Would you do it?

[DCVision]

I'm starting to wonder if I should just take the plunge when I have the spare cash (WHEN I have the spare cash ;) and buy a new XL from B&C for the $95.
My only problem would be "as long as it's really new"... but then I'd have the box and all that jazzy jazz so I don't see why it wouldn't be.

The prices for an 800XL seem to hold steady around $45+ so I guess another $50 for an actual NEW unit wouldn't be so bad?

What do you think? I'm nuts? 8-)

I remember seeing ads for the ST's for $199 in the early 90's... why they go for $399 is well... ouch. I can't even think about it.

[Sylentwulf]

What is XL, ST, and B&C?

[jajaja]

Atari XL and ST. Atari ST have one of the best soundchips. Love the apporgies :)

[InsaneDavid]

The prices for an 800XL seem to hold steady around $45+ so I guess another $50 for an actual NEW unit wouldn't be so bad?

Damn, really?! :eek 2: The last Atari 800XL I picked up was at the local flea market for $2. The seller wanted $10 but I was there selling as well and knew no one would buy it (since it was burried in a corner) so I went back at the end of the day and bought it. It was actually sitting it its original foam insert with the adapter but I had to throw the insert away since it was coated in some kind of sludge that it was sitting in. The unit itself looks virtually untouched and works beautifully. :D

On another note I just threw away an Atari 800XL last week - it was damaged beyond repair and I gave it a proper disassembly and disposal. However I did keep all the keys for replacements! :)

[InsaneDavid]

What is XL, ST, and B&C?

XL is the Atari XL series of home computers.
ST is the Atari ST series of home computers.
B&C is Bits & Chips which sells old Atari computers among other things.

..damn, seeing the value of an ST makes me wish I picked up the five Atari 120ST's that I could have grabbed from engineering class in high school for free. I did get three Atari 400XL units (two of them later sacrificed for parts) and a box of cartridges as well as a complete Apple //e on the other hand. Also got one of the Atari 400 / 800 ringed manuals for BASIC - complete. All of it came from cleaning out their storage back in 1999. I could have probably had the ST's if I asked but I figured that would just be greedy. :/

[DCVision]

Correction... B&C is (B&C Computervisions - www.myatari.net ) Ran by Bruce & Cathy IIRC.
(Easily mistaken for Bits and Chips which is understandable - sorry about that)

Well, the guy at my local flea market had a 800XL in shit condition in the corner. I asked him how much and he said.. Well, you know they don't make those any more (DUH) and it comes with this box full of disks (like 8) and this big power supply... I'll take $150 for it all... (muhahaha) sadly , he was serious as hell.

I walked away with that just punched in the gut feeling... not knowing how to respond or what to say.... poor SOB.

[InsaneDavid]

Correction... B&C is (B&C Computervisions - www.myatari.net ) Ran by Bruce & Cathy IIRC.
(Easily mistaken for Bits and Chips which is understandable - sorry about that)

D'oh! I wasn't completely sure when I noted it as that but at the last moment figured if it was wrong it would be corrected, thanks! :)


Well, the guy at my local flea market had a 800XL in shit condition in the corner. I asked him how much and he said.. Well, you know they don't make those any more (DUH) and it comes with this box full of disks (like 8) and this big power supply... I'll take $150 for it all... (muhahaha) sadly , he was serious as hell.

I walked away with that just punched in the gut feeling... not knowing how to respond or what to say.... poor SOB.

I've actually had something similar to that happen with an Atari 2600. This guy had a metal trash can full of what looked like mud and antifreeze and halfway poking out of this redneck primorial ooze was an Atari 2600. I thought I could pick it up cheap and give it a proper burrial but he proceeded to go on and on about how rare it was (sheeya, that's why it's in that trashcan) and then started mumbling incoharently so I just left. :roll: Was the day I got my boxed Atari 5200 for $10 though so all was well.

[Flack]

Once again, an item of mine just went up for sale. I bought my 800XL in a package deal, got that and an Odyssey II (still in the box) for $10 ... and got chewed out when I got home for spending too much money on "that junk". If 800XL's are selling for $100, I'll personally lick this one clean prior to shipping.

[Kejoriv]

I didnt know 800XL sold for that much. I might hafta to put mine on Ebay. Im gonna go check out ebay right for them.

[DCVision]

They don't usually go for that much... most I've seen lately go for around $40 average on eBay.. the $95 is boxed NEW(old stock) which is still a good price really.... (I mean, it IS 1989 right?) Too bad the 1050 drives are priced around $75 reconditioned... which is too pricey for me....
The only drive I know that would actually sell for that much would be an Indus GT drive... but I'm fine with a $25 1050 :)

[DCVision]

Oh... and @ David...
When I was at my local Flea Market about (wow.. 9 years ago?) in 96.. some guy that used to fix Ataris had a box full of 5200's (yep, a BOX of them) I was like.. man, he's going to want $40 a pop easy for these babies (as it was extremely hard for me to get ahold of one around here and another booth just sold her last one for $50 with 1 controller and like 2 games).

I proceeded to ask him how much... and he said.. $2 each.. I was like, huh? Did you say $2 , EACH? Man, I pulled that $10 out of my pocket so quickly I almost fainted ;) haha...
He also gave me that HUGE 5200 trackball for FREE with it all... so for $10 (and he tried to give me back $2, I said DONT Worry about it!, really!) I got 4 5200 systems (2 2 port and 2 4 ports) and a 5200 trackball controller and Breakout! 1 Worked great and the other three had the weird RF power adaptor I didn't have.... so I just put them away in the garage... :)

[Sylentwulf]

Surprised they go for that much, I gave away a complete 800 setup with extras for free at a NECG meet last year and had trouble giving it away for free :)

[DCVision]

well by all means if someone is kind enough to give one away I would be MORE THAN WILLING to accept... as I've been wanting one to add to my gameroom for a while now :

http://retroroom.blogspot.com

8-)

Same goes for a 7800 (hey, I can try can't I? ;)

[Pantechnicon]

I say this is worth it, and what makes it worthwhile is that B&C have phenomenal customer service and are super knowledgeable about this stuff. I spend more bank at their CGE booth than anywhere else. Once I had trouble with a power supply I got from them at the show and they worked with me to resolve it asap post-show. So, collector value notwithstanding, B&C prices are worthwhile if for no other reason than the support they give you.

[irata]

B&C Computervisions is at:
www.myatari.com

myatari.net is an online magazine.

[Nature Boy]

$100 seems kinda steep to me, even if it is new. If I were in your shoes I'd probably look at 4jays first - they're around $40-$50, depending on which model of 8bit you're looking for.

You have to address how you're going to play games on it too. Carts? Disks? Through MyIDE? And add the costs of that to whichever route you're going. Just to make sure you're comfortable with the whole deal, not just with the console itself.

I'm a *huge* fan of the XLs, and my favourite way of playing is either with carts or using MyIDE and APE (which I prefef over SIO2PC that they sell on AtariAge). The biggest advantage in my eyes is that I'm not reliant on my disk drives to last anymore - I only use 'em when I need to transfer something onto my PC.

If you need help once you've gone further down this path feel free to PM me. I'll help whichever way I can! (There's never enough Atari 8-bit talk in these here parts for my liking, although there are quite a few of us fans here :D )

[Kamino]

While i'm nowadays a bit of an atari computer nut..
That's obscene.
Then again, I'm sitting on a $3 XEGS that I got from a drunk at college.....that was one fast drive. He calls me. "Yo d00d I got this atari computer, i can't work it...wanna come and get it? 3 Dolla, I need more beer." Man, I never drove so fast..

[InsaneDavid]

Oh... and @ David...
When I was at my local Flea Market about (wow.. 9 years ago?) in 96.. some guy that used to fix Ataris had a box full of 5200's (yep, a BOX of them) I was like.. man, he's going to want $40 a pop easy for these babies (as it was extremely hard for me to get ahold of one around here and another booth just sold her last one for $50 with 1 controller and like 2 games).

I proceeded to ask him how much... and he said.. $2 each.. I was like, huh? Did you say $2 , EACH? Man, I pulled that $10 out of my pocket so quickly I almost fainted ;) haha...
He also gave me that HUGE 5200 trackball for FREE with it all... so for $10 (and he tried to give me back $2, I said DONT Worry about it!, really!) I got 4 5200 systems (2 2 port and 2 4 ports) and a 5200 trackball controller and Breakout! 1 Worked great and the other three had the weird RF power adaptor I didn't have.... so I just put them away in the garage... :)

:eek 2: That's one of the best finds I've heard of.

Last Atari 5200 I saw was two weeks ago, complete with four controllers (4 port system) the power adapter, the all in one RF box (both SEALED), about five games all with their complete documents in really good condition, as well as the overlays for two of the games (can't remember which now). They wanted $50 - I know I should have picked it up but it was one of the times I just had to step back and go "do I really NEED that right now?" As for the 5200 I talked about further up, it was complete and boxed (4 port unit) except the pins on port 1 were crushed in. I swapped them with the pins from port 4, which I'll replace sooner or later.