I discovered commercial thread cones a while ago. I was given a few by a friend. Now I only use the little retail spools if I need to match a color or something. The giant cones are just more convenient to me. I built a wooden thread stand to use them with. Very simple and it works well.
I suppose there should be a point to this post. I don't worry too much about the spool pins on machines or whether I need to lift the lid or not. I don't use a spool pin that much anymore.
Rodney