rec.games.pinball is kind of a rough place

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 11:04 pm

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.game ... rkon&hl=en#

A guy was attempting to sell a mint Varkon. Apparently, "tire-kickers" and morons were the only ones to respond. I am on the side of the poster called "Studiobassist"'s side here, because whenever I put stuff up for auction or a listing, I apparently get many of the same people.

I pulled the listing because I only had idiot's replying to it. I wasn't making any cash on the deal, I was just helping out a client and maybe getting a collector in here a super rare game. It seemed people thought I should go get them pictures, 30 miles round trip in terrible traffic before they would tell me if they had the money to buy something like this. I know they will want over $2500 and I have seen
them sell for a lot more. One guy assumed that I should already have pics of this if it was a serious for sale item. Sure, I carry a camera with me everywhere I go. I guess we are all Japanese tourists here in Florida.

Here's the deal, I went to go do some repair work for a client. They said they would be willing to sell the Varkon for the right price. They don't have a digital camera and are older folks, I do but didn't have it at the time. I went home and posted...

(I know some one with a real nice Varkon that they may wish to sell in Florida. The right dollar figure will probably motivate them. I can tell you it is real nice and all original. It works all the way as well. If you are interested, let me know what your price range is for something like this and if it is reasonable, I will help make the deal happen for you. I will get pics for someone who is very serious and has the ability to follow through with the purchase of something like this.
It's a 15 mile drive for me to get pics so please only serious
inquiries.)

Notice how I asked what the price range was? How hard is it to say $500 for crap to $3500 for mint? I guess everyone who responded had an issue with that. So nobody from the groups will get this. This is the last time I will offer a score like this to anyone in here just because of the stupid people I had respond. Some of the people that did offer pricing were so low it was funny. Sure, let me drive 30 miles to get you pictures for a $100 price that will be laughed at on the other end.

It's not worth my time to try to hook anyone up with this anymore so if you have been looking, sorry, keep looking. Thank the bone heads in here for your loss.

Vitriola · Post by **Vitriola** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 1:41 am

That's nice, and all, but seriously, get pictures. If you want to sell it, get the fucking pics. 15 miles, boo-hoo. The fact that it was someone ELSE'S, and he can't even vouch for it playing beyond him turning it on for a few minutes would make anyone hesitate to make that purchase. I guess someone should just fork over a GRRRRR because some no-name on the internet with no pics, and no cred, who is just doing Something Nice For Old People said it was all good? Yeah, they're the 'idiots'.

hygraed · Post by **hygraed** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 2:17 pm

To be honest I'm kind of on Vit's side here. If the guy wants to sell something over the Internet, he's obligated to provide photographs. I would want to see a photograph of something before I made an offer as well.

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 11:26 am

Yeah, there is no wrong side to take here. And the last two things I sold on eBay were made into a huge production by the post office, not the guys who actually bought the items (they have been great).

On the whole, however, rec.games.pinball reminds me of one of those MacGuffin action/comedies where people are constantly trying to take advantage of one other. There is absolutely no shame in selling something for three grand that you bought for thirty bucks there.

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 9:07 pm

So, my copy of "Tilt: The Battle to Save Pinball" arrived last week. Dayna and I had a chance to watch the main feature on the first disc.

It basically describes what happened when the Pinball 2000 series of games hit the marketplace. Revenge From Mars and Star Wars: Episode 1 were the two finished Pinball 2000 games.

At one point, the director shows some posts from rec.games.pinball that stink of "Comic Book Guy" disease. Without knowing a goddamn thing about Revenge From Mars (a great game and fantastic bridge to other pinball games if you are new them) there were posts from your typical Hate-Everything Internet Heroes saying how much it would suck.

rec.games.pinball is (correctly) mentioned as a reason as to why we're lucky to get one new pinball game a year now.

So! What does the newsgroup think of this DVD? I am not saying the entire newsgroup should be judged by the actions by a few assholes, but one guy decided to get a copy of the DVD and MAIL IT AROUND TO PEOPLE rather than just, say, buy the fucking thing.

Part of the thread is here.

Unbelievable. Again, I wouldn't say, "What a bunch of assholes" because 95% of the guys there are nice and helpful. But man, are the bad apples a self-entitled, horrible bunch.

Roody_Yogurt · Post by **Roody_Yogurt** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 3:18 pm

I was going to wait until Vegas to ask this, but it occurs to me that one of the things I've always wondered is if pinball experts generally use tilting in their gameplay (and maybe a key part of play is learning to do it without setting off the sensors), what with tilt buttons being in even videogame versions of pinball.

So what's the deal?

Vitriola · Post by **Vitriola** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 4:47 pm

Yes! As a n00b myself, I was taught to never tilt the game, don't bang on the game, do not roughhouse the game. Oh, I was so wrong. Thing is, go ahead and get physical on the game, but a tilt is still a tilt. Only, in their strategies, you may throw the game around, but you are looked down upon if you actually tilt it. It's like an art form.

Robb can explain this better. If you see professional players at it, they are all up in that game's shit. It's constant manipulation of the actual machine. Cool! And something I cannot do yet :) When we do play, I try to set a goal of saving 1 ball by moving game. Even that's hard.

Roody_Yogurt · Post by **Roody_Yogurt** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 8:26 pm

Thanks for the info!

hygraed · Post by **hygraed** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 10:20 am

I'm off to college in August, and I discovered on my most recent visit that the game room has the South Park pinball table. I was rather stoked.