(Topic ID: 232663)

How did you expand your collection?

By VillaThrills

5 years ago


Topic Heartbeat

Topic Stats

  • 14 posts
  • 13 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 5 years ago by Mitch
  • No one calls this topic a favorite

You

Linked Games

No games have been linked to this topic.

    Topic poll

    “How do you build your collection”

    • Just buy what I like to play 41 votes
      67%
    • Plan it out by machine play type (fast, long, deep rules) so you don’t get bored 3 votes
      5%
    • Plan it out to get a little for everyone (easy, hard, music, theme, funny) 3 votes
      5%
    • Get a little from all generations of pinball 14 votes
      23%

    (Multiple choice - 61 votes by 59 Pinsiders)

    #1 5 years ago

    I just shuffled the game room around and have room for one more pin. But I also created a new space out of a large storage room that should have room for another 3 maybe 4 pins. So the question is, did you plan exactly what you wanted in a collection? Did you just start grabbing ones you wanted to try?

    For instance, I am interested in an AFM LE but I would think that we would get bored with it as we like complex rules in our games. However for the casual player coming over it would be a great game to have as many of mine will either kick your butt or be ridiculously hard to comprehend the rules. Do you ever get games that are mostly for others to enjoy?

    So how do you plan your collection?

    #2 5 years ago

    I started by buying what ever I could find cheap - fixed those up one at a time - then as I got them finished played them and decided what I liked and what should get sold. After a few years the collection was totally paid for with money from buying & selling other machines.

    I never look for specific titles - I just buy stuff that is selling below current market value and keep changing out the collection as I find machines I like better than the ones we currently own. That "ride" will be coming to an end shortly after buyer & selling over 300 machines and now have about a dozen we really like in the collection. I'll still be working with parts machines but no more buying & selling machines for me after the last few are finally sold off.

    When you look for specific titles it seems you tend to overpay for what you buy. When you buy with is "cheap" or what is being sold under market value you can always trade up and most of the time make a few dollars in the process. Lots of different machines will always be more fun then just picking a few in my eyes!

    #3 5 years ago

    Most have come via purchases when a good deal pops up locally, but I have gone out of my way to acquire one or two from the wish list when the opportunity presented itself.

    #4 5 years ago

    Get AFM LE. It's awesome! If you get bored of it you might as well find another hobby.

    QSS

    #5 5 years ago

    I buy whatever I can find close within my budget, I want LOTS of games.

    #6 5 years ago

    I like a variety. Don't automatically dismiss simple games though, because they tend to be the most addictive. I would press start all night on an Eight Ball Deluxe but might only play one game of Lord of The Rings. Both games are awesome but EBD has that one more game factor. Pinball also has so many great eras, it's a shame to limit yourself. Experiment and have fun. You can always sell something you don't like.

    #7 5 years ago
    Quoted from too-many-pins:

    I started by buying what ever I could find cheap - fixed those up one at a time - then as I got them finished played them and decided what I liked and what should get sold. After a few years the collection was totally paid for with money from buying & selling other machines.
    I never look for specific titles - I just buy stuff that is selling below current market value and keep changing out the collection as I find machines I like better than the ones we currently own. That "ride" will be coming to an end shortly after buyer & selling over 300 machines and now have about a dozen we really like in the collection. I'll still be working with parts machines but no more buying & selling machines for me after the last few are finally sold off.
    When you look for specific titles it seems you tend to overpay for what you buy. When you buy with is "cheap" or what is being sold under market value you can always trade up and most of the time make a few dollars in the process. Lots of different machines will always be more fun then just picking a few in my eyes!

    So far that is how I had started. I have made money on everything I have bought and sold. Then JJP POTC came along and screwed that whole plan up. Lol. Oh well, hopefully that one doesn’t leave the collection.

    #8 5 years ago

    I just buy whatever project pins I can find cheap & build my collection that way. I like the repair aspect as much (if not more) than playing them. One of these days I will get around to selling them off & getting some of my grail list pins - though I have found a few great players just buying projects. Embryon, Seawitch, Old Chicago, & High hand - would be tough to sell these.

    #9 5 years ago
    Quoted from dasvis:

    I just buy whatever project pins I can find cheap & build my collection that way.

    Same here. I'm always on the hunt for a good bargain

    #10 5 years ago

    First and foremost...money truly dictates all. If I were rich with a mansion, I would own 100+ pins and wouldnt think anything of it. I am not rich, so I get what I can afford. I dont have any "top 10" pins because I can't currently afford them.

    I have 4 machines that are all lower priced. I tried to get local pins...at the right price...that I could afford. One of them is a project and the other 3 work well. I will try to fix them up (and keep them up) as nicely as I can. I may sell or trade down the line, when I am ready, to afford other pins.

    I noticed that you have the JJP pirates of the Caribbean. That is easily one of my favorite pins ever made. If you can afford $8,000 machines...then get whatever you like.

    If this is about building a collection that others can enjoy as well, I would recommend getting machines from various eras and with varying themes. If you have enough space, uou can include tons of variety.

    #11 5 years ago

    When I first started it was all about chasing local deals and doing 16 hour driving trips across Australia for bulk deals on multiple machines.

    It was not uncommon to pick up a 15+ machine haul consisting of at least a couple of TAF/TZ/IJ and then selling the surplus to requirements but I never got my collection above 35 machines at any stage doing it that way. Too much effort for too little payoff.

    These days most of those kinds of finds are few and far between or the ones who still do exist have discovered the internet and think they are sitting on their retirement fund and whatever few you got would likely be bundled with at least one EM clunker with missing parts and shot boards.

    Most of the expansion to my collection has come in the last few years and is now primarily through container importing in bulk from overseas sources. The distance may have increased from those 16 hour driving trips but the selection available is far greater than what is available down under and in most cases for far better pricing.

    #12 5 years ago

    More than half of my pins have been in the "too good of a price to pass up" category, but weren't necessarily on my wanted list. However, I probably should have passed on some of them considering the time and money they ended up needing. The ones I was specifically looking for (and paid close to market price for in good condition): LOTR, TSPP, GB, and GnR. I was also specifically looking for RBION, but got it below market.

    None of the poll selections really work for me, but to try to better answer the original question, I'm trying to flesh out my collection with games from each "era" (I even have a 1940 flipperless Short Stop, but it's a long way from ever (not?) "flipping" again). However, even with my new game room, I can only fit about half my current collection.

    #13 5 years ago

    Mine just grew without a real plan. But I like games from all different eras and styles. So it ended up being a combination of all sorts of different styles. My Tron is right next to Stars. BSD is right next to 4 Square. And they all get along.

    #14 5 years ago
    Quoted from too-many-pins:

    I started by buying what ever I could find cheap - fixed those up one at a time - then as I got them finished played them and decided what I liked and what should get sold. After a few years the collection was totally paid for with money from buying & selling other machines.
    I never look for specific titles - I just buy stuff that is selling below current market value and keep changing out the collection as I find machines I like better than the ones we currently own. That "ride" will be coming to an end shortly after buyer & selling over 300 machines and now have about a dozen we really like in the collection. I'll still be working with parts machines but no more buying & selling machines for me after the last few are finally sold off.
    When you look for specific titles it seems you tend to overpay for what you buy. When you buy with is "cheap" or what is being sold under market value you can always trade up and most of the time make a few dollars in the process. Lots of different machines will always be more fun then just picking a few in my eyes!

    I did the exact thing.

    Reply

    Wanna join the discussion? Please sign in to reply to this topic.

    Hey there! Welcome to Pinside!

    Donate to Pinside

    Great to see you're enjoying Pinside! Did you know Pinside is able to run without any 3rd-party banners or ads, thanks to the support from our visitors? Please consider a donation to Pinside and get anext to your username to show for it! Or better yet, subscribe to Pinside+!


    This page was printed from https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/how-did-you-expand-your-collection and we tried optimising it for printing. Some page elements may have been deliberately hidden.

    Scan the QR code on the left to jump to the URL this document was printed from.