Please, as a courtesy to other potential buyers, let us know who it was.

No. But plenty of deadbeat posters.

It's frustrating when you expect them to post at a certain time or respond to a certain topic, and then they go and not show up!

Would be nice to know who.

His last post was in the "I'm done" thread so that may just size things up.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/i-m-done-/page/2#post-4482553

This is one of the reasons feedback exists. Use it and help others know a seller's history.
https://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/evilelement/feedback

He douched on you and got a better offer, no doubt about it. He even states that he was getting out. It was a fire sale of sorts.

If you set someone on ignore, they can't PM you.

There are as many reasons deals fall through as there are sellers and buyers. Doesn't matter what you're selling. If you let your unmet expectations bother you you're going to lead a very bothered life. Go play some pinball.

Gorgar, JM or T3?

And if I remember correctly, even mentioning that you ignored somebody is a moderatable, capitol pinside offense!

Yeah that crazy cheap underpriced game he got a bunch of emails on?

Hey shit happens. That is certainly a deal I wouldn't have concluded was final till I had the game in my car.

Cash is king.

Someone told him "I'll be there in 15 minutes, cash in hand" and he took it.

I always tell potential buyers "Bring a truck, Cash and take home a beautiful game"

If they say "I'll look at it tonight, then come back this weekend with my brother-in-law's truck" or "I'll come out tonight and give you a deposit, then I have to go scrape up the cash" I just tell them that I'm calling the next person on the list. I don't have time for flaky-ness.

Don't lose sleep over it. There are a lot of flakes out there. Not only sellers, but buyers too. It goes both ways.

Vid, I agree with you BUT, it appears the seller agreed to a pick up time for asking price. Dick move on the seller. Don't make an agreement that you are not going to keep. Or hey, it's yours at X time and day as long as it's still here. Be fucking honest, that's all.

Not deadbeats, "change their mind" types.
Common as cotton woven t-shirts.
Nostalgia can be a powerful foe.

Be ready to buy and pick up immediately, or not at all, particularly from seller to whom you have not dealt with before.
It sounds like things were planned in months, not days.
Learn not to try and lowball, if a game is in the condition as expected, as this can sometimes be offending.
Long time collectors know their prices, and don't shank others. New high end rollers can, especially with "mods", powder coating, or chrome, or simply try and flip games for more money a few months later.

The strongest advice I can give is do not give a person a chance to acquire the disease of getting seller remorse, as it can only take a few hours, not days.

My only exceptions above are between networked pinball acquaintances, museums, and friends, for "holdovers".
Trust will build more trust.
Reversely, buyer flake out will not lead to better future deals from the same parties.

I get frustrated with buyers on CL. They shoot you an offer, I accept, and then they disappear. At least have the decency to tell me you changed your mind.
Can be a very frustrating market!

I was going to say-

Deadbeat- someone that owes you something and refuses to pay up.

These always crack me up when somebody gets bent out of shape or feels the need to publicly announce that somebody that said he would sell him something changed his mind when in reality it saved the person money from buying something he didn't really need in the first place.

Does it suck? Maybe. But the minute somebody I'm trying to deal with gets shady, I'm done and no longer give a shit as long as I haven't spent a dime.

Ya think?

I’ve been looking for a rare $15K+ pin. I got lucky and found one a couple hundred miles away on Mr Pinball Classifieds that’s been listed since Dec ‘17. Emailed the guy, he responded with pictures. I said I wanted it at his asking price. Haven’t heard back from the guy. BTW, he’s on pinside, but hasn’t checked on in over four years. Sellers remorse?

Well at least you don't have to own a JM.

Looks like he pulled the pin on pinside + pinball ownership...

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just saw the same thing on deactivated.

Gee, how much of a coincidence that he deactivated as his name was about to be dragged through the wringer.

Either speaks volumes on his actions or he said fuck it and doesn't want to deal with any pinside drama.

Scam?

For better or worse, not all people are capable or interested in typical courtesies. As one might expect a simple “I’ve decided to take another offer” or “I’ve changed my mind”, others don’t.

My opinion here is move on and don’t take it personally. It’s not about you.

It is hard to say when the other party leaves you hanging. Is he jerking you? Or did he have a family emergency? Or wind up in the hospital? No shows are impossible to guess.

You can start a whole new topic on "Deadbeat Buyers". It seems to work both ways.

These threads always go nowhere, have nothing to say, and never result in the aggrieved party getting their game. They are pointless.

You can’t force someone to sell you a game. Make a mental note and dont deal with that person again. Move on.

I’m not sure why the “we had a deal but then he didnt sell it to me” thing affects people so much. It really seems to leave a lasting emotional bruise.

Seems like the seller has had enough of the hobby, and he’s done. Good for him. Try as we might we aren’t gonna pull him back in trashing his reputation is moot as he’s gone.

There will be no justice in this terrible crime against pinmanity. Well just have to all try to get through it together.

Yeah, it does. I know after I have traveled several hundred miles to make a buy and when I attempt to call my party to say I have arrived I get nervous when my seller does not answer the phone immediately. And I am the buyer ! When my seller finally calls me back I can finally breathe.

Because if you’re not a man of your word you ain’t worth a F*ck, thats why.

Yes, that’s really worth stewing for 2 weeks over.

Come on dude. Haven’t you been in this hobby for a while?

You let stupid Shit like this get to you you’ll burn out quick.

I wouldnt let it ruin my life obviously and i would move on, but yeah id be pissed a little i wont lie. I cant stand people who are dishonest. If i give someone my word i always keep it no matter what. I’m sure the OP will move on and live a normal life but he probably just needed to vent a little and that’s understandable providing that the story he is telling is accurate.

I know I shouldn't ask but, what topics would you rather see posted??

There is probably nothing you could have done.

Every pin someone puts on CL gets 15-20 calls instantly, sometimes many more.

Even if you agree to come tomorrow at 6pm and buy it, someone will call and offer $100-200 more and say that they will come get it right now.

Pinheads are insane, they buy any and every game for sale locally, even if they never play it - just to fill their basements.

I learned my lesson early on. About 2001 I found an Adams Family For $1,500 and said I'd come by tomorrow to pick it up. Seller agreed, but then used this to leverage a higher offer from someone else who came right away. Seller never told me this until I showed up with my truck the next day. I fumed about it for awhile- didn't have Pinside back then to go vent on- but then life moved on. I adjusted my expectations about "men of their word" specifically (and maybe humanity a little, in general) and have not had a problem like that since.

I feel like deadbeat is the wrong word. I think we used to call them back outs in another hobby where people bought and sold things. Glad you ended up getting the game though. Also Vid is right it is amazing the number of pinheads who just buy stuff to buy it. No real interest in the title they just try to put as many games in their house as fast as they can.

His quote from 14 days ago shows he'd had enough long before this little episode.

He was supposed to sell that Johnny to me also. Communication through Facebook was good. He said he had to fix a bridge rectifier and was only available Thurs & Sundays. I sent a $200 deposit. He told me he was sick also. He did refund me the deposit right away though. (I want to say this past Thursday).

Was his name Jason from Vineland NJ?

And miss one of the best Midnight Madness modes out there? Heresy!