Why don't these sellers just set a Buy it Now price, with an option to make an offer and stop the B/S games.
Because they hope to trap the newbie buyer that is cashed up and does no research.
KISS and Playboy have this problem, and that's why they do attract a lot of criticism on the forum. Playboy WILL skyrocket once Hugh goes to Playboy Heaven. Exactly the same thing happened when Evel Knievel passed away. An EK sold for $5500 on eBay straight after his passing. Now they are changing hands for less than $3000 (reconditioned). Expect a flurry of "restored" Playboys within the next few years, but they won't necessarily appear on the market beforehand.
KISS demands big dollars because of the massive following of the band and most fans are in their 40's and cashed up. I know TWO "Big" collectors that WILL PAY $10,000 for a restored KISS. But it has to be restored faithfully, not the poor efforts we see with overlays, poor paint jobs, wrong playfield parts and wrong legs.
To answer your question, this seller (in particular) is fishing for cashed up KISS collectors that don't do their homework. Even non KISS fans want a KISS pinball. I know I get asked for a machine at least once a fortnight. My two collector buddies ALMOST bought one of the other KISS machines this seller "sold", but I had a chat with him and he is waiting for a fully restored machine. But he would have bought a KISS from this seller UNTIL he did his homework.
As I've said before, take away the "KISS theme" and you would have an average Bally that would be around the same standard as a Supersonic. Not much of a player. But is is a KISS theme. KISS wrote the book on band merchandise. Love them or hate them, they have a massive fanbase that are prone to buying the "holy grail" of KISS merchandise - the KISS pinball.
