How much should I pay for a Colecovision ?

[WCP]

I'm not sure why, but for some weird reason I have this desire to play the Colecovision.


My first instinct, was to see if they make USB versions of Colecovision controllers for use with emulators on the PC. I'm not that hardcore into Colecovision that I would need to have the real mcCoy. I could live with an emulator, but would want the real controller with a usb adapter or something. I looked around online and couldn't find any USB colecovision controllers. So, I started thinking about getting an actual physical Colecovision system.


I did a few Ebay searches, and it seems the price of a Colecovision is a bit higher than I was thinking, but I want to make sure that I don't just buy the first one I see with a super inflated price. If I'm just trying to get a standard Colecovision, with the two controllers, and maybe a couple of carts, how much should I expect to pay ? I'm willing to try to be patient and wait for a good deal to come along. I just need to know what is considered a good deal on a Colecovision, and what is considered a ripoff.

[drunk3nj3sus]

I'm no expert on Colecovision's but I was a bit baffled by what they seem to be going for now. Checking ebay looks like $100+ for a decent console with extras, I use to see them all the time with games for $20 at flea markets/yard sales.

Theirs a Flashback version of Colecovision that goes for $40 with 60 built in games but it looks like the reviews for it aren't that great & it doesn't come with a lot of the classic games because of licenses & you can't use original controllers or carts with it.

http://home.comcast.net/~tjhafner/Vision-daptor.htm < This guy makes a USB adapter for Coleco & Intelli Visions. It's pretty pricey for an adapter at $33 but that plus an original Colecovision controller would probably be your best bet.

[Greg2600]

Couple things at work. Firstly, the demand/interest in the system IMO has drastically gone down. As a result, less people are bothering to go out of their way to find them and then sell them on ebay. Second, reliability has always been an issue. The power supplies, motherboards, and controllers all are frequently broken in some way when they're found.

[camarotuner]

The only local store that regularly gets them in stock sells them as "lots" everytime because very little demand. So they just bundle up whatever all was traded in (games, accessories, system) and sell it as an instant starter collection. It usually can be broken down to about 30 bucks for the system and 1-2 bucks a game. This is a store that normally overprices every single gaming related item they get. So I'd imagine you can find one pretty cheap if you hunt.

[WCP]

I don't really hunt for games like I used to, but for a number of years, I was always on the hunt. Mostly looking for 16-bit stuff, but I honestly can't remember seeing a Colecovision in the wild, and I was always going to flea markets, thrift stores and garage sales. I think I might have seen a Colecovision once at a Goodwill, but I think it was in pretty bad shape, and I assumed the thing was broken. Also, definitely no AC adpaters to be found with it.

Does it use a very specific AC adapter ?


I guess I could just keep looking for a colecovision locally, but it seems they are pretty rare.

[Steve W]

The Colecovision uses an extremely unique power supply. It's a fairly weird design that can't be easily replicated, although some people have made mods to their consoles so they can accept a regular off-the-shelf power supply.

I hadn't ever seen a Colecovision in all my thrift store hunts, until I bought a homebrew at a convention from the programmer, and for some reason in about six months I came across and bought five of them. And the first four naturally didn't work. The fifth was still boxed and was a bit glitchy but worked (and has stopped working since then). Here's a funny story about that day - after leaving the thrift I had a headache so I stopped at a grocery store to buy some aspirin. When I was walking back to my car, a guy about my age had parked behind my car, gotten out and walked past and looked in the back seat and saw the boxed Colecovision. I could tell for a minute that he was a little freaked out and had that "I've always wanted one of those when I was a kid, maybe I should break the glass and run off with it" kind of moments before he settled down and started walking away as I got close. But just for a second I thought he might really punch out the back window, after getting all worked up about an early '80s game console.

[WCP]

Here's a funny story about that day - after leaving the thrift I had a headache so I stopped at a grocery store to buy some aspirin. When I was walking back to my car, a guy about my age had parked behind my car, gotten out and walked past and looked in the back seat and saw the boxed Colecovision. I could tell for a minute that he was a little freaked out and had that "I've always wanted one of those when I was a kid, maybe I should break the glass and run off with it" kind of moments before he settled down and started walking away as I got close. But just for a second I thought he might really punch out the back window, after getting all worked up about an early '80s game console.

Wow, that's a crazy story.... What are the chances that a random guy passing by would be interested in the Colecovision...