[Bruce Abbott]

Originally Posted by ubermick

A few years ago, I did a very silly thing - I sold my A1200.

Yes that was very silly, but you are not the only one. 4 years ago I had to declutter while moving house. I threw away two CD32s and an A600 with 68030 accelerator, because "the Amiga scene is dead and nobody wants this old junk". Previously I had thrown away my CPC664 and Sega SC3000, both of which are now rare and collectable.

all told I'm looking at $400 or more to get an Amiga of questionable quality. (Most seem to be "had it in the attic for the last 15 years, plugged it in and the light came on, so I assume it's fine!")

Questionable perhaps, but almost all the retro computers I bought off eBay worked fine, and the couple that didn't were repairable. Even dead machines are worth money, either to those who can fix them or just for spare parts. Never throw away retro computing stuff! It will only get more valuable in the future.

What's happened?!?!? Has shipping truly gone to the dogs? Has the supply of A1200s completely dried up to the point where they're now a rare commodity?

International shipping is expensive, but charges can vary widely depending on the carrier, country of origin etc. (USA is the worst for me).

There are currently several A1200s going on eBay for ~200GBP. If you think that's too expensive then think about how much you would have to pay for a new A1200 if they were still available. I consider the price they were back in the 1990's, and am happy to pay less than that now. But yes, A1200s are getting rarer and prices are going up - so get in now before it's too late.

I even thought about going for an Rev6 or 8 A500, but even they seem to be loopy (at least ones that have been plugged in and tested properly). Is it just a naff time of year to be looking? Or did I get a ridiculous deal 6 (!) years ago that has me out of touch with reality?

6 years ago the Amiga scene was dead. But there has been a revival and things are moving fast. Now we have cheap CF drives, thousands of freely downloadable titles, and new software and hardware in development - including the Vampire, which will (hopefully) soon turn any old A500 into the ultimate AGA Amiga!

Now is a great time to get an Amiga, and you shouldn't worry about the price. Unlike the next crappy PC you have to buy, the Amiga will increase in value the older it gets!