Richard13 wrote:Thanks Bill it did not sell on eBay and when I contacted seller he said it is no longer available. Musta cut a deal on the side off eBay. Again another lesson learned here so if I see another one I'll know to jump on it or not!
Richard:
Yes, I contacted the seller as well, and was informed that "it sold". Which means, someone contacted him with an offer,
to pull it off eBay. The machine is in the 'completed listings', and not showing as sold. So we all know what that means!
This is a practice that has been going on since eBay began. All because of not wanting to waste time, bidding along with
your fellow collectors, and taking a chance of being out-bid. I'm sure many have noticed, that nine times out of ten, when
a Rare, or Scarce machine hits the block, it somehow vanishes within a day or two. I have known several people, that made
a regular practice out of having machines pulled with a side-offer. What some sellers don't realize, is that a particular item
may draw a much higher figure, if the auction runs it's coarse. Case in point: Several years ago, I was bidding on a totally
original, and complete machine, in excellent condition. About a day after it was listed, I was talking to a collector, that
told me so-and-so, (whom I also knew), was interested in it, and was going to contact the seller with an offer to pull it. I
also was told the amount. In another day or so, I got my notice from eBay, that the listing was shut down, and all bids had
been retracted. I contacted the seller, and asked what happened, and he gave me a BS story, that his grand-kid had knocked
it off the table, and it was broken. He also stretched the BS a bit farther, by saying it would be relisted when it was repaired.
Yeah right! In about a week, I got the word that the 'Sleezeball' now had the machine in his possession. That person knew me
well, and knew that I was bidding on the machine, because at that time, every ones userID showed in the 'bid history', not like
today, seeing a code. What the seller didn't know, is that I had a top bid prepared, that was much higher than what he sold it
for, so because of his stupidity and greed, he was 'The Looser'.
From the result of this latest shenanigan, I am going to cease letting everyone on this Forum know what is a good machine to
go after. I am already aware of a couple that monitor these threads, that are just waiting to go on the attack. So, from now on,
If I know the collector that is inquiring about a certain machine, I will just PM him, instead of answering in the Forum.
Bill