Buy the one you can afford the most... you can find anything at any price, but would you want to buy a pin that you have to apologize forever for to your fellow pinheads? I had a friend buy a 8 Ball Champ and had to apologize for ever that he should have done his homework and got something deeper and with multiball and paid less for it. At the time he payed $1500 for a $550 valued (or less) machine from a vendor/op who saw him coming. My brother bought a Black Knight for $200 (it needed a little love) and I got a fully working Pinbot for $750 back in '91 about 6 months later. We never let him live it down.

Do not underestimate the power of a good older pin to keep you amused for several months to several years depending on your skill. At some point, you have to consider you have “conquered” a title, and it is time to move on. This gets to the point of jacking the back legs, opening the outlanes, and tightening up your tilts. Because, lets face it, when you get your first one, you tighten up your outlanes, take the tilt plumb bob off, and accidentally put the front legs on the back of the cabinet. Not that I have ever done any of those things myself <cough cough> But some older pins are more desirable from the “really rounds out the selection” choice when you walk up to your lineup. Like Taxi, Pinbot, Diner, Cyclone, Comet, Swords of Fury, FirePower, xenon, High Speed, Black Knight... these all have some staying power and are a great place to start a collection on the low side of the market. They are not deep, but great for a quick satisfying game which every collection should have at least one of.