Sure. You can always get more in the future. I try not to get attached to 'things' as they accumulate and will start to own you.

Its just weird to think I would be better off financially if I had been buying pins for the last 10 years instead of funding my retirement account.

I think about it all the time....The hobby sometimes becomes too consuming and I find my attention drifts to other things (cars also being one of my other hobbies). Plus I have a bad back and lugging pinball machines around or bending over into them servicing them takes its toll.

So I could have more funds and have had more fun by investing in pins the last decade? Thanks for pointing that out Jobi.

Might even be cheaper to get back in later if LCD games become the thing. Back to the days of $2000 AFM! But on topic, I just started. I can't see selling even one of them except due to space.

I had nice cars before I got into pinball. I had problems with people vandalizing my cars. I like the pins better. Cleaner to work on. No worry of them being stolen out of my basement. They don't burn gas that is $4 a gallon.

I've downsized my collection significantly in recent years, though.

This was my new car year. I had picked out a beauty. This was my once in five year business car bonus so I had picked a Bentley Arnage. Then I joined Pinside...I will be driving current vehicle for the forseeable future now .

Honestly, there have been more than one occasion where I said to myself "maybe I should just sell out now". I love having an arcade in my house, living my dream. But I think how much they have appreciated and do I need all of them?? Thoughts of down sizing the arcade to two, making a bad ass state of the art movie room, or finding an interior decorator to really remodel the house creep in. But then I the little kid in me says - keep the toys you'll never get them back in these condition for the money you spent and sanity takes back over. Or is it the other way around?

Yes, but in a different hobby. Once I sold one of my key pieces, it just became easier to sell the others. The money I got from that hobby got me started in collecting pins.

I've never got back to that hobby, and I don't know if I ever will. Burnout.

Maybe you are starting to experience the same thing.

I had cars before pinball (hence the stangbat moniker.) I wish I was into pins when I sold my cars as I would have put the money right into pinball instead of frittering it away on other stuff. Yes, there are times I think about the money I could have in place of the pins, but I'd much rather have pins than cars. Maintenance is easier, no yearly taxes and tags, no insurance worries, no body is going to run into it. Probably a sign of me getting old and boring.

I have the opposite issue. I've considered selling my sports car to fund more pins!

I get FAR more use out of my pins than I do my weekend only sports car.

The thought always goes through my mine. At least once a month.

I am in the process of downsizing myself. Mainly because I will be moving this Summer and again next Summer. So I am going to consolidate and "trade up" if you will. I get people wanting to buy my IJ and SM all the time. Ain't going to happen though.

you should see the price of the cars here... you would never sell your pins!! hahahaha

+100

The other day, I drove my friend's '95 Mazda RX-7 and WOW, that's a really fun car to drive. Another friend has a '09 Mazda RX-8, and comparing the two, the RX-8 is definitely less connected to the road than the RX-7. Also, many car commercials these days have ads that have computer screens with apps(Really?) and don't seem to focus on the driving perspective.

Yeah for 5 Gs you can get a Corvette Stingray or something like that. I mean that's a sweet ride to be proud of for sure.

Like any collection, collectors want your best stuff and it is easy to sell the best and then regret it! I could sell my AFM every week but how hard would it be to get another??!

What problem? Contrary to popular belief, you don't need to own games to enjoy the hobby. Playing on location is the best way to support the hobby. It's also way more fun than playing alone in your basement.

-phish

The thought has crossed my mind more and more recently. My pins have sat now unplayed for a month I bet. I think about the cash sitting there collecting dust and have been tempted but I have also seen to many people sell out because the hobby got a bit slow for them and regret it. It comes and goes. I'll be glad when my funk moves along and I can get excited about working on my project again. It too has sat for a bit waiting on me.....All in pieces......

There is one, simple solution . . . . . own pins AND cars.
1969 GT6 pic attached. 1973 TR6 avatar

CIMG1231.JPG

Only works if there are a lot of machines on route in the area. Most people aren't lucky enough to find themselves in that situation.

How much you want for your Family Guy? ha

I think about selling games from time to time. As with most things they can become repetative and then not get played for a while, and you start thinking about using the money or space for other things. But the last time I did that about 5 years ago, I really kicked myself after letting some go, and found myself scrambling to get them back. A few of them I got the exact same machines back, others I had to find replacements, and a couple never came back. Unless you need the money or space, I suggest folding up a game that you are tired of and put it away somewhere. Then in a month or two you can open it back up and it's like a new toy again, or if you miss it sooner it's much easier to get it back when it's just put away and not gone.

+10000000 My main goal in life.
6671016773_5cc9e9e453_z.jpg

Replace that F430 in the background with a few pins.... life would be great.

Great point.

Been thinking about getting a Scion FRS or Subaru BRZ when it comes out. It would be purely for the novelty as I have 2 kids and live in Toronto where they would be horrible in the winter. This year we somehow didn't get a winter but who knows the snow might come with a vengeance next year. It's a hell of a lot easier to keep a sports car down south. Also considering bringing up a Lotus Elise from down south but that would sit in the garage most of the time.

Gotta take the money from somewhere, it's just a question of how I'll feel looking at an empty wall in the basement. I could always get a wall of Gottliebs with the proceeds of an A lister.

I'd like to get a new CTS-V, but selling pins to help fund a car purchase that is going to depreciate in value doesn't make sense to me - especially when I have a car that's just fine now.

As for classic cars, I've already done that. Too much hassle/expense for storage, upkeep, and insurance. And for what? To drive them occasionally on the weekend and worry about someone hitting you, or where to park, or sitting in traffic, or getting stolen? No thanks. They are cool to look at carshows, but that's enough for me now. Similar to guys I work with having quads/dirtbikes/jet skis/boats. They are stored 90% of the time, take on a ton of room, and have to be towed 100 miles away to enjoy them. Oh and one of them crashed last weekend and broke his collar bone, going to be out for 6 weeks - nice. With pins I just walk into the gameroom and turn them on, instant enjoyment any time in any weather.

Haha, that's the spirit!

"As for classic cars, I've already done that. Too much hassle/expense for storage, upkeep, and insurance. And for what? To drive them occasionally on the weekend and worry about someone hitting you, or where to park, or sitting in traffic, or getting stolen? No thanks. They are cool to look at carshows, but that's enough for me now. Similar to guys I work with having quads/dirtbikes/jet skis/boats. They are stored 90% of the time, take on a ton of room, and have to be towed 100 miles away to enjoy them. Oh and one of them crashed last weekend and broke his collar bone, going to be out for 6 weeks - nice. With pins I just walk into the gameroom and turn them on, instant enjoyment any time in any weather."

+1

Hey,

I'll toss my two cents in. Toys are really fun to have. A car like you're talking about is a toy. Pins are definitely toys. The thing I've learned is that toys are really nice to have, but only if you're going to use them.

A couple minutes ago, I put my BMW up for sale. I really like that car, but it is not getting used enough to justify having it. I put in the realm of 6,500 miles on it over the course of two and change years. I bought it thinking I was being somewhat practical (bought a sedan so I could haul a few people), but really, unless you're Snow White hauling around seven dwarves, it's a two-seater. Now that I have a dog that weighs 70-odd pounds, we end up taking the girlfriend's SUV anywhere that requires a long drive. So, the car goes maybe 10 miles a day, to and from work. Do I enjoy those 10 miles? Yes. For the money, would I rather have something else? Yes, although that's kind of hard to say. Same thing happened with my crotch rocket when I bought the car.

The point I'm making is that everyone needs toys. They just aren't much fun if they aren't getting used. There is something to be said for being able to walk across the living room and start up a game, and in the grand scheme of things, they aren't the most expensive toys out there.

Luke

I just grasped your user name. Nice! Thanks for the memory.

There is one, simple solution . . . . . own pins AND cars.

I jumped on that bandwagon last summer for our beachhouse in NC. It's certainly not in the class of a Bentley or some of the other high end cars mentioned, but it is a blast to drive, comfortable ride, handles great, looks pretty good, has adequate power and is very rare. One of only 521 made and probably less than a hundred or so in existence. My 69 Corvair Vert gets to inspire a lot of joy on people's faces. I have driven it about 3 K miles since getting it.

2012-02-06_16-19-11_851.jpg

I was into classic cars before pinball, but the hobby was causing me more stress than joy with the costs of restoration, repair and even gasoline. Not to mention that your entire investment (along with you) could be crushed in an instant by a brake failure or blown tire. It was fun, but even at it's best it wasn't as fun as pinball has been. I will probably get back into it later down the road, but for now I couldn't imagine selling out. It's getting too hard to find quality games around here and there's other things that would go to the block before pinball machines.

I get tempted occasionally..... Especially now that I'm 3 machines over capacity I keep considering what I want to do. I really only have room for 5 machines but now am at 8 with 3 currently in the garage.

Not sure what I'm going to do.... Unfortunately most are what I'd consider keepers...

Nope.

In fact I'm looking for a nice TOTAN or CV if anyone has one.

: )

Plan is to keep these things as long as I can still get around and meddle.

One of life's little pleasures.

That is a really nice line up.. That would be a hard decision to make.

Sell pins that is just crazy talk

jk thought about it once or twice on certain titles but like others the kid in me thinks.....
but no toys doesnt sound very fun. were would I get them again in this condition and how much it would cost.

I could see it getting old fast if I was a flipper and moving machines in and out on a regular basis, but I'm not and I don't.

Had I taken the $25k I have tied up in pins and brought Apple stock in 2008 I'd have about $150k. I could buy HEP versions of my 8 pins and still have $75k left over. Ok the math is a little off, I'd owe 15% tax on the gains, but this is pretty darn close to reality.

I guess you just have to follow your passion
when it gets old or no longer fun time to stop & take a good look around

I almost did in 09 when I bought a P.O.S Freddy and Street Fighter 2 from the Auction.. Freddy was Gutted on the Inside but was Powered On and lOOk-n like a beauty at the sale.. I got F'***d with out any Lube @ all.. The Seller caught Hell from me 2 week's later as soon as I found out who he was.. ( But , he's Dead now ) died of cancer and I sold the Pin's at 1/2 of what i paid for the 2.. I almost Retired !! Till a MB came up on C.List... I jumped Deep in again !!! Never regretted it !! Head-Keg_stone._1.JPG

i'm there , still looking, want cftbl, mb, mm , still undecided on wozec, will be storing anything else I find in the garage or getting rid of the pool table

BR nice tombstone; man if you gotta die do it in style =-)

Kind of what I did just decided to get back into the cheaper em's and selloff a couple of titles to get back into an MG