About 3 weeks ago an ad popped up on the St.Louis C.L. for a Gottlieb Genesis for $185. I called and was the 2nd caller on the ad. The lady said she had a buyer already committed, but would give me the next shot if the deal falls through. I explained that I was from Chicago, but would gladly Paypal or send her the $ as I would be traveling through St. Louis over Memorial Day weekend and could pick it up either coming or going. She gave me the yeah, ok. I never heard back..... A Genesis is NOT a must have machine, but for the right price, I have been looking to pick one up and put one of those custom replacement translites in it. ( I did it in my Monte Carlo and it looks great!)

Fast forward to last week and the same ad pops back up and now it was for $300 for the same machine. Instead of calling, I just e-mailed and re-offered the $185. I get a e-mail that she states "Sorry I have a long list of people who want it. Let you know if someone doesnt take it." I e-mailed back and said "No offense, but I was the guy from Chicago who you said you would call if the 1st guy didn't take it. Obviously you are working from a different list"

About an hour later she e-mails with a long story of how the original buyer stood her up 3x, she must have listed it too cheap because she has been getting so many calls, she has too little time to deal with all of this, and that made a mistake as she tried to figure out my number and didn't know which one was mine.If it doesn't sell for the the $300 that she will get back to me.

I e-mailed back Don't bother! I called when it was $185, and offered to buy it for that without any hesitation. I also told her as soon as I identified myself as the guy from Chicago that she should have kept her to her word if it was an honest mistake that she couldn't figure out my number. I also told her that $115 must be worth more to her than her word, keep the machine. This was on Monday.

Fast forward to Thursday. I get an e-mail from her again and she says that she talked to her husband and he says she has to honor our deal! I get all of the stories of all of the calls, the buyer that stood her up again, and that she feels bad. I replied that I will coming through St. Louis on Friday around 10am and again around 2pm on Monday(yesterday). I hear nothing back on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday. Now I am thinking this is some wacko or a complete scam. Sunday comes and there is an e-mail that says come and get it Monday and an address. Ok, I have nothing to lose , I have to go through St. Louis anyway. My wife and I talk about it and agree if we show up and it's a crummy area, we don't even stop. Or maybe if we show up and we get there and no one knows what we are talking about. Well, it was a beautiful area and home. The game was in a walkout basement and in really nice condition. Only the right ramp had the typical cracks/damage, but repairable. It was obvious the game had not been played in a long time. The rubbers on the flippers were dry rotted and it had a blown fuse. Yes, really! "Just a fuse"! Packed it up and headed back to the Chicago area.

I saw Elvis in Memphis, played Texas Hold em in Tunica, and picked up a nice machine in St.Louis, got to call that a damn nice holiday trip!

I'll post a couple of pics later today.

Persistence? Maybe, but it really was a phone call and a few rounds of e-mails. When she said she had made a mistake with my number, but then I could have it if it doesn't sell for $300, I felt the need to call her out on that one. In a nice way, I was really telling her off with my "don't bother" reply. I never thought I would be coming home with this. When I got the "come and get it" e-mail on Sunday we really had nothing to lose at that point other than a 20 minute detour on our way home.

It did turn out good. And yes, I have been on the other end of bad C.L. deals too.

I am pretty sure the others here on Pinside and RGP tried to get their hands on this machine as well. For that price they had to.