Well maybe....LOL!!!

Cognac... Cigar...

MUCH later then...

I'm sorry for all you guys / gals that got scammed by this scumbag Kevin. I certainty hope he gets what he deserves.

Hang in there, things will work themselves out. Someone told me a long time ago "worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do but doesn't get you anywhere". We have all had bad things happen and been in situations where we don't think there is a way out.

My advice would be to call a few friends, fire up a couple cigars and throw back a few beers. That's something that always makes me feel better.

Maybe back in 2004 you preordered a game from someone who had never made a pinball game before, someone who had incorporated a new company to build it so if the game didn't turn out his personal finances and his other business interests wouldn't be affected. And ordering the game required half of the money up front and the rest paid in full only three or four months later. Then you had waited for over two years with nary a sight of said game being finished, during which time opportunists offered you a couple grand to have them take over your preordered game so you could cut your losses. And when all was said and done it turned out that the man you ordered it from lost well over a thousand dollars on every one of the games he did build.

But with all that risk, one Saturday in July of 2007 you finally picked up BBB #16 NIB. That's why.

But I would never do it again. Unless maybe for Capcom Kingpin...

Ahh...she looked just as beautiful the day I married her.

Don't let it spoil your love of pinball. When I was first starting out, I bought a BSD on eBay from a guy who apparently also runs a pizza parlor. I got hosed BIG TIME. Machine was a disaster when I got it, and the photos must have been from another machine.

-He shipped it upright on it's legs
-Entire machine wasn't even wrapped in anything
-Balls were rolling around all over the playfield during shipping, breaking multiple plastics
-Dead DMD
-Dead DMD controller board
-Backglass fell out during shipping
-Damaged backglass insert
-Lost keys
-Mist multi-ball dead
-Bulbs out everywhere
-Many switches and coils dead
-Optos out
-Looked like it'd been stored in a barn with the playfield glass off for 10 years. FILTH everywhere!

I was filled with anger, and seriously considered driving down to pay that clown a visit! I ended up totally restoring the machine on my own. In the end, I decided not to let that F-face mess with my love of pinball. That was a few years ago... Now? I own nicer machines than that F-face ever will.

Moral of the story? Don't let someone wreck pinball for you.

This is a total bummer of a situation...and it sounds like you're going through a tough time, otherwise. Don't let it drag you down too much. Hang on to your pins for a while and come back to them when you are fresh.

Good luck on the work front!

Oh, come on. this is a funny post and lightens the mood a little bit. Plus, TXJay has a WOZ, so he knows the pain of long preorders.

YOU too??!

It is a bummer Vster, no doubt about it. I know you wanted this game more than just about anyone. All we can do is to try to recoup our money and move on to better things brother. Give me a holler and lets go tee up some disc golf and get the stress out.

I dealt with that guy once trying to get a CC from him. He talks a great game and delivers nothing. I, luckily, got tired of his BS and bought a nice game before he could come up with his restorable game for about the same price. Now I have all the ramps plastics, stickers and the mountains that I don't need.

Why was that set as hidden in your post? So odd how these things are decided on.

You'll get past this. You got a lot of pinball folks here in kc.

You're not done, and don't let it get you that down. Here's some food for thought:

Even though you will lose money on this, you have value in all your other machines, and they will likely go up. Yeah, you have to eat this cost, but there is still no other form of entertainment that you can get back much of what you paid into it. In other words, you're still way ahead money wise than flushing the same global amount of cash you have invested down the toilet with another hobby/form of entertainment.

I feel for you friend.
I was lucky and got out after 2013 Expo.
If I lost money on that pin, I would have been very screwed now.

Just sending you positive vibes that this will get resolved in your favor soon.

Anybody ever call the police on this guy ? Sounds like fraud Or better yet another Ponzi scam

You have some reading to do...

Don't let one negative act soil ya

I got screwed out of a lot of money on a eBay scam

Thought I was buying a TSPP

Would up with nothing

Yeah I pounded salt for a while

Dusted myself off

Moving forward

You'll get past this and so will others

Well, I felt the same at some point, I was in (and still am) on HobbitLE and TBL. Both seemed to become a drama and in one occasion ofcourse, the risk of losing my pre-paid money. On top of that i had bought a STLE which was a bummer once i had it as the code wasnt complete. So I ended up spending the amount equal to a midsize car.
From that moment onwards the money involved became an issue, as in like thinking of ''what the hell am I doing''
Luckely all those three machines now will become good ones and real ones but I learned my lesson well. Im going back to the basics, enjoying playing pinball, fixing them, restoring them, with no concerns of money in the back of my mind ever again.
It is a hobby, nothing more nothing less either.

I think he was just looking for a shoulder to cry on.

I'll take him serious when I see his games go up for sale.

With that kind of money buy a sure thing AFM AM TZ LOTR TSPP and many more that are done no waiting for code no prepay just fun games

The key to weathering these storms is simple: STAY OFF OF PINSIDE! Not forever, just for a while. The problem with starring at the problem all day long is it will absolutely debilitate you. While Pinside did help to uncover the issues, which is amazing, it now has become nothing more than an endless conversation that would drive any owner NUTS.

I'd say sign off for a few weeks, see if a refund comes, if not, come back and check out the status. Be rest assured there will be another 100 pages of debate you can catch up on when you return.

And lastly, don't beat yourself up. Kevin is a scumbag and he duped everyone. When the scrub happened, he flat out LIED to everyone. That guy can never show his face at another pinball event, ever. You should just give it some time and then get back into the collecting part of the hobby. Only JPOP and Skit B were the bad bets this year. Everything else will ship.

Kevin better be showing up at shows to raise money to pay back the people he will likely still owe money too. "Kick the Kevin" for 5 Bucks . A dunk tank would result in too many balls thrown right at him so may as well just cut to the chase...

Everything else except maybe JPOP's umpteen games, TBL, and...