make me thin my machines down.... which sucks.

Oh geez. Been through that before. Sell them to a buddy for a grand a piece and when it is all over get them back. Do it now! If I was closer (not a joke) I would do the deal and get them back to you when the dust settles.

I would have a smaller "family collection," but Fatsquatch keeps selling and my mom keeps buying. And calling dibbs on what he still has. I only have 2 at my house and it is nice to be able to swap, but we are bringing in MSF to make room for Mom's new Flintstones. I can comfortably fit three, so this is our trial run to see how we do with that number. There are many more I would like but they are hard to find and I get attached, so thinking 5 would probably be our max at our house. (I will have to build a pin shed or addition if anything happens to my parents though.)

That's a really good idea!

3 machines = just right - you play them all without neglecting any. But you always want more so just stop at three then let the rotating begin.

Once you sell some of your games to begin the downsizing, it gets easier.

even though i hate(d) to get rid of anything i have or had, it is better to have a smaller lineup and not ignore some pins. some i dont play enough for sure, and that stinks. problem is which ones to get rid of???? the maintenance part of it makes it tougher for sure. can only play one at a time, such a tough thing to debate from all angles. a winning powerball ticket might help

I have thought of downsizing before, but I only buy pins that I really want (when I first started collecting I never dreamed I could find or be able to buy some of my more rare/unique pins) and I usually keep what I buy and don't really flip anything unless I find the same game in better condition. The only pin I really bought on impulse was JM. I had never heard of the pin or even seen one, but I was buying a STNG pin, and sitting next to it was a really nice JM that looked like it was never played, and except for a little fade on the red in the front it looked perfect. The guy wanted it gone and made made me a great package deal, so I bought it. Now that it is part of my collection it is just to much fun to play, and in such good shape I don't think I could find one in the same condition down the road if I let it go. I have also seen to many people sell a game only to buy it again later for much more then they sold their previous one for. I guess because I don't have a lot of disposable cash I tend to keep what I buy, but I do think of downsizing sometimes, I just can't bring myself to do it.

^^^

my plan is that when my next one gets here in another month or so is as follows...

my best friend really wants a machine, but is pretty financially strapped... so i'm going to let him take one home with him, and then rotate them... that way he has one to play, and i get a "new" one every 3 months or so... win-win...

probably won't stop me from "maxing out" (i have room for 6, maybe a few more if i squeeze a bit) when i come across stuff on my wish list, but i figure that is a pretty good way of keeping machines "fresh"... plus it gets someone else in the hobby...

When my wife and I moved I had a large collection of both pinball and video. It was awesome having a large collection but I seemed to like the look of a big collection more than I enjoyed playing all of my machines. I do not like to show off my collection and the less people that know I have these games the better, so really the true arcade room was for my benefit only.

So, before the big moving day, I sold 3/4 of my collection. I am now at four arcades and two pins with a third, if it's good, once Metallica is released. This is my max and I love it. I play all my machines regularly and I spend zero time fixing things right now...sweet.

I will never go back to a large collection again, but I do think most of us go through this "hoarding" stage anyway.

Come out on the other side bro and you can do what ever the f,,k you want to do. Fill the place with pins if you like.

As long as I don't need the money, and can find friends that will take the pins in for some time, I see no need to sell any of them. Currently only have 2 at home. 7 located elsewhere.

I hope it's like that... but it seems men get the raw end of the big D regardless of the circumstances.

I did that. Had b/w a listers, sold them all, then decided to get back in 10 years later. I've been looking at the newer sterns that they've put out the last 3 years and just couldn't part with my hard earned cash for what felt to me, a cheaper quality pin, at a huge cost. I plunked some money on WOZ and will hope for the best. At least I got to try it at my distributor and it felt like my old b/w games. I know others feel differently, and I don't want to start any JJP vs stern wars here, I'm just older than a lot here, and that is my opinion. I will not have as many pins as I had before. Maybe 3 at most. I don't want it to overwhelm my smaller downsized home. Just something for fun. I agree with some here. I want to play them, not just have projects to fix, although I did have fun working on them.

Should give you room for more, in the end.

Why do people ever come up with this "hoarder" garbage. If you have room and can afford 25 pins, what's wrong with that?? If i Had room and a little more $$ I would have many more too. It's not like they produced only 500 units of all these popular titles we all search for. It's called collecting, so I say, Do whatever pleases YOU... and enjoy them, life is way too short.

I went from 8 to 1 and now I'm at 3. I went "all in" way too quickly and never got to enjoy the pins I had to their fullest. I don't regret downsizing at all. I don't miss always needing to fix / adjust something on one of my machines seemingly year round. That said, I do like being at three, but I'd be lying if I said I still didn't look for that fourth every day.

I had 12 pins at the peak of my pin collecting mania, I have slimmed my collection down to ten at the moment, and intend to drop it down to 5 or 6 pins in the near future, maybe even down to as low as 3 games if I move into my GF's place.

I recently moved into a smaller house which doesn't allow me to set up so many games at once. I just don't want a garage full of folded up pins that are not played any more. The problem is deciding which ones to let go!

+1. Maybe you're a "hoarder" if you pile hundreds of games off legs into a warehouse and keep them just to have them. If your games are on legs, operational, and being enjoyed by you, your family, and friends, I can't see how this is "hoarding" no matter how many you have. And how in the world could 4 pins be hoarding, lol???!

Surprised by the claims of "too much maintenance" for collections of under 10 pins too.

I did the same. 2-3 is ideal for me. It wasn't so much maintenance, just that I didn't play most of them.

Im staying at 3-4 pins, only because I dont have room for any more. I also want a jukebox which is going to set my pin funds back about 7k. Tough choices in life.

I have 3 pins currently and will be at 4 in 3 weeks. That's the most pins that I will ever have had at one time. I can see going to 5, but that will be my max. I still have 18 vids, a dartboard, a juke box, 2 couches and a large wet bar down in the game room, so it's not like I am depriving myself. I love the look of 20+ pins in anyone's gameroom, so long as the room is clean and organized and the games are all working, turned on and can be played. I hate seeing a few good working pins thrown in a dirty room (or spread over multiple rooms) with tons of other project vids and pins with shit piled up on top of them and all around them. To me, that's hoarding, and is usually the sign of a mentally disturbed and/or socially out of touch individual.

SB80, check out local used jukes unless you've got your heart set on a particular one. My mom's neighbors just sold a mint Seeburg for $50 because they wanted it out of their house. I've known of 2 others that sold jukes cheap to get rid of them. (I always find out after the fact though.) Good luck to you either way.

I have often wondered how people who have dozens (and dozens...) of pins handle all of the maintenance. Something always needs fixing or adjusting or cleaning or updating in my little collection. I'm not sure I'd want scores of pins if they all required this much effort to keep in tip-top shape. There is a point at which it just becomes work.

A little off topic and not meaning to insult anyone (indeed, I quote this against myself regularly), but this discussion reminds me of my all-time favorite Dave Barry quip: "There is a fine line between hobbies and mental illness." Ain't that the truth!

I tried to do it, condense everything into my garage which can hold 7 comfortably currently and my dining room can hold 3-5 depending on if I relocate mame cabinet. I just can't bare it to sell down to 7, so for now I am going to live a little excessively with more pins than I should have in my house. I play them more than I watch TV, and video games and I bore fast. For now I am setting my max of 11 after that it would get insane for me. Seems like the hardest thing for me is I already have a ton of keepers games I would really need to be forced to sell.

Guess if I get married again I would probably be forced by somebody to scale down to 7, but I don't want to do that. If they all started breaking at one time that would be another thing that would maybe force me to rethink my current hobby/addiction.

p.s. I sort of hate this thread because it's sobering to realize how out of space and out of control I really am. Also that I would like to push this number higher is just insane to think about. I think I am in love with pinball currently, sorry.

I'm currently at 2 and scheduled to be at 3 soon, that will give me 1 machine each from the 60's, 70's, and 80's. I'd like to add 1 more each from the 90's and 00's, which will get me to 5, which might be the max for my wife.

But that's a big range, and 2 games from each decade would probably be a better representation, right? Not sure if my Pinball "wall" can support 10 machines, but I'd like to see it try...