Face Book Groups
Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2026 12:44 pmUnfortunately, the participation/activity level of this forum has declined sharply over past couple of years.
May be due to the passing of a couple of serious collectors, but, IMO, it is largely due to the numerous coin-op groups on FaceBook, which are largely crap (again IMO).
I find the FB groups are mostly a waste of time because:
- many posts consider "vintage" to be anything over 5 years old,
- FB "experts" are anything but; although I'm aware of a few legitimate experts (whom I recognize from this Forum and COCA) do sometimes contribute to those groups, much of the FB expert advice is often misleading or outright wrong, and it mostly goes un-clarified or corrected.
- Much of the posts on FB are too short/brief to properly answer a question or add to the discussion,
- Most FB group members are unconcerned with originality or proper restoration; amateur restorers will post a machine with an incorrect restoration, but as long as it looks OK, all the newbies in the group are led to believe it's museum quality,
- Bogus, fake, and fantasy machines are accepted as equals to an all original machine.
My New Year's resolution; stay off FB (unless somebody can direct me to a FB group that takes mechanical slot machine/trade stimulator history, originality, and restoration seriously).
May be due to the passing of a couple of serious collectors, but, IMO, it is largely due to the numerous coin-op groups on FaceBook, which are largely crap (again IMO).
I find the FB groups are mostly a waste of time because:
- many posts consider "vintage" to be anything over 5 years old,
- FB "experts" are anything but; although I'm aware of a few legitimate experts (whom I recognize from this Forum and COCA) do sometimes contribute to those groups, much of the FB expert advice is often misleading or outright wrong, and it mostly goes un-clarified or corrected.
- Much of the posts on FB are too short/brief to properly answer a question or add to the discussion,
- Most FB group members are unconcerned with originality or proper restoration; amateur restorers will post a machine with an incorrect restoration, but as long as it looks OK, all the newbies in the group are led to believe it's museum quality,
- Bogus, fake, and fantasy machines are accepted as equals to an all original machine.
My New Year's resolution; stay off FB (unless somebody can direct me to a FB group that takes mechanical slot machine/trade stimulator history, originality, and restoration seriously).