Cash. You should always have cash. I would not sell to a stranger any other way and most people will not.

Cash. Don't walk around with it, keep it locked up in the car. Hidden of course

carry a portion of your cash so you can leave a deposit and then come back to drop off the full amount later i thought

Cash money.

And maybe not in 20's...that could be one big stack of bills....

cash is king...and gives you some bargaining power.You cant negotiate with a check or credit card.Scott

Give them a 20% cash deposit and then the rest in cash when you pick up the pin to take it home. *shrug*

You can go to a bank and cash a check.

Cash, there is no other way at a show. Also unlike expo, the pin cannot leave until Sunday after the show, which is a great thing for players

Check takes time to clear and can be reversed. I wouldn't take a check at a pinball show private sale to private person. But hey that is just me.

100 dollar bills don`t take up that much room. Cash is King.

Cash is king-may get a little better deal? But-GE,Universal Sales, Marcos, and Classic Arcade Resource are all businesses that will be at the show. I only have NIB Trons-I will take a credit card as well-FYI-Good Luck- I Look forward to meeting you?

I have a related question that I've always wondered about with shows...

If you bought a pin in the parking lot, how do you even know it works?

Long extension cord!?! But really unless you know them or the machine I wouldn't take the chance.

I've bought one machine in a parking lot without turning it on, setting it up, looking behind the backbox, etc. I had been in contact with the seller for weeks though getting constant pictures and information about the machine. I also knew others who knew him and dealt with him before, so as expected, it turned out he was as honest and straight up a guy as he made out to be on the forums/email/phone. I was really happy with my purchase, but I would never do something like that with someone I had very little information or contact with.

Agreed - I have a deal in place on a project pin - but I checked references for the seller and found that everyone said he was a stand up guy. Plus sometimes in emails and phone calls you can get a "feel" for who you're dealing with - I have nothing but confidence in my seller, and look forward to getting the pin.

Those good seller posts really can pay off, so if you have a good experience, let people know.

Careful they are difficult to break open. Try to do it at night.

I dunno. From a local guy at a show I might take a PayPal since you can pay with the phone on site. They would have to send it as a gift though.

this seems to work the best

Cash_in_Hand.gif

I have not personally done this regarding a pin, but I have a AC cord adapter thing that plugs into my cigarette lighter, allows me to charge stuff like laptops or whatever if I don't have right cord for car. Imagine you could run a pin off it if car running, no? Things costs like $20.

Simple. If you aren't comfortable with a game that doesn't boot, don't buy a game out of a parking lot

I've bought games before without plugging them in. If the boards are complete, no acid damage, and not hacked then it'll probably work. And if it doesn't I'll fix it. If the person is selling it working, make sure their rep is stellar. If the person is selling it as-is than make sure the price reflects that.

That would work if it was a high enough wattage inverter.

My car has a regular 110 outlet in it, but not a 3-prong like most pins have. I will have to look into if there's a 2 prong to 3 prong converter I could use if I ever went to enough pin shows. That would be very handy.

A parking lot purchase should get a parking lot price. I would not want it to be my first machine, but at this point I can look inside and take a reasonably educated guess about what kind of shape it is in.

For example:
-Are boards/major parts missing?
-Burn marks on boards/connectors?
-Water damage
-Visible hacks
-How clean is it overall/what kind of life has the game had?
-Acid damage to the board(s)

Also what is the game, something dirt common with a bunch of cheap replacement parts everywhere or something that has some very hard/expensive to find parts.

Also, no question, cash in the only way to go. I personally would not leave any cash in my car. A couple of thousand in $100 bills in very small. If the show is in an area where you fear for your personal safety with carrying around some cash, just don't go to that show. I would be far more nervous with cash in my car. My family has had about ~15 car break-ins over my life, not once has someone approach us to attempt to rob any of us personally.

It is not as though a big sign appears above your head "This guy has $10K in cash on him". No one will know you have the cash unless you have a fat stack of bills peaking out of your pocket and unless you are in a strip club trying to get lots of "attention" I would not ever encourage that method of carrying cash.

Based on this thread it's pretty clear that Muggers and Prostitutes should hit Pinball expos pretty hard! Not mention target those guys out in the parking lot struggling with cords hanging out of their vehicles.

I think that it has always been good advice for thieves to go to any type of sales event that has "casual" sellers and a cash sale type of environment. Flea markets, car shows, antique whatever shows.

The saving grace is normally the events are incredibly crowded, so pick pockets are more of an issue compared to mugging. Also the tons of "tire-kicker" who barely have enough money for a hot dog and soda cut down on the odds of a good score, so the risk for return probably does not look that good.

The problem with these events is no one looks twice if they see someone carrying around tools that are good for breaking into cars or thinks twice if they see someone wheeling around something of high value that may have just been stolen out of a car. Compared to if you are in a Wal-Mart parking lot and see someone walking around with a dolly and prybar, that might raise some red flags.

Depends on where you live!

I paid for my Creetch in hondos at MGC this year. 35 of them DO make for a pretty fat wallet.

Cash. Ideally carried in briefcase handcuffed to arm.

This is where I hide it........oops!

moneyshoe.jpg

And this is where the bra advantage comes in handy. Way less stinky than Ted's method.

And this is where the bra advantage comes in handy. Way less stinky than Ted's method.

This makes me want to sell a pin to Blondetall real bad-Giggity- Giggity-Giggity

q.jpg

Yeah, but at the show, it's a dead giveaway...

Bra.jpg

I'll be at the Atlanta Pinswap this Sat. Someone bring me a cheap pin.

10009pin.jpg

Is it possible to powdercoat it?

Don't make me look.....

35, try a stack of 145 for a MM, forget rain, coulda made it thunderstorm at a club.

And NOW we all know where to look LOL

Damn! But, I'll fake ya out and put it in the OTHER shoe!