I actually did just that to get my first (and only so far) machine. I sold off most of my action figure collection, some comic books, statues, and all sort of other stuff I'd collected over the years. Made more than enough to get my beautiful HUO RCT that I got for $2,500!

Best decision ever! It's AWESOME to watch the total go up up up as you get closer and closer to the pin you want. I had a blast doing it. I liked all that crap I sold, but I LOVE my pinball machine! I don't miss that stuff at all now, and I play my pin every day.

Good luck!

I totally get you, and I was really sentimental about my collections for a long time too. I think for me it was that owning my own pinball machine was basically the coolest thing ever, so I looked at it like I was trading those hobbies for this one. I think budget will factor in too. I couldn't afford a pin without selling stuff off. If I had had the cash for the pin, I wouldn't have sold anything.

Maybe where you live the games on route are in good shape, but around here most pins in the wild are pretty trashed. There are definitely some places to go where they keep pins in good shape, but they are few and far between for sure!