I don't want anyone's life story & I don't want a deposit. I don't want to answer 30 emails or know aboot your feelings.
I want to know you're willing to pay the price I've stated, and when you can come by to look at it & give me the cash to take it away.

Cash on the glass.

Buyer email or PM looks like this.

Good "Morning,Afternoon or Evening",
I see your "name of machine" pinball machine is for sale and I would like to see it in person. I will bring cash with me and if it's as described I will buy it.
Please feel free to call or email me to set up a time.
Thanks - "your name"
Email: """"""""
Cell/text: """""""""

If you are lucky enough to be one of the first replies with no drama you may have the opportunity to buy the machine.
-Mike

I like this. Short and to the point.

I first want to say that you have already been very wise in starting off by lurking, reading, and setting a realistic budget. Few people do that the first time. Kudos.

I am not sure if you have specific pins in mind (if you do, please share them), but I always recommend playing them as much as possible beforehand. Read reviews, watch videos, and find out what you really like...and more importantly...WHY you like them, prior to any purchase.

As far as your questions go:

1) as a seller, what makes you consider one buyer's offer vs. another if price is equal?

Ease of sell. Fewer questions, less hassle, cash, niceness, communication, moving quickly to buy.

2) What information would you expect in an initial contact from a serious potential buyer?

I expect them to say they are interested, ask specific questions if need be, and ask for more pics if necessary. If you have a legit concern or question...it should be specific. I can't tell you how many times people have asked me questions that were clearly stated in the ad already. It shows me they weren't looking at it, or they are just tire-kicking.

3) How seriously do you consider a offer to provide a deposit immediately but if the person can't pickup for a couple of days?

This depends on the seller, how bad they want to sell, and how many buyers that are interested in it. Most people would prefer a cash seller the same day over a seller leaving a deposit that can't pick it up for a week.

4) What else do you factor?

I guess this really boils down to 4 things:
Seriousness of the buyer, how fast are they coming over, how are they paying, how much of a hassle are they being.

If you really want a game...try to first state that you will take it...or at least you will take it pending questions. Communicate quickly and directly. Phone is best, text is next, messenger/app after that, email last. Ask intuitive and specific questions upfront. Don't waste the sellers time. Offer cash if you can, if not...ask what payments they will accept. Set up a time to go see it ASAP. Communicate that you are on the way/what you arrival time will be. Show up on time and ready to buy (vehicle to load it in, tools, any questions, money ready, etc.)

If you are quick and have money, you shouldn't have a problem.

What specific pin(s) are you interested in?

sometimes it just comes down to timing, and who messaged first. I- like many others - will respond in the order i get messaged. If a deal is struck great, if we don’t agree to a deal i will move to the next in line. Sought after games for good prices typically don’t last long, so best be quick and not mess around if you hope to land it. However i will reply to all messages regardless but not everyone will, especially if they get a lot of pm’s. Don’t take it personally if your pm goes unanswered, theres will always be another pin to buy (trust me lol).

If someone is willing to come to see the game in person, how long you have been a pinsider is less important. If you want a game shipped, Pinside rep becomes very important to me. I think most people will give preference to a local, hassle free sale though.

Best of luck!

Things have changed for me as as seller.
I live a quite a distance away from most buyers so I used to hold a pin with no deposit trying to do the right thing for people that sounded genuine until I realised that A lot of buyers didn’t even bother to turn up or just pulled out.

Then when I started to take a deposit, I got caught quite a few times holding the pin for a very substantial time while some buyers obviously didn’t have all the money and were just trying to lock the pin in, their wives said no, their dog needed braces or whatever lame excuse they came up with.

All of these times I had numerous inquiries and could have sold to other buyers but missed them.

Now I don’t take a deposit and say the pin is sold when it’s paid for. I’ll hold for a couple of hrs, enough time to organise a trip to inspect or pick up.

In saying this there was transactions that went very smoothly and I have sold to some of these guys now several times. Probably 50/50 good.

A buyer that offers to direct deposit straight away shows me they are serious, even though I never accept this, these are the people I will hold a short time for and are always a good experience.

Honestly the "this is my first pin" comment may be scaring some people off. I used to not understand why until I sold games to someone that bought them as their first pin. I've done this three times and effectively sworn off of it now because each time has resulted in multiple phone calls and texts weeks or months after the sale asking if I can come out to look at some "issue" with the game, which turns out to be a bulb gone out, switch that needs adjusting, etc. It's just honestly easier to sell pins to people that know what they are getting into.

You may be putting potential sellers on their heels with everything and sound like you are going to be needing a bunch of handholding and help after the game is in your possession. I'm not saying that's a bad thing as obviously we all start somewhere, but alot of people just want the game out of their way, cash in their pocket, and never have to worry about it again .

The first one to offer gets dibs. I’m patient and will give them a reasonable amount of time to come get it. If they pass or flake, on to the next in line. This will be communicated to all parties involved too.

I mainly buy and sell in person. Email is generally kept minimal, if I'm shopping I message the seller and say I'm interested in the game and ask if it's still available and when are they available to show it? I try to act quick, if it's a deal I'm hopping in my truck and heading there as soon as possible. If it's not a deal, I still try to set it up for within a day or two so it doesn't get sold before I can check it out.

All discussion about condition and price haggling should happen in person IMHO. When I sell games, I hate taking deposits or holding a game for the first person. I used to be OK with it, but experience has taught me most of these people will flake or drag out the transaction forever. Nothing like holding a game for a week or two for someone and then they back out. One guy put a deposit on my game and then took no action on it for months. He was out of state, eventually he paid and arranged for a shipper, but that was a huge hassle in itself. When I'm selling a game I generally need the space and cash for another game coming in, I don't want to store it for weeks or months for someone.

I have bought and sold 18 games in the past 2 years. As a seller, when a pin is competitively priced you get multiple offers quickly. If you have multiple offers are you going to answer a bunch of questions or respond to the guy offering full price, says he has cash, and can pick it up today? When I sold my Fish Tales I literally had over 40 offers. In most cases when I sell a game now I get 2 or 3 offers almost immediately and accept the one I like best unless I am looking for a specific trade. This week a Medieval Madness came up at a very reasonable price near me. I made a trade + cash offer and was rejected. I then sold what I was offering in trade overnight and had it picked up the next morning to offer a full priced offer for the original game, which I picked up that afternoon. Cash in hand is king when it comes to getting a game you want. If you have a $3500 budget, withdraw the cash and keep it in an envelope ready to go.

Since you (and presumably others) want to know what offers to buy games look like on Pinside, here are the last few I sold looking for cash (with names removed to protect the innocent).

Finally, here the language used to pick up a machine after my initial trade offer was rejected.

Good luck!

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A lot of buyers, especially new ones, don't put enough emphasis on condition and get caught up in finding a "good deal" or haggling over a couple hundred $'s when you can quickly blow $500-$1000 on repairing 90's DMD pins. There's also a night-and-day difference in how an excellent condition 90's era game plays. Pay particular attention to the circuit boards, DMD and other electronics. And if you're not mechanically inclined, stay away from JM unless the hand has been fully rebuilt (but otherwise great game).

The Shadow is an absolutely fantastic game (as the ranks and reviews reflect). If you have a chance to get it, I would 100% recommend it. It is deep, fun, and has tons of shots. It is a very long term keeper for most.

Road show is a love it or hate it game. It has so many mechs and toys, it would cost $15,000 or more if it were made today. It has lots of shots and very funny call outs. It is also priced very cheaply for what it is.

Johnny Mnemonic is another awesome game. Much like The Shadow, it would cost twice as much if it had a theme of a top movie instead.

High Roller Casino is likely the worst of the ones you listed. It is newer than the others, but the shots and the ruleset are just ok. The artwork and sounds get panned...but this is where I say to go for what is important to you. If art and sounds aren't high on your list, no worries. It is also cheap...if you can find one.

Lethal Weapon 3 is a cool game that would be a good starter pin. Cheap, easy to find, fun rules. Some people hate on data east, but I think they have about 5-10 really good games that hold up well. This is one of them.

STTNG is another phenomenal game, but up there in price. If you can come up with the extra money for it, I'm sure you would be glad you did in the long run.

Sharkey's shootout is another game similar to high roller casino in that it is newer, wasn't well received, harder to find, still cheap, and gets panned for artwork and sounds. The ruleset isn't deep, but it is fun. If you have a chance to get one at a good price, it might be the way to go.

The great equalizer is "how much can you get it for?" Any pin becomes far more desirable the cheaper it gets. I will tell you that most everyone would say to get the shadow and sttng, but if you don't have the funds...that doesn't help. Likewise, if you find a working sharkeys shootout for 500 bucks, you need to buy it. NOW!

The other thing I would mention is variety and a deep ruleset. It is of colossal importance in a home collection. Any game can get tiresome if it's the only one you have or if it is too easy. I becomes immediately apparent when they are in a home setting. If I had a 3500 budget...i would ask what 2 pins I could get, and how deep they are for longer term ownership.

It is quite possible you could get a sharkeys shootout and a LW3 or high roller casino for 3500 combined. If you could, I would do that. Otherwise, I would seriously consider combing ads for a low priced sttng or The Shadow. Just my .02 cents.

If you mention to the potential buyer that it's your first pin, you may want to follow with something like- I understand it's as is and you don't owe me anything if it breaks down as soon as I get it home. I avoid selling to friends and other first time buyers because I just don't have the time to travel and help them fix it. Something WILL break. Probably soon, maybe the first day. If it's a reasonable distance I will help someone that bought a machine off of me, probably for free if it happens right away, but I can't be expected to do it.

I agree with the statement above looking for a deal. If you spend a couple hundred bucks extra and get game that a reputable seller went through and shopped, it's worth it. You don't need to get all of your money back every time either. If you sell in 6 months and take a $200 hit, no big deal. You rented a cool game for 6 months for $200.

To add a few more items to consider to the pile, Road Show is a widebody game which turns some people off. The Red and Ted heads are also a PITA maintenance wise, but if they are working well and the game was well maintained it shouldn't be an issue. There are a lot of modes in the game, but they also progress in a linear fashion, which some people don't like. I actually like the game a lot personally and it's on my short list as well.

Shadow is a great game also, but a bit non-traditional in the sense that it doesn't have pop-bumpers and has the upper playfield with all the kickers going on. Again, great game, but if you're looking for a "traditional" pin, it may not be for you.

I own a JM and I think it's a great game, lots of fast shots and there is enough going on in the game to keep it interesting.

HRC and LW3 will likely be the cheaper games, but also much worse games IMO. They will also be the hardest to resell. What games people like is all subjective for sure, but I would not overpay on these games just to score one, because you will end up selling at a loss.

To get back to your original question, you are obviously buying at a weird time with COVID concerns making buying, selling, and moving games into a legitimate health concern. the market is also fairly stable right now and prices don't seem to be dropping like a lot of people thought they would, so there isn't a ton of "inventory" available, so when good titles like the ones you are after come up they tend to go quick, especially DMDs in the 3K range as it seems to be what everyone is after these days. I wouldn't take any "rejection" personally. You know the games you want, which is a great start. Keep an eye on here and if you are on Facebook get into a lot of the pinball buy and sell groups, many have 5-10K members.

In all honestly, a lot of games just change hands among groups of collectors in certain areas too. Of all the games I've sold, only a handful have ended up with someone I met for the first time, and same with games I've bought. The longer you hang around and get to know people the easier it seems to be to come across games. Obviously that's kind of challenging now unfortunately as locations, leagues, and shows have pretty much stalled out. The best advice is to have cash and be ready to go see the game. Don't be afraid to ask questions, but go in person and see the game and ask them there. It lets someone know you're serious. I can't even keep track of the people "very interested" in a game that I've spent hours getting more pictures, describing things, sending emails, etc. only to have them either stop responding completely or pass on the game. Now I just throw up a few pictures and people seriously interested in the game will end up coming to see it anyway.

One other point you said to meet other pinball people. You might try to PM some asking if you can meet or just talk about pinball related stuff. Not everyone will want to respond but you never know. Some of my best friends were met that way.

My first 6-8 pins I bought were from a local shop but I never interacted with other pinball people. The hobby is more fun when you have a bunch of guys and gals who you can hang with.

I think it's the part where you say you may need help in the future that may be turning the sellers off.

Buying from a retailer who offers support is one thing. Buying from a collector is another. There will be plenty of opportunities for community, and there are lots of good people here who will help you through tech issues, but a seller doesn't want to get a bunch of follow up calls/questions after the sale, so I wouldn't even mention this is your first pin in your communication.

Also, especially if a pin is priced well, you can't be too picky about when you can come pick up the machine. Sellers will generally sell to whoever shows up with cash first. A seller won't want to hold the game for you to look at if they have offers.

One thing (imo) would not narrow the pins down to just The shadow and 3 other pins (etc) and just $3500.

With that you are limited to maybe a few possible games locally. I would more look for anything mildly popular in good shape good price local.

I’m established with a decent collection so I can pick only one specific pin if I want. But if I was starting out it doesn’t matter if it’s The Shadow or T2 is something else. If it’s decently popular you can sell it or trade later.

I have nothing really to add to the etiquette aspect of this conversation, but I noticed that you are located in NH and I highly recommend reaching out to Sarah at "my arcade repair" in Pelham NH. She used to own the largest pinball arcade in New England that recently closed down and shes always been a great resource for me. Good Luck, and I look forward to seeing your post in the "what machine did you bring home today" thread.
https://www.myarcaderepair.com/forsale/index.php?catid=2

Maybe just rent a pin from an Operator for a few months. A number of them are doing it because of Covid. Might be a good way to start out.

This is a good point. You might think you know what you want, but when you get it home and play 10-20 games in an hour you might find out it doesn't click for you. This has happened many times for me and only recently did I find my third long term keeper to fill my last spot. You'll be moving them in and out in no time.

Please let us know if you have any leads...or better yet, if you have bought one.

There also is an ongoing 'Northeast For Sale' thread here on Pinside.
Good luck with the new game....it starts with one pin....but rarely stays that way.