Hosted by Jack Freund
THE LONG WAY HOME
by DAVE BURRITT, Denver Colorado
Fortunately, they just wanted to know if they could
remove the photos from the Internet. Of course I said
yes (I didn ' t want anyone else to find them).
Oct. 10th: I get a call at about 10:00 in the morn-
ing. It is the owner, my heart sank, I figured she had
contacted another collector. On the contrary, she was
ecstatic! She said the check had arrived. She also said
they were going to put a big piece of paper on the ma-
chine saying that I was the owner (just in case some-
thing happened to them).
OK, the next step is trying to figure out how to
get the machine to Denver. For some reason, I had
the feeling that the owners had integrity and would
not try to find another buyer. I am not sure why I felt
that way because I have been burned in the past with
people who I had a deal with and they then continue
to shop around.
I talked to two other collectors about the machine
and they both encourage me to get the machine out of
the owner's hands ASAP. I ignore their advice.
The owners sent me another email indicating that
they would be willing to drive a couple of hundred
miles to meet me.
I looked at the map and the calendar. It turns out I
had some business meetings that would allow me to
fly into Indy on Nov. 9th and then drive to St. Charles.
Indy is about 200 miles from where they live. I con-
tacted them and they said they would be happy to
meet me in Indy.
One month later (by the way, that was a VERY
long 4 weeks) on Nov. 9th, I arrive at the airport (In-
dianapolis). They pick me up and take me to the rent-
al car facility. They packed the "Our Baby" machine
very well. I offered to take them to lunch or at least
give them gas money but they wouldn't hear of it.
They returned back home and I drove into St.
Charles for the show. Once I checked into the ho-
tel I was able to examine the machine a little more
Sept. 20th: Received brief email stating they have
an "Our Baby" and are considering selling it.
Sept. 20th: I reply that I might be interested. How-
ever, I am leaving the country for about 10 days and
will have no access to email or voice mail. At this
time, I don't even know what an "Our Baby" is. I
think it is a trade stimulator (which I don't collect). If
it is a trade stimulator I will just refer them to a dealer
(like I do for all my leads for stuff that I am not inter-
ested in) that I know who does buy them.
Sept 21st: They reply indicating that there is no
hurry because they are just starting to think about
their options. I reply with a message that I will con-
tact them in about two weeks.
Sept 21 - Oct. 1: My wife and I are on a cruise and
don' t think about it any more. It is probably a very
good thing that I didn't know what they had.
Oct. 1st: We return back to Denver.
Oct. 3rd: I remember about the "Our Baby" ma-
chine and do some research. I find it in Gustwiller's
book and my heart sank. I figured I had lost the ma-
chine. However, I shot an email off to the owner.
Oct. 4th: Owner replies that they still have the ma-
chine. It sounds like they have not contacted anyone
else.
Oct. 4th - Oct. 8th: I exchange LOTS of emails
with the owner. They put photos up on the Internet
for me to check the machine out. They have finally
decided they want to sell it.
Oct. 9th: I talk to them in person. We chat for quite
a while and finally get down to business. A price is
agreed upon at 4:30 pm. I run out of the house yell-
ing to my wife "Gotta go to the bank". I am sure she
is thinking, "good grief, what did he buy thi s time?".
I get to the bank, get a certified check, and then run
to the post office. I send the check via Express Mail
and cross my fingers. At 6:00 they call me back. Oh
oh, I thought to myself, they found another collector.
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