I disagree. I've been collecting for awhile and could care less about pinball as a collectible. I just like playing them. I repair games to help finance other games and also to spread affordable games to other people. I could care less about condition as long as the machine plays well. The people you're describing are probably the ones that suck at playing and collect just to collect something and have no real passion towards the game.

Ya but your not right.

What stage am I in if I started making coffee tables out of all of them?

Stage-3 junkie checking in to confirm this account is accurate. I'm looking forward to becoming a snobbish collector that hordes NOS parts.

I'm very happy I got through my "buy everything that isn't nailed down" phase when I was in the arcade hobby, so I knew not to do that once I switched over to pinball.

Stage 7 is divorce....

I think all of this can be summarized into the early stages, and there is a long way to go to get to any stage 6...like another 10 years.

I found in my first 5 years I was anal, and wiping down games and worried about nudging etc. my games are virtually all collector quality or HUO (I opened the box). I am not worried in the slightest if people nudge or put a finger print on it...woop de do. I have a couple games that are in need of a simple repair.....I will get to it when I get to it.

I have been through many stages
Buying old
Buying new
Only Williams
Only stern
Collecting all the system 80's kick
System 1 kick
System 11 kick
Under rated stern kick
Having EM row
Went crazy on degas and data east
Collecting all of the "A" titles I could find
Getting a building specifically to set up pinball
Buying a container or broken games
Selling 80% of my entire collection at once, just so I could start the thrill of the search all over again
Buying all new Sterns, with the exception of a few (JJP)
Now going back again and buying some Williams games I am missing, and selling Sterns
Also going for all the new boutique games AMH, MMRLE

I am now in the stage that pinball is part of my life....not my whole life. I haven't played a game this week, but I did build some mods!

What stage are you in if you have three games in a home office, all look perfect but need work, two standing on end in the garage and 15 more with extra new ramps, cleared repo or repaired PFs, rubbers, LEDs, mods and toppers in a storage unit awaiting construction of the dream mancave?

This part of stage 4 is where I'm at and it took a little over two years to get there, However it has been another two years since then.

Stage 5

- Owns almost all or most of the machines he ever wanted

I actually went thru this part of stage 5 before Stage 4 and now most of the games I own weren't any of those but i still have a few.

I think some of that 2003 assessment is still accurate.

But the 2010s saw a big influx of "big money" guys, so the new list would look something like ...

1/ I bought a big house with a games room. Better put something in there

2/ I've ordered the pool table... I really liked playing Addams Family when I was at University, I think I'll get one of those.

3/ I saw several top 100 pinball machine lists on the Internet, I will start right at the top and work down from there. Lists on the Internet are always cool, and I really want to buy the best so I can show my buddies.

4/ I tracked down a Medival Madness ...or is it Medieval, I can't remember. But I want one bad, cause it's number one on the list I read on the Internet. The guy had it for years and he didn't want to sell it. So I offered him $15,000 and he helped me load it up. I just had to have it. It's number 1 for a reason.

5/ I've got all the top 5 pinball machines on that list now. Everything else is shit. Those old cheap machines, who'd even want them? I play them sometimes when the guys come around. I figured out the glass slides out, you don't need to take off the metal things on the sides. I paid a guy to come around and clean them all, and he installed some LED lights. The ones he had weren't bright enough so I had him order some super bright ones. They light up the whole room. Looks super mean.

6/ Wife hates this big house, we are downsizing. Guess I better get rid of these machines. Don't play them much now anyway. I just bought a new Hellcat, it's got 700hp and everyone looks at me. I sit at the lights and blip the throttle. It's really sweet.

rd

I have gotten to the point that I like to work on them and fix them up more than play them. I watch and spectate at league. I never play at league gatherings, and I don't see myself ever doing that. I got to the point I had 5 and realized that wasn't my style; I am happy with 3, and with a new home coming, am looking to expand to 4 down the road. I've hit that point that just because I have more room does NOT mean I have to saturate it with more machines. Sometimes, less is more.

YMMV.

Many DMD games would be better suited as raised planter beds. Now I'll just exit stage left.

I basically buy anything that's cheap, looks decent or reparable, is unique or interesting in some way, and grab any spare parts that I think I might be able to use. I really need to stop buying and focus more on repairing--but I can't pass up a bargain!

I just hauled another game home today. And of all the fuses I have in my parts area, I don't have a 3/8 Amp slow-blow fuse to replace the blown one for the DMD display. But--I have a couple of nice spare DMDs

Ah, stage 5.

Collected all through the decades.

Settled on 50's pre 1955.

Only have less than 5 games on wishlist from 1952 - 1997 and they need to be mint!

Rotordave is right, a new category of collector surfaced in the mid-2000s - the NIB Stern collector. They're not into maintenance, but they *are* into over-modding games with too-bright LEDs and toppers.

Personally I've gone through all those stages multiple times, including container buys. It's still a great hobby even though I can't afford it anymore!

I seem to be straddling several of these stages. I've retained my absolute amazement that I can own games and have them in my house. If a switch is out, the game is out of service. I usually wait for two or three games to have an issue before having a repair day of fixing them up. I own games from all different eras. However, and this is important... The day I won't own or play a game because of this...

image.jpg

...then I'll just sell them all. What matters is that a game is fun. That game is in my living room right now, and it will be here for at least a few more months.

The progression doesn't have to go towards someone that no longer has fun in pinball. And that is why I don't like this listing of stages. It seems like the ending stages don't enjoy the hobby. Sure, I have some nice games. HUO, and I have my share of nice lights and mods. But I also have games that a lot of people consider beaters. And I'll tell you, I still have as much fun on them as any game I own.

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