Looking for a non-yellow working NTSC A1200, paying $150

[justthatgood]

@gdanko

I'm going to try to be nice about this, so I'm going to just say this. Not every state in the country has the same job market. As I can see you live in Sunny California. I don't personally know the job there so I can't comment on it.

But I do know the job market here. Before you even get around to saying something cliche like "if there are no jobs, then move", many people have legitimate reasons they have to stay in the place they are.

Lets see. We have very high state taxes, 6% sales tax (not really that bad). Most of our government officials don't know how to spend money so you get screwed out of taxes to pay for many of their mistakes. You really can't own a house with more value then $75,000 (cheap bungalow style) or in some counties you might get screwed by property taxes.

As for the jobs. A majority of them in the city are crappy retail jobs (if you are very lucky you might get paid $7.00 and hour) with no opportunity for making overtime. The average that can get a job will make about $6.15 an hour and will only be allowed to work about 28 hours a week. Most have to try to scramble to get a second job to make up (average about $400) rent. Most of the other jobs will not work around your other jobs schedule so you will be looking for a longer time.

Most of the "high-tech" or fast paced careers left most the area because they weren't able to keep good executives happy and occupied while there here. Get get anything over $8.00, you will have to try your luck at getting a factory job traveling at least 56 miles a day. Most of those jobs are taking by people that have seniority of at least 10 years, and they aren't going to give up their 'easy money' without a fight.

Frankly most places could careless if you get paid much, or if you have a place to live, because they would just tell you to try to get welfare and section 8 housing. For you information, I have a job. One that I work too damn hard at, for so little pay. So eBay isn't perfect. Hell, I wish I would have had the idea for eBay back in the day, maybe I would have been rich.

You can't even compare San Diego with most parts of Indiana. It's like comparing apples with cantaloupe. Two totally different job markets. Two totally different cultures. Two totally different economies.

[da9000]

@jbuonacc:

Heh, I've broken many a hardware over my knee, and I know an A500/A1200 is do-able, but would hurt a lot. Now as for the Atari, I have to admit: from the looks of the ST/STE, it's going to be hurting twice or more :-D  They do look rather sturdy. Haven't had contact with them since the last millenium, so I can't recall many details :-/

As for 'RetroGeek', I wish you good luck (also keep in mind he might be 'monitoring' these forums and acting accordingly; just had to throw the conspiracy theory in there :-D )

[da9000]

@justthatgood:

I'm trully saddened to hear the decay our country and population is facing, in the hands of incompetent morons (government, and this includes both Republicans and Democrats), and I do wish you, a fellow Amigan, the best in this new year. At the same time, because you touched some important subjects, I just wanted to give out some info, that I'm aware of, which is shocking (to non-Californians), granted that it's mostly Bay area specific:

* Tax around here is 8.25%
* Many many people drive or commute 20-30 miles each way, minimum
* Gas is now $3.25 - $3.50
* "Average" rent per month is between $1200 - $1600 for 1 bedroom, maybe 2
* Owning a house means you havta put down at least $600,000

This place is freagging INSANE! Weather is the bomb (usually) :-)

That's all. Now time to cry :-(

[justthatgood]

I know that the Atari XEGS would hurt people badly (yeah I know it's the product of a Jack T. failure.)

[koaftder]

Chubbyrain wrote:
I wish I had a basement. I'd keep the wife in it and the Amiga upstairs in the warm.

Dang!

[justthatgood]

It's that way because of the supply and demand. So many people came there to have the glitzy Silicon Valley jobs during the Internet Boom it blew up the real estate market.

Well our taxes are going to get there I'm sure. We our state, counties, cities collect our taxes and we usually don't get much out of them.

As for the mileage, what I said was what i had to drive. I was lucky (until I lost the job), some people actually get up at 12am to drive to Indianapolis (126 miles on e way!!!) to be able to make a decent wage.

As for the gas, it hasn't gotten much out of control, but there is a lot of price gouging going on around here. It hurts especially since most of the jobs you need to get to you have to drive to. As for our public transportation , it's not really as flexible as in most metro areas. I guess I can't complain because there is more then 80% of the state that don't even have public transportation.

As for the real estate prices, it's all about what you get with it. Very few people want to come to a state where all they will see is hicks driving pickup trucks and corn. Seriously, what is there to see in the state? The educational system sucks. It's basically run like some {bleep}ized closed society church in a way. It's been a Right To Work state and then it hasn't. It can't make up it's mind. Basically it crap at times.

Then there is the weather. It can be 60 degrees and sunny one day, then 40 degrees with rain for 4 days. It's that damn Humid continental climate we have.

[terminator4]

Really I agree with everyone here (RARE RARE LOL)
Ebay is not 100% by itself the answer.  But you can develop "pricing trends" - say every week amiga 2000 sells for 50-75$ (barebone almost) you're not going to price it at $125 then.
Amiga 4000 sells for $300-350 - then you cannot price it for $500 and expect to sell it (ebay or outside ebay).
For those here that post funny offers that are way below anything you see outside ebay or on ebay - well you are the cheapskates and you need a job.  
You need a job to buy amiga stuff.  Its a hobby and if you cannot afford it or want to pay same money as for C64, then you (not anyone here) needs to find a different hobby.

On Ebay: the biggest {bleep} is that Seller Protection Policy with paypal (it's nonexistent).  So sellers get screwed.  Buyers want paypal b/c its offering credit payments and buyer protection (questionable too).  Who wins?  Ebay.  Who loses - sellers.  Which is why so few people want to take paypal.  Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.
Listing fees + Final value fees + paypal fees = this can add up to quite a bit fast...  Ebay is the gauging company.  (you'd think that acquiring paypal would lower paypal's fees).  Ebay also allows illegal copies - even after you contact them these copies are still sold.

[jbuonacc]

da9000 wrote:
@jbuonacc:

As for 'RetroGeek', I wish you good luck (also keep in mind he might be 'monitoring' these forums and acting accordingly; just had to throw the conspiracy theory in there :-D )

well, i wouldn't be surprised. not sure all that's happened in the past, but i'll at least give him the benefit of the doubt. dealt with him a few weeks ago and everything went great. i guess we're all probably a bit eccentric really, but i got a kick out of a lot of the stuff on his site. some nice 'Amiga Tips' as well.

[gdanko]

Personally I've never really had major problems with the Amiga build quality, but it certainly wasn't top notch.

Case in point is the A600 they use those cheap plastic tabs on the case instead of more screws. While the case can be taken apart without breakage you need to have the hands of a surgeon!

[gdanko]

terminator4 wrote:
Really I agree with everyone here (RARE RARE LOL)
Ebay is not 100% by itself the answer.  But you can develop "pricing trends" - say every week amiga 2000 sells for 50-75$ (barebone almost) you're not going to price it at $125 then.
Amiga 4000 sells for $300-350 - then you cannot price it for $500 and expect to sell it (ebay or outside ebay).

But some local guy sees an extraordinarily clean A4000 go for $800 on eBay. In the meantime he has some yellowed hunk of junk but doesn't perceive there is a difference because it still boots up and works. He wants to gouge you for 700-800 for a local transaction because of unrealistic eFraud pricing.

[gdanko]

As for Doomy and the A500... I don't know if you've read through forums, it seems you're new here, but I don't think he's what you call "a poor guy". And it seems like you're playing with fire... so don't come crying back if you get stung (as many, MANY, people have in the past; here, check this out: http://www.toolhaus.org/cgi-bin/negs?User=retrogeek001&Dirn=Received+by)

One thing I find particularly amusing and interesting about Doomy is his "he only did it in retaliation" excuse. He seems to have used this one for just about all of his negatives.

Plus, he swears everyone else is vulgar. I cannot imagine all of the vulgar and lazy non-paying eBay users are coincidentally enthusiasts who respond to his auctions.

Does he really believe anyone is going to buy his defense that he was always the victim who was attacked first? Especially with the reputation he has created for himself it will be extremely difficult to garner any credibility.

[Chubbyrain]

Wow, this thread has more legs than a centipede.

Quote:
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terminator4 wrote:
... an amiga 1200 can be worth as much $400, with network card, rom 3.1/os 3.1 and 16mb and 68030 board. but definitely more than $150.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150098912316


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This goes to prove my point basically and defeat your argument. $400 for an accelerated/expanded NTSC A1200 makes my opening offer of $150 for a basic one seem reasonable.

I still think the above auction is little high since once you get over $400, you are firmly in the A4000 price range. But for someone desperate to get the 'end product' quickly, I wouldn't blame them entirely for throwing down that much.

I'm no jobless cheapskate. I'm just being realistic. I think people are confusing their love of Amiga with it's actual financial worth in 2007. I don't see the sense in paying premium price for rendundant technology and I won't. Would you pay $1000 for a 20 year old television? I think not. You'd go buy the latest one for that as you'd get more for your money.

I got a CD32 for a nice price and I know I will get an A1200 as well. I'm patient enough to hold out for one.

Ebay is a free market and people can charge what they like for hardware (Even Dragonlady and her $699 A1200) but that doesn't mean the buyer has to agree. At the end of the day, something is only worth as much as someone will pay for it. If you get someone with more money than sense then good for you. But don't expect that to be the norm. It's a buyers market.

Rembember, the average person in the street would just laugh at your Amiga computer and what you think it's worth. They can by their XYZ brand PC that'll do more for the same money. You can argue all you want about how much better than the PC the Amiga is, but a modern PC destroys a 1993 Amiga in every application you could put it to.

The only people really interested in buying your Amiga are those within the Amiga community. Do you really want to rip them off?

[KThunder]

ebay has kept more amigas alive and in circulation than any other site or store.

think about it if you had an amiga that you wanted to get rid of and you knew you would only get 20 bucks for it on ebay would you go though the hastle or just junk it.

totally different story if you can get 150 or more for it.

there probably isnt a truelly perfect auction setup online but the millions of ebay transations completed successfully says something for it.

amigas are not now and never have been a cheap hobby. you want cheap entertainment: get a pc

[terminator4]

> This goes to prove my point basically and defeat your argument. $400 for an accelerated/expanded NTSC A1200 makes my opening offer of $150 for a basic one seem reasonable.


Well i wasn't thinking of a stock 68020 but of a 68030 machine... posting online is not always conveying the right things - im sure that most of us sitting physically in one room would one way or another agree on things.  Thats the beauty of being an amiga user.

> I still think the above auction is little high since once you get over $400, you are firmly in the A4000 price range.

yeah to A4000, which is a better deal overall.

> But for someone desperate to get the 'end product' quickly, I wouldn't blame them entirely for throwing down that much.

sad but true.

> premium price for rendundant technology and I won't. Would

I'm not so sure its redundant.  With the right software its as good as any computer :-D
You're not cheap, I guess the $150 for a Stock 1200 is not a bad offer...

> Ebay is a free market and people can charge what they like

which can be a variable / factor in pricing ones own items outside of ebay.  if people pay/buy then its accurate.  

> something is only worth as much as someone will pay for
Rembember, the average person in the street would just laugh at your Amiga computer and what you think it's worth. They

sad but true.  most users only know of micro$oft and windows.

> The only people really interested in buying your Amiga are those within the Amiga community. Do you really want to rip them off?

I'll say no to ripoff, but it has to be worth my time to deal with them.  If its not worth my time, then sorry I'd rather let things rust in some dark corner.  Reality.

Your $150 offer for a 68020 A1200 is fair, even if new, but I doubt you will find it this offered for so little.  you can get accel board like 030 for $90 or so.  then its $250.  
So for basic model its ok to offer $150US I guess.

[terminator4]

there probably isnt a truelly perfect auction setup online but the millions of ebay transations completed successfully says something for it.

amigas are not now and never have been a cheap hobby. you want cheap entertainment: get a pc

Agreed.  And I'll add that Ebay has been first one on block, so while not the best, it has similar to micro$oft monopolized the market on online auctions.

[da9000]

terminator4 wrote:
On Ebay: the biggest {bleep} is that Seller Protection Policy with paypal (it's nonexistent).  So sellers get screwed.  Buyers want paypal b/c its offering credit payments and buyer protection (questionable too).  Who wins?  Ebay.  Who loses - sellers.  Which is why so few people want to take paypal.  

Can you explain that bit some more? If the seller has proof of delivery etc, what's the problem? You mean eBay sides with the  buyers most of the time?