Hello again;

Today, I’m sharing the good news that I have finally sold the HUSS Topspin that came out of the pavilion in Myrtle Beach South Carolina. While this sale didn’t happen as quickly as the MEC bumper cars that was sold and delivered to its new owners in only two weeks or the Bertazzon double decker carousel where the buyer was found in less than 30 minutes; the time required was not a surprise given the deplorable condition of the ride.

I first received this ride along with several others a little over two years ago. The representative of the park that owned it called to ask if I would try to help them with a serious problem. He told me that they operated several family style amusement parks in the southeast and that they had several used rides that they needed to sell. He further explained that when these rides were taken out of operation they were stored in an outdoor location. Apparently, the storage facility was not very secure as the rides in question have been vandalized. They have had parts stolen off of them. Also, the climate is hard on any equipment stored outdoors. And the truth of the matter is amusement equipment like this needs to be used. As my brother Michael likes to say nothing good happens to a ride when it is parked.

So, I explained to him about how the site works. I asked him to send me what photos he had, and I took down the descriptions of the rides. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a lot of photos because he wasn’t working at the company when the rides were taken out of service. He was able to get some photos of the rides from their storage location, but these did very little to showcase their equipment. I guess I should mention that the list of rides included the topspin along with a HUSS enterprise, HUSS rainbow, a nascar themed soft play system, a rock climbing wall, and the Mad Mouse coaster. The list of rides has changed, but these are the rides that are still available.

I put their rides on the site and did my best to promote them. I was also working to improve the website. I installed a new photo gallery called gallery 3. In honor of it my contact at the park company sent me a few more photos of the rides. I posted them, and sent them out to everyone who had shown an interest in these listings. In the fall of 2012 I got an email from a gentleman in Germany. He expressed an interest in the topspin and the rainbow, and i put him in contact with the owners. They communicated for a while and eventually signed a contract for a sale.

As you can imagine I was very excited by this, and I waited anxiously for the sale to close; so i could receive my commission. However, it seemed like every week or two there was another problem with the sale. The buyer was worried about replacing the tires on the trailers to get them delivered to the port. He wanted to know exactly what parts were damaged or missing from the rides. He wanted more photos and he asked that a video walk through be made. Then he was worried about whether or not the trailers would make it through the Atlantic crossing. Finally, the owners said enough is enough and voided the contract.

Now, sales fall through all the time. That is just the nature of what I do for a living. However, the news wasn’t all bad. Thanks to this buyer I now had several excellent videos to use in the listing for the topspin and rainbow. So, I uploaded the videos to my site. I updated the listings and started all over promoting them. I sent out more emails and shared them with my growing social media communities. And I prayed for a buyer to be found.

And thankfully two weeks ago I got the good news. My contact at the park company told me that a gentleman named Paul Hart had contacted them about buying the topspin. They had negotiated a price and signed a contract. Mr. Hart was given two weeks to transfer the funds or the ride would be put back on the market.

I looked at my past emails and was happy to find that this was someone who I had originally referred to the ride’s owners. If I can’t prove I referred the buyer, then I don’t get paid. So, I forwarded the copy of the email contact to them and reminded them of their agreement to pay. They agreed that I had referred the buyer and acknowledged their agreement to my commission. They also told me that Paul was going to be buying a zamperla balloon ride from them, and since I had referred him to them; they would also be paying a commission on that sale as well. This is what we agreed on, but you never really know in this business until the money has changed hands.

After what happened with the buyer last year, the idea of waiting two weeks was a little disappointing; but the short time frame made me feel more positive. I also felt that the fact that he had contracted for the purchase of an additional ride meant it likely that he would fulfill the terms of the contract. I told my family and closest friends about the possibility of selling the ride and asked them to pray for me. And on the night before the deadline I prayed myself and sent an email to the owners telling them I was hoping for a smooth successful conclusion to this sale.

When I woke up yesterday, I checked my email first thing. This is what I always do. I hope for news of someone wanting to list equipment, wanting me to locate a specific ride, wanting to buy a ride, or news of a sale. I didn’t really think the news would come so early, but there it was. I was told the rides were paid for and that I should submit an invoice for payment. I requested the information that needed to be on the invoice and had my brother Michael make it out for me. Being blind I have some trouble entering information into forms especially when the form is a pdf document. The only negative in this story is that the seller has a policy of taking 30 to 60 days to process invoices. I am hoping that this is just the maximum and not the actual time I will have to wait. But if it does take that long, then I’m thinking I will have the money in time to do some serious Christmas shopping.

They still have several other park rides for sale. They will need lots of work, but the prices are very reasonable. If you want to hear more about any of their rides, then send me an email I hope my dedication and perseverance in this sale will encourage more people to list their rides, games, inflatables, attractions, generators, etc with me. The truth of the matter is that most sales take time, so the sooner you list your items; the better your chances of selling them. I hope you will give the midway a chance to help.

And if you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends, family, and coworkers. Please use the sharing buttons to let your social media networks know. And be sure to take a minute and leave a comment. You get back links to your website, blog, or face book page along with one to your twitter profile page and one to your most recent post if you are a blogger. I’m always happy to hear from readers. Even if your comments are critical, they are still helpful as I believe each one is a learning opportunity. And you don’t need to have a reason to contact me. I hope to hear from you soon. Thanks and take care, Max