I got a call and offer on a pin over weekend

maddog14

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So, I have my NO FEAR & my Charlies Angels listed for sale. Im in no hurry to sell them. you know the deal, just gonna buy more pins when it sells. I like the machine, so I dont care when or if it does sell.

Got a call over the weekend. Guy, over the phone mind you and not in person, really low balls me on the price. I tell him sure, I will take that for my CA. He says no for your NF. I ask him " why in the hell would I sell my perfectly good working NF for that low of a price"

he responds"I dont know, maybe you need the money"

I reply back " I am pretty good, I just bought this weeks supply of crack cocaine, so money is not an issue"

He did not like that reply. I laughed at him. I mean what the heck did he expect?
 
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Why do we always abbreviate all of the pin names? I honestly have no idea what games you are talking about. I'll probably kick myself when you tell me.

I can't say I've never lowballed someone. Especially when i don't really want the game that much. It actually works sometimes.
 
Why do we always abbreviate all of the pin names? I honestly have no idea what games you are talking about. I'll probably kick myself when you tell me.

I can't say I've never lowballed someone. Especially when i don't really want the game that much. It actually works sometimes.

Well, low balling aint low balling when some one is asking 3 grand for a 1500 machine and you offer what it is worth.

Low balling is low balling when someone has a solid $3000 machine and you offer $1500 for it.

No, you wont get put in jail for offer that low, but you are fair game for abuse.
 
Why do we always abbreviate all of the pin names? I honestly have no idea what games you are talking about. I'll probably kick myself when you tell me.

The pinball crowd is one of the worst for using it, but the funny thing is some of them are duplicated such as CV. Some act like there will be a quiz on them tomorrow so you've got to memorize them all! :)

http://www.pinballnews.com/learn/acronyms.html
 
The abbreviations were a pain for me in the beginning as well, but once you start reading the forums more often it becomes a lot easier to remember them. I might still have to look one up here and there, but for the most part it's not a big deal to me anymore.
 
Lowballing happens often and like the guy says, sometimes people urgentely need the money and will sell anything too cheap just because the need the money.. so a few times he'll be able to buy things really cheap because people want to get rid urgent and do not want to wait (even a few days) until someone comes with a higher offer..
 
Better to ask than not ask at all, I would rather get the offer, I am not offended. Its just stuff, I simply say no thank you.

I got a low offer on an RFM that I took ;) which included delivery 9 hours away......any chance you know him, ha ha!
 
"Lowballing" in every other hobby is typically just starting off the haggling negotiations. You never just leap in with the price you'd like to get it at, you start off way low (or if selling, way high) and work up (or as seller, down). I'm not sure why pinball/arcade people have a super difficult time with this scenario and perceive every attempt as being something to get insulted or upset over.

Next time, just shoot back your original offer to see if he is REALLY just low balling. If he fires back with an increase on his initial offer, he's trying to negotiate. If he doesn't make a higher offer and just shits on your item, there you go. He's lowballing. Commence making jokes about crack.
 
Let's ask this. What are you selling it for and what was the offer? I've seen NFs go for $1000. So, maybe he was NOT lowballing after all?
 
If you don't mind me asking, how much are you asking for the CA and where do you have it listed? (Wondering about condition, etc.)

Low-balling sucks, but it's part of the game too. Never know when you do come across someone who is desperate or needs to sell their machines fast. The once in a blue moon you do find someone and they agree to the price, you are stoked.

I had someone who was given a bunch of machines, their kids grew up and they had a large party planned so they needed to get rid of their machines fast. They never gave a price and I just threw out a "fair" offer for sight unseen machines. I wound up with a super pacman, indy heat, TMNT2, off-road 4x4, and a 45 jukebox for $700. (And they were THRILLED with the offer and speed of removal)
 
I don't mind being low balled. What I do mind is is when I say no thanks and then get a hard sale about how my game is either crap or not fun or not as valuable as I think. But of course, in a trade situation, their shitty game is "climbing in value" and my game is "dropping in value." How convinient.
 
A mistake on my part?

What about this scenario:

You have a rare game (not rare as in eBay Rare, but as in low production and sought after) and you know it's value is 1.5 what you've offered it to someone for (because they have been searching "forever"). You provide pictures and get an e-mail explaining what is wrong with the game and they have to consider it.

Is it wrong to pull the offer for being offended? If it were me and I'd been looking and had the money, my next e-mail would have been "Who do I pay?". Everything wrong with it was minor and easily fixed and I pulled it out of storage and took the pictures.

If it were a common game, that would be one thing, but does a really Rare game have a different set of rules?

On another note: I had a Gottlieb Arabian Nights for sale recently and put it on Mr. Pinball. I had 2 people asking where to send the money to without pictures within an hour of the ad going out. It was rare and prolly underpriced, and I sold it to the first person who could come get it from me (sold 2 days later).

So was I wrong? Sorta struggling with it.
 
@ awarner, you were not wrong in my humble opinion. If someone is looking for a game and you offer it at any price (good or bad). The person should answer yes or no. If no, then you have the right to sell it on the open market for whatever asking price you set. Offering someone a private deal is a courtesy that you gave that person. If they decline, then...

I offered a guy a 100 percent working (players condition) FH for $1550 in October 2010. I am so glad he said no. I still have it today and it is now one of my favorite pinball machines. Pictures of the FH he said no to are at: http://usergallery.myhomegameroom.com/gallery/album1194 It is not for sale.
 
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Better to ask than not ask at all, I would rather get the offer, I am not offended. Its just stuff, I simply say no thank you.

I got a low offer on an RFM that I took ;) which included delivery 9 hours away......any chance you know him, ha ha!

LOL. Id have asked that guy if it included the reach around
 
Thats just the nature of the beast. I had an easily 2000 dollar amp listed for 1000, (I needed the cash, wanted to give someone a nice deal) I got tons of emails offering as low as 250.
 
What about this scenario:

You have a rare game (not rare as in eBay Rare, but as in low production and sought after) and you know it's value is 1.5 what you've offered it to someone for (because they have been searching "forever"). You provide pictures and get an e-mail explaining what is wrong with the game and they have to consider it.

Is it wrong to pull the offer for being offended? If it were me and I'd been looking and had the money, my next e-mail would have been "Who do I pay?". Everything wrong with it was minor and easily fixed and I pulled it out of storage and took the pictures.

If it were a common game, that would be one thing, but does a really Rare game have a different set of rules?

In my book, the seller is entitled to withdraw an offer at any time before it is accepted. Once it is put out and accepted, there's at least a moral obligation to follow through with the deal, barring extenuating circumstances. So, an "I'll think about it" leaves the offer open to being withdrawn at any time for any reason.
 
So, I have my NO FEAR & my Charlies Angels listed for sale. Im in no hurry to sell them. you know the deal, just gonna buy more pins when it sells. I like the machine, so I dont care when or if it does sell.

Got a call over the weekend. Guy, over the phone mind you and not in person, really low balls me on the price. I tell him sure, I will take that for my CA. He says no for your NF. I ask him " why in the hell would I sell my perfectly good working NF for that low of a price"

he responds"I dont know, maybe you need the money"

I reply back " I am pretty good, I just bought this weeks supply of crack cocaine, so money is not an issue"

He did not like that reply. I laughed at him. I mean what the heck did he expect?

It's hard to qualify your story without knowing exactly how "low" was the guy's price? I've seen some people balk at very fair prices that were way below what the seller wanted. Now if the guy offered $300 on a working DMD game, yea I might ask him where he gets his crack.
 
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Let's ask this. What are you selling it for and what was the offer? I've seen NFs go for $1000. So, maybe he was NOT lowballing after all?

Agreed. I couldn't even get $1,000 for my fully working, only one side faded No Fear. I would love to hear prices involved in this original post.
 
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