Pinball Seasons
- Thread starter IVPinball
- Start date
Yeah, it's usually cyclical, but usually now is a busy time of year... maybe something to do with limited supply these days?
Either that or most of the movement is going on behind the scenes between collectors? I know a lot of the active members on here talk a lot off-line.
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Either that or most of the movement is going on behind the scenes between collectors? I know a lot of the active members on here talk a lot off-line.
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It all starts here on the forums. The more people participate and contribute, the off-line usually follows. It's an active hobby, and the more people put in I find the more people get out of it. 
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CJBob
Active Member
I've only been doing this for a year but it seems logical that once we get into the winter there will be less machines switching hands simply because of the weather.
In addition everyone has a different definition of what a 'good title' is. Mine is most machines built between 1976 and 1980
In addition everyone has a different definition of what a 'good title' is. Mine is most machines built between 1976 and 1980
My definition of a good title is anything with flippers! LOL (of course there are varying degrees of good)
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Makes sense. I'm not much of a poster on forums, I do read a lot. I realize this doesn't make you "well known and respected" in the community, so to speak.It all starts here on the forums. The more people participate and contribute, the off-line usually follows. It's an active hobby, and the more people put in I find the more people get out of it.
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DRANO
Super Member
I collected quietly for many years and only went on forums to search out repair advice.
It wasn't until I started becoming more active about 4-5 years ago that I made real connections with other collectors, started going to events or getting invited over to play their machines and hang out. Some people join leagues or go to pinball shows. Whatever you prefer, the key is getting out there and getting to know people. I would estimate that 80% of pin deals are done off-line, if not more. That's a lot of traffic to be missing out on.
Yeah, it takes effort, but you can't expect something for nothing right?
As far as trends, here is what I notice.
Winter usually brings more listings because some guys feel it's a good time to sell for top dollar (Christmas shopping and all) but I also think you could argue that people are strapped this time of year and wouldn't have a lot of extra funds to spend.
I also see more selling in the spring and especially the weeks leading up to certain "purchasing" shows like Pinfest in Allentown. Guys either want some cash for spending money at the shows or just want to change things up. Summer seems to be a slow period only because people are on vacation and outdoors and not really thinking about their game rooms. That's usually done by the time folks start talking about Expo in October.
However, the off-line deals are pretty much year round and I have probably bought and sold 10-12 games this year alone.
Food for thought
Doug (Menace), CJBob (Bob) and Adriano (Drano) have pretty much covered everything.
My story isn't very different than Drano's. (I've only been in 1/2 the time Drano has been though)
Members like Walt (Brewmanager) brought me into the online World, then introduced me to Mike Wong, Menace, Monkeybug and Drano and it was game over. We traveled, participated, wrote, collected, fixed, bought, sold, played and most importantly met people all over in the hobby.
Personally, I don't have the same time anymore to travel anywhere at anytime to grab a game. For a very long time (3+ years of journey's, I did though) and wrote extensively about the process. The award for travel lately goes to Reg (Bigbossfan) and Jason (Williamsfan) who still travel the roads in pursuit of that next or last pin. Anytime, anywhere, and they are not alone in doing this. The point I am making is that they (and many of us) have and will travel anywhere to get that specific title that is wanted or desired.
The seasons of pinball certainly flow around exactly how Drano describes it. In ON/QC, a lot hinges around Mid-September activity and the gathering of many of us from Montreal, Toronto etc. congregating at the Ottawa pinball show. For eastern US travel, this same group of many of us from Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, London, Kitchener Waterloo, etc. all travel to Allentown PA in early May. These are shows where we can compete in competition, but also buy and sell and trade and pre-arrange pin purchases from new to project at this event.
All the best in participating. You will meet more of us at those 2 events than any others in the year. They are far enough apart that many people try to make those 2 events and plan their calendars around them. Get out to league play in our major areas listed above as another opportunity.
All the best.
My story isn't very different than Drano's. (I've only been in 1/2 the time Drano has been though)
Members like Walt (Brewmanager) brought me into the online World, then introduced me to Mike Wong, Menace, Monkeybug and Drano and it was game over. We traveled, participated, wrote, collected, fixed, bought, sold, played and most importantly met people all over in the hobby.
Personally, I don't have the same time anymore to travel anywhere at anytime to grab a game. For a very long time (3+ years of journey's, I did though) and wrote extensively about the process. The award for travel lately goes to Reg (Bigbossfan) and Jason (Williamsfan) who still travel the roads in pursuit of that next or last pin. Anytime, anywhere, and they are not alone in doing this. The point I am making is that they (and many of us) have and will travel anywhere to get that specific title that is wanted or desired.
The seasons of pinball certainly flow around exactly how Drano describes it. In ON/QC, a lot hinges around Mid-September activity and the gathering of many of us from Montreal, Toronto etc. congregating at the Ottawa pinball show. For eastern US travel, this same group of many of us from Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, London, Kitchener Waterloo, etc. all travel to Allentown PA in early May. These are shows where we can compete in competition, but also buy and sell and trade and pre-arrange pin purchases from new to project at this event.
All the best in participating. You will meet more of us at those 2 events than any others in the year. They are far enough apart that many people try to make those 2 events and plan their calendars around them. Get out to league play in our major areas listed above as another opportunity.
All the best.
DRANO
Super Member
Totally forgot about Ottawa. That show usually does shake loose a lot of FS/FT posts as we lead up to the event and people are eager to sell or buy. If you're in the GTA or southern Ontario, it's a great place to meet some of the Ottawa/MTL pinball crowd. You may not initially know who they are, but if you enter the tourney or just introduce yourself around a little, most people are generally happy to let you know who they are online. Once you start putting some faces to avatars, the rest is easy.
I (Ivar) played in Topl for a while and know quite a few people through there, but have no clue if they are on this site. I bought my first pinball machine 23 years ago back home in Holland. I've had a few different ones, although never the amounts that some of you guys have. I still own one of them from that time, shipped it to Canada....Banzai Run. Unfortunately, I don't have as much time as I'd like to spend on pinball. Otherwise I'd probably know more of you by now. It seems like a great community.
It is a great community here. Many of us do know each other.
We post and assist whenever we are able to. We try to encourage others to participate.
We post and assist whenever we are able to. We try to encourage others to participate.