I have had a longstanding battle with bridge pins in my acoustic, and I feel like I've never really understood how they work. For instance, if I don't really push them down securely into the bridge, they just pop back up as I'm tuning up. But then if I get them in enough to where they 'stick' in the bridge, it's hard to get them up, and it's not uncommon for me to need a pair of needlenose pliers to get some of them out. Even now, my high E string bridge pin is popping up above the others, but it seems secure, so I've left it. Due to all of this pushing and pulling, the pins themselves get pretty beat up, both at the top and on the bottom, where the ball end of the string is contacting the pins.

Am I missing something on how to secure the string in the bridge of an acoustic? I think I must be, so I'm asking for advice on how you guys deal with it. Are there better bridge pins out there than the chinsy plastic ones that are so common? Are they worth it? Any and all help would be appreciated.