How not to sell a machine on ebay

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coppinpr
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How not to sell on Ebay

Post by coppinpr »

I've been in selling all my life and I think I'm pretty good at it (47 years in the same job, and my business is still going strong). Ebay is just an interest for me,bnot a business and I enjoy buying and selling on it. I can often buy cheap because the seller has no idea how to pitch an item and sell the same item at a profit because I do know how. Every now and then a real example of how not to sell comes up and this time it's linked to our hobby. This person costs himself increasing amounts of money at least five times in this description. He hasn't a clue. It's all aggression, lack of info and reasons not to bid. By the time you have read the ad, the last thing you want to do is look at his other auctions!


mills cherry one arm bandit.
we are registered with the gaming board to buy sell and operate gaming machines
505843

here we have for sale is a mills 1'd play 12'd jackpot one arm bandit with escalator
it is in good working order
it has original lock and key

it is up to you to make sure you have the correct licence to operate this machine
uk sales only.. cash on collection only and pickup within 5 days of auction ending..
see other auctions...

no paypall

26.5 inches high
15 inches deep
16 inches wide


any questions please use the ask seller link.
see the photos and you decide
good luck and happy bidding
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coppinpr
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Re: how not to sell on Ebay

Post by coppinpr »

Since my first post on this thread the item mentioned above has ended on Ebay. He got a measly £265. I rest my case. :didact:
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badpenny
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Re: how not to sell on Ebay

Post by badpenny »

................... some people couldn't sell a lifebelt to a drowning man.
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special when lit
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Re: how not to sell on Ebay

Post by special when lit »

That's not far from me, but it's been on ebay 3 or 4 times, always sold, but always ends up being re-listed, so made me think it might be dodgy.
Having said that, I've had stuff from the seller in the past, & he seems OK.
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treefrog
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Re: how not to sell on Ebay

Post by treefrog »

I guess for starters it was a Diamond Front, not a Mills Cherry....

I was thinking about both the machines he had and may have made the trip if the Aristocrat was cheaper... The Mills machine has changed its life a few times, probably before the seller had it. E.g., the cabinet has chipboard sides, the handle is wrong and the mechanism is from a later Mills machine. I think this may be a Mill-O-Matic Hi Top machine, with different front castings and base (even the mechanism was based on this machine). I would also question whether the castings are genuine, looking at the shiny metal and MLB reference, but might be wrong.

But as you all say, you can sell anything if you are a hard pushy salesman and slightly mislead people a little to get what you want, which is what most people seem to do.

One of the best honest sellers I have seen selling stuff from this forum were Malcmals machines, very detailed, honest and glossing up the items with lots of superlatives and references to make the buyer really believe they are buying the best out there. Not sure if he uses the forum much now and have not seen many of his machines sell, but certainly made the effort and got his prices, so agree if you put the effort in, you can get those extra pounds.... Never sold a machine on ebay and dreading the day I ever have to.
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arrgee
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Re: how not to sell on Ebay

Post by arrgee »

Tree-frog wrote:One of the best honest sellers I have seen selling stuff from this forum were Malcmals machines
What name does he sell under? It's always useful to know of an honest seller on ebay.
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treefrog
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Re: How not to sell on Ebay

Post by treefrog »

Now this has to be the best one so far......a machine on ebay now a Bingolett....fantastic
More pictures have been posted HERE

Not a clue about this one, I can't even make out where it was made as all the diagrams etc papered to the inside of the back are in German.

Bad points and good points:

BAD: Only (sort of) works when plugged in to the electricity.
GOOD: Doesn't require connection to the gas supply.

BAD: Needs threepenny bits to operate it.
GOOD: At least you get to ask the charity lady if she wants to come in and get her threepenny bits out.

GOOD: Little wooden ball supposed to pop out and give you three goes for 3d. - so really cheap - yah, like, really cheap, to play.
BAD: The only way I could get my balls to drop was to fiddle with something round the back

BAD: To get it all lit up and to play / see what's going on, you have to press in and hold the 'KONTROLLE' button.
GOOD: Would make half decent table lamp.

GOOD: Everything 'sort of works', provided you don't mind fiddling with it
BAD: Everything only 'sort of works', but you have to fiddle with it by poking levers surrounded by electrical relays and 240v transformers.

GOOD: In the right hands, this could be a terrific amusement machine.
BAD: In the wrong hands, it could be a disaster waiting to happen.

BAD: One half of each hinge (the door bit) is missing.
GOOD: Quick and easy access to the inside.

BAD: The lock is missing.
GOOD: Quick and easy access to the inside, also there is a handy little hole where you could fit a lock.

SUMMARY:

This is an attractive and potentially restorable machine to anyone with a degree in mechanical and electronic engineering, or someone who gets lucky while blindly poking about in the back with a stick. It has distinctively Art Deco metalwork and design to the front. I like to use the words 'Art Deco' as often as possible. Deco seems to be almost as good on its own as Art and Deco together. Not to be confused with Ant and Dec. Art Deco.

At the very least, it will prove to be a good talking point / conversation piece, as long as you don't mind 'her' half of the conversation being somewhat scathing. Terrific.

Regrettably, I will not post this, so you will need to collect in person or arrange courier collection. It is a very heavy machine.

Comes from a home where even the cats smoke
silverbitz
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Re: How not to sell on Ebay

Post by silverbitz »

Brilliant! :D
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Re: How not to sell on Ebay

Post by spintop »

Made me laugh. Auction for huge amount of one arm bandit parts on ebay, starting bid £275, must be £8,000 worth of parts - sorry you can't have the plastic boxes. Item number 160796293305
Last edited by spintop on Wed May 16, 2012 8:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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badpenny
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Re: How not to sell on Ebay

Post by badpenny »

He's an old mate of about twenty odd years.
Bit of a character, but basically heart in the right place. :cool:
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treefrog
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Re: How not to sell on Ebay

Post by treefrog »

I agree not good enough pictures or description as you cannot not easily tell what is in the boxes, but I recognise little and the castings are all Jubilee, Sega and Bally I believe.......too much of a risk to take a lucky dip and hope there are actually Mills or Jennings parts, certainly for that money anyway, might explain why they have not sold.......Now the boxes would have been worth having !!ESCAPE!!

Of course I guess the answer is one could always ask for more detail, but who is going to list a 1000 items, so take your chances.
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Re: How not to sell on Ebay

Post by andydotp »

Hilarious,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Will post when my ribs stop hurting! :lol: :lol:
spintop
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Re: How not to sell on Ebay

Post by spintop »

This is what not to do when you have a light cream coloured sofa when you try and sell a dirty old machine on ebay. I hope this seller took some pictures of his machine while his wife was out shopping !!
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coppinpr
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Re: How not to sell on Ebay

Post by coppinpr »

No you have missed the point. I asked the seller: the machine has a permanent seat on the sofa. The wife used to sit there but she went down to the shops for 5 mins 3 years ago and never came back for some reason. !PUZZLED!
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Re: How not to sell on Ebay

Post by andydotp »

Hmmmm,, I know the feeling.. 'Dearest Beloved' of seven years popped back to China for a week - in '08. (BP emoticon for drumming fingers and looking at watch please) and me & the machines are starving & covered in dust!
Agree with spintop though about the pic.
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badpenny
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Re: How not to sell on Ebay

Post by badpenny »

Sometimes there really is no need to reinvent the wheel ......

Image
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coppinpr
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How not to sell on Ebay (part three)

Post by coppinpr »

Topic merged - Site Admin.

Following on with my series of "how not to sell on ebay", here is a real good example:

Here we have a nice Jennings in terrible condition, sell-able, I think but not the way it's offered here. I've been in selling all my life, and I'm good at it. This is not good - the seller tries to convince you that what you're looking at is not what he's selling. The line "offered is an exceptionally well-kept example" is classic, when in fact it's a totally rusty example with no back door, locks, rear hood, jackpot or escalator. He then goes on to imply that a little TLC will make this worth £1500, even shows you what it will look like when restored. Now I'd buy this machine at the right price and offered in an honest manner, but not like this. I don't trust the seller!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Jennings-Sun- ... 1406977463
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treefrog
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Re: how not to sell on Ebay (part three)

Post by treefrog »

This is the second listing for this and when pulled last time, I made the seller an offer. Glad he did not respond to me as on closer inspection, apart from a rusty mech and shagged cabinet, the castings are knackered, deep corrosion at the front......also lacks escalator and other parts mentioned....
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Re: how not to sell on Ebay (part three)

Post by jingle »

The most important part
What I think is missing is the original lights
:o
glittering-prize67
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Re: How not to sell on Ebay (part three)

Post by glittering-prize67 »

It's a piece of shit but has bids. Ebay is full of crap, most of which I would put in the bin. Some people have silly ideas of what things are worth. I know what I want and I know what I will pay. Been there, done that, won't fall for the stories.
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