A friend that attended TPF and the auction told me he saw the guy from the glo-ball company(a FUN affiliate company) frantically putting in bids from his laptop just outside the auction doors. Classy!

I hope they take a huge loss due to the fees. Damn shill bidders.

I was told that they own the auction company as well so they just pay the fees to themselves. I haven't confirmed that, though. I did see that the A-list machines were back on ebay immediately after the auction. Definitely will never do business with Fun! Rotten company.

Is GloBalls really a FUN offshoot?

None of this stuff is true. And TX allows seller buy back at auction, so sellers can run up the bid all they want here. Happens every other weekend in these parts. Most machines did not reach reserve, including BBB. Nothing about this is unusual in any way. Say what you want about FUNs pricing, but let's calm down on what was an otherwise totally normal auction experience around here. And he does not own the glow ball company. Different guy entirely. And they certainly don't own the auction company. Good lord.

If that is a totally normal experience around there, then there are some shitty companies operating in the area. Just because it's allowed doesn't make it right. The auction was billed as no reserve, which is decietful to people not familliar with Texas auction law. It was pretty much a waste of everyone's time. They should have just put their retardedly high price tags on the machines and let people decide if they were worth it.

http://texaspinball.com/tpf/announcing-the-worlds-greatest-pinball-auction/

Where was is represented that the auction in its entirety was No Reserve? In fact, Steve confirmed right here on Pinside that seller buy back bids would be allowed, up to reserve price. He only guaranteed that there would be no seller bids above reserve. Seller buy back is the law of the land in every state where these types of game auctions are regularly undertaken, as you would never get people putting machines up for auction otherwise. It wasn't any more or less a shitty move here as it is any other time it happens.

So no affiliation at all? Or he just doesn't outright "own" the company?

Hard to believe having shill internet bidders is par for the course for all auctions in your parts. Are you denying that the glo-ball guy was internet bidding from outside the auction doors? I doubt my buddy was the only one to witness him doing it...

http://auctionpinball.com/online-auction-information/

Don't own the auction company? Strange coincidence, then.

I missed the, "MANY at no reserve", i'll give you that. The whole thing still stinks

It wasn't even just the A-list titles. A revenge from mars "sold" for 3400 and was back on ebay for 5K almost immedietly. Hell, there were 2 on the TPF floor with sale tags of $2500 and $2700. Wonder who bought that one?

I stand by my statement that Fun! stinks. I will lcontinue to tell people not to waste their time with them.

Can't tell me that Fun! Auction Company is not owned/afilliated with Fun!

Your Troll-Fu is weak.

I know that the Glo-ball guy is associated with Fun! because I talked to him for a while and he told me that he was. I was wasting my time sitting in that auction, though and can't comment on what he was doing during it.

I know who owns the glow balls company, and I know who owns FUN!....and they are not the same person. As for "affiliation" I have no clue. That term isn't defined, but none to my knowledge. They are not run by the same people, I can tell you that.

Fun Auction was set up for this event, but it was an outside 3rd party auction company that ran the event. Steve does not have auctioneers on the payroll. If he was that big, he wouldn't be selling pinball machines out of a storefront in Mesquite, TX. Do you see anything on that site to suggest that it was anything other than set up only to list the games at this one auction? Can you hire that auction company to run an auction for you?

I have not the foggiest idea who in the hell was in the hall doing what on a computer. But it sounds like neither do you. I do not know if the guy that owns the glow ball company was out there, or if you have him confused with Jared (Bakushan) who was out there, and does work for Fun! in some capacity. He was out there with a computer checking people in the past time I saw him. Was someone bidding on machines? Maybe. It is allowed.

I believe that at least half of the machines in the auction were not owned by FUN or Steve. They were consigned to the auction, and their owners set reserve prices. If those prices were not met, they did not sell.

Grow up and get your panties unwadded. I don't do business with FUN! on pinball machines, either, because the prices are too high. And I live about 5 miles from the place. But Steve is a good guy and there are some stupid allegations and suggestions being flung around here. Don't like his prices? Fine. Most of us don't. Don't like the Texas auction rules? Fine. Most of us don't.

You don't have to have auctioneers on the payroll to own an auction company. You can contract them for your events.

I guess my mood doesn't come across on a forum post, but i'm not hopping up and down mad, I'm just not telling people not to waste their time. Whether law allows it or not, the auction is still designed or "rigged" by Fun! so that the machines sell for what he wants. Lot's of things are legal, but it doesn't make them a good thing to do.

You can stow that "good guy" speech as well. A nice guy does not severly over price his products to screw the customer, nor does he waste peoples' time with a farce of an auction. Unless my definition of good is wrong.

facepalm.jpg

Ive bought three machines from Steve, nice guy, way over priced ....I learnt quick, welcome to the hobby! I saw this auction read the rules, didnt like rules for this exact reason, had no intention of going. Sorry some wasted there time but like me, lesson learned.

Yup. Lesson learned here, as well. Won't attend another and I will certianly dissuade anyone who asks me from attending. That's a couple hours wasted that could have been spent playing pinball.

that is why, except for the social setting, these auctions are a waste of time. While it may be legal and allowable, I'm not going to participate in anything where i'm bidding against seller.

In these, Seller should have to wear a dunce cap so everyone knows who is bidding against them.

People will get away with what you let them. If you accept being overcharged, inconveinenced and misled then I have no problem with it. Just don't tell me I have to be OK with it.

Facepalm all you want. There wasn't one person at TPF who had a good thing to say about Fun or their fake auction.

He isn't trying to get you to buy a machine. He isn't expecting business from Pinside. Not to his showroom. He sells machines to his targeted demographic. He isn't duping anyone here. I don't pay his prices, either. Yeah, he put together a monster auction at TPF, and some machines sold and some didn't. I did not attend one second of the auction, because I knew I wouldn't pay the auction prices. Who exactly was harmed here? Why the commotion and crying? Because things didn't actually meet reserve it was now a big waste of your time? Meaning what, exactly? Had they actually been sold to some 3rd party, then it would not have been the same waste of your time? You judge the value of your time on whether some unknown 3rd person completes a transaction that doesn't concern you whatsoever?

Or are we just yelling at clouds in here?

Seems the only one causing commotion and crying here is you. You agree that the auction was a sham and you agree that Fum prices are too high. You also would not give them your business. This is all according to your posts. Yet you are trying to take me and others to task for the same stance? I'm just going to stop responding to you because it's obvious you are just trolling. If not...... Well I don't even want to speculate

guys your both right, your both saying the same thing. We are obviously not his target market his target market are newbies that dont spend their time in this hobby and there's lots of those out there! If Steve for a minute thought he was getting pinheads to out bid owners at ridiculously high reserves or prices he wouldnt have wasted his time. He serves his market well and I found to be a nice guy. I just wouldnt pay his prices or attend his auctions because of his prices......I'm a pinhead now!