Vent: Guy grumpy because I buy low, sell high

Maybe that guy is right! C'mon!

Why not be grumpy . . . all those rich ops walking around flashing
their money. That seems to be all I see these days are rich ops or
rich hobbyists. Shame on them. That guy is really smart and
intelligent and certainly has the right to reclaim something. You
know, that's the 1st thing I thought of was all those
operators/hobbyists making all that money and then taking advantage of
someone selling something they don't want (or can't fix) anymore.

Send him a gift certificate to K-Mart and tell him to buy one of those
joysticks that you hook up to a TV.

)

Happy Gaming.

Big Al
Bradenton, FL
gametimellc AT att DOT net


jhuie wrote:
> So I buy this Joust game on Craigslist broken with no idea what's wrong
> with it for $200. I spend a few days working on it and it turns out to
> be a power supply issue so I put a few parts and some hours into it.
> Now the game looks and works beautiful. It's one of the cleanest games
> I've owned. So I post it back on Craigslist for $650 which seems
> reasonable to me. And predictably, I get a grumpy guy writing to me
> for jacking the price up. He offers me $250. Errrrrr.
 >> Stay informed about: Vent: Guy grumpy because I buy low, sell high 

I've spent quite a bit of time over the last few years trying to learn
about this stuff and I'm slowly getting to where I can fix them. And I
happily share advice and even go help others work on their games. But
why shouldn't my hard work and energy be valuable? A friend of mine
repairs games professionally. He charges $100 for a visit plus $60 per
hour. Even if I charged half that for my time into this game I'd be
well over the $650 mark.

It took me 2 hours just to get the thing home. And I spent a couple
hours helping the guy I bought it from repair a pinball machine (for
free). Answer me this....if I had posted the game on eBay and it sold
for $900 would you consider me greedy for accepting the bid? Would you
want me to refund part of the money because it seemed like it went to
high? Does anyone know of anyone who has ever done that?
 >> Stay informed about: Vent: Guy grumpy because I buy low, sell high 

Hello Group (and Bill),

I have been into collecting vid's for almost 20 years but over the last
few years I started collecting touchscreens and pins over the last 2
years. Just a slight change of pace. I have the new stuff but really
love the older stuff as well. I do not do a lot of Ebay activity but
getting some of the older stuff over the last few "months" has been
really difficult via Ebay.

Merit Pit Boss: (200, 250, includes Megastar, Superstar 15 and 30).

For example,
Not tested - $292.00 Board only.

Not tested - $182.50 Board Only.

Working & nice looking cabinet but just the very basic bones board . .
.. $177.50 Complete.

We all have seen these very cheap . . . but should we be mad that they
decided to sell and someone else decided to buy.

Should I be pissed off at "UVI Games" b/c they buy and outbid me
everytime on old Merit boards?

<ANS> No. Knock yourself out. Because Ebay is so high right now I will
find them elsewhere. I got a complete cab & board not to long ago at
Superauctions for $50 - CRT 250 rev D. I'll never sell it but if I did
.. . . why should someone else be mad at me if some other independent
party decides to buy an overpriced item?

So, this is a good question . . . is this greed or just asking a fair
price?

Like Bill said it's just market value detemined by others . . . IMHO,
it's not like the Joust guy's situation was a government 'taking'
(i.e., forced sale). Sounds to me like he voluntarily put it up for
sale.

Big Al

P.S. I know the CRT 250 et al are compatible 'gambling boards';
nevertheless, it's still a good example of someone selling something
they think brings no value yet gets re-sold much much higher.


Adam Dare wrote:
> How about using games to help you afford other games? I've gotten games I'm
> not interested at really low prices because I thought I could sell it for
> enough to beef up my toy fund so I could buy other games I'm more interested
> in. I don't consider that greedy, as long as I'm asking a fair price. Now
> these guys that try and sell games for way over market value. They're just
> trolling for nubes or idoits. They're greedy. But I suspect that they
> rationalize their behavior as well.
>
> But as you said its just an opinion.
>
> --
>
> Adam
> adam_AT_msn_DOT_com
>
>
> "WEade" <ripper.RemoveThis@fast.net> wrote in message
> news:45402f8f$0$13812$cc2e38e6@news.uslec.net...
> > Well, he probably has a problem that a few parts and a few hours to clean
> > it
> > up isn't worth $450. Can't say that I'd argue...
> >
> > I know that I personally wouldn't be crazy to see someone buy a game like
> > that and then a couple days later put it back up with such a big price
> > increase. It would look like a "greed" kind of thing. I'm sure that I
> > will
> > get a lot of replies about this, but oh well. My opinion is just that:
> > An
> > opinion. No one has to agree or like it.
> >
> > I'm sure there are some out there who do this for the pleasure and not the
> > $$$. Before I get slammed by people asking me if I had bought a game low
> > and sold high, my answer is no. I buy a game for the pleasure of saving
> > and
> > preserving history. It also helps me to rekindle my teenage years in the
> > early 1980's at the arcade. When I tire of a machine, I sell it for what
> > I
> > have into it and *sometimes* a little higher (read: Usually around $50 or
> > so).
> >
> > Dunno... I just am not crazy about a private individual who is into it
> > for
> > the money. And no, not that I'm jealous that I wasn't the one who made
> > the
> > score.
> >
> > Bill
> >
> >> So I buy this Joust game on Craigslist broken with no idea what's wrong
> >> with it for $200. I spend a few days working on it and it turns out to
> >> be a power supply issue so I put a few parts and some hours into it.
> >> Now the game looks and works beautiful. It's one of the cleanest games
> >> I've owned. So I post it back on Craigslist for $650 which seems
> >> reasonable to me. And predictably, I get a grumpy guy writing to me
> >> for jacking the price up. He offers me $250. Errrrrr.
> >>
> >
> >
 >> Stay informed about: Vent: Guy grumpy because I buy low, sell high 

In this case . . .

I also think there is a difference if the item is offered up for sale
<OR> you approach the seller. In other words, did the Seller freely
list the item for sale <OR> did the Buyer approach the Seller with
INTENT to defraud the Seller. Here, in this case, it seems the Buyer
just responed to the Seller's offer. It does not seem like there was
any undue influence to confuse or intentionally gouge the Seller??

Big Al






Jeff hewitt wrote:
> I'm kinda with Bill on this one. I usually buy games low (broken) and repair
> them myself for my use. I understand how someone can get grumpy after they
> sell a game to someone, who turns right around to sell it for more. It makes
> them think they were taken advantage of. The games I have sold were usually
> after years of use.
>
> In fact, I have had people give me the third degree about what I'm going to
> do with the machines. They're worried I'm just buying It and turn around and
> sell it for 5 times the amount. There are more people doing this now than
> back when I started in 1999. I let them know I work a bit different,and most
> of all I actually enjoy working on games. If I buy a game I either want it
> for my collection, or I know someone looking for it. Usually my friends
> don't have 5-900 to drop on a game, I don't either for that matter. So I
> sell them the units at what I consider affordable for normal people. I think
> the most important thing is the units get enjoyed and taken care of. With a
> quick turn around people tend to think they've been taken advantage of, no
> matter what work went into repair. Especially if you resell it in the same
> forum, I'd kind of expect them to raise a fuss.
>
> Just my opinion
>
> Jeff
>
>
> "WEade" <ripper.TakeThisOut@fast.net> wrote in message
> news:454033c2$0$13808$cc2e38e6@news.uslec.net...
> > Y'know, I have to say that you have a VERY good viewpoint there. There
> > are
> > a lot out there who do try to sell way over "market" value. I've seen a
> > Zaxxon in an eBay store for over $1k. Kinda like taking advantage of the
> > uneducated, but with that being the case, who is really at fault? The
> > seller finding a sucker, or the person just jumping and buying without
> > doing
> > homework? Or even the person with deep pockets and doesn't care if he's
> > paying 5x the worth of a game? There's a LOT of angles and viewpoints on
> > this one, and no one is truly right or wrong, IMO.
> >
> > Sigh... Too bad the market value is decided by eBay anymore. I still
> > remember reading a few years ago a lot of people arguing that eBay is NOT
> > the way to get the value for a game. Now it's the opposite. Oh well...
> > Time moves on!
> >
> > Bill
> >
> >> How about using games to help you afford other games? I've gotten games
> > I'm
> >> not interested at really low prices because I thought I could sell it for
> >> enough to beef up my toy fund so I could buy other games I'm more
> > interested
> >> in. I don't consider that greedy, as long as I'm asking a fair price.
> > Now
> >> these guys that try and sell games for way over market value. They're
> > just
> >> trolling for nubes or idoits. They're greedy. But I suspect that they
> >> rationalize their behavior as well.
> >>
> >> But as you said its just an opinion.
> >>
> >> --
> >>
> >> Adam
> >> adam_AT_msn_DOT_com
> >>
> >>
> >> "WEade" <ripper.TakeThisOut@fast.net> wrote in message
> >> news:45402f8f$0$13812$cc2e38e6@news.uslec.net...
> >> > Well, he probably has a problem that a few parts and a few hours to
> > clean
> >> > it
> >> > up isn't worth $450. Can't say that I'd argue...
> >> >
> >> > I know that I personally wouldn't be crazy to see someone buy a game
> > like
> >> > that and then a couple days later put it back up with such a big price
> >> > increase. It would look like a "greed" kind of thing. I'm sure that I
> >> > will
> >> > get a lot of replies about this, but oh well. My opinion is just that:
> >> > An
> >> > opinion. No one has to agree or like it.
> >> >
> >> > I'm sure there are some out there who do this for the pleasure and not
> > the
> >> > $$$. Before I get slammed by people asking me if I had bought a game
> > low
> >> > and sold high, my answer is no. I buy a game for the pleasure of
> >> > saving
> >> > and
> >> > preserving history. It also helps me to rekindle my teenage years in
> > the
> >> > early 1980's at the arcade. When I tire of a machine, I sell it for
> > what
> >> > I
> >> > have into it and *sometimes* a little higher (read: Usually around $50
> > or
> >> > so).
> >> >
> >> > Dunno... I just am not crazy about a private individual who is into it
> >> > for
> >> > the money. And no, not that I'm jealous that I wasn't the one who made
> >> > the
> >> > score.
> >> >
> >> > Bill
> >> >
> >> >> So I buy this Joust game on Craigslist broken with no idea what's
> >> >> wrong
> >> >> with it for $200. I spend a few days working on it and it turns out
> >> >> to
> >> >> be a power supply issue so I put a few parts and some hours into it.
> >> >> Now the game looks and works beautiful. It's one of the cleanest
> >> >> games
> >> >> I've owned. So I post it back on Craigslist for $650 which seems
> >> >> reasonable to me. And predictably, I get a grumpy guy writing to me
> >> >> for jacking the price up. He offers me $250. Errrrrr.
> >> >>
> >> >
> >> >
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
 >> Stay informed about: Vent: Guy grumpy because I buy low, sell high 

Here's how I see it :

There are a lot of Bay Area collectors who read CL looking for deals.
When a $200 Joust pops up, everyone calls on it. You get it, make the
easy fix, less than a week later it is back on CL for 650. It would be
like me getting the free Willow game posted last week and putting it
right back on CL the next day for 300 bucks. Seems more about greed
than anything really.
 >> Stay informed about: Vent: Guy grumpy because I buy low, sell high 

he offered it up for sale. hes not a friend of yours. so you can do
what you want to with it

if there was a problem with the game and thats why he sold it, he
should have looked harder for someone to repair it.

how is an arcade game different than any other item? guess how many
people make car dealers ultra rich when they trade their car in and
they resell it? how many people are then paying that amount over what
you sold it to the dealer?
 >> Stay informed about: Vent: Guy grumpy because I buy low, sell high 

You have right to ask what ever you want and turn down any offer.
He can make any offer ,this is just very sample business deal.




jhuie wrote:
> So I buy this Joust game on Craigslist broken with no idea what's wrong
> with it for $200. I spend a few days working on it and it turns out to
> be a power supply issue so I put a few parts and some hours into it.
> Now the game looks and works beautiful. It's one of the cleanest games
> I've owned. So I post it back on Craigslist for $650 which seems
> reasonable to me. And predictably, I get a grumpy guy writing to me
> for jacking the price up. He offers me $250. Errrrrr.
 >> Stay informed about: Vent: Guy grumpy because I buy low, sell high 

I'll give you $275 if you deliver it and bring me a taco...

Greg



jhuie wrote:
> So I buy this Joust game on Craigslist broken with no idea what's wrong
> with it for $200. I spend a few days working on it and it turns out to
> be a power supply issue so I put a few parts and some hours into it.
> Now the game looks and works beautiful. It's one of the cleanest games
> I've owned. So I post it back on Craigslist for $650 which seems
> reasonable to me. And predictably, I get a grumpy guy writing to me
> for jacking the price up. He offers me $250. Errrrrr.
>
 >> Stay informed about: Vent: Guy grumpy because I buy low, sell high 

Well, he probably has a problem that a few parts and a few hours to clean it
up isn't worth $450. Can't say that I'd argue...

I know that I personally wouldn't be crazy to see someone buy a game like
that and then a couple days later put it back up with such a big price
increase. It would look like a "greed" kind of thing. I'm sure that I will
get a lot of replies about this, but oh well. My opinion is just that: An
opinion. No one has to agree or like it.

I'm sure there are some out there who do this for the pleasure and not the
$$$. Before I get slammed by people asking me if I had bought a game low
and sold high, my answer is no. I buy a game for the pleasure of saving and
preserving history. It also helps me to rekindle my teenage years in the
early 1980's at the arcade. When I tire of a machine, I sell it for what I
have into it and *sometimes* a little higher (read: Usually around $50 or
so).

Dunno... I just am not crazy about a private individual who is into it for
the money. And no, not that I'm jealous that I wasn't the one who made the
score.

Bill

> So I buy this Joust game on Craigslist broken with no idea what's wrong
> with it for $200. I spend a few days working on it and it turns out to
> be a power supply issue so I put a few parts and some hours into it.
> Now the game looks and works beautiful. It's one of the cleanest games
> I've owned. So I post it back on Craigslist for $650 which seems
> reasonable to me. And predictably, I get a grumpy guy writing to me
> for jacking the price up. He offers me $250. Errrrrr.
>
 >> Stay informed about: Vent: Guy grumpy because I buy low, sell high 

How about using games to help you afford other games? I've gotten games I'm
not interested at really low prices because I thought I could sell it for
enough to beef up my toy fund so I could buy other games I'm more interested
in. I don't consider that greedy, as long as I'm asking a fair price. Now
these guys that try and sell games for way over market value. They're just
trolling for nubes or idoits. They're greedy. But I suspect that they
rationalize their behavior as well.

But as you said its just an opinion.

--

Adam
adam_AT_msn_DOT_com


"WEade" <ripper RemoveThis @fast.net> wrote in message
news:45402f8f$0$13812$cc2e38e6@news.uslec.net...
> Well, he probably has a problem that a few parts and a few hours to clean
> it
> up isn't worth $450. Can't say that I'd argue...
>
> I know that I personally wouldn't be crazy to see someone buy a game like
> that and then a couple days later put it back up with such a big price
> increase. It would look like a "greed" kind of thing. I'm sure that I
> will
> get a lot of replies about this, but oh well. My opinion is just that:
> An
> opinion. No one has to agree or like it.
>
> I'm sure there are some out there who do this for the pleasure and not the
> $$$. Before I get slammed by people asking me if I had bought a game low
> and sold high, my answer is no. I buy a game for the pleasure of saving
> and
> preserving history. It also helps me to rekindle my teenage years in the
> early 1980's at the arcade. When I tire of a machine, I sell it for what
> I
> have into it and *sometimes* a little higher (read: Usually around $50 or
> so).
>
> Dunno... I just am not crazy about a private individual who is into it
> for
> the money. And no, not that I'm jealous that I wasn't the one who made
> the
> score.
>
> Bill
>
>> So I buy this Joust game on Craigslist broken with no idea what's wrong
>> with it for $200. I spend a few days working on it and it turns out to
>> be a power supply issue so I put a few parts and some hours into it.
>> Now the game looks and works beautiful. It's one of the cleanest games
>> I've owned. So I post it back on Craigslist for $650 which seems
>> reasonable to me. And predictably, I get a grumpy guy writing to me
>> for jacking the price up. He offers me $250. Errrrrr.
>>
>
>
 >> Stay informed about: Vent: Guy grumpy because I buy low, sell high 

Y'know, I have to say that you have a VERY good viewpoint there. There are
a lot out there who do try to sell way over "market" value. I've seen a
Zaxxon in an eBay store for over $1k. Kinda like taking advantage of the
uneducated, but with that being the case, who is really at fault? The
seller finding a sucker, or the person just jumping and buying without doing
homework? Or even the person with deep pockets and doesn't care if he's
paying 5x the worth of a game? There's a LOT of angles and viewpoints on
this one, and no one is truly right or wrong, IMO.

Sigh... Too bad the market value is decided by eBay anymore. I still
remember reading a few years ago a lot of people arguing that eBay is NOT
the way to get the value for a game. Now it's the opposite. Oh well...
Time moves on!

Bill

> How about using games to help you afford other games? I've gotten games
I'm
> not interested at really low prices because I thought I could sell it for
> enough to beef up my toy fund so I could buy other games I'm more
interested
> in. I don't consider that greedy, as long as I'm asking a fair price.
Now
> these guys that try and sell games for way over market value. They're
just
> trolling for nubes or idoits. They're greedy. But I suspect that they
> rationalize their behavior as well.
>
> But as you said its just an opinion.
>
> --
>
> Adam
> adam_AT_msn_DOT_com
>
>
> "WEade" <ripper DeleteThis @fast.net> wrote in message
> news:45402f8f$0$13812$cc2e38e6@news.uslec.net...
> > Well, he probably has a problem that a few parts and a few hours to
clean
> > it
> > up isn't worth $450. Can't say that I'd argue...
> >
> > I know that I personally wouldn't be crazy to see someone buy a game
like
> > that and then a couple days later put it back up with such a big price
> > increase. It would look like a "greed" kind of thing. I'm sure that I
> > will
> > get a lot of replies about this, but oh well. My opinion is just that:
> > An
> > opinion. No one has to agree or like it.
> >
> > I'm sure there are some out there who do this for the pleasure and not
the
> > $$$. Before I get slammed by people asking me if I had bought a game
low
> > and sold high, my answer is no. I buy a game for the pleasure of saving
> > and
> > preserving history. It also helps me to rekindle my teenage years in
the
> > early 1980's at the arcade. When I tire of a machine, I sell it for
what
> > I
> > have into it and *sometimes* a little higher (read: Usually around $50
or
> > so).
> >
> > Dunno... I just am not crazy about a private individual who is into it
> > for
> > the money. And no, not that I'm jealous that I wasn't the one who made
> > the
> > score.
> >
> > Bill
> >
> >> So I buy this Joust game on Craigslist broken with no idea what's wrong
> >> with it for $200. I spend a few days working on it and it turns out to
> >> be a power supply issue so I put a few parts and some hours into it.
> >> Now the game looks and works beautiful. It's one of the cleanest games
> >> I've owned. So I post it back on Craigslist for $650 which seems
> >> reasonable to me. And predictably, I get a grumpy guy writing to me
> >> for jacking the price up. He offers me $250. Errrrrr.
> >>
> >
> >
>
>
 >> Stay informed about: Vent: Guy grumpy because I buy low, sell high 

> I've spent quite a bit of time over the last few years trying to learn
> about this stuff and I'm slowly getting to where I can fix them. And I
> happily share advice and even go help others work on their games. But
> why shouldn't my hard work and energy be valuable? A friend of mine
> repairs games professionally. He charges $100 for a visit plus $60 per
> hour. Even if I charged half that for my time into this game I'd be
> well over the $650 mark.
>
> It took me 2 hours just to get the thing home. And I spent a couple
> hours helping the guy I bought it from repair a pinball machine (for
> free). Answer me this....if I had posted the game on eBay and it sold
> for $900 would you consider me greedy for accepting the bid? Would you
> want me to refund part of the money because it seemed like it went to
> high? Does anyone know of anyone who has ever done that?


This is now a different scenario, IMO. If it was on eBay, you are letting
the bidders set the price of the game. You paid $200 for it, took 2 hours
to get it home (I'll assume 4 hours round trip) and you put some time into
it. Since you do not repair them professionally, we can ignore the rate a
professional does it. Someone gets a cut and you put a band-aid on it
doesn't mean you could charge a professional doctor fee, now does it?

Anywho... $200 + $30 gas (4 hours, ~200 miles, ~15 MPG, ~$2.25/gal) = $230.
"A few parts..." Don't know the cost, but we'll assume $50 = $280. As for
the couple hours helping the guy fix a pin, well, that's totally irrelevant
to the cost of the vid. Start the auction out at $300/no reserve or the
usual $1/with reserve and let it go. When you list it for the $300, you're
just asking for your money back and if someone bids higher, then it is their
choice to decide the value. Does it seem greedy? Not at all. You started
the auction out for what you have into the game and did not dictate what you
felt your time is worth.

Buy it for $200, spend a couple hours on it, state a $650 price means you
felt that your time was worth about $115 an hour since you spent a couple of
hours to get it going. $115 an hour? Shoot, that's not much less than what
a lawyer charges (depending). It's a lot more than what an auto mechanic
charges, and he pretty much does the same thing but with MUCH more expensive
tools and overhead.

eBay means the bidder sets the price. Sale means you set the price.
There's the difference. Buying a game 2 hours away without the intent of
keeping it, but instead with the intent of turning around a nice profit is
the picture I see. I apologize if I am incorrect, but with what you have
stated so far, that is what it looks like.

Bill
 >> Stay informed about: Vent: Guy grumpy because I buy low, sell high 

> > I've spent quite a bit of time over the last few years trying to learn
> > about this stuff and I'm slowly getting to where I can fix them. And I
> > happily share advice and even go help others work on their games. But
> > why shouldn't my hard work and energy be valuable? A friend of mine
> > repairs games professionally. He charges $100 for a visit plus $60 per
> > hour. Even if I charged half that for my time into this game I'd be
> > well over the $650 mark.

After seeing the math, if you charged half of that for your time into the
game, you wouldn't be "well over the $650 mark."

$200 + $30 gas (4 hours, ~200 miles, ~15 MPG, ~$2.25/gal) = $230 + $110
(half of $100 visit and half for two hours is $60) = $440 and "A few
parts..." Don't know the cost, but we'll assume $50 = $490. Looks to be
quite short of $650.

Bill
 >> Stay informed about: Vent: Guy grumpy because I buy low, sell high