Growing pains or contractions?

[pinsanity]

How many pinball collectors* are there in Australia?

*Collector : A person who has at least one functioning pinball machine set up in their house/shed/garage.

Vote and discuss.

[skywalker]

Well this is a guesstimate maybe1K +/-
Still a very niche hobby but it is growing 

[skywalker]

Now you think about it, With all the imports that have come in the last 10 years these pins must be hiding somewhere 

[Crashramp]

Well I know 4 people in Albury-Wodonga (population 106,000) with machines. Current population of Australia is 22,680,000 so if Albury-Wodonga is the average (and in the unlikely event that I know everyone with a pinball in my town) then 22,680,000 divided by 106,000 and then multiplied by 4 (the number of known pinball owners in town) then there are 855.85 pinball collectors in the country. Problem officially solved!   

[Cursed]

I am with mr. ramp, i would think close to but just under 1000.

Maybe that should be on the next census form?

Do you own more than one functioning pinball?

If you answered no, Why not? 

[Marty Machine]

I'd say there's more than likely ZERO pinny collectors....

Perhaps re-phrase the term "collector" in the poll as it really suggests someone who runs around 'collecting' machines for a hobby (like all collectors in many hobbies do).
This is completely different to an "enthusiasts" or "owners" who would buy machine(s) to restore/play & enjoy as a hobby.....2 VERY different terms indeedy.  

Many of us on here own 1 machine or 20 machines, it doesn't really make us collectors, we're owners and thats about it.

I own 5 guitars, 7 valve radios, a few bikes and various numbers of other stuff, but at no point am i a "collector" of any of those items...I simply own them for a purpose/use and that's about it

MM

[Strangeways]

The definition of a "Collector" is someone who has multiple machines, not just one that is functioning. I own a working bike, but I have no interest in collecting them. A collector is someone who could own all the Gottliebs from 1975-1980. That person actively "collects" games Working or not. A person who has one working game is an "owner".

I'd say there would be around 5000 pinball owners in Australia. Easily 10,000 games have been imported over the last 10-12 years.

I'd estimate only 200-300 would be collectors. Most collectors I know don't have an online presence.

[oldskool1969]

I am not a COLLECTOR
I am a HUMAN BEING

 

[Marty Machine]

The definition of a "Collector" is someone who has multiple machines, not just one that is functioning. I own a working bike, but I have no interest in collecting them. A collector is someone who could own all the Gottliebs from 1975-1980. That person actively "collects" games Working or not. A person who has one working game is an "owner".

I'd say there would be around 5000 pinball owners in Australia. Easily 10,000 games have been imported over the last 10-12 years.

I'd estimate only 200-300 would be collectors. Most collectors I know don't have an online presence.

A Collector is someone who ACTIVELY COLLECTS, based on a particular brand, style, age group etc....they search to complete the set of a certain requirement, like collecting only woodrails, or only bally's, or only space-themed games etc etc.

Having 20 pinnies (or even 500) doesn't make someone a collector as such, they simply have those machines coz theyre fun to play or hold childhood memories etc....
At 1 stage i had 14 pins which is a lot more than most people, but i still wasnt a collector, i was an enthusiast/owner and that's all it is.....only 2-3 years later i sold most of them, which is something collectors & hoarders simply can't do.

I welcome anyone to research the psychology of collecting and find that there are BIG differences between owners, collectors and hoarders. But too many people continue to blur the definitions by sheer misunderstanding of the terms.

p.s. i've been studying it myself for several years based on other interests outside of pinny's

Anyhoo.....

[Marty Machine]

I am not a COLLECTOR
I am a HUMAN BEING

 

....remains to be proven 

[pinsanity]

I guess I have opened up a can of worms. 


My thoughts...

Enthusiast - someone who has a passing interest in something but does not progress to the next level of actual ownership. EG: A pinball enthusiast may throw a coin into a sited machine or attend a pinball meet but despite having the disposable income/space to own one chooses not to.

Collector - someone who makes an actual purchase of a machine to house in their home/shed/garage and maintains it in working order for personal (or others) enjoyment and. It may be one, it may be 1000 - the only restriction being space or disposable income for that individual. The fact that someone has actively sought out to purchase a non-mainstream product like a pinball machine to put in their home (as opposed to a bike) makes them a collector in my mind. 

Hoarder - someone who purchases for the sake of purchasing and due to an unrelated disorder cannot sell/dispose of anything, pinball machines or other.

Maybe the poll question needs to be polled? 

[Marty Machine]

I guess I have opened up a can of worms.  
My thoughts...

Collector - someone who makes an actual purchase of a machine to house in their home/shed/garage and maintains it in working order for personal (or others) enjoyment and. It may be one, it may be 1000 - the only restriction being space or disposable income for that individual. The fact that someone has actively sought out to purchase a non-mainstream product like a pinball machine to put in their home (as opposed to a bike) makes them a collector in my mind.  

if thats your interpretation of a collector, you go with it....but you're wrong ;-)
I buy a LOT of non-mainstream products, it still doesn't mean i'm a collector, i buy them coz i have a use or get entertainment from them, it's still not "collecting"

Anyhoo...

[ssspl]

My 2c

An enthusiast - someone who plays often and may or may not have a few pins at home. If they have a game, probably would be kept in great condition.

A collector, someone who buys for a reason and has several ie more than say 3 pins, all chosen for specific reasons other than just being pinnies. Ie AFM, CFTBL, STNG, TRON, BoP, so they're all Sci fi (ish), in my book they're collecting Sci Fi themed pinnies. This person would spend money on upkeep.

Hoarder, someone who has many pins with no common theme and by definition does not do a top job maintaining them (like a collector would). Hoarding tends to be a bit aimless and fetishlike... ! Hoarders might also be deemed to be a collector of Pinnies in general, but a hoarder would not in my book invest much money and effort in their upkeep. Thye just have them because they want them.

All hoarders should be shot on sight and their games returned to the market. 

[Toads]

I'll never forget when I bought my second pin the first thing a friend said to me was congratulations your now a collector.

[Caveoftreasures]

I think a collector is someone who has purchased multiple machines over a continuing period with the aim to buy more pins as time goes on to grow the collection.
A collector would also have at least a very good to excellent understanding of the pinball industry, its past and its present, as well as future and upcoming events perhaps.

Then u have to ask what is a serious collector. That's another entirely different story but might be categorised by someone who has spent more on pinballs than say the cost of a brand new family motor vehicle etc. (theres no right or wrong answer to these assumptions but just a general guess as to what most serious collectors might agree or sympathise with).

A collector or serious collector would have a collection of spare parts, manuals, posters,flyers and an aim to continue building/buying/restoring in this pinball hobby. Maybe someone might think that three or more machines might make the start of a collection.
Maybe a serious collector could be deemed to have more than a dozen pinnys.
Even half a dozen brand new Sterns at 7 grand each represent an almost fifty thousand dollar spend. I would call that serious.

A collector could also be categorised as someone who has pinballs as their main hobby and main thing in life they spend their spare/expendable cash on.

So many different ways to look at it. I wonder what others think a serious collector is, if even a basic collector is a hard one to nail down.......

good topic.

(also, I reckon there are probably less than 250 people in Australia I would deem to be a pinball collector, and les than 50 to 75 serious collectors).

If the "My Collection" section of Aussie Pinball was cleaned up/made with May 2014 figures, gathered by present day emails to current members to get real figures, that would help a lot, same with the other pinball forum, but the collection stats and lists are over 5 yrs old n very not up to date....food for thought.....