What the bleedin' 'ell has happened to pricing?!?!?!

[plasmab]

A500s are possible for less than £50. A500+ No.

[nobody]

Where do they sell A500s for 50€? Last year I bought an A500+ for 130 with postage costs, labeled not tested and of course it had leaking problems that I had to sort out to bring the little fella back to life. That was the best price on eBay at that period

[demolition]

Originally Posted by nobody

Forget about buying an A500 for 50€ again.

I think that should still be possible if you're patient and look around flea markets and local classified ads.

I bought one plain rev. 6 A500 for ~€15 only two years ago which I picked up a few kms from where I live. It was untested since the seller did not have the PSU so that was a chance I took. Besides the floppy drive needing a cleaning (and the machine in general), it worked fine though. The guy I bought it from have had it in his basement for 20+ years and could hardly remember what it was. He just needed to clean out his basement. It was my luck that he put it up for sale instead of just binning it.

I think this can still happen today, although I know that there are many people out there looking out for these kind of ads and jumping on them when they do show up. I was just lucky to stumble across it as the first one.

A500+s are much harder to come by though. They were made much fewer numbers, many of them have perished due to leaking batteries and they are better platforms for Vampire and other expansions since they are easily upgradable to 2MB chip.

[nobody]

Sure if you buy without PSU, without mouse, with damaged floppy, with some coca cola juice on motherboard etc maybe you buy for even less. Talking about working machine here with all required peripherals. I found an A1200 not working in a pc shop near my place I can get it for 20-30 if I want to but didn't bother because I am not in the mood to hunt electronics guys again to repair after the A500+

[demolition]

Well, you need to put in some legwork if you want something cheap. If you want something complete and fully tested, then you need to pay up. The cheap sets you could get in the mid-late 90s were also generally untested since people didn't want to bother spending time testing something that they would sell very cheaply.

[nobody]

It won't be any cheap. If I buy the A1200 I need to pay for technicians, possibly some parts to replace and recap. It will be the same with buying an already working system. Maybe even more? Except if you are lucky and it has some minor problem.

[sokolovic]

Originally Posted by PortuguesePilot

Wanna invest in something cheap that will inevitably value over the next few years? Buy a grey, fully-working first gen (SCPH-5930 or lower) Sony Playstation. People are practically giving them away now, sometimes even trashing them (just like they did with Amigas circa 2000 or so), but soon you'll see them become expensive collector's items. You mark my words.

Not sure for the Playstation. Systems that solds XX millions of units in the early 90 are still not very expensive now.

Buying a WiiU seems a better option in my opinion.

[PortuguesePilot]

Originally Posted by sokolovic

Not sure for the Playstation. Systems that solds XX millions of units in the early 90 are still not very expensive now.

Buying a WiiU seems a better option in my opinion.

Opinions. The WiiU is nowhere near the significance and importance that the PSX acquired over time. Sure, it sold by the bucketload, much more than the Amiga did, and they are robust and durable little pieces of engineering. Those two factors will prevent them from valuing more than they will. But mark my words: it may not be in the next 5 or even 10 years, but they WILL be much more expensive than the WiiU (or the Atari Jaguar, the Apple Pippin, the Panasonic 3DO or whatever other rarely sold console you want to throw here). The original Playstation encapsulates the advent of the 32bit consoles - the highest beacon in the 5th generation of gaming systems - and marks the first time that 3D gaming became the staple-mark on console gaming (yes, we all know it existed before, but the PSX made it mainstream on the consoles much like the PCs did in the computer realm with the advent of Doom). If you are the kind of collector who goes after rare, obscure stuff, then the PSX really shines too bright for you, but most people celebrate the importance and significance of a system (like our very own Amiga cult right here), and in that regard, few consoles shine as brightly as the PSX (the PS2 sold more units but wasn't as revolutionary as the PSX). In a few years time, when the PSX consoles begin to fail and wane due to the effects of time, when the 90's kids reach their 40s, when the next-step in graphics and gaming comes, people will start to wonder how it all started off. Just like we look with reverence towards the Atari 2600 for starting it all and to the NES for bringing it back, people will look to the PSX as the defining system that made the jump into the 3D "modern-style" gaming. I mean, today's games have less pixels, are more complex and with more depth and have more FPS, but the basics of its operation are still the same from those lovely classics of the PSX.

Now, to stop pandering the PSX and to get out of off-topic: Amigas are great. We're all at an age where we want to relive our youthful years and we have the financial means to buy what we always wanted but never had. Also, many of us had one, sold it, never thought about it since, but now we feel the spark coming back. "Ah! The Amiga! Such joy! How wonder how much they cost now". Amigas were great. They symbolized the overwhelming superiority in home computing. They were much better than the overpriced PCs of its time, they were better than the Macintosh, better than the Atari ST, better than anything we westerners could put our eyes on (bet none of you knew the Sharp X68000 in 1987). Being so great (and, later, viewed as a viable alternative to the prevalence of the beige, lifeless, passionless PC), the Amiga sparked the desires and dreams of many. This is why their value is still increasing. The option of keeping them updated and evolving (using SD cards, USB, CF, acceleration boards, SSC disks, etc) helps a lot too. That's why their prices have risen so sharply and will continue to be this high for quite some time. Eventually, as we die out, the prices will drop (our sons and daughters will be too busy buying PSXs, just like we're too busy buying Amigas and not ZX81's or Apples IIs). It's the circle of life (cue in The Lion King's music). :P

[ubermick]

Originally Posted by BrooksterMax

Some good deals for retro gaming (amiga or otherwise) can be the collection only ones. I have driven 50-100 miles to collect things and get a better price as the market is limited to those that can collect.

Of course, you have to be lucky that something is available in your radius! or like me, sometimes extend it for something special!

Therein lies the rub. If I was still living over there, not a problem - I have no probs hopping in the car and going for a drive. Prefer that actually, since I can at least have a look at it prior to buying, as opposed to sight unseen.

Alas I thought it'd be a great idea in my youth to move to America (and to be fair, joking aside and even taking into consideration tangerine hued gobshites currently at the wheel, it's been very very good to me) so local machines don't exist. One or two a year will pop up on local classifieds, and they're gone immediately. And that's in a heavily populated area like San Francisco - I could only imagine what lengths the poor feckers in the middle of nowhere have to go to.

Originally Posted by alexh

Save yourself a lot of money and get a Raspberry Pi 3+ and emulate A1200 You'll get 90% the experience for 20% the price.

In the UK there are lots of A1200's for sale around the $150-200. If you find one, contact someone here and they can assist with the best value shipping to USA.

Haha, that's what I have now - Amibian running on a Raspberry Pi 3, with a USB competition pro joystick. And honestly, feels a lot like the A1200 did with WHDload. That's why I'm actually pondering going for an A500 for "proper old school feel." - grab an external floppy and a shedload of floppies on Amazon, and start converting adfs.

That said, the A1200 has a lot going for it with the built in hard drive, and the fact I'd never worry about compatibility - and if christ forbid I sell again, easier to shift. I reached out to a few people on the UK ebay and they're willing to ship their miggys to me - for about £50-70 extra. (Which actually, having a look at parcelforce, does seem to be about what it'd be.)

[BrooksterMax]

Originally Posted by ubermick

Therein lies the rub. If I was still living over there, not a problem - I have no probs hopping in the car and going for a drive. Prefer that actually, since I can at least have a look at it prior to buying, as opposed to sight unseen.

Alas I thought it'd be a great idea in my youth to move to America (and to be fair, joking aside and even taking into consideration tangerine hued gobshites currently at the wheel, it's been very very good to me) so local machines don't exist. One or two a year will pop up on local classifieds, and they're gone immediately. And that's in a heavily populated area like San Francisco - I could only imagine what lengths the poor feckers in the middle of nowhere have to go to.

Ah the Bay Area! There is a great retro gaming shop in Santa Cruz which I rate. I get to go out that way occasionally with my company from the UK. Unfortunately nothing scheduled at the moment, otherwise could have chucked an A500 in the suitcase for you.

Generally speaking I like to load up on US stuff for retro gaming. The Amiga is one rarish example where the PAL region is better served than the US for hardware and software unfortunately for you.

£50 for a large parcel to the US from the UK does sound right from experience. It is a big number.

[Signman]

Originally Posted by ubermick

Alas I thought it'd be a great idea in my youth to move to America (and to be fair, joking aside and even taking into consideration tangerine hued gobshites currently at the wheel, it's been very very good to me) so local machines don't exist. One or two a year will pop up on local classifieds, and they're gone immediately. And that's in a heavily populated area like San Francisco - I could only imagine what lengths the poor feckers in the middle of nowhere have to go to.

You are living in the pozzed crazy world of SF, side stepping street excrement and the "tangerine guy" is your concern?



I live in the Midwest and securing a decent retro machine is no problem.

[ubermick]

Originally Posted by BrooksterMax

Ah the Bay Area! There is a great retro gaming shop in Santa Cruz which I rate. I get to go out that way occasionally with my company from the UK. Unfortunately nothing scheduled at the moment, otherwise could have chucked an A500 in the suitcase for you.

Generally speaking I like to load up on US stuff for retro gaming. The Amiga is one rarish example where the PAL region is better served than the US for hardware and software unfortunately for you.

£50 for a large parcel to the US from the UK does sound right from experience. It is a big number.

Awww, mate! I'd even buy you a pint or 40 for that!!!

Yeah, can't argue overly much with anyone who doesn't want to take a bath on postage. I was back home for a visit last year, even made it over to Scotland and England (got to watch a match at Anfield to boot) and if the bug had bitten then, could very easily have come home with something. I'm alright paying the bit for postage, it's the outrageous prices for the boxes themselves - at least on places like ebay.

I do need to have a think about A500 vs A1200 though. Seems like that an A500 with a TF530 would give me everything an A1200 would apart from AGA graphics - and be a damn sight easier to get.

Originally Posted by Signman

You are living in the pozzed crazy world of SF, side stepping street excrement and the "tangerine guy" is your concern?

Christ no - I got out of there, and am about an hour north of the place in wine country. No way I'd have a kid in that town. (Tangerine guy still of concern, however... as are they all, at this point.)

[graffias79]

I'd so rather live out there than here in Wisconsin. Winter sucks and there's plenty of crazy here. Just a different brand.

[nexus]

i bought 15 amigas from california 3 years ago
their are plenty over there
you should call around to local news stations and colleges
you will find them
mine came from the berkeley area
just fyi they were all toasterized amigas with all kinds of other goodies inside them from a1k-a4k amigas
last year saved a 3000T from japan paid $700

[Amiga4000]

@NEXUS

Yup! Sometimes the "SCORE" is the best fun!

[nexus]

yeah im not keeping all them just slowly refurbishing them etc
most are 2000's that all need TLC from sitting 30 years
1 of them appears to be a MAXIS dev unit though i cant lookup the serial/barcode of the maxis property label to verify
its a really old logo the 1st they used

[ubermick]

Yikes! That's a score and a half. Congrats!

[plasmab]

I so need to do a road trip to CA next time I’m in Phoenix

[Wayne123]

I bought my A500 in August of 2015 for $39.95 from a seller on Amazon, looked almost brand new, now just the power supplies sell for more on Ebay. I bought my A2000 for a pretty high price because it looked to be in really good shape and the owner did say he tested everything to make sure it worked fully, I did get a good deal on my GVP 040 board compared to what I see them going for usually.

[demolition]

Originally Posted by nobody

It won't be any cheap. If I buy the A1200 I need to pay for technicians, possibly some parts to replace and recap. It will be the same with buying an already working system. Maybe even more? Except if you are lucky and it has some minor problem.

And that is exactly why tested and working systems are more expensive. You either need to be able to fix them yourself or maybe have a friend who can. Even if you buy a good working one, you can't expect it to keep working without problems as these machines are old and need looking after.