Strange sellers - What is it with some people in this hobby?

[MonitorGuru]

No long preface, but by length and content his is the complete email exchange between me and a seller for an item that didn't sell after 3 listings. Anything strange to anyone else??


Me (Tues): Do you still have such and such a game you had on ebay that didn't sell? I can have someone pick it up on Saturday if you still have it and it is in the same condition? Would you be willing to accept $40 for it?

Him (Tues): I'll only take $50 for it. I'll be available all day Saturday. Let me know if you want it or not.

Me (Wed): Is it still in the same condition as the pictures you had? Has it been kept outside or in a barn/does it smell bad or does it have any obious problems not shown in the picture, like significant rusting inside or underneath or a busted back end of the tube?  [Then a couple sentences about why my relative was in the area and that they had to be somewhere at 9am after driving 3 hours to get there---setting the place for finding out what time worked best for him]

Me (Thurs): Sorry to bother, havn't heard from you. I do want it if you still have it and confirm there isn't anything changed from the original description or obviously wrong that wasn't pictured. Please send me your address and when works best for you, again my relative has to be somewhere at 9 after driving 3 hours to get there.

Him (Thurs): No, it doesn't smell. It doesn't power up. Address is ______.  I've got 3 others picking up between 8-10.

Me (Thurs): Please clarify 8-10.. is that your only time you're available or since you're busy with 3 others did you not want that time but something a little later, that would work best for my relative?  Thanks

Him (Fri): Only between 8-10 and early as possible. Sorry to sound like an a__ but I want to move on with my life.

Him (Sun): Your relative picked it up at 8 yesterday, now it's yours.

[Hoagie_one]

well duh.  He needed to move on with his life.

lol, strange

[RacerX]

Sounds like a nasty breakup.  I hope he gets over it soon.  

[Minwah]

Many people in the world are just t0ssers, unfortunately  

[pointdablame]

why did you have to bring this up MonitorGuru? why??

Obviously, that machine was once a centerpiece in his living room.  Then on a warm Saturday afternoon, he and his friends were playing when a freak wind storm burst through the house and knocked the machine over on to his beloved pet turtle, crushing it to death.  With the loss of his pet, he couldn't stand to see the machine anymore, so he threw it in a barn.  Now, after years and years of therapy, he is ready to let it go, and move on.

Don't make fun of him... that is very inconsiderate... he's been through a lot  

[iwillfearnoevil]

i feel your pain. i just lost contact with a seller and went back and forth. unfortunately email drags things out like a simple phone call maybe won't.

[exibar]

it's not just this hobby....  people sell things for different reasons, sounds like he's just fed up with "something" and wants to be rid of anything that slightly reminds him of that "something" (crushed dead beverage retreiving/pet turtle?

(just picture how upset YOU would be if your beverage deilvery system was crushed by an arcade game)  

(OK just licture a turtle with a can of coke crawling from the kitchen into your living room, that your ex-girlfriend/wife MADE you buy becaus it was soooo cute.... she's now sleeping with the plumber in Florida somewhere, and you're stuck with this god aweful turtle that takes 30 minutes to bring you a can of Coke... especially when you wanted the "Jetson's tube like thingy to deliver your coke (the tubes like at the bank drive through...) in the first place.)  The turtle finally got crushed when the arcade game "accidentally" fell on it when you learned that turtles live for 50 years or more.... that's too damn long of a time to wait to get a can of Coke!

  Anyway...

  I can sum it up simply.... People are funny....  :-)

  Mike B

[RetroJames]

The term is "Odd Duck."

[fredster]

Well, maybe I'm an old geezer, you sure asked a lot of questions for a $50 game.

If the game was only $50, then you could have gotten there between 8-10 and if you wanted it, you could have taken it.

"clarify between 8 and 10"?  Seems pretty clear, why not try 9?.  You were kinda nagging him I think.  

He said he had a game for $50 that didn't work.  He said if you wanted it, go and get it between 8-10.  He said it didn't smell.

Remember, some people just can't type.  Some people may have had a bad day.   Some people just didn't learn to write well.

I know you had to drive a bit for it, but it was only a $50 deal to him.  What could you expect for $50?  A working pacman?

[MonitorGuru]

Well, maybe I'm an old geezer, you sure asked a lot of questions for a $50 game.

If the game was only $50, then you could have gotten there between 8-10 and if you wanted it, you could have taken it.

"clarify between 8 and 10"?  Seems pretty clear, why not try 9?.  You were kinda nagging him I think.  

He said he had a game for $50 that didn't work.  He said if you wanted it, go and get it between 8-10.  He said it didn't smell.

Remember, some people just can't type.  Some people may have had a bad day.   Some people just didn't learn to write well.

I know you had to drive a bit for it, but it was only a $50 deal to him.  What could you expect for $50?  A working pacman?

No, far from. This was an ugly metal cocktail of a game no one wants, and $50 actually is quite high for it, especially given the condition.


I didn't think I barraged him with questions. Since it had been a couple months since it was last listed, I wanted to be sure that the condition hadn't changed, and didn't want to "assume" things.. (that has bitten me before on ebay numerous times) He didn't state or show pictures of the inner guts, and it was kept in a rural area in a shop. Therefore my questions seemed to be very pointed and applicable.

If you note, I didn't ask if there were scratches, chipped glass, wear around control panels, artwork lifting under the glass, cobwebs, etc..  Just a couple specific questions to ensure I got what I thought I would be getting that affected the value of it.

A smelly cabinet usually cannot be made to unsmell and must be trashed along with many of the parts (wood top, pourous plastic, etc..)  A broken monitor tube neck usually means broken neckboard and too much work to replace. Tons of rust on the insides means all the chips on the boards are rusted and about to fall apart meaning no repair hope for the board.  All very relelvent even on a $50 item and not trivial.

Also I would have typed even less had he actually answered the questions at or or clearly the FIRST time I asked them. Thats the problem, people can't read. And as you said they can't write, but my experience is if it's not explicitly spelled out or pictured, I will get screwed if I don't ask.

I asked the important questions, not a bunch of trivials or background on why I was asking. He didnt want to answer straight up.

As far as the time.. the way he wrote it first seemed to be he was busy with 3 others then, so I didn't want to schedule something between 8 and 10 IF he was too busy.  What really got me was that in advance I had said my relative was travelling 3 hours to be there AT 9am for something else important, and the seller initially stated he would "be there all day saturday".  Suddenly all day saturday became 8-10 became 8 "early as possible", knowing that it would be harder for my relative to make that time.

I was 6 hours away, and my relative was 3. He was going to be 20 minutes away from him at 9am so thats why I tried to schedule stuff.


I did almost walk away from it due to the rudeness of his tone and inability to address a very short list of questions, but then *I*'d be the bad guy offering something and then walking away because he didn't answer my questions well enough.

If you notice, I didn't whine and cry to him about his flip-flopping on when he was available and his snide comment.. I just scheduled the pick up and didn't email him again since he seems to be a very poor communicator.