It's not wrong, just pointless. Especially when these "Is X for sale also?!" guys almost ALWAYS lowball you.

IF the CV you can see in the reflection of the backglass of the game that is actually for sale was for sale, I'd put an ad up for it.

I say offer away but just don't low-ball on an unsolicited offer. Everything is for sale, at a price

Nobody wants my games lol

I don't get upset when people ask out of the blue...

I get irritated when they ask multiple times after I've politely said not for sale

Location! You have good pins,

Once in a while I get somebody asking but never had an instance where it bothered me at all. They ask, I say no (usually), and we go on our merry way. Sometimes they'll ask me to let them know if I change my mind.

-Hans

That doesn't bother me either, I was referring to people asking every other week after they were nicely told no

Doesn't hurt to ask. I've bought some like this and also sold games. Mainly on the pinball owners site.

Ha pretty much this. I've gotten a few and never been annoyed by them but it's a safe assumption if I don't have it for sale there's a reason, so the odds are good you won't like my "make me sell it price". You know what they say, if you have to ask...

Right now in my collection Whirlwind and Taxi get the most. I frequently get offers to buy/sell games from people I've bought or sold from in the past. In fact, I am currently agonizing over an offer to sell or trade me a Twilight Zone I got from a previous buyer before it hits market.

I've asked and bought a junk yard, and have been asked about our sinbad, and ss, but not for sale

Mine is my whirlwind also! I've actually been considering trading just out of restlessness being stuck in the house to mix it up a bit.

I get offers on my bad cats here and there and my whirlwind

Other than that, nada.

It's been Fish Tale, but I think that's partially because I've owned it twice. The first time I sold it it was to someone who made an unsolicited offer.

Without question it's my Mata Hari EM... it's funny too how people will reach out, then right out of the gate state how their budget is this or that... but so much less than what the game is worth, making the whole experience pointless.

I hide the vast majority of my collection at least partially because some people are relentless about certain games.
I have no problem with people reaching out and I often do it myself if ever on the hunt for a game.

That said, when cold calling you need to at least be reasonable in your offer.

I have actually both bought and sold from cold calls.
Worked out well in many cases.

Centaur was for a long time the most asked about; so i removed from my active collection.
Whatever rare or oddball game currently catches my fancy is what I will go hunt and call about.

whirlwind

I've gotten a few for my EM Cleopatra, Super Mario Bros, Hulk, and one for my Robo-War. I don't mind receiving them, and it's flattering when I do.

On 2 separate occasions, I've been able to parlay it into helping the party who has reached out to me find another seller who has the same game, and on one occasion, I was able to facilitate a successful buy for them, so it's not all bad.

This seems pretty key. If they haven't even listed it for sale, they're doing you a favor by considering your unsolicited offer. If you actually want the game, it's time to scrounge up an extra hundred or two and make a highball offer they might find tempting.

Indiana Jones. Anytime its in a picture in background I am always asked to sell it. The other I get asked to sell is Shrek. Who knew?

I've had people ask for games in the background of other sales ad that I myself couldnt even see in the background. Then, after zooming in, I could finally see a tiny corner or something. People are weird.

Is that for sale?

For me it was always centaur or barracora...the barracora sold the second time around because the offer was very fair and I was bored with it. I ended up getting one of my Grails due to that sale...but usually I just ignored people who would ask...

While I owned it star light always would get interest whether it was here, shows or on pinballowners.

It never bothered me. I dont have the disposable loot to pay at or above market for most games so I wait for them to come up for sale or available as a project.

I get no offers nor do I solicit them. I don't feel left out either.

I made several unsolicited offers on Seawitch when I started in the hobby three years ago. Only person interested in selling was a scam artist who wouldn’t provide good pictures until I was demanding better pictures. He wanted $1500 over highest Pinside sale and it had a lot of playfield wear.

I did the same thing two years ago asking a lot of people about their Quicksilver. No one was interested so I placed an ad in the Marketplace, received an offer to sell, and I bought it.

Pm sent. Just kidding.

I get a fair number of unsolicited interest in the same few games: Medieval Madness, Attack from Mars, Indiana Jones, Cactus Canyon. Those I will never sell.

I received a lot of inquiries about selling Tales from the Crypt and Rocky and Bullwinkle. I think I did end up selling TFTC on a cold call. Lately, a few asking about Time Fantasy for sale, but I wanted to get it fixed up and play it a bunch before considering any sale.

I have sent messages several times when I was looking for a specific game. Everyone has been very nice about it. If I am reaching out to someone to buy their game they aren’t advertising though I don’t tell them what I want to pay, I ask them what they would want. I figure if I can’t wait for one to come up for sale then I’m not in a position to bargain with them. Although I have not bought one from someone I asked, they have given me leads before that were very helpful.

I feel the same way. I can only remember one Pinsider sending me a PM asking about a trade, which I didn’t take him up on, but it made me feel good that someone was interested enough in a couple of my pins to want them.

I did get my Hot Tip EM that way. After not being able to get enough of the one at ReplayFX two years in a row, I sent PMs to Pinsiders from NY to MO asking if they would sell or trade theirs. One response was “Not unless I find a better one,” but one owner in IN responded positively, so I bought my favorite EM!

When people come over and see how much fun EMs actually can be, if they’re interested, they always seem to ask about Grand Prix, Target Alpha, and/or Royal Flush, none of which I plan to sell.

I get PMs on here to sell games in my collection most common Star Light, Defender, Varkon, Joust, Rat Race, Barracora, Cosmic Gunfight, Catacomb, Bad Cats etc....I'm not a seller and the standard reply that everything has it's price doesn't apply to me, so I always answer no not for sale and go on...I generally get a second offer saying that if I change my mind let them know...I don't normally answer that one cause I'm not planning to sell anything in the foreseeable future and the list of folks that want me to let them know if I change my mind would be way to long to keep track of...

Phoebe

I’ve been guilty of this once or twice. Maybe three times. Okay five. A dozen. Please, just sell it to me?

It’s not pointless for everyone. Last year the fiancé wanted a White Water and an original AFM. Each time I was ready to buy I sent out 20 pinside messages to owners of those games. 15-17 no’s. 3-4 replies were make me an offer. Zero haggle, bought both of those machines in that manner with fair offers.

Correct:
I've asked and had success.
I've asked and been told, not for sale...and I've never asked that person again.
I've been asked, said why not and done the deal.
I've been asked and said no chance.

Nothing wrong with it - that's part of why we list our collections.
But taking no for an answer and moving on is a big part of these inquiries.
I've had a person say no, then circle back and say yes, and a deal was struck - so whatever works in the end.

I did get an inquiry some time ago about my Gottlieb Challenger (2 player head to head pin). I hadn't thought about selling it, but the buyer was willing to pay whatever I asked. The deal was done and the game shipped from Toronto to LA.

I don't mind as long as you can accept a polite 'no'
asking 5 times is a PITA

I’ve reached out to some in the southeast. I try to approach people politely and ask if they’d be interested in selling. When I get a “no” I say thanks and move. Some say to check back and I do. All about approach

It's funny seeing all the whirlwind. It is the first one that popped into my head. Just over a year ago I picked up a beautiful restored whirlwind. It was in my garage and I had just picked up a bunch of games to flip. Every person asked about that game that came in. Someone offered 4500 and I was tempted. That night it went to the basement where no one gets to go.

Why would anyone care if someone offered to pay them money for something they owned? I mean, if it happens every day, ok, it might get old. Don’t reply. But who cares? Really?

Opportunity knocks. It’s up to you to answer the fucking door. Or not.

I've made a few unsolicited offers. Most people let me down easy. A few didn't take me asking very kindly. You never know until you ask. My Skill Roll has gotten a number of unsolicited offers.

I get the most inquiries about any pin that happens to be in the picture of a for sale advert.
Without fail every time I’ll get an inquiry. I sometimes think should I put the game I actually want to sell in the background. People seem to want what they can’t have.
Banzai run get the most of these types of inquiries of my lot by a large margin.

If you are going to make an unsolicited inquiry about a game I have I expect you to offer a decent price. If you start out even a little low I am done with you. If I want to take a low offer I will at least put an ad up.

Most unsolicited offers to buy we get .... for our newer machines would be ACDC BIBLE, older machines would be 70's KISS, and the really older ones no interest..... (except people thinking they can buy an EM for 100 or less LOL .... must be because we are in a country town and they have seen too many 'picker' type TV shows LOL)

No issue at all. I've actually found a few games/deals through this method. I've also been asked to sell some of my games by others (mostly IJTPA).

Hard Bodies