I was referring to the choad who was not brave enough for a cash sale. Man I really need to post less and just stick to hard hard drugs…

Just to play devils advocate… a cash transaction isn’t 100% safe either. There’s always a chance you get handed a stack of fake bills!

Whenever I sell I expect cash ain't worth getting ripped off with these online methods.

Get a bill tester pen.

LTG : )

You guys are overthinking it. Just get their name and address and do a background check.

Wire transfers can be cancelled weeks after you've received the funds and your bank says the funds have cleared. For me it's cash only in person. If I need to ship a pin they can mail me USPS Postal Money Orders. Once I've cashed the money orders, I'll release the pin to a shipping company. You cash the USPS money orders in person with your id. They don't get your banking info, so it can't be reversed. If they cancel the money order after they mail it, I won't be able to cash it, and they won't get my pin. Then I'll contact the Postal Inspector and let them know that the Buyer used the Post Office to facilitate a crime.

I’m convinced that if you survey people (not pinsiders, but the population in general), if it’s safe to take $10k cash to a stranger to buy a pinball machine, you’d get broad consensus that it’s completely reckless.

If you get assaulted and robbed, the typical reaction would be “WTF were you *thinking*”. I guarantee you that.

You are in a bubble if you truly think this is safe and common sense.

Zelle does NOT insure payments, don't use it for large transactions with strangers. Venmo does insure payments and has your back if you wanted to go digital. But the IRS will want to track and count as income all these sales.

Stay off the grid, cash is king.

This works for someone buying a pin that I will ship to them. What has worked great for me is to get them to get a bank check from a bank that is also local to me that I DONT have an account. I receive the check and cash it at that bank. It is their check so they can validate it and give me the money. You may pay a small fee to cash it but it is irreversible and should get non-counterfeit bills.

The general population, on the whole, are not particularly bright.

4 hour round trip is not my definition of “local pickup” but your sarcasm is showing again…

Neither are the people who think it’s a good idea to show up at a stranger’s house with so much money. It may not be a lot to you or me but for some it’s way enough to risk a violent crime.

ANYTHING aboot pinball they wouldn't know or give a shit. Why would we care what "normies" think?

I’ll save you the time and give the Cliff’s Notes version: cash on the glass. Pick up in person. Send another Pinsider if out of state to inspect the game. Only acceptable digital transaction is a bank transfer.

These machines are getting so pricey that an escrow service makes sense. Safe for both, buyer and seller.

This. Exactly.

Just dropped in to count how many times “cash is king” was said.

Kind of disappointing so far

The bond 60th thread is filled with people saying “show a picture of a home JP and a bond 60th to random person on the street and see which one they think is worth more!!!!”

The answer will be “get the Hell away from you fuckin weirdo!”

Build up a Pinside reputation over time and only do PayPal gift payments along the way. This Motordome owner is years away from hanging with the big boys

Yes, it’s stupid to show up at some stranger‘s door with $10k to buy anything, but that’s not what’s really happening here. What’s the odds that some guy who lives in a nice house, has a good job, family, LinkedIn profile, has been on Pinside for years… and is selling a $10k pinball machine is going to violently rob you in his house. Bet you’re more likely to be robbed or seriously injured visiting a major city or driving with nuts on the freeway. What’s reckless is not using common sense and doing your due diligence.

Your not wrong. Why you were downvoted makes no sense. Transactions over $600 will be taxed if you sell something like on eBay.

If you have a good banking relationship they can adjust your maximums on a “one time” basis for this. They flip a switch at their end, you do the transfer, buyer accepts and they flip the switch back to normal. I’ve done larger numbers many times on this basis. As you note, once accepted it is irrevocable so best be certain you want to proceed before you click “send” on it.

EXACTLY!! Due diligence is the key.

Can you please explain the circumstance under which a wire transfer can be recalled weeks later?

Exactly. I've looked at numerous pinballs over the years. Too many to count. And I only felt somewhat nervous maybe...maybe...once or twice tops. But I also took another legally armed friend with me on those rare occasions to lessen the likelihood of any wrongdoing. And there weren't any problems. If you are going to a decent neighborhood and the house is in reasonably decent shape, you're not getting robbed there. Some back alley or slum - that might be different.

I always take cash, because it is the only method of payment that no normal person turns down. Lots of people don't trust checks from strangers, or some on-line payment method that can be reversed for all kinds of reasons. People think postal money orders are safe but I have had several post offices refuse to cash a postal money order for me because they thought it was a fake. Apparently that's a thing. Modern currency has so many anti-counterfeit features that bad bills are usually pretty easy to spot. I also have a pen that I swipe any questionable bills with.

As far as I'm concerned, if I don't know you, you are paying me with cash, or you are not buying my machine. Simple.

I had a big-time operator come over to buy several pins from me at once. The guy paid in almost all ones....

No joke. We put it out to count on the table, and it looked like a scene from Scarface.

Cash only. Maybe partial zelle for well-vetted buyers.

For the casual buyer not familiar or comfortable with large cash purchases you could use an escrow service. Sort of a hassle, but if that's what it takes to get the deal done it may be worth it as a compromise.

Wtf? One $ bills? A strip club operator

Man that is rough

If you're buying a game from a person and you are afraid they might rob you if you carry cash....maybe you shouldn't be dealing with this person in the first place? Just a thought.

We've established that you're not going to be buying much pinball I think.

Meanwhile I've been in the hobby for years, picked up and sold loads of games, both mine and for friends, and I don't even own a gun.

Nobody I know in this hobby, and I know quite a lot, has ever been robbed trying to buy a pinball.

Use a little common sense, and be a little less afraid of the world.

Is getting violently jumped during a pinball transaction something that happens on the regular? I’m guessing not. Since its a pretty poorly thought out way to rob someone given the amount of pms, texts etc required to set it up. Also seems like it would relatively easy to prosecute and not worth the risk.

This.

uhh... no. An amusement operator, with lots of DBAs and therefore lots of $1s. But I like your default thought haha

It's happened once 3 years ago, but it's also the only incident I've ever heard of.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/northeast-us-for-sale-thread/page/323#post-5563784

The person involved later shared his account of the incident, but I can't seem to find it right now. I'm not sure if it was a post here, one of the facebook groups, or in a podcast.

Not ideal but as long as they bring s bill counter with them; had it happen to me on a game.

yep... money pulled straight from games, never hit the books.

1. Cash is fine

2. The seller sets the terms of payment. If you want PayPal, whatever…

3. As a seller, I take cash or wire transfer.

4. I have no problem walking away from a game, or the sale of a game, that the other party and I can’t agree on method of payment. Life is too short.

It's amazing ,in general how many people today don't carry any cash these day's
for anything

I was behind a person once and they bought a box of toothpicks(nothing else)...with a credit card

not sure the reason(crime, new math?) but do see some convenience with plastic

Yeah, I mean shit happens. You could be hit by a car on the way to pick up a game.

I don't live my life taking stupid risks (anymore, I was a teenager once) but I'm not afraid to leave my house.

And really, when else can you feel like Pablo Escobar for a brief moment?

IMG_6771 (resized).JPG

It was a riveting account on the Kaneda show!

Two guys from Long Island drove to albany with $25k or so to buy a bunch of “cheap but not too cheap to be true” NIBs from someone they had already bought a few games from. They were robbed at gunpoint. Must have been a quiet trip back to Long Island.

The speculation was someone had stolen a bunch of NIB games and sold them, and was now trying to double dip on previous buyers with some armed robbery.

Aside from the "cash on glass" phrase that I'm beginning to find fairly annoying, the only thing that bothers me with buying pins via cash is the huge wad of bills you have to tote around and count. Of course, this wasn't much of a problem before prices went bat-crap crazy, but it sure is a pain now.

(Oh, how I wish $500 and/or $1,000 bills were in circulation...)

Someone posted before that a currency checking pen can be tricked and I was curious how - I read that a forger can bleach a lower denomination bill and reprint it is as a larger bill to trick the pen, and using a UV light to view the fibers in the paper was recommended. Each denomination has different colored UV fibers.

It seems the vertical strip inside the bill would also identify a washed bill since it is in a different position for each size bill and the denomination is shown on the strip when held up to a light.

Fortunately I know lots of pinheads locally through tournaments and such, so buying and selling is relatively safe with folks I know.

What I am reading online is once receiving bank has processed it it's not reversible.

I always go in and asses the situation and when I know things are on the up and up (look at the game and talk to them a minute), I go back out to grab the cash.

Can we agree that not being willing to transact in any manner other than with cash constitutes being a bit “afraid of the world”?

Or wise to the world

I just want to say that if anyone here wants to set up a fake pinball deal to ambush and rob me at some time in the future, please just take the money and don't hurt me. It was money I was going to waste on pinball anyway.
And I have your name, phone number, address, and whatever other info our back and forth during the setup provided.
Oh, and I probably found more background info during the basic google checking that I did.
So the police will be along shortly.

With most pinsiders, even cash may not be enough

In the case of the robbery previously mentioned, the thieves used fake names, burner phone, and arranged to meet the victim in the parking lot of a commercial building where they claimed the fictitious pin was stored. The victim noted there were some red flags but didn't follow his gut instinct.

When reporting the crime to the local police, they suggested in the future to contact the police beforehand and they could meet at the purchase place to insure things are above board. Not sure many police offer that service but a call to the police non emergency number would confirm.

I recall the victim told this story on an episode of Kaneda's Podcast years ago.

Seriously? You’re AT THE HOUSE. There are pins…in the house. You are staring at them.

If it looks shady af then read the room and bail, but otherwise, been doing cash transactions since cash was invented. World is more than the internet people. Grow up.

Down payment through online transaction if you’re risk-assessment raises suspicion. At this point your online persona, back and forth and eventual pickup of pin will give cops a starting point to get your cash returned or seller arrested. Not like pinball is a trench coat street corner thing.