Site stuff and machine sales...

[Paul]

Morning Chaps and Chapesses

So was having a chat to Geoff over the weekend, and i have a question for you guys.

What does this place need to be THE place to buy and sell machines?? What with Ebay now only allowing one "pull" of an auction per year, I'd like to at least go some way to getting this place to be THE place to come.

You guys use this place - Tell us what you would look for....??

Also - What else would you like here?

Part of me thinks this site is a little untidy and disjointed. I intend to try to address this over the coming weeks, however I would like suggestions. Some stuff i can do, some stuff I wont be able to - however I'd like this place to be the place to come.

also - The new breed of Vbulletin is still in Beta trials, with lots of new features that the previous software had. I'll be looking and evaluating this to see if it's something worthwhile to move to. I don't intend to jump straight away - and all the stuff that's here will still be here (None of the problems and stuff missing like the last one since it's an upgrade of the same software). We'll see what happens. I will have a test board up so Admins/Mods can play with it and see how it is later.

So come on - What do you want????

Thanks in advance for your info and ideas...

Paul

 

[JT.]

I guess the beauty of ebay is the volume of potential customers pushing the prices up, so if someone wants the best price for their machine it's hard to compete with (and I'm not sure you'd want to try). In my opinion, I think the current method you have here is pretty good for people who want to avoid the hassle of ebay. Personally I'm not convinced that ebay type bidding on the forum would be an improvement over what's here today

 

[cooldan]

i agree that the distance to go to compete with ebay is just too far (feedback, reputations, dispute resolution, off-site gazumping, ability to pay by lots of methods, ability to buy from and sell to abroad, real-time second-by-second updates in the closing stages, but mostly just the size of the potential market) .....

but i would like to propose a system of logged dibs/2nd dibs/3rd dibs/etc on machines, so when we came to sell, the guy at the top of the queue (unless the seller has a particular objection to him/her because of soome past issue) gets first refusal. i'm not suggesting that the price should be anyone's business but the seller, but that the rarer games get to be circulated in the fairest way rather than just by someone getting lucky by asking at the right time and then someone else comes along and gets the hump cos 'he promised me first refusal, the bastard' etc etc....... we can't be expected to remember all such promises made often years before.

on the same lines, i suggest an integration of transport requirements on the site - kind of like the hitchhiking liftshare sites there used to be knocking around - so someone could post that they needed a machine moving from X to Y, and either a professional like Martin Deliveryman could use it to his advantage, or if he was busy, then someone driving in that direction could do it for petrol money (we're all pinheads here, so probably trust each other with a few basic provisos like ratchet strap used, cardboard or foam in between head and body, separate bag with bolts, balls, keys and power cord).....

unrelated site requests:
can we have youtube videos embedded like we used to?
can we have that UK top 100 game list you mentioned ages ago, with voting or whatever?

 

[Sgt GrizZ]

Dan ...you can embed Youtube vids ....


".......elation, confusion and the occasional flash of convoluted brilliance"

[video=youtube;X0buBXPldNQ]

 

[Calimori]

As an associate advocate for the Devil, I can see the Dibs scheme being hijacked. I remember that GrizZ already claimed first dibs on all pinball machines a while back but it would ultimately allow for the quickest poster to just dib any new viewed machine.

To have a successful sale site we have to have things for sale and then buyers to buy them. We cant get more buyers for our stuff if we don't have stuff to sell.
I like the fact that many of the site members post on here before going to ebay. We can all see that ebay may get a high price but factor in other costs and issues might well make it more effort for not a lot more money.

Quickly thinking, I would want the following:
Fair description of machine
Good pictures of the machine,
Turned on
Glass off
Playfield
Cab, left and right
Front
Backbox, left and right
Pictures of all know defects
Location of the machine
Price

This allows people to decide if they like the price, they don't have to buy if they don't like it. The seller can always change the price at a later point. A thread title that had simple information in could help users:
For Sale: Indiana Jones (WMS) £4200
Peoples own descriptions of the machine might be helpful so 8/10 could be put in the title. If all ads were made to follow the format it would be very easy to spot a machine you wanted to buy.

I am happy to say I have bought off this forum, it was straight forward and simple and I would certainly do it again.

 

[Spandangler]

I can't really think of anything. For how I use the site, it's great. As for making it the place to buy, I think over time as more people here about it, it'll develop nicely. I'm in talks with a guy at the moment who I'm buying a couple of pins off, whose been in the hobby for years. Buys wrecks, does them up and sells them
on eBay. He had absolutely no idea this forum or yahoo group, even existed. He needed replacement parts for a machine he's restoring and was amazed when, literally within half an hour I'd posted a wanted ad and got the part he needed!! So it goes to show there are pin heads out there who don't know about this forum.

I think I'm on my 15th machine now. And apart from the first one I ever bought, off eBay incidentally, I've bought and sold all the others right here or on yahoo group (but mainly here;-)

Great site Paul. Lovin ya work

 

[idchappy]

Great site and a helpful crew, I think the sales section is fine