Here are just a few ways (that I can recall, it's been a while) I coach myself before starting a new "hunt"...

* Assume people are gonna put *their* needs first: "I just want this 300 pound block of wood and steel out of my house -- ASAP." -- they may talk nice on the phone, yet sell it to someone who called AFTER you and offered $50 more -- are you still surprised when this happens? You don't matter to them, period. Practice setting your expectations closer to probability.

* Ask the *best set* of questions up front to learn whether the person is in more of the "inheritance-victim bucket": "it was my grandpa's in our basement and it worked fine for years" or if they are an actual pinhead -- to better qualify what their answers really mean (to them). "It works" means something different coming from an inheritance-victim than it does coming from a pinhead. Build your list of questions ahead of time. With each interrogation, refine it even further.

* on older pins, I like to assume I will still be in it for another $200-$500 even if everything works, so I must drop my purchase price a lil to make up for that difference, (since I like to spend no more overall than I think I can sell it for)...

* and finally, sample size. If you've done 100 pinball transactions, you'll have much more perspective on the range of people and outcomes than if you've done 5. I try my best to not make big life judgments on things/situations where I have a small sample size.

-mof