Quote Originally Posted by mrmark0673 View Post
See, that's not really true. You estimated the value of it to be between $400-$600. On the low end, you were over 135% off, on the high, over 50% off. You can skew it any way you'd like, but the numbers are there.

And to the other points?

Where do I ever say they always sell for over $300?

Where do we ever say we're positive our Imager would sell more than the previous?
Where did we estimate the value of either of those items?

I'm not asking you to applaud anything, but we've done plenty for the classic gaming community over the years and I've given you actually examples. You can ignore it, others appreciate it. What have you done lately?
I'm not trying to skew anything. I provided a range based on previous observations of actual Ebay auctions. Another collector provided a lower estimate. You had an idea of what you thought it was worth by posting a comparable recent auction and it turns out none of us were correct. I will happily concede that $950 is closer to $1300 than $400 or $600, but it's still over 30% less than a virtually identical auction just one week prior, so I suppose it's just more support as I said for the idea that prices can vary week to week or item to item or auction to auction. It also supports the contention that just because something sells for a price once is no guarantee it will sell for that price a second time, even if some of the same bidders are involved.

On the other points, you're right, you didn't use the word "always". You said this:

"Just over $100? I'd sooner use it as a coaster than sell it for that. Is that what they've sold for historically? Was it a red disc or white? Retail copies sell upwards of $300, I was hoping for significantly more. "

The statement "retail copies sell upwards of $300" seems pretty absolute to me. No range or anything, just a statement that they sell for upwards of $300 and you wanted more than that. It also seems like an estimate of the price to me. You didn't specifically say it's worth "X", but you did set the floor at $300 since that's what an ordinary and far less rare retail copy goes for.

On the Vectrex stuff, you're right, I overstated what you said. You simply posted the first auction as a point of reference on which to base your sale and likely to prove to myself and the other collector who posted that we were wrong. Unfortunately, it turned out not to be all that accurate and who knows what a third comparable would go for given the 30%+ drop off in price between the two sales.

I support the classic collecting community by speaking out against profiteers and by helping new collectors and collectors who are actually trying to preserve this history find items at the cheapest price possible. I certainly have never tried selling someone else's hard work and intellectual property or releasing it for free without seeking their permission first. I can't imagine stealing from someone else in that way.