In the past year I've had 4 machines.
BF - bought off an OP. Sat on CL for a couple weeks. Negotiated them down to 2200 due to burn in on the display.
JP - 1150 from a local collector. Total project aka only had GI on power on. DMD was known to be good.
PM - Messaged by a collector on here out of the blue because it was in my wishlist.
RBION - Held my BF for trade. Caught a lot of flack, but ended up with a straight off route rbion and 150 in cash.

That is just me. I have friends who have gone through many more machines in the last year. You have to have the money on hand. Know the collectors in your area. Be prepared to drive. Be flexible in what titles you will take. Once you have something desirable, leverage it to get exactly what you want. Oh, and be prepared to get a lot of time wasters. Only thing holding me back from buying more machines are funds.

No what is bad is when your funds are tired up for the foreseeable future. I have two titles I want that are desirable and worth a fair chunk of change. In the old days I would shop them out and then trade/sell for a deal. It is hard to sit back and accept that you cannot for several months while you get your finances in order for the next machine.

You might need therapy and to listen to your friends when they say don't buy it. At the same time you don't keep your pins folded up in a barn, well maybe one. Your machines mechanically stand up to anyone's. It is something that cannot be said of a lot of the *high end* collections that people like to talk about.

What do you mean no one in their 20's grew up with pinball? I am 28 and played in arcades untill they closed in the early 2000's. The girls I've dated who were 22+ have known what pinball machines are so I think you are off a generation.

The majority of 30's, 40's, etc chose not to by it now. We are a niche community even if our numbers are growing.

Art is in the eye of the beholder.

What pinballs are is massive. They require a large amount of space for each machine. They are incredibly complex. They require both electrical and mechanical knowledge to maintain. They are not cheap to maintain. Shop jobs require an inordinate amount of time which many do not have nor want to do. Also, they are not fun when broken and a single switch not working can ruin a game.

These are all hurdles to people who are fans to begin with. Now try to convince someone who has never played them much.

Remember to be realistic about your expectations. This hobby will always remain a niche due to cost, space, time, and skills required.