I must admit just hearing the word Rockland gets my hair up. Every experience I've had with Rob was unpleasant. The 1st time I agreed to drop off a pin at his shop that was going to be shipped with 3 other pins to someone across the country. I spoke with him and told him the reason why I had agreed to help deliver the pin was to make it easier to group ship and that I was interested in his Congo and wanted to see it in person. I drove a beautiful Gilligan's Island up to Rockland only to find out that Rob didn't have the Congo at the shop after all. He didn't have the time or couldn't be bothered to bring it from his warehouse up in NY. He told me he thought I be much more interested in his No Fear?! When we took the pin out of the car he commented "Oh this IS a nice G. Island!" The best part of the whole experience was meeting Greg and his daughter as he was shopping a Scared Stiff. I drove home upset only to find out from the guy across the country that Rob tried to sell him a beat up Gilligan's for cheaper when he heard he was buying mine. This was after I spoke with him and told him I sold the game and was going to deliver to his shop?!!
A couple of months pass and one Friday afternoon I get a message from Rob that he has that Congo ready at the shop and there's a bunch of interest in it, if I want it I have to act now. I looked at the few pics he sent and told him ok I'll hold her with a 300 deposit and I'll pick her up Sunday. I paypal him and then decide after I talked with him to let him know I sent the deposit that I need better pics. He started describing cabinet separation and if I remember correctly some kind of plate attached on the side of the pin. When I received more detailed pics I realized that for the price he was charging I would want a nicer example of the game. I asked for the deposit back and although he wasn't pleased he refunded me the cash. I apologized for wasting his time.
You think I would have figured by now to just steer clear of Rob but the desire to own that next target pin got the best of me again. I contacted him for a RBION he had for a good price and wanted to know if he would accept my Roadshow for trade. I had a nice example with no fish wear or cabinet fade, just missing a shaker motor and slight outgassing in the dmd. He told me he could only offer 2k for the condition it was in. I was upset but wanted the RBION more than having the Roadshow in the house so I agreed and told him I would meet him that weekend at his shop. After mulling it over the next day I decided the Roadshow was worth more than the 2k he was offering and called him but he wouldn't budge so I told him forget about the trade I'll pay full price. I get to his shop that Saturday and speak with his employee that shops his games. Here is the only part where I can honestly say I should have done my due diligence and inspected the pin properly. I was in a rush to get back home on Long Island for a family get together and it was my 1st time buying from a shop so I figured if anything was wrong I had some recourse. I would have saved myself a lot of grief if I would have been a bit more diligent when inspecting the pin. Rob's employee pointed out the hole in the bottom of the cab which I was told about. We lifted the playfield and he pointed out some of the shiny mechs and the cleanliness of the bottom of the cab. I played a couple of balls and after a cash transaction we loaded her up. Well in the open space of Rob's shop you couldn't detect the smell of mold but once I started driving an hour I realized I'm smelling mold?! I set the game up when I got home and started a game. After a minute or 2 I realize all the balls are leaving trails all over the playfield. I remove them to find they were never cleaned up before putting them in the game. I also noticed the magnet under the shrunken head is way to far above the playfield to have the ball pass through. I lifted the playfield to adjust the magnet and surprise there's mold and rust all over the middle to bottom half of the playfield?! The guy showing the pin went out of his way to point out he new shiny stuff under the playfield but didn't disclose the rest. I now had that same feeling as the Congo shuffle and called Rob and told him I didn't want the pin and was going to return it. His response was to curse me out and promptly hung up. My wife saw the look on my face and asked what happened. I told her this F#@$ just hung up on me? I called him back immediately and asked if this is how he treats everyone he deals with or did I just get lucky today. He apologized and explained it was a hectic day but then proceeded to tell me that I was mistaken and there was no mold or rust anywhere on the machine. I asked him if he was calling me a liar I'm looking at it right now. I took some pics let me send them to you. He complained that I blew up a bunch of other deals from Friday to Saturday while he held the pin and now what is he going to do with the machine? I explained that if he had a bunch of interest clean it up or disclose it to the next buyer. You shouldn't have a problem if there was a bunch of interest. After continually telling me I was wrong about what was right in front of my face he told me fine bring it back to the shop and I'll give you your money back. I returned the pin the next day and now got to experience the pleasure of being told to my face that I was wrong in front of Greg and his daughter who looked fully embarrassed to be associated with him. I asked again if he wanted to see it 1st hand. I had wrapped the game properly for transit but told him lets open her up and I'll point it out for you so you can stop calling me a liar. He continued to tell me I was wrong and he remembered the game perfectly and there was nothing of the sort under the playfield. I then reminded him that I have pics of the mold and rust that he keeps denying. Again I was told that I was wrong and that there was nothing wrong with the game. I was so fed up trying to argue with him and wanted my cash in hand now that he has the game back in his shop. I feel he was trying to escalate the argument to the point where he would have just kicked me out of his shop. Since I paid in cash it would have been my word against his that I returned the game in the 1st place. I tell him ok you believe what you need to believe just give me my cash. He then looks at me and says it's Sunday where am I gonna get that kind of cash? We have a winner!! The only reason why I took a check was because it was a company check. He then declares " I'm done with you, I want you out of my life, you're dead to me. Wish it could have been that easy...
After being screwed by 2 people that showed up at a home and impersonated me while swiping a Dr Dude out from under me guess who just happened to post the DR Dude at their shop the next day just like the one in my pics?
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/pinball-karma-helps-me-score-a-congo
For a long time I kept this shit quiet because like a rape victim I was ashamed to speak out. At this point I feel that as a fellow pinsider I would want to know who to steer clear of.
If you do not have the ability to go see the game in person you better ask for a ton of pics. The only other person in pinball I ever had a similar experience with is Barrynwj from the jersey shore and if you know who he is nuff said. There's a difference between someone who sells a game and shows or discloses all the bad with pics of the exact areas. The pics I received from Rob were taken to hide the issues. Guess what guys, your customers actually talk to each other. Everyone else I have met in this hobby has been fantastic to deal with. Sorry you have to deal with Rob on a daily basis Greg, you were nothing but nice to me each time we interacted.