Hi all,

I've been lurking around here the past couple of months but finally figured I'd introduce myself. I just moved from Livermore to Oakdale and finally have a home big enough to accommodate a pin. I haven't played much since I was a teen but I've always wanted to get a machine as I remember a lot of fun times playing machines around the T2 era. Anyhow I'm a big tinkerer and my research has revealed this is a very tinker friendly hobby. Does anyone know if it'd be possible to pick up a fun pin in good working order but common enough to get parts for easily enough if I decide to do any upgrades/repairs to it later for between about 1k/2k and if so what pins should I look for? The wife is my biggest obstacle as she has never played pins before and thinks I'm being stupid. My hope is she'll like it enough to allow me indulge my interests in the future

Anyhow the board looks to be an invaluable resource and I look forward to being here.

Thanks,
Stephan

Hi all, thanks for the warm welcome. I'll probably take you guys up on a visit to check out some pins once we get settled, I'm looking forward to sampling some machines and getting into it. I've been watching craigslist and the pinside market and I'll check the official California pin trade thread as someone suggested. I'll definitely look for input from the group before making a decision on one that grabs my interest.

Is the pricing information on pinside fairly accurate? So far most of the pins I've been seeing are higher, not sure if that's people leaving haggling room or if the numbers here are off. I saw this Stargate which I haven't actually played before but it seems to have good reviews and I am a fan of the film/tv show:

sfbay.craigslist.org link

Hi folks,

I had a member reach out to me via pm and sold me a clean Stargate for a lot less than I saw on craigslist. He was a very pleasant gentleman like most pinsiders seem to be and allowed me to preview his pins and discussed restorations/repairs a bit with me. Anyhow I have pin number 1 under my belt now and am looking forward to enjoying many hours with it. Thanks so much for the advice and patience with a newbie and I hope everyone has a great Christmas and New Year.

Regards,
Stephan