How Long Do You Hold A Game For

nerdygrrl

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 24, 2010
Messages
3,329
Reaction score
495
Location
Portland, Maine
In April I sold two machines to a guy in NY. I had a delivery truck setup for an April 2nd pickup, but the guy flaked on payment and missed the truck. He paid me in full the next day and paid the delivery fee that I had to pay to the driver for coming out and not picking anything up.

I have contacted him a few times to come and get the games. He keeps telling me he will. It's now June 10th and we really need the space in our office as we are gearing up for SDCC.

I wouldn't be too upset, but I could have sold the games a few times over to others and they would be out of my way already. What should I do?
 
A storage fee is a good idea. I just don't know what the protocol for something like this is. I mean we are not talking cross country he is 2 hours away. I just really need the space.
 
I had someone not show up or call for over a year and paid me. I charge $30 a month storing a game after 30 days, by virtue of that it defaults back to me..
 
Call it a push, send him back the payment for the machine (but not that delivery fee of course) and tell him you're pursuing another buyer. People have no right staking claim to a machine, paid or not, and then fail to take delivery within a reasonable time. Two months is ridiculous.
 
at the motorcycle dealership i work at we start charging $10 per day after 5 days of notice of unit is ready to pick up....


i would send him a message saying if they aren't picked up but a certain date that you will consider them abandoned and will resell them and not refund any moneys..
 
Call it a push, send him back the payment for the machine (but not that delivery fee of course) and tell him you're pursuing another buyer. People have no right staking claim to a machine, paid or not, and then fail to take delivery within a reasonable time. Two months is ridiculous.

Yeah, I agree unless the time frame is already discussed and agreed upon with both parties. Someone offered to keep something for me but he was moving so I said don't worry about it. And had he not, we would've agreed upon some sort of deposit and specific time to pick it up by.
 
Melissa,
I had the same situation a few years ago. After a few months I finally sent an e-mail(and a phone call) that after 5 days i would have to start charging storage at
$10/day up to 30 days (you can set price and timeframe to your desire of course).
I see no problem with this. DO NOT offer any money back, you are not obligated to do so in any way. The buyer has already been given a break by having you store the games this long....after payment they became his don't forget and you were gracious enough to store them for free for 2 months as it is.
Jay

BTW, my buyer never showed up or even responded. After the 30 days I sent another e-mail i would sell it again for the cost of the storage fees that accumulated....never got a response at any time.



In April I sold two machines to a guy in NY. I had a delivery truck setup for an April 2nd pickup, but the guy flaked on payment and missed the truck. He paid me in full the next day and paid the delivery fee that I had to pay to the driver for coming out and not picking anything up.

I have contacted him a few times to come and get the games. He keeps telling me he will. It's now June 10th and we really need the space in our office as we are gearing up for SDCC.

I wouldn't be too upset, but I could have sold the games a few times over to others and they would be out of my way already. What should I do?
 
Im pretty much with everyone else here. Two months without much contact is long enough.

I would give him a week from now to pickup, otherwise i would refund him (less the fee) and resell to someone else.
 
You have to check the laws for your state. I had a similar experience a few years ago where a game was bought and paid for by an out-of-state buyer who was going to arrange shipping (that he was paying for). After multiple attempts of "I'll get right on it", eventually I couldn't contact him. This is not a car where you can place a lien on it, nor is it something that was brought to you for repair and you can claim is abandoned property. I was unable to charge storage fees since that wasn't part of the initial sale agreement. Nor could I resell it unless I refunded the money FIRST because it technically didn't belong to me anymore. I found that in order to consider it "abandoned" and my property again, I had to first send a certified letter to the address I knew (which I didn't know), then place a notice in both my and HIS local paper about the unclaimed property, then wait TWO YEARS for it to be claimed. If it wasn't claimed by then, it reverted back to me with no refund owed. If I wanted to charge storage fees, I had to first notify him, post the notices, then wait something like 3-6 months for action before I could. 2 years after it was paid for, his secretary contacted me with "Why hasn't this been shipped?" After forwarding all the emails we shared, it was picked up within the week....
 
+1 to you Nerdy, you are far more patient with people than I ever would be.


I've thought of adding an agreement to my computer repairs that says all items must be picked up within 7 days of repair with confirmation call or i will take ownership of said item(s). People are super pushy for some reason until you put the bill or responsibility in their hands.
 
Thanks guys. I know how busy life can be and I have been fortunate enough to have had folks store games for me, so I was trying to be nice. Unfortunately I have 4-6 pallets that need to be packed and ready to go for SDCC. Floor space is at a minimum right now and these things are just in the way.

The games were a Dig Dug and an empty Capcom Big Blue so I doubt I will have folks pounding down the door.

I dropped him a line today, I will give him a day to respond and if I don't hear back I will probably just write a letter.
 
In April I sold two machines to a guy in NY. I had a delivery truck setup for an April 2nd pickup, but the guy flaked on payment and missed the truck. He paid me in full the next day and paid the delivery fee that I had to pay to the driver for coming out and not picking anything up.

I have contacted him a few times to come and get the games. He keeps telling me he will. It's now June 10th and we really need the space in our office as we are gearing up for SDCC.

I wouldn't be too upset, but I could have sold the games a few times over to others and they would be out of my way already. What should I do?

The owner knows already. Its considered abandoned after a certain amount of time. Each state is different. Sell it after that time.
 
I've seen a show called Storage Wars....? Hint Hint.
When people don't buy, by a certain grace period that stuffs go out for Auction.

Yuuuuup!
 
I've seen a show called Storage Wars....? Hint Hint.
When people don't buy, by a certain grace period that stuffs go out for Auction.

Yuuuuup!

I'm no lawyer, but I would NOT try to look at it as being similar to storage auctions. Those lots are the result of someone not paying their storage fees, which is more similar to someone not paying the rent in an apartment for several months and leaving all of their crap behind (plus there is a signed contract involved with appropriate clauses for if stuff winds up abandoned).

As others have said, check your state's laws. I'd personally be considering just contacting the seller, giving him a timeline for when the stuff needs to go, then send him a refund if the stuff is still not picked up. The next FS post you put up, put in a clause about charging storage fees if not picked up within X amount of time (I'd say about a month). It's not normal to put that in a FS post, but if you've been burned once by it...

I once held onto a pair of free...FREE mind you...cabs for a guy for 8 months. Never got picked up. I was stuck with them for YEARS. I know another friend that received payment on a cab almost six years ago now. He went through 3 moves with that damned machine.
 
Last edited:
Do what auto shops often do. Start charging a storage fee.

My father in law owned a towing company. The cops would call him out to tow cars on the freeway (interstate) highways and from the second they dropped the car off at the lot or yard, storage charges would begin (like 180 bucks a day) , with a maximum 30 day hold resulting in a penalty at 30 days (usually totalling more than the car or truck was worth). They would then offer the owner a "transfer agreement" and release all fees (usually over 10K to 20K) in return for the title for the vehicle which they would then resell.

Very sleazy, but legal, and widely accepted. But very sleazy. My point is that there are precedents for not only recouping your costs, but profiting from deadbeat buyers. Or at least breaking even. People will take advantage of you at every turn unless you protect yourself. I am all for the storage charge theory here.
 
Develop a contract that the buyer must sign understanding the guidelines to sale. Acquire all current contact information. Include stipulations in the contract:

1) Non-refundable Deposit to remove item from inventory and mark sold till full payment received - your call on %
2) Time frame till Full Payment must be received i.e 30-90 days - your call
3) If full payment is not received by time frame agreed upon then deposit is forfeited and item is placed back on sale
4) If Payment is received in Full by agreed time frame then item must be picked up by a certain time frame or have shipping organized i.e. 10 days. Buyer has had ample time since day of deposit to organize pickup or shipping arrangements.
5) If item is not picked by (xx days) item will incur a daily storage fee of xx. If after xx days of storage equaling amount of cost of item sold item will be deemed forfeited/abandoned and the amount paid for the item will used as payment for storage fees. Send a certified letter to the address you have on contract stating this.

With this the buyer knows exactly what is required of them and if they do not follow through then thats their issue. If they take you to court then you have a signed understanding to the guidelines of sale and it was the buyers free will to accept the terms of sale.

Your call this is what I do.
 
I once held onto a pair of free...FREE mind you...cabs for a guy for 8 months. Never got picked up. I was stuck with them for YEARS. I know another friend that received payment on a cab almost six years ago now. He went through 3 moves with that damned machine.

Wow, that's crazy! You guys take your sales seriously.

I wrote the seller I hope he responds. I need these gone. I will be a little miffed if I have to relist them as it takes a ton of time and $$$.

If he can't come and buy these do I do a full refund minus the shipping costs?
 
Back
Top Bottom