Neither envelope was right, it took both. Which he conveniently had the one with hundreds handy.

That was no mistake.

Glad you were on the ball.

LTG : )

He says he handed you the "wrong envelope" what he meant to say was there was a second envelope oops! He screwed up his own cons backup plan with his words.

Did you try to sell this game on Craigslist? Facebook?

If it's pinside you should out that bastard!

Absolutely a con. No way it is coincidental that both envelopes equal the total and that it he had small bills to make it seem hefty. Can you share the buyer info in the Colorado thread or PM it to me? Would hate to see any of us locals deal with this kind of shit. If I ever bring somebody cash I insist we count it together to ensure we are both good.

You may want to check those bills with a bill pen.

ALWAYS count the money.

I'm pretty sure I'd be counting for a transaction that large too, but it makes you wonder how many times it's been successful?

Thanks for the heads up, glad you didn't get scammed!

Please post the agreed amount for tax purposes.

Total scammer move. I would assume he's done that before (and succeeded at it). Maybe not necessarily with other pinball transactions, but possibly other high value craigslist transactions.

When selling, I always count the cash and make sure it's all there before the game moves an inch.

When buying, I always encourage the seller to count the cash in front of me to make sure that it's the correct amount so there's no problems later. That way I know it's all there and I didn't make a counting mistake, and the seller knows it's all there at the time of the transaction.

What are you gonna do, shoot the guy? Over a pinball machine? Crook or not you have to avail yourself of the courts. Maybe the game you sold was Judge Dredd.

Yeah, I don't understand the point of a concealed weapon except for self defence.

This is why when I sell or buy a game I insist on counting the money in front of the person I'm doing the deal with.

Granted, it can be awkward but best for both parties.

Dude, if I was a buyer and a seller just pocketed my envelope in good faith I would even tell them to count it. It’s like part of the deal, we talk shop, we say everything is square, and then we bring it to the car then likely talk some more.

It shouldn’t be awkward though. Two strangers that have little to no history should just automatically trust each other? When I am buying, I make sure the seller counts the money while I am there. It eliminates any chance of confusion later. It is just good practice and shouldn’t be awkward.

Breaking the machine down before I do the final count ain't gonna happen. Ever.
You got lucky Mr68 . Too many dirt bags in the hobby these days.

I agree 100%. The idea that a financial transaction, even and maybe especially between friends or family, shouldn’t have a counting of the money is crazy and not an insult. There is nothing odd about this to ensure a mistake wasn’t made… even an honest one. I also insist on it whether buying or selling.

He didn't say that.

I think since it turned out he was dealing with a crook, no telling what might happen next. Being able to defend oneself adds to your peace of mind.

LTG : )

I bought a game last saturday he didn't even count the cash envelope, then he let me pee in his yard before my 6hr return drive.

Sounds like my kind of business person.

Funny to get downvotes for a simple joke that most people would not take offense to, most normal people that is.

Our local Police Chief actually stated for us to trade goods within their safe-zones. We're supposed to tell the buyer to take a hike if they refuse to trade within their zones. I've never heard of anything like this so close to home. Some crazy sh'tuff must be going on out there.

safezones (resized).jpg

Take two envelopes.

The last 3 deals I have done the money was counted in front of me by the buyer before put in my hands.

Seems best that way

You can probably buy A LOT of these now
So ya got that goin for ya.

20230410_185147 (resized).jpg

I'm just glad everything worked out okay but it's a good cautionary tale for everyone. The games used to be a lot more inexpensive but with the current prices as high as they are it'll bring out the crooks.

Scum of the earth give two shits about laws, good luck with your courts.

Ya but still before anyone puts there's hands on the game I first count the money and ifs it's all there then they can start its the only way

One of those bad eggs that takes advantage of peoples trusting nature. Fucking ballsy as you probably have some contact info and seen his face. You may even have his license plate on any surveillance video. I think its fair to post a local warning on CL about this attempted scam. You dont have to name names. Hope the pin gives him nothing but trouble after the move and his bone is busted.

I understand your point, but if he said "I grabbed the wrong envelope," yet the second envelop was also short, his claim to innocence doesn't make sense.

Im not saying you should. Just let foiks know that someone is out there buying pins and trying to short people money with fat envelopes full of small bills.

One envelope with small bills and one with large bills. Sounds like a drug dealer to me.

I think that's what he's doing with this thread. Most people buying an selling pins are probably familiar with Pinside.

I would just like it if buyers invested in rubber bands
Trying to keep track of large amounts and keep an accurate count is hard if people have wrapped the notes in cling-film

I'm just a noob but from reading Pinside for a few years, the fact that the guy didn't want to play your other games, sit on your couch, pet your dog, or make small talk with your wife was a huge red flag.

Was it a Pinsider and if so how was their reputation If it was.

I was in a similar situation with a snowblower I sold. After I help the buyer load it on his trailer he hands me an envelope "straight from the bank" he says, it was $150 short. He had no idea how it happened, he apologizes and opens up his wallet and pulls out a $100 bill and a $50 bill, which were the only bills he had in his wallet. "I'm going to have to talk to my bank about shorting me" he says. Sure you do that.

Two related stories about myself. Both times I'm the buyer. Both times the sellers were good people.

First time we get the game broken down and in my pickup. Body in the back, head in the passenger seat.
Me: Oh crap, I forgot the cash!
Seller (not happy): At home!?
Me: No, it's the the seat console. We need to take the head back out so I can get it to give to you.
Seller: Oh, well OK then.

Second one:
Seller (counting cash): Hey, you're $X00.00 short here!
Me: Wait, don't you remember I sent you that through paypal as a deposit?
Seller (embarassed): Oh man, you're right. I'm sorry. I just forgot.

Anyway, odd situations happen to everyone.
But the OP's experience is different. That HAD to be deliberate to happen that way.

If he’s willing to con you during the purchase, he’ll definitely sue you for liable. He knows you have a lot of valuables; house, lots of pins.

Smart having a friend there with you also, who knows what shenanigans might have happened if you were outnumbered.

I do have a story about accidentally shorting the seller when I was the buyer. I keep my pinball money in a safe sorted into neat 1K stacks with a rubber band around each one. I made a deal with a pinsider to buy a machine from him. I just grabbed several of the 1k stacks and didn't bother counting since I had counted them all up previously. I handed him the envelope and we got talking, I think he glanced through the envelope but we didn't count the money together. Later when I got home he let me know I shorted him $60. He was very gracious about it. I had no idea how it happened. I apologized and sent him the money. No issues. I mentioned it to my wife about how bad I felt and wondering how it happened....she sheepishly tells me she took $60 from my pinball money earlier that week cause she needed cash for something and forgot to mention it.

"Don't blow it, keep it simple, count your money."

Last pin I bought seller just took envelope even though I said check. I had already checked five times because I'm paranoid that way. Still do it even for $100 FB purchase.

Last car I bought with cash and the woman's boyfriend counted out the money. He asked why I insisted on cash. It was a Sunday and I said how could we make a deal on Sunday otherwise, which was only good mutual day.