I rarely if ever talk to anyone on the phone. I'm normally not going to call someone even if they ask.

Nah. Tire kickers. Or spammers/scammers.

However, the guys who ask if I could let them know if/when I have a certain thing or range of things for sale, occasionally they will buy. But usually, I've already bought or sold with them before.

I just love it when people ask if you're selling the pins next to the one you actually have posted for sale. My response..........

I usually groan and give them a ring. Everyone has their favorite way to communicate. I'm not a big fan of talking on the phone. Getting drawn into a conversation with no idea of the level of interest is always concerning. With that said I will call if they are the only nibble at the time. Often times it has panned out to end up with a sale in the end.

Nope, most of the time its either them wanting to play 20 questions or a sob story about why they can't afford my price.

From a negotiation standpoint, calling them immediately puts you at a disadvantage. If you care about such things, I would stay away, as they are only going to jump on an outstanding deal, and maybe not even then

I dont call...i dont even like phone conversations...if you deal in text or e mail then there is always proof of what was said, really cuts down on confusion or people trying to scam

Would never respond to a "call me" request.

The first contact in a sale for me is all transactional
Follow ups can be more personal, phone, etc.

Call me types are alwyas a higher chances of following:
- Scammers
- Lazy
- Tire kickers
- Don't have the money
- Want a free PB education

I see you still have a Black Rose for sale.

Call me.

I can't think of an occasion where, in the later stages of making a sale or purchase, I DIDN'T end up connecting on the phone with the buyer/seller. But that's a lot different than the problem statement the OP started this thread with.

I'm a call me guy but I just don't message call me,I will add in a little more info to show my interest.I feel I can get more info in less time and both of us can get a better feel for who we're dealing with.I don't even contact a seller unless I'm interested in the machine at or near the asking price.I have bought probably every pin but 1 that I have made contact with the seller.

If you have your add on CL, never leave your phone number in numerical digits. Spell out most of your numbers. This will eliminate 90% of the spam and robo calls. Most scams will text your number with portions of your add in the text message. Don't respond to these types of text messages. They are looking for your response. Email usually is safe, but use the craigslist provided email until you are comfortable with who you are dealing with. People that are truly interested in your game will call and ask questions. These scammers are looking to see what response they get then they know its a working number or email. They sell your information and its used for scam phone calls and spam email.Hope this helps

The above is what the "call me" guys have almost always turned out to be for me: usually it's a sign they're more serious and want to get down to business.

I reply to most all, cause you never know, except for the "your item", "this item" guys...

I give my phone number to buyers, I feel that if someone is serious about buying the game we can talk about it quick. I find it wierd that a grown man that wants to spend thousands of dollars cannot complete a simple conversation with the seller. Thats just my opinion though. Reading some responses here surprises me, so what do I know...

I couldn't agree more.

I wish facebook had a system where the price goes up for a particular buyer every time they message me. I listed my collection of Magic The Gathering cards and this has been a conversation, I've had at least 50 times:

Buyer: Is the item available?
Me: Yes, when would you like to stop by and look at it?
Buyer: Can you give me a better description and take more pictures?
Me: Sure, here you go.
Buyer: Do you have _______?
Me: I'm not sure, I haven't played for over fifteen years, but you are welcome to come and look though everything before purchasing
Buyer: Is this the lowest you'd take?
Me: I don't negotiate with myself, but feel free to make an offer.

Then it's one (or a combination) of the following...

Buyer: I thought you were closer.
Buyer: Will you ship.
Buyer: *nothing*

It's not bad once, but when you have this same conversation 20 times, without a single person actually following threw it's annoying. I swear everyone just wants the ability to buy something. They don't actually want to buy it, they just want the ability to buy it if at a point in the future they decide they really want the item. These are the same people who get mad when the item actually sells. "...but, I told you I was interested." That's great, but the other buyer wasn't in a 2-week negotiation period. They just showed up and paid me.

I would assume that that conversation was some sort of scam. I always try to tell people up front, first come first served

I had a "call me" guy once. I was selling a nice Target Alpha. He sent me an email saying he wanted to buy it. I called him about 10 minutes after he emailed me around 7pm. He picks up; I had clearly woken him up from a deep sleep. I asked for the guy, and in slurred speech he said "yeah that's me whadda ya want?" I told him I was responding to an email about Target Alpha. He said, "whadda ya trying to sell me?"

I hung up. I wonder what else he's done drunkenly without realizing it...

I must be the odd one here because I always call back no matter what as you never know what it could lead into like they have a game to get rid of or perhaps there brother has ten Spirit games still in the box....LOL. Plus if you talk on the phone you get it over and done with and you can really get a reading of the other persons interest instead of this back and forth email crap. Heck I've bought games over the phone while everyone else is still trying to email the guy and waiting for his email back......gotta love it when that happens.

John

Totally agree with this! You can find out really quick if they are serious or a tire kicker.
Something about hearing a human voice with conviction gives me more confidence a deal is made. Pick up the phone people!!

Yeah I’ll call. I like to talk to the person and decide if they’re worth dealing with.

I agree with almost every word of that. It seems some people definitely don't like picking up a damn phone anymore. Aside from the more personal aspect of it, I would rather chat for 5 or 10 minutes than spend an entire day or night going back and forth via email or text. One or two written communications are fine to get the ball rolling...then dial a damn number. You can send an email or text after confirming agreed upon price, pick up date, etc. Plus, I've gained some friends, learned some things and had good convo plenty of times jumping on the phone for a few minutes with a potential seller/buyer.

I've actually gotten contact from some buyers and sellers lately that flat out said "No calls. I only communicate through text or email."

My response to them: "And I only buy games from or sell them to people that aren't complete assholes. Take care."

I don't mind communicating through any type of media, but absent any medical condition that calls for an alternate modus, don't tell me how I'm going to communicate.

If I feel the need to text or email a private seller so everything is "documented" in case there is an issue, I probably shouldn't be dealing with that person in the first place. Dealing with a business...a different story, and document away.

While people are emailing & texting i'm talking to the seller and getting the address to purchase. Blahhh

Call me old school, but I much prefer talking to someone on the phone about a sale. You can get so much more accomplished in a call so much faster than you can in an email or text. Yeah, sure sometimes you get some flakes, but it's a lot easier and faster to weed them out with a call. I can't stand responding to an ad and never getting so much as a "sold" response back.

Um... That's just creepy.

On Facebook I usually just respond to "do you still have the game" with "yes, when would you like to come get it?". They either stop responding at that point or we talk about a deal. If they start with "well I can be there in a week because I need a truck from a guy I knew in high school if my wife lets me that is lol you know how it goes" I just ask for a PayPal deposit right away or tell them to message me again an hour before they leave on whatever arbitrary day they decide and I'll tell them if I still have it or not. Usually works the same way, they either agree or just stop responding.

This is actually one of the reason I prefer FB messenger and texting to calling. Its typically much easier for me to read a message or send one at my own pace vs. stopping what I'm doing at work, running to meetings, driving in the car, playing with a laughing two year old to have a 20 minute conversation about a game that might end up with nothing happening anyways.

I feel like there's a big "these kids hate personal interactions I won't sell them anything" attitude with alot of people. While I admit I hate talking on the phone, its just so much quicker to shoot someone a message saying hey I'm interested, I'll come look at or buy the game, let me know when you get a minute and shoot me the address. No phone tag, no weird conversations or calling when someone else is eating/working/etc. or I'm trying to do the same. I'd much rather deal with someone quickly over text at my own pace then chat for an hour on the phone trying to describe where a plastic is cracked to someone with crappy cell service and a kid screaming for attention. In the time it takes to schedule a phone call we could have just made the deal.

I inquired about a machine and got a similar response. I asked the condition and price, and was told to call. I didn't.

I'm at a computer all day most every day. It's easy for me to have a quick dialogue via email. It's much more burdensome for me to find a quiet place to talk to a potentially chatty fellow about why their pinball machine is worth more than market value. I recognize that other people may be the opposite, but given the year, unless I'm really interested, I'm not going to call.

If I respond “call me” on your for sale post there’s a high chance I’m buying it

Truth be told, I actually prefer written letter via Postal Service.

You whippersnappers and yer new-fangled "technology". If I don't get a telegram regarding the potential sale then the DEAL'S OFF!

Give me a telegram any day STOP

I'm going to start sending singing telegrams to people with machines I'm interested in. Make it interesting.

Somebody call me I just need to waste 5 minutes of somebody's time 313 274-1111

I like emails and text so I have some record of the transaction. Phone calls can be an undocumented waste of time in my opinion.

I’ve never demanded a seller call me. Much quicker to work out the details over PM, but I do leave a number if I’m trying to jump on something.

At the end of the day it’s much nicer for the buyer and seller to have a quick chat prior to finalizing a deal. It’s great to know in advance who you’re dealing with.

(I’ve avoided a couple potential hairy deals by doing this.)

Buy know thing the other person wasn't........what exactly?

I have 5 minutes for everyone

Call me ! Ask for Jenny !

687-5309 !!

Close enough

If you call that number you may get " Lenny or Kenny" instead...

I had a used car lot for 3 years. I was in the lower end of the used car trade. I was not the end of the line but you could see the end from my lot. For every car you sold, there were probably 100 people who walked into the office wanted to know how many miles on the Chevy out there. I have a lot full of Chevys. Which one? Ahh... the red one. I have 3 red Chevys. Which one? The one in the corner. Oh, OK, that one. Blah blah blah.

Finally, #101 walks in-----and drives out.

You always have to be polite. You have to assume each one of these guys has a pocket full of money. You have to eat a lot of shit when in sales.
The brand of shit changes thru the years but never goes away.

Yeah, every once in a while you have the hot set up and 50 people want what you are selling. That's a nice problem to have.

But most of the time, you are going to have to work that sale.

I have sold 3 pins on the phone and one via text. Of the phone call sales, each unit only had two callers with some silent time between the calls. The one I sold via text was smooth transaction. All of the other texts were spammers.

Someone wants me to call back then I am going to call back. It is just part of the shit sandwich you have to eat.

Where is the transaction in a phone call? You set up a time and date for them to come see it, sure I get it. But real men do the actual deal face to face after having the game looked over and this includes the money part. I can't stand an email where someone can't even sign there first name at least, those make me not want to respond to the person more then anything but I do it anyways....

John

Yup, done it hundreds of times. The game will be sitting in my garage and the newsgroup/forum is still talking about trying to email the guy......LOL.
Gotta love it!!

John

I truly do not understand the aversion people suddenly have for talking on the phone. I can figure out/work out things in a 5 minute phone call that would take much longer to text or email. In my old business about 7 years ago everyone seemed to become phoneaphobic. I would have people send me these elaborate emails and I would call them back. Then they would say ‘“Why did you call me?” To which I would reply “because I can write you a 40 minute email or I can talk to you and be done in 5 minutes”