Was I out of line with my offer?

jdubb350

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So a friend of mine told me that a friend of his has a Taxi pinball that he's not really selling but might be willing to part with and told me that he didn't know what the guy would want but he was thinking around $500-$600 for it and he had no idea on the condition of it. So I called the guy this evening and chatted with him for just a couple of minutes. It needed a pop bumper rebuilt and a flipper rebuilt for sure, and I know it hasnt been worked on for a long time, so I know it would need new rubbers, some bulbs, new balls and a good cleaning for sure. I didn't even ask what condition the displays were in. It was the Marilyn version by the way. He told me he looked around and saw them going for $800-$2000 and the cheapest one he saw wasn't even working. So he was looking to get a grand for it. Since I had the figure of $600 in my head I told him that's closer to what I was willing to pay and I have seen non working ones for closer to the $300-$400 range. So I don't think I was out of line in my thinking, but just looking for opinions from my KLOV brothers.
 
I'd say you made a fair offer sight unseen with the problems you are aware of it having...but the marilyn version is the rarer of the 2 versions and therefore more desirable. If you were already at $600 why not try him at $800? He will probably bite. Then you both win.
 
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There was a Marlyn version that was listed locally here in Toronto at $750cdn obo earlier this week. The cab was in pretty bad shape but game was working 100% claimed the seller. It didn't last long and was gone the next day. I was planning to pick it up and keep it folded as a future project. I think you should call him back and make an offer of $800 and tell him you will meet him halfway :)
 
Thanks for the replies. I had the number of $600 in my head due to the fact that I was hoping for the friend of the friend discount, plus the fact I would have to drive about 5 hours each way to get it. I was thinking about doing just what you guys said and call the guy and say I would meet him halfway at $800, but my friend called and told me to just wait him out. He's going to put the bug in the guy's wife's ear that he has a buyer for the game. I guess the money means nothing to him, so once his wife bugs him to get rid of the game it should be mine lol. If it doesn't happen thugh it's no skin offmy back, just more money in my bank account. :D
 
do not buy a game without looking at it, especially the condition of the playfield, boards, everything

some games arent worth it even if they are given to you but i doubt thats what this is but

Agreed. Also, no offer is to low. The worst the can say is no. Of course, tact is everything. And you might piss them off enough that the decide not to sell it to you at all so being reasonable is in your favor.

But if the most you would pay is $12. Well, offer $12 and see what happens.
 
IF it's in pretty nice shape and just needs what you mentioned done, then yes $600 is way out of line.

I've yet to see a nice Taxi go for under $1k here, and I've seen about 4 sell in the last year in my "area", a couple in the $1200-$1300 range. And those weren't even Marilyn's...but they were nice 9/10 or better machines.

Without any clue on condition, and getting a look at it...your offer could be too low, or even too high if it's beat to hell. If this thing is a basketcase with noticeable playfield wear, dim/non-working/buggered displays $600 is too much, Marilyn or not.
If it is very nice but just needs cleaned and a pop bumper and flipper fixed(Which isn't costly and doesn't impact price much), $600 could be insulting...
 
IF it's in pretty nice shape and just needs what you mentioned done, then yes $600 is way out of line.

I've yet to see a nice Taxi go for under $1k here, and I've seen about 4 sell in the last year in my "area", a couple in the $1200-$1300 range. And those weren't even Marilyn's...but they were nice 9/10 or better machines.

Without any clue on condition, and getting a look at it...your offer could be too low, or even too high if it's beat to hell. If this thing is a basketcase with noticeable playfield wear, dim/non-working/buggered displays $600 is too much, Marilyn or not.
If it is very nice but just needs cleaned and a pop bumper and flipper fixed(Which isn't costly and doesn't impact price much), $600 could be insulting...

Yeah I think mostly the $600 figure was stuck in my head cuz that was my friends guess as to what he would want for it. I know it's a $1k-$1100 machine, I was just hoping to get a hook up as I haven't gotten a good deal like that in a long while. I knew I should have bid on the one I saw go at an auction a couple years back for $350!
 
if your friends want the most money for it he should put it on ebay..

if you're still interested maybe you can say to him that if you've inspected the machine you can raise your offer, but not knowing the condition (broken displays are expensive to buy new), your price was a minimum..
 
i agree with the guy who said no offer is too low. my close friend has made a LIVING by calling about 10+ pinball machines per day and he says "ok you want $1000 for it well ill give you $100 TOMAROW CASH for it" and about 1 in every ten people will call him back and he actually gets them this cheap all the time.
i started doing the same thing and you should see the titles i get for LOW prices.

AND REMEMBER......if a seller EVER says "well these games ive saw go for 800-2000 all fixed up".......then, my friend, it is entirely too easy for you to say, "great, have fun trying to get that much" or as i say every time to EVERY SELLER........."there are ENTIRELY way too many other GREAT deals EVERY SINGLE DAY on pinball machines so i can easily pass on this one"

if you take anything from what i said......remember....ALWAYS LOWBALL PEOPLE......YOU WILL SAVE HUNDREDS AND THOUSANDS SOMETIMES. if someone wants $1000 for a taxi.....say ill give you $250 tomarow......and say if you wont take 250 tomarow then next week im only going to give you $150.....

BETTER YET (we do this all the time) get your close friend (who knows nothing about pinball) to call and offer $100 for the thing....then you SLIDE through with a cool offer of $250 and your offer sounds good!!!!

lowball is the way to go with everything in life
 
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i agree with the guy who said no offer is too low. my close friend has made a LIVING by calling about 10+ pinball machines per day and he says "ok you want $1000 for it well ill give you $100 TOMAROW CASH for it" and about 1 in every ten people will call him back and he actually gets them this cheap all the time.
i started doing the same thing and you should see the titles i get for LOW prices.

AND REMEMBER......if a seller EVER says "well these games ive saw go for 800-2000 all fixed up".......then, my friend, it is entirely too easy for you to say, "great, have fun trying to get that much" or as i say every time to EVERY SELLER........."there are ENTIRELY way too many other GREAT deals EVERY SINGLE DAY on pinball machines so i can easily pass on this one"

if you take anything from what i said......remember....ALWAYS LOWBALL PEOPLE......YOU WILL SAVE HUNDREDS AND THOUSANDS SOMETIMES. if someone wants $1000 for a taxi.....say ill give you $250 tomarow......and say if you wont take 250 tomarow then next week im only going to give you $150.....

BETTER YET (we do this all the time) get your close friend (who knows nothing about pinball) to call and offer $100 for the thing....then you SLIDE through with a cool offer of $250 and your offer sounds good!!!!

lowball is the way to go with everything in life

Well I wouldn't go that far...
 
i agree with the guy who said no offer is too low. my close friend has made a LIVING by calling about 10+ pinball machines per day and he says "ok you want $1000 for it well ill give you $100 TOMAROW CASH for it" and about 1 in every ten people will call him back and he actually gets them this cheap all the time.
i started doing the same thing and you should see the titles i get for LOW prices.

AND REMEMBER......if a seller EVER says "well these games ive saw go for 800-2000 all fixed up".......then, my friend, it is entirely too easy for you to say, "great, have fun trying to get that much" or as i say every time to EVERY SELLER........."there are ENTIRELY way too many other GREAT deals EVERY SINGLE DAY on pinball machines so i can easily pass on this one"

if you take anything from what i said......remember....ALWAYS LOWBALL PEOPLE......YOU WILL SAVE HUNDREDS AND THOUSANDS SOMETIMES. if someone wants $1000 for a taxi.....say ill give you $250 tomarow......and say if you wont take 250 tomarow then next week im only going to give you $150.....

BETTER YET (we do this all the time) get your close friend (who knows nothing about pinball) to call and offer $100 for the thing....then you SLIDE through with a cool offer of $250 and your offer sounds good!!!!

lowball is the way to go with everything in life

Your'e the type of person I put on my "do not deal with" list. Not only will those tactics not work in my area but the people who actually have games won't want to sell to you even at full price. I would burn the game on my front lawn before selling to someone who ridiculously lowballed then said I had better take it because their lowball would be even lower the following week.
 
Your'e the type of person I put on my "do not deal with" list. Not only will those tactics not work in my area but the people who actually have games won't want to sell to you even at full price. I would burn the game on my front lawn before selling to someone who ridiculously lowballed then said I had better take it because their lowball would be even lower the following week.

I don't know anyone who wouldn't say "Go fuck yourself asshole" to someone that called up and pulled that shit.

I think he's talking out of his ass about this "buddy" and himself...
 
Yeah while I do feel I lowballed on the Taxi, I don't think I could send a 10% offer and keep a straight face. If by some stroke of luck I ended up getting something for that cheap I would feel guilty while I was loading it up.
 
if you take anything from what i said......remember....ALWAYS LOWBALL PEOPLE......YOU WILL SAVE HUNDREDS AND THOUSANDS SOMETIMES. if someone wants $1000 for a taxi.....say ill give you $250 tomarow......and say if you wont take 250 tomarow then next week im only going to give you $150.....

BETTER YET (we do this all the time) get your close friend (who knows nothing about pinball) to call and offer $100 for the thing....then you SLIDE through with a cool offer of $250 and your offer sounds good!!!!

lowball is the way to go with everything in life

Haha... How does your offer of $250 sound good on a $1000+ machine? I don't know who you're actually getting to take those ridiculous prices, but anyone I know would completely ignore someone forever if they lowballed like that.
 
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There's a big difference between telling someone "let me know if you can't sell it because $600 is the best I can do" and telling someone "screw you for your high prices".

It's about respect. People selling things aren't being jerks normally. Why be a jerk when you are buying stuff? Lowball offers can be delivered in a way that is not offensive. Normally they will be rejected but sometimes people just want to move something and they will take it.
 
i agree with the guy who said no offer is too low. my close friend has made a LIVING by calling about 10+ pinball machines per day and he says "ok you want $1000 for it well ill give you $100 TOMAROW CASH for it" and about 1 in every ten people will call him back and he actually gets them this cheap all the time.
i started doing the same thing and you should see the titles i get for LOW prices.

AND REMEMBER......if a seller EVER says "well these games ive saw go for 800-2000 all fixed up".......then, my friend, it is entirely too easy for you to say, "great, have fun trying to get that much" or as i say every time to EVERY SELLER........."there are ENTIRELY way too many other GREAT deals EVERY SINGLE DAY on pinball machines so i can easily pass on this one"

if you take anything from what i said......remember....ALWAYS LOWBALL PEOPLE......YOU WILL SAVE HUNDREDS AND THOUSANDS SOMETIMES. if someone wants $1000 for a taxi.....say ill give you $250 tomarow......and say if you wont take 250 tomarow then next week im only going to give you $150.....

BETTER YET (we do this all the time) get your close friend (who knows nothing about pinball) to call and offer $100 for the thing....then you SLIDE through with a cool offer of $250 and your offer sounds good!!!!

lowball is the way to go with everything in life



You are a perfect example of the bottom feeders in the hobby.

Anyone that makes an insane low-ball offer to me is in the "do not buy or sell from" category. An example is a Craigslist buy where I snagged a very nice Getaway. It was listed for $850. I was the first to respond and asked some basic questions. I told the seller if it was as he described I will take it for $850. I went to pick it up on a Saturday and it was as the seller described. The seller told me he had a LOT of calls and told them all the game was sold. One caller persisted calling back several times. He offered the seller more money and the seller refused. This person called back again and upped his offer and the seller again said it was sold. The caller responded that the seller was an idiot and was letting it go way to cheap and hung up. I thanked the seller for being a man of his word and thanked him for the game.

I prefer the seller to toss out a price. If there is a big difference in what they want Vs. what its worth (IMHO) I refrain from making an offer in respect to the seller. If we are close I will make an offer. I never used a closer or an extra party to try to influence a seller. That alone shows a mindset that is hard to describe except "avoid".
 
You know what, I'm going to have to respectfully take the devil's advocate on this discussion. I am a very frugal individual. I err on the side of being cheap more than I care to admit. My wife will attest to this. She constantly has to remind me that my cheap endeavors sometimes end up costing more more in the long run -- especially in my time spent.

My time is my time. If I spend tons of it fixing/restoring/driving/negotiating to get a great deal, then it's time well spent for me. I've gotten some insane deals in my life because I've asked for them. I've also been accused of low-balling. I don't deny it. In fact, I declare it up front. For example:

"I know it's a lowball offer, but I can offer you (lowball amount) for your (thingamajig). You might be able to get more from someone else, but I can assure you, I don't play games, I don't send endless emails asking for more pictures, re-schedule appointments, ask more questions, and be a general pain in the ass about it. If you want your (thingamajig) gone now, I will be there with cash in hand, no haggling. Easy for you. Let me know. Thanks!"

I can't tell you how many times this approach has gotten through to the folks who are just trying to get rid of an item without headaches. Let's face it: the sellers who are savvy about their pins and vids, they KNOW what their machines are worth, and they're willing to wait for the right money for them. This approach is NOT going to work on them. Period. For the un-learned seller who just wants this "big eyesore" gone, they're ALL ABOUT making it as quick and painless as possible.

But you gotta be quick. Several times I've been loading up an item and the seller has gotten calls while I'm loading it where they've had to turn down (better money from) someone else. You gotta shoot first, ask questions later.

I have gotten burned a few times too - gotten the call while on the road - it's the seller telling me he's taken a higher offer and is rescinding his agreement. It comes with the territory. I don't sweat it. Like I said, time well spent.

You HAVE to remove the emotions from this. It's business deals, pure and simple. If the buyer offers and the seller agrees, who cares what the price is? The deal is made and both parties are happy. If there's remorse afterwords, the only one to blame is themselves.

My great grandfather always had a lot of money. He didn't have a very good job and he had 12 kids with dozens of grand and great-grandkids, and his wife didn't work. Many years ago, when I asked him how he was able to make so much out of so little, his words stuck with me: "Kid, don't pay a penny more than you need to. You can ask, they can say no.
 
Your'e the type of person I put on my "do not deal with" list. Not only will those tactics not work in my area but the people who actually have games won't want to sell to you even at full price. I would burn the game on my front lawn before selling to someone who ridiculously lowballed then said I had better take it because their lowball would be even lower the following week.

lowballing almost never works with pinball collectors!!!! but almost always works with homeowners whose "kids moved away", "moving", "need the room", "not sure what its worth"
i know this doesnt work with other collectors.....
and im completely honest when i sell a machine........ive never heard anyone locally complain ever (through the grapevine) about me selling games......to other collectors and homeowners.....there is repeat people coming back.....

i am honest in selling because i have met many and many and many dishonest people in this business!!!........
i try to help people when i can, honestly i do

but when it comes to buying something there is nothing wrong with getting a good deal.....we all love to get a great deal.......
if someone is naturally asking way to low for a game are you going to JUMP in and say well buddy im going to give you a few hundred more just becuase your price is to low? heck no......

im doing the same thing......i just say ill solve your problem and get it outta your house TODAY but i can only give you $xxx dollars......RIGHT NOW..... because around here there are lots of people who
1. dont show up
2. full of BS
3. cant get the money together
4. etc
 
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