This was one of those typical Kijiji ad situations.

I posted the moment after the ad was posted as I happened to be up late.  I was speaking with the owner on my handsfree on the drive to Ottawa the next day and the battery started to die.   I had indicated that I was very interested and would put down a deposit but couldn't come up until Monday or Tuesday and that I would call him back on my arrival in Trenton to firm up details.

Well by the time I got to Trenton I'll bet he was getting a host of emails and calls.  I called twice that night and got answering machine, and twice the next day and same thing with no return calls.

In a sense I'm partly relieved as I have no room for it, but seems like its becoming all too common for people not to keep their word anymore.

Then there was another Funhouse for $1200 (along with a number of other machines including a TAF).  The seller was standup, wouldn't raise his price but gave it to the first emailer who committed (which wasn't me) and then informed everyone else who bid what happened.  Now there's a seller who "understands".  Can you believe he had a buyer saying that Funhouse was worth $500. Must have been Mr. Anderson!

Having sold a bunch of things on kijiji and had to put up with the people that say they'll take it and then never ever show up, no matter how "interested" they may sound, I can understand why someone *who owes you nothing* would sell to the first person at their door with cash in hand. It only makes sense.

tHE FUNHOUSE IN BARRIE TURNED INTOI AN AUCTION AS MANY PEOPLE TOLD HIM IT WAS WORTH MORE , NOT SURE ABOUT FINAL PRICE.

It's a game, and it's a simple one:  The first one to the door with a truck and cash in hand wins.  The end.

It is so sad that this continues to happen, and it is often members on this forum that cause these issues. Someone calls a new ad and sets a time to go see it and then the NEXT guy tells the seller it is worth more, ONLY BECAUSE HE IS PISSED OFF THAT HE DID NOT GET IT. Then the auction starts. Keep seeing and hearing it and it is getting to the point that it is basically a waste of time to respond to these ads.

Sad thing is no matter what anyone says, it will continue to happen.  I just find it so selfish for someone to do that.

That's why I don't bother with Kijiji adds, I don't see the point of dealing with the agrevation.  

I'm in B.C. right now. I don't even check local classifieds for my area because it only leads to aggrevation.

FH for $1500 was good. Bidding war on it no good. Glad I didn't see it.

I know I will be roasted alive for saying this but I don't think it's always bad intent when someone tells a seller "you know, the machine you're selling is worth more".  Maybe there's a compassion there for the seller who's just ignorant about the value for them to get proper compensation?  Surely if I'm the first guy who calls and wants to buy the pin at a "great" deal, that would tick me off if I miss out on said deal because someone educated the buyer but I'm also ready for it and would be understanding that its' the owner's prerogative to not lose his shirt. The only time I'd be REALLY pissed at the owner is if there is a downpayment made and then he/she would say "here's your downpayment back, I sold it to someone else."  That crosses the "a deal's a deal" territory.  I don't see this any different then if someone is selling their pin for too much money and you pass on your opinion that they should bring their price down.  Sure, there are some soreheads out there, but not every story has bad intend behind it.

Anyway, no, I never called anyone selling a pin and told them they shouldn't sell at that price and to raise their price, so no groundless attacks please .  Just giving my opinion is all.

Quoted from The Loafer

I know I will be roasted alive for saying this but I don't think it's always bad intent when someone tells a seller "you know, the machine you're selling is worth more".

Right, but do you tell him before or after he mentions it's been sold to someone else?  

I always email them and tell them it's worth twice as much as thier asking, I find it to be fun!  

Quoted from The Loafer

I know I will be roasted alive for saying this but I don't think it's always bad intent when someone tells a seller "you know, the machine you're selling is worth more".  

Totally agree with you, Rob. I also don't think it is unreasonable when someone realizes they are selling something dirt cheap and then raise it. It's their game, they can do what they want. As long as they haven't taken a deposit or worse yet full payment. In that case, it's a contract and binding.

Be honest folks, if you listed something for $1,500 and found out it's worth $2,500, wouldn't you increase the price? I would.

That said, I have never emailed someone telling them they should increase their price. And I have had prices increased on me many, many times. Comes with the hobby. You either ante up or walk away.

Duane

machine.slave and HP5P have it right on. And I get where The Loafer is coming from too. There's very little integrity left in the world.  I'm just glad to be able to say that I still have mine.


Everyone here has experienced it.  You make a deal, are preparing to complete it, and someone else calls in and says "oh, it's worth more."  That purchaser/bidder has no integrity and the seller who changes a deal in progress has no integrity.  Sometimes that caller follows through and picks it up, sometimes they don't or they show up and start humming and hawwing (oh, I thought it was wirth more, but it's got this and that and this that needs to be done.), trying to get the price back down.  Sometimes the "higher" bidder shows up and realizes the seller didn't adequately describe the goods and backs down.  I have gotten call backs because of that in similar situations.

Do I ever accept an offer and then reneg on a deal in progress because I get a better offer? No. Do I make mistakes and then try to stick other people with it?  No.  And 99% of the time I will go through with a deal "sight unseen" even if the goods are not in the condition the seller has described.  But that's just me.

Anybody ever think it could be a $1500 FH?

I like how everyone makes the immediate assumption that the pin sold by a guy that doesn't know prices immediately has a HUO machine. Maybe it's a total POS for all you know. I would love to see the highest bidder get it in that case. Greed will catch up to you sooner or later.

Go on bid it up! since the seller probably can't even tell you as much about it as where the quarters go in the thing.

Quoted from necro_nemesis

Anybody ever think it could be a $1500 FH?

I like how everyone makes the immediate assumption that the pin sold by a guy that doesn't know prices immediately has a HUO machine.

I think we're more discussing the art of kijiji buying, not so much the machine in particular..

I'm with Necro though.  I've been told "mint" or "100%" more than once and I don't think I've actually gotten one that way yet.  I know what I want to pay even before I see a machine and stick to it. You get what you pay for. A machine that's listed in the Mr. Pinball Price List can sell for $2500 or it can sell for $1500 or less.  But buyers put a lot of faith in the fact that they could possibly "sell" it at "book value".  Ever wonder why so many pins are for sale right now?  Right, buyers market, not sellers - it's a recession.

Here's my take on the whole "it's worth more" situation...

If the seller is savy enough to use Kiijiji to list stuff for sale, they should be savy enough to do a *little* homework before listing and figure out the item's value.

If the seller has listed it for a specific price, that is a price the seller would be happy to get for the item no matter what it's perceived "value" might be.  If it ends up being a deal for the buyer because it's listed for less than the "market" price, both parties will be happy in the end.

'Nuff said.

D

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  Take that, and mix in a misunderstanding of what constitutes "in great shape" and that's what equates reality.

Case in point is that Taxi I helped my buddy buy last year. To my untrained eyes, the machine really looked ok and I'd have rated it as "pretty nice" but my pretty nice comment was taking into account the price $400 (which is TOTALLY relevant) and I really didn't know where to look for the faults. Upon further review, I'd still say it's an awesome deal but I wouldn't never say aesthetically speaking, it's very nice (though I'd still say "acceptable").

Anyway, to answer the dynamic duo up there, my wife says I'm more catholic than the pope. She's exagerating of course but I've been known to get into a deal and one thing I'll say BEFORE it's clinched is: "You know, you could probably get more if you're patient". So in a deal like Funhouse, I'd have told them "it's a great deal depending on the shape it's in, but I'm willing to buy it at that price. Know that you could get more if you're patient but I've got cash now so it's up to you.   Do you want to commit?".  I wouldn't tell him how much it's worth because... I have no friggin idea, but that's up to them to do the leg work but yeah, I'd be honest with the seller.

Rob, that's often my approach too and never has it backfired, the seller has always more interested in getting the deal done cleanly with an honest and prompt purchaser than dickering about trying to get "the best offer".  Where I've seen the latter happen, it seems to be a meeting between a greedy seller and over-zealous and desparate buyers. On that "deal" high Speed I spent $600 on, someone pulled that "it's worth more, I'll pay you more" crap and the seller backed out to try their luck.  Well based on what I got, I'lll bet this "samaritin" buyer went there, took one look at it and ran like hell.  I nearly cried when I saw it too.  But did I back out?  No, I bought it because I said I would, and I took the risk of making an offer on something site unseen.  (And I keep telling myself it is a "challenge" project, to test my skill and committment to pinball restoration.)

And can you believe it, this seller seriously cried like I was taking away a child when I took his beloved never been cleaned, no lights working, sound not working, bare whitewood playfield, scratched cabinet, rusty legged, broken stop light with no lense High Speed out of there.

Also, if anyone is interpretting that I am sour grapes over the failed purchase, I was just thinking it made an interesting subject to discuss since it seems to be happening more and more. I'm actually relieved I got saved from making another purchase that I can't afford right now.

heh.. reminds me of a Party Monsters that was for sale recently... I was first in line at $500, said I'd be there at noon to pick it up (it was 11am at the time).  When I called back to confirm before leaving, he said someone called and offered him $750, but since I was first I could have it so long as I matched the price.    Well... $750 still being a decent price, my buddy menace here offered to check it out for me.  Thankfully, he was able to determine there was about $500 - $600 in repairs needed just to get it in test-worthy mode, since it had been raped of all boards.  Take that, douche bag who bid the price up.  

Yes forget the seller whose only interest is in the money.  What about the buyer who would offer more knowing a deal was already in place as if it were an auction.  How can they justify that?

Quoted from websherpa

What about the buyer who would offer more knowing a deal was already in place as if it were an auction.  How can they justify that?

Meh I have no problem with someone offering more.

Welcome to the real world, this isn't trading your crappy lunches in grade school.

Come on! we made a deal... cheese and crackers for soggy pickle! Nevermind the guy who offered the balogne sandwich, I want my crackers!  

You never know the reason the seller has decided to list the games.  Either they need room, or they need money.  I think 90% of the time they need the money.   Given the current economy that percentage may even go up.  If they can make more which in the end helps their financial situation then so be it.  Ultimately they are concerned for their own situation and not the buyers.  They aren't always being selfish.  If they find out its worth more, and you argue with them about the fact that you had a so called agreement on the initial list price, then whose the selfish one?  Who's taking advantage of who?

I can't get over the amount of moaning and groaning that goes on in this site.  Boohoo.  Seriously.  Oh, and i wonder how many would snag a cheap deal to flip it for a small or large profit down the road?  Or wait, if you bought something well below market value does that then mean you have to keep it for life, because selling it for more in a few months or even years would be morally wrong!?  Be realistic.  So you didn't get it, so what.  Something else will come.  It always does.  

Adam’s 3 rules of purchases:
1. There will always be shabby people who do shabby things.
2. Sometimes, in particular situations, generally honorable people will also do shabby things.
3. Honorable people should never try to aggressively expand their sphere of influence unless they are prepared to be disappointed from time to time.

In a nutshell:
If you’re an honorable person, great, let that be its own reward. Trying to compete or compare yourself with the shabby will only drive you nuts… If on the other hand you’re a shabby person, that’s fine too. Just don’t expect any sympathy when the tide turns and you’re on the losing end of a deal.

Don't like my rules, that's cool, go make your own then
Adam