Deal poachers are starting to piss me off!

jar155

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On Friday there was a Fish Tales for $600 and a Breakshot for $400 from the same seller. Within minutes of posting the ad, I called and talked to the seller. It was around 3:30 and I told her I'd be leaving work at 4:00 and I'd come straight over with the money. She agreed and said that they'd be there for me. I went to go and get them after work and they got poached out from under me. I'm starting to get a little pissed, as this happened with these two machines and several others in the past month or two. I called to verify the address and she says, "Oh, I'm glad you called because they're sold. Someone came over, looked at them, and gave me a check right away."

I just said, "Gee, thanks, I guess I'll just go put the money back in my bank account."

Then she says, "Oh, sorry...but I do have a poker machine that you're welcome to come and see."

"No thanks, I just wanted the pinball machines we agreed on."

"Oh, yeah, they're gone."

Click.

This has started to become a way more common thing in this area recently and it's really poor form. I bought two machines about a month ago from a guy and when I drove out there he told me that not even 5 minutes before I showed up another person was basically pleading with him not to answer the door so that he could have a chance to check out the machines before I did. The seller declined, but he did get the name of the person who did that.

So, Utah collectors, I have a fair idea of who is doing at least some of the poaching. I'm not going to spread the name around, but KNOCK IT OFF YOU ***HOLES! I'm fine if I get beat to a deal, but most the time these have been the seller saying something like, "well, I told 'em it was sold, but they offered another $50 on top of it and said they could be over in 5 minutes." Real cool...real cool. If you're KNOWINGLY interfering with a deal, you're being a dick.
 
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Dude, on CL the deal isn't complete until money has exchanged hands and the machines are in your posession.

There are just as many flakes, if not more, who say they will be at your place at such and such time with the money and never show up. I don't blame any buyer, collector or not, who is the first to show up with the money and takes the machines.

However, I agree that it is poor form to offer more money just to buy the machines out from under somebody else...
 
It does really suck! I hope you know its not me buying up these pins from under you. I did looks at that EM pin you got on ksl and emailed him but he said it was sold. So.... yeah not me ;)
 
Yeah... unfortunately it's the seller who's the douchebag in most instances.

agreed. Not that it's not a douche move to offer more to a seller when they say they already have a buyer but, ultimately the seller is the real douche for promising the item to one person and then breaking his/her word and selling the item to another person.
 
Dude, on CL the deal isn't complete until money has exchanged hands and the machines are in your posession.

There are just as many flakes, if not more, who say they will be at your place at such and such time with the money and never show up. I don't blame any buyer, collector or not, who is the first to show up with the money and takes the machines.

However, I agree that it is poor form to offer more money just to buy the machines out from under somebody else...

I understand that concept, but if the person is less than 30 minutes away, can you really not wait it out? Whenever I've sold stuff and I've received multiple calls, I'll call back the first person that contacted me and say, "I'm just making sure you're still interested because I've had additional calls. Since you were first, you still get first shot, but I need to know."

In most cases, flakes will just tell you to go on with the sale. However, it's NOT the seller's fault if someone offers more. Offering more on a closed deal is purely the buyer being a douchebag. Yeah, the seller should honor previous deals, but intentionally breaking a made deal is just bad behavior in a collector's community.

It's starting to catch up with them. As I've been out to see many collectors and have picked up a few machines in the past couple of months a lot of familiar names come up. Lately 2-3 names have been coming up with sour results. I'll lose out on a nice machine or two before I'm going to have myself known as a jerk in the community.
 
It's not yours until you have it loaded up. Maybe try bluffing a bit next time and tell them you are hopping in your vehicle and driving over which will take you (how ever long you really need) as soon as you hang up. Give yourself enough time for when you can actually leave. Right before you actually leave call them and tell them you are X _t_i_m_e_X away. That way if the seller welches on you, you haven't lost on anything. It's sad we have to do this but I'm finding any deal on CL - I will leave work immediately and hop in my truck and run.
 
It's not yours until you have it loaded up. Maybe try bluffing a bit next time and tell them you are hopping in your vehicle and driving over which will take you (how ever long you really need) as soon as you hang up. Give yourself enough time for when you can actually leave. Right before you actually leave call them and tell them you are X _t_i_m_e_X away. That way if the seller welches on you, you haven't lost on anything. It's sad we have to do this but I'm finding any deal on CL - I will leave work immediately and hop in my truck and run.

I typically call and head straight over, not even bothering to grab money first. I'll show up, agree to buy, and go to an ATM nearby. Thing is, in this last case I couldn't leave work until 4:00, and she agreed that they'd be there for me. Not much else I could do, and whoever she told the machines were sold should have been gracious enough to just leave a number in case I passed on the deal rather than offering an additional $50 and promising to pick them up in 5 minutes rather than 30.
 
I swear it's something occurring more often Utah.. I have had the same thing happen to me last week. Last week there was a CL post on a FREE working Pac-man. I called the person and told them I'd be there after work to pick it up. After I got out of work I called them again to tell them I'm on my way and they told me they "SOLD" it to someone else and they came and picked it up.. I asked them why they didn't call me and tell me, and they said it was because I didn't offer them any money for the cab. I didn't think I had to becuase they advertised it as FREE.

I have zero cash so I am glad I missed out on the Fish Tales.. I would have been really pissed if I would have driven all the way up there to find out it was sold out from under me.
 
I have to admit most of my collection came from deal poaching, but don't shoot me! When I found Mario Bros, Asteroids, and Galaga .. the lady already had them sold to another buy for $20.00. Yes, twenty dollars. She even said the guy planned to "come take the guts out of them". These are COMPLETE MACHINES. I talked to her on the phone for like 30 minutes and offered her $200 sight unseen. Long story short they're in my garage now, complete, and working :)
 
The bottom line is, and the point of the thread, is that people's word isn't shit anymore.

I was raised properly in regards to this. I understand what agreeing to a deal means. That was instilled into me early on in my life. Most people today are complete douches that just want what's best for them...

It sucks. It really does. All those things are true - deal's not over until, etc. But there was a time when a man's word was his honor. Those days are long gone, apparently.

Sucks man, sorry to hear that happened to ya. :(
 
i dont agree with people offering more money to buy stuff out from under someone els

but i sell tons of games and computer stuff on cl and you almost have to take the money from the first to show up i have had so many no shows and time wasters its not even funny

now i do state in my reply to people when they are intrested tha due to no sows i can not hold things and its first with cash in hand that get's the item so they better hurry if they really wan the item
 
... now i do state in my reply to people when they are intrested tha due to no sows i can not hold things and its first with cash in hand that get's the item so they better hurry if they really wan the item

And that is the difference. You didn't agree to hold it. ;) And then renege on your commitment...
 
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