April 22, 2007, 8:34 pm PDT
User Name: markgoldenberg
Product Purchased: Vintage Shakespeare Bookshelf Game, Avalon Hill ‘66:EXL
Product As Advertised: Yes
Shipped Quickly: Yes*
Customer Service: Excellent
This was a great buy: A copy of this game is very difficult to find, especially because it’s over 40 years old. This edition, as the auction stated, is in exceptional condition, and I knew I just had to have it. Thankfully, I was bidding against two relatively inexperienced bidders, so I was able to get it for a song (and the seller wound up losing another $1 or so off the sale due to shipping costs).
*There was a bit of a delay in getting this game, but it was the Postal Service in action. The seller shipped the game via parcel post the day after the auction (the shipping label says so), but it took 9 postal days to get to me from Illinois. Apparently, the only thing remotely approaching timely delivery they have is Priority Mail.
The seller couldn’t have been more responsive, attentive or apologetic for the delay, which again wasn’t his fault. I highly recommend him.
April 22, 2007, 10:40 am PDT
User Name: jshulick
Product Purchased: SQUAD LEADER, Vintage Avalon Hill Infantry Combat WWII
Product As Advertised: Yes
Shipped Quickly: Yes
Customer Service: Excellent
For all the copies of Third Reich I own, I only have one copy of Squad Leader, so it was definitely time to get a second. (You need two copies of out-of-print games in case parts go missing in one. As these get older, complete games will become harder to find.)
I actually came to this auction via two other auctions this vendor had, for Cross of Iron and Crescendo of Doom, two additional Squad Leader games I want to purchase. They are harder to find and this vendor’s copies were unpunched, so he set the initial bids high for both. And, sure enough, I might have followed bidding up to the opening bid he set, but I wasn’t going to start there.
On the other hand, his copy of Squad Leader was reasonably priced and certified as complete, so I decided to buy. It arrived exactly as described and quickly.
After winning, this vendor offered me an unpunched copy of Cross of Iron and a mostly unpunched copy of Crescendo of Doom for $85, which I might have considered (I probably would have countered with $60 and let him move me to $70), but my games budget is seriously blown for a while.
I will probably use this vendor again once my finances allow for it.
April 22, 2007, 10:30 am PDT
User Name: jameskrolak
Product Purchased: Avalon Hill’s Third Reich
Product As Advertised: Yes
Shipped Quickly: Yes
Customer Service: Excellent
I know, I know: I need another copy of Third Reich like I need a hole in the head. But I saw this copy so seriously underpriced, and noticed it included a copy of the same Gamer’s Guide I had previously paid $12.50 for, and knew I had to jump on it.
I may have previously criticized another vendor for saying too much, but this was clearly a case of not saying enough. While it’s true that there are always a lot of copies of Third Reich on eBay, there’s no reason for one this good to have sold for as little as this one did, except that it was not advertised properly.
How could this have sold for more? The seller could have said that it was complete (it is), that the box was in great shape with no cracks or splits, and that it included the bonus Gamer’s Guide.
I may well sell this game myself, to see if I can get my money back, since I now have four copies of this game and really only need two or three.
I would definitely buy from this vendor again.
April 22, 2007, 10:03 am PDT
User Name: jenduane
Product Purchased: War & Peace Avalon Hill Napoleonic Wars Board Game; 1776 Avalon Hill Revolutionary War Board Game
Product As Advertised: Yes
Shipped Quickly: Yes
Customer Service: Good
One time, while browsing books at the Barnes & Noble, I came across Titanium eBay: A Tactical Guide to Becoming a Millionaire PowerSeller, a guide for running a business on eBay. Because I wasn’t selling on eBay at the time, I just skimmed it while drinking my coffee.
Among the book’s many good suggestions was one which predated all the current Law of Attraction hype: It basically said, don’t say what you won’t do; say what you will do. In other words, don’t say, “I won’t ship outside the United States,” say, “I ship anywhere in the United States.” Those two sentences say the same thing, but the latter sounds so much better than the former.
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