Cash is the only way I have paid for a used pin. if they have the manual or any schematics it would be nice of them to include that, as far as original receipts good luck, chances are its changed hands dozens of times.

show up with cash. that's what I do. Papers are pointless. The next guy doesn't care what you paid for it.

Cash & carry; no receipts and no warranty

Don't expect any documents unless it is HUO and you want proof. Expect an owners manual, and yes, for this type of transaction, cash is king. Good friends may accept a different deal.

Other than that, don't go in with any expectations.

Cash in pocket.

Cash on the glass. It's the only way the pin leaves. If you showed up with a check you'd leave with that same check. The only exception to that is I already know you well and know you're good for it. It prevents hassles on both sides.

Cash but unless I know the person I leave it in the car until I get a feel for the seller.

I've always used this.

th.jpeg

bring the cash, yes. but do your homework: establish that the person you're visiting has an established presence here. read some of their posting history. if they're an active member of this community, it's unlikely they're a scammer or thief.

both of my in-person transactions with other pinsiders were very smooth and very friendly. (shout out to habo and hank527 -- top notch dudes)

we agreed to a price beforehand. i showed up with cash in hand. as long as the machine is as described, haggling at that point is bad form in my opinion. i played each game for a while to make sure everything was kosher ... (and both pinsiders invited me to hang out and play some of their other pins as well) ... and then i handed over the money and we wrapped and loaded the game.

The only time I've taken anything but cash is when the deal is long distance. In that case either paypal or check with time to clear before the game is shipped.

Dave

Johnny Cash.jpg

Cash and carry.

That's how it works here.

Bought mine with a money transfer. Often used in Norway for high amount deals.
In that case the seller is the one that can be fooled if I cancel the transfer short after I get the item.

So to make things right and too show I'm a honest person I suggested we made a simple contract with the pins ID number, date of purchase and amount agreed for the pin. "Working machine, sold as is with minor cabinet flaws"... or whatever you and the seller agrees should be in a contract.

I think I would sell and buy pins with a small contract like that, just as if I was selling or buying a car.
Recomend that...

I understand anyone's reluctance to carry a large amount of cash around, but that's how it works. I had quite a bit of money on me at Allentown just in case...and ended up with a TZ plus a bunch of parts. I would have regretted not being able to buy the pin when when the opportunity presented itself. In such a case, you have to decide in advance whether you're willing to buy and, if so, how much you're willing to spend.

It's simple:
You either send your cash to a complete stranger, pin unseen
-or-
You show up to a strangers house with thousands of dollars on you.

When pins get ahold of you, you'll do stupid things.

Good luck!

Does anyone mind $20 bills?
Or is it hundreds only?

Cash and carry is the only way to go.

I went today for a Craigslist deal on a Space Jam near me.

He assured me it was in tip-top shape, and that he had taken excellent care of it. The seller needed the cash, but originally wasn't willing to take less. I made him an offer, which was a reasonable offer based on market, but less than what he paid for it, and he turned me down. Later, he came back and said he'd take that price. So I made the one-hour each way up there to look at it. When I got there, I immediately noticed a bad DMD. The offer that I had made was a fair deal, not a lowball offer, and the seller hadn't told me about the bad DMD, although when I mentioned it, he seemed to have noticed it as well. I asked him to knock $200 off for the DMD (it's not like I was getting a steal!), and he gave me the runaround, saying you could buy them anywhere for $88. Luckily, I had my iPad there and I quickly pulled up Marco to show him that this was not an $88 item -- Marco has them for $199+shipping. He said he thought we had a deal, I had already haggled with him, blah blah blah and he was unwilling to take less. He said I didn't hold up to my end of the agreement -- but I had! He hadn't told me about the bad DMD ($200 off the bat). Had it not been for the bad DMD I would have just given him the originally agreed price and taken it. But nope, because he was unwilling to fully explain the machine beforehand, I wasted my evening.

Moral of the story is... Your seller should be one of three things:
A) someone well-known on Pinside
B) someone well-known elsewhere in the pinball community, or at least someone who has multiple people that can vouch for their credibility
C) a seller who you may not have met before, but by combing the internet and playing detective, you can find plenty of information that corresponds with information that he has provided to you (WhitePages, etc.) and certifies them as a reputable person

My seller, in today's case, just happened to be none of the above.

Sorry if this was a little off-topic, but the point is that a cash offer in-person is really the only way to deal.

/end rant

Depends on the value of the machine. $100's are always good, $50's are fine. But hey, in the end, it's all money.
However, I would feel weird handing a seller $10,000 in $20 bills.

The newer $100 bill looks impossible to fake.

Is it acceptable to ask for this? ( from an unknown buyer)

I would love to see that roll of 500 benjamins though!

I think that's a bit much to ask. I think I got 2 of the new bills out of 10 the last time I was at the bank. The bank might not have that many of the new $100's.

Hey,

I drove from here to the other side of Minneapolis with enough money to buy a TSPP shoved in my pocket. If you're crossing a border, a receipt is a good idea (just had this issue come up today crossing back into Canada; got pulled over at customs).

Luke

Twice I have paid with paypal gift direct from my bank account. I always showed the sellers my drivers license in case they wanted to get my address. Both times the transaction went through in less than 10 min.

I just don't like the idea of carrying that much cash on me and in some cases my bank only allows me to withdraw a certain amount per day.

Banded stacks of 100's in a steel suitcase handcuffed to you

I only pay in money orders drawn from the Bank of Nigeria. They're super legit.

Really though, all 100s is good form but not necessary. I'll take fives as long as my bank still does

hell, i wouldn't care if it was all $1 bills... it all spends the same...

How big is a 10k stack of 1's.

i would not care $ are $, but if you paid in ones i would think your a stripper

In Quarters... Cold Hard Quarters.

quarters.jpg

I imagine something like this

image-884.jpg

That's a good idea. I don't know why a seller wouldn't accept that.

Just man up and carry cash. IMO always be ready to buy a cheap one at least!

Thats right my word is my bond.

Cash and carry. No receipts. No warranty.

You get whatever paperwork that the seller is offering up as part of the machine. If it's not what you want, you don't buy it. Very simple.

Jaz

Pay in cash. If you don't know the person, take somebody with you if you can.

I understand the cash and carry part, but it seems like there's a limit. I can see taking $3K to a deal, but more than that seems a little dicey. Anybody done cash deals in excess of $5K? That would be some gangsta stuff.

I've done deals over 5k in cash. But it's not gangsta at all. When you're driving up to a guy's mansion in the woods, you know that the cash is probably just beer money to him.

Why no receipts? What if the person wants to put it on route and needs a receipt to depreciate the asset?

All expensive pins I've bought were from out of Town....I prefer wire ( easily traceable ) but certified funds minimizes the hassle if they can't take the wire. Side note.....I run an A/V Company and sold $22k worth of Audio gear once where deal went down cash in a Dominoes Parking lot....4 of them, 1 of me....kind of creepy...I carry concealed weapon ( w permit) but suspect it wouldn't have helped me in this situation.....counting $100's on my truck seat....everything legal, and they paid sales tax, btw.....

50"

Did one paypal deal, the guy came looked at the machine, said he wanted it (although there was no real question on that). He did the paypal transfer right then, once I confirmed the money was in my account I let him load it up.

I've never tried to re-negotiate a deal, with the exception of a case where it was advertised as HUO (second owner), and it was clear the DMD has been swapped from another game (based on some burn in from an attract mode). He claimed that was how it came, but agreed to adjust the price. This was quite few years ago, it was a swap of games a NGG + $ for TSPP, which if pinsider involved reads this thread I'm sure he with remember.

I've never been concerned with carrying money, but I've not spent more then $3K for a game, not saying that is not a lot, but guess I am a trusting soul.

And if you plan on bickering on the price, make sure you do that before you make the trek. Once someone travels a long trip, the seller clearly knows he doesn't have to drop the price any further at risk of you leaving.

LOL at thye Pinside mentality. Pinball machines would never change hands "dozens of times" until fairly recently, when noobs change their lineups as often as i change my socks (weekly ). Through most of pinball's history, a game would be bought by a distributor, then sold for home use, maybe change homes once or twice over many years. These days you need a GPS installed to track the wanderings of newer games!

I don't think that's pinside's fault. The general state of location gaming, the rise of home game rooms, and the passage of time have changed pinball a lot.

For someone who has basically insulted pinsiders all along, you sure spend a lot of time here.

What do you call you, an RGP'er just on reconnaissance?

I got a chuckle from the comment about driving 400 miles with cash in hand in order to negotiate once you arrived. I hope no one is travelling 400 miles without a deal struck and confident that nothing will change on either end at the end of that drive lol

Cash is the only way to go, unless you know the person well.

figuring a banded pack of 100 bills is about 3/4" thick... so 10,000 would be 100 banded packs of ones...

going on that, right around 6 and a quarter feet...