Did you send a deposit to hold the games? Did they say they would hold them for you for a certain amount of time? If not then it's on you to get them as quickly as possible because they are not going to just hope your deal works out. People all the time say they will pay me a certain amount and I accept then they disappear so I can understand why they were sold if you did not lock with in.

Timing is everything and cash talks. I have held games and had people back out, making me wish I had sold it to others wanting the game. I find it best to have cash in hand and gas in the van before even making an offer. First to pounce usually brings the game home.

This is alarm bells ringing to any seller. Cash and carry right away. Sorry for your loss in the deal, but there will always be others machines.
I once dropped everything I was doing the same night I spotted an SOF on Craigslist. That night I drove 400 miles (6hr) one way to pick up that Swords of Fury with cash in hand. Fueled on Red Bull and beef jerky. (This all took place before LIoNmAN guy showed on pinside)
Making things happen imediately makes the seller happy. I've never used the word "try"when buying a pinball machine.

IMG_2870 (resized).JPG

let's recap...

-you didn't give a deposit, but expected complete strangers to trust you.
-you juggled multiple deals while expecting all the sellers to be patient as you made arrangements that best suited your situation.
-you expect multiple sellers to be sympathetic to your work schedule.
-you gave sellers a financial hardship excuse about your boiler and expect them to have full faith in you showing up w/ cash.
-you clearly have had things "come up" in the past, preventing you from showing up when you say you will.
-you now have tons of money to burn, so your going to lowball the shit out of everyone going forward, even more so than you have in the past.
-you're pissed and you want our sympathy.

i'd suggest using "all this money that you have no place to spend" to buy rosetta stone for english, cuz i had to reread your posts about 3 times to make sense of a single sentence.

It can be very frustrating working out a deal over state lines. I feel for ya bro. It's really about risk and how much you are willing to take to close the deal ASAP. Most likely they found someone who was willing to pay more and they dropped you like a hot potato!

How long had passed since you agreed on the deal?

Do you not remember what happened with the last discussion on your approach to deals?

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/post-project-pins-for-sale-here-cl-ebay-pinside-and-others/page/122#post-3979646

Sellers want to sell. They're not going to wait very long for a wishy-washy buyer who might or might not come.

If you expect to get a deal when there is competition, you need to change your tactics.

It really depends on the price your willing to pay and demand, how many others are willing to pay more that determines the length of the seller's patience I know it does mine when I am the seller.

As a seller, that whole furnace story would set off red flags for me. Not something a seller wants to hear. You basically left it as, I don't know if I'll have the money and therefore not sure when I will be able to pick them up. Doesn't sound like much of a locked in deal to me. I would have been entertaining other offers in the meantime as well. Agreeing on price is only part of the deal. I don't fault the seller in this case IMO.

I've got a decent Little Joe in Cincinnati if you're still looking for one. Pretty good glass (flaking in red), a little wear in green paint near flippers, good cab. Resets and plays but has a few issues that need resolved. Shoot me a PM if interested. Also got a nice Four Seasons and Triplets sitting here that I haven't found time to mess with yet.

While I can appreciate the frustration, I learned pretty quick most people are not going to wait for your schedule. On the same note, I don't want to wait too long when selling either (lots of flakes out there).

On a couple purchases when I knew I couldn't come for say 2-3 days, I asked if they can take a deposit of say $100.00/$200.00. Just to show I'm serious and that I'm not going to bail. And if I don't come by x date, that deposit is yours.

It's just how it is, frustrating or not.

With every extra inconvenience you add to the deal (you don't like giving deposits, can't pick up for days etc.), you will have to pay MORE MONEY to get what you want NOT LESS. By threatening to lowball even more you will only hurt YOUR future chances at success as you're in competition with other buyers.

Simple economics. The key point is that every aspect of the transaction has an implicit financial cost associated with it and your error is that you only think it's the cash amount and nothing else.

Communicate by phone, paypal deposit immediately perhaps even while you are driving to go pick it up. It's 2017, transactions happen at internet speed these days sometimes measured in minutes not days.

well said.

I agree that a good faith deposit is the way to go if you can't get out to see a pin the same day. If you're unwilling to offer a deposit then this won't be the last time you get frustrated. Sellers don't want to wait around and trust that a stranger will eventually show up. I know that I wouldn't.

Sorry to say but if you won't put a deposit down it's your loss not the sellers.
I've sold many pins over my 20 years of collecting. I always try to sell in line of requests, hold games for a few days for people to (come look at). And have never sold out from under someone because another person offered more (unless I realize I under priced an item and pull the ad to correct price.) I've held many games for people that said they had to wait longer then a week or two with no deposit down. Over half of these people never show up or have some emergency that they can't buy. Won't do it any longer. You want the game and can't pick up within a few days I would only hold it with a deposit.

It sounds like the op is already low-balling on all his potential deals.
If you want to low-ball, you better get the deal done quickly because when the seller realizes the status of the deal and have other options, they aren't going to just keep holding the game so they can get low-balled.

It's not yours and remains FOR SALE until I see cash on the glass. Hardships of business before friends.
-Mike

I have bought and sold many games. I agree if you agree on a price you should be a man of your word. That being said waiting more than a few days always comes with risk. I actually don't blame the seller...the only time I held a game for more than a few days is when the buyer put down a deposit....next time put your money where your mouth is....

I recently tried to purchase a TAF. The seller said ok, then backed out last minute because wanted to keep it. What a waste of time.

hmmmmm this is getting interesting

Lol

Tough but fair. I got halfway through the original post and decided I'd let you guys handle this one.

Sorry, but I feel the opposite and that you SHOULD have to put down a deposit (especially if you are out of state and asking for something to be held for multiple days). Where is the seller protection if something comes up (furnace goes out, etc.) and you can't follow through?

I think your missing the point of the deposit and taking it personally. Even though you may be a man of your word there are circumstances that can arise and the deposit protects your purchase agreement AND the seller's interests. It's a win/win in my opinion. Why are you so against the deposit? Don't take it so personally that your word doesn't mean something to a stranger from another state.

How long from when you agreed on price to when you wanted to actually purchase the item?

When you've been buying and selling pins for a while, it doesn't take long to spot the flakes and wastes of time.

Is there anybody here who would "hold a pin" for the OP and pass on an actual breathing buyer who says on the way with cash?

If there is, they are probably newbies, and we'll soon be reading their inaugural "why are buyers so flakey?!" Post and then we can shit all over him for ignoring all the obvious red flags. I for one can't wait!

Your approach to deposits is backwards. You offer a deposit so someone holds it for you. That way you prove to the seller that you're serious about buying, and the seller proves he's willing to hold it for you by accepting a deposit.

Inexpensive pins and project pins are in high demand.

Being the first to call on a good deal is only half the battle. Being the first to get there cash on hand is the other half. I have lost games because of it and I am sure I will lose more. I have a friend who definitely left thanksgiving dinner with his family, mid meal to go get a whitewater. Like I said in that projects thread mentioned above, if you want a good deal you don't haggle... you recognize it and get there first.

This 2017 America. No ones word is worth anything. I have held games for weeks for people I trusted and knew only to have them back out. It is what it is. Games were relisted and sold eventually but I as the seller wasted my time and probably missed out on some good deals while I was waiting.

Sellers: Set a deposit price and a time frame to pickup. If they don't show, the money is yours for the potential missed sales from waiting.
Buyers: offer a nice deposit for the game value if you can't get there right away. Every day that goes by is a missed sale for the seller.

paypal

Attempting to put together multiple deals coinciding with one another after several days without deposits to offset a truck rental fee is a risky move in my opinion. I'm shocked that this has worked out for you in the past. It would be like catching lightning in a bottle in the Chicagoland area.

The whole problem is you act like a wishy-washy buyer and don't fully spell out that you are committing to a deal and will be there at a specific day & time.

Sellers don't care what arrangements you feel you have to make in order to buy their game. A seller doesn't care that you want to rent a truck to pick up other games.

They just want to know that you're willing to buy, and a day & time that you will be there. That's all. It's not complicated. Wishy-washy buyers make things complicated, which makes them wishy-washy buyers.

Sellers want to sell, not wait around for someone who might or might not come several days or weeks in the future. A seller is not obligated to deal with you if they don't want to.

I don't know you, you are far away, you are not putting down a deposit, AND you want me to hold a game for you... no thank you.
If the game is here the morning of the day you are leaving to come to buy it, ok, then I will hold it for you.
But I won't be holding my breath that you will show up.

Small amounts are usually fine. If something does go sideways, then the buyer/seller isn't out very much money and they know never to deal with that person again.

Large transactions where a buyer or seller is risking a lot is when problems can happen that are not easily recoverable or written off.

Sorry for your Loss

Maybe you could spend all that money on a pin friendly vehicle so you wouldn't have to rent a truck all the time? It would help you be able to go get deals when they pop up instead of waiting for it to become practical for you to rent a truck.

This is unbearable.

Just keep doing what you are doing dude. It's obviously working for you.

It's hard for us to really judge because we were not involved, but based on what you are saying it sounds like you were dropping hints that "things come up". Otherwise why mention the furnace? If so tell a buyer I'll hold a game, or I ask a buyer to hold a game, there needs to be specifics...price, pickup date, etc.

Frankly, we arent talking about great pins here. Why are you getting upset over a Satin Doll?

It really seems like you might be CREATING problems for yourself at this point. Lots of viable solutions for you have been posted here. Good luck on future purchases.

I don't think you get it.

The sellers sold them alright, only to someone else.

But they did sell their pin... just not to you.

Why should a seller should hold a game for a long period of time to wait on you with no solid commitment? They don't know you and you don't know them.

The point of a deposit is to lock in a deal that you can't immediately get to.

So yes, if you don't feel you can't get to a game ASAP and don't want the seller to sell it to someone else, offering a deposit is what you are going to have to do.

I'm not sure if you're aware of how deposits work, but the amount you do put down counts towards the purchase price of the game. It's not extra.

If a buyer offers me a $100 deposit on something I'm selling, that says to me that they are serious about it, and I will hold it for them for a reasonable amount of time.

I think the point is that most of us are not having issues with multiple sellers all backing out on us. So you may want to reevaluate your approach. I'm certainly not holding a game for you without a deposit to wait and see if you can line up other purchases and find a truck and the time to make it all work because that is what is best for you. Me telling you what price I would sell them to you does not change that.