Uh, "Price Gouging?"

[MiAmigo]

:huh:Is this a sensitive subject, or is it just me?

Last weekend, while exorcising the demons out of one of my A2000s, I accidentally fried some very expensive cards. (Don't want to talk about it!)

IaccidentallyattachedthedatacablebetweenaVarIOandDelfinawrongsending5voltsdirectlytogroundsubsequentlyfryingthecableandpossiblybothcards!

Anyhows, now I'm shopping for a new VarIO and a new Delfina. Both of these cards are expensive, one obscenely more than the other. Even the tiny little cable that goes between them is expensive, that is if you can even find somebody to sell it to you alone, on the outside chance that maybe one of your cards survive the raging inferno! :flame:

Such is the case with most Amiga accessories, unless one shops eBay.

Is this, uh, price gouging? Even essential floppies (like those containing CD filesystems) can cost upwards of $30 - $40. Why?

Is this how we're going to catch up with Bill Gates, Google and Apple?

As for my little mishap: I was tired, it was about 3:00AM, more than 12 hours into that particular session, and anyway, I had had them both for over 8 years, so I was well past due!

[MiAmigo]

Amiga goods are priced the way they are for one reason: because sellers know they can be. It's a vicious cycle: reseller acquires an Amiga part, checks the last sold price for it (or gets a valuation from community members,) asks equal or more, leaves it on the shelf until some Amiga user desperate enough comes along to buy it for that price, the next seller to have that part in stock takes notice, asks slightly more than that, and so on...

The hell of it is, you can't just tell Amiga fans to boycott the sellers, because Amiga equipment does wear out and there is no other way to get replacements...oy.

Too true! That's why I picked up that stickered motherboard (because it was so cheep!), and that's why I shop long and hard on eBay and other sources for the best possible prices.

Unless its an emergency, I say:

1. Buy in bulk - entire systems whenever possible (especially those marked 'for parts'.)

2. Keep everything - even stuff that you think is trash.
3. Maintain a network - like this forum, since other users will sometimes come to your rescue for the price of postage (or a brew!).

4. Go to flea markets and yard sales, because the 'world-at-large' often doesn't know what it has, where Amiga stuff is concerned.

5. Buy from overseas. I list this one last because shipping can sometimes ruin a great price.

[MiAmigo]

In 2008, I started buying up old kit to relive my youthful Amiga days.  PPC card, A1200, BVision, ethernet, etc.  While I enjoyed it overall, I found it to be a hideously cobbled together mess in the long haul.

After that I got a SAM 440ep, and I use that for the new gen stuff.

For the old stuff that isn't 100% friendly with the PPC rig, I've got both an Amithlon and a WinUAE rig that work just super.

I was originally one of these guys that wanted the A1200 for nostalgia sake, you know that nice old school keyboard feeling, etc.  I got over that pretty quick, to be honest.  Nice mechanical keyboard and modern mouse on the Amithlon/UAE rigs, best "Amiga" I've ever owned.

That being said, I still fully understand the hardware purists out there.  I simply realized I no longer have the patience I had 20 years ago to fiddle around with cantankerous old hardware and finding parts on ebay to keep them running.

I'm rather different. I'm not really in to emulators. I have Amiga Forever and C64 Forever, and I never use them. I want the real thing, nothing else will do!

The only emulator I've ever used with any regularity is MAME. (And even for MAME, I built a real arcade cabinet to run the games in.)

I don't mind rasslin' with the old hardware - its what I do. AAMOF, I actually prefer old hardware and software in many cases (even PCs) over newer stuff. A personal quirk of mine!

The expense of these old machines does suck, on that I of course agree. But I don't think it really has to. That's by choice of the vendors, who think that 'if its rare-ish, and you really want it, that means I get to bend you over for it.'

I don't want to call it greed, but it does smack of price gouging.

[MiAmigo]

Figure this one out!
...
I know exactly why I prefer the old machines - the actual articles. I have a few reasons, the most significant of which actually had to be revealed to me by a friend - something he noticed about me.

First of all, I couldn't really afford some of these systems when they were first released - now I can - and I want the real thing - with all the bells and whistles! :crazy:

(I'm the same way about PC video games - I wait a few years until the price goes down and I can justify the expense - then I get them. I'm usually about 4 or 5 years behind the current game market.)

Secondly, the old, authentic Amigas don't work. My friend told me once, when I was complaining about this hardware issue and that one, that he noticed that I was always 'fixing computers', and didn't seem to be happy unless they were not working. He said I was only happy when my computer wasn't working right.

He was right.

Another thing about me, my 3 Amigas, 6 notebooks, 6 robots, and 17 PCs. I either built or re-built them all, and I'm constantly tinkering on them - and everything else I can get my hands on - its what I do. I've spontaneously repaired strangers's PCs, copiers and printers in doctor's offices, and even an old microwave abandoned for dead.

HOWEVER, once the thing is up and running perfectly, I immediately and completely lose interest. When my current A2000 project is completed repaired and fully functional, and my A500 is the same way, I will in all likelihood let them sit untouched for months, and never even go near them! Then I'll be shopping for an A1200.

However, if one were to break down...:laughing:

[MiAmigo]

Nothing wrong with enjoying fixing things that are broken or just not working properly.  Let me know when you want to come visit my place.  As one of my good friends describes it, my house is where computers come to die.  I have more computers or other electronic equipment that is either dead, or has been taken apart for one reason or another and I haven't made the time to put them back together.

Some times it can be 6 months or a year before I get back to a project and put something back together, with, or without the changes or improvements that I took it apart to do in the first place.

Mein Gott! Your place sounds like Paradise with a capital 'P'!:hammer:

[MiAmigo]

I think it can be done for reasonable money, provided you aim at a mid tier system, and don't go too crazy.

Agreed! Even if you only want one (Amiga) system, you almost have to do that, or you will surely go broke, or drive yourself nuts looking for a better price.

[MiAmigo]

The cable is just a clockport cable, isn't it? It can be easily made for <$2.

Yes it is. However I was told by the original manufacturer that it would be 'expensive' to sell alone, and, of course, to ship: about 20$ total to get one to me across the big pond.

I'm hoping against hope that at least one of my cards survived. In the mean time, I've put the cards in my shopping cart at Softhut.com, but its been over a week since I contacted them with a question before I purchase - with absolutely no answer. I sent another email out Friday night, but I don't think I'll get a response.

No response means I won't also be sending my money (a lot of it!) down a blind hole, so to speak.

I wonder...are they still in business, or is the website just a Flying Dutchman?

[MiAmigo]

'tis true, we're lucky in the UK. Heck, it's a few years back now but it's not that long ago that I bought three working Amiga 1500s for £60 including keyboards and a few spare (populated) PCBs. I got an A500 complete in box for £10 just at the beginning of the year though.

A1200s are a bit more pricey, though, normally about £50 more or less.

Maybe you should get one from the UK, probably still be cheaper even after postage.

I got a really great deal from Amiga Retro Experience in the UK on my A500 system. Shipping was fast, less than a week, but expensive, also...

I had to get a step up/step down transformer for the power conversion, and I also picked up a Universal Grounded Adapter Plug which I eventually didn't need because the converter (the transformer) already had one built in.

But its true, they do seem to have a LOT of Amiga stuff over there!