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Thread: $300 Astrocade?! Ha! HA HA! No, seriously...

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    Default $300 Astrocade?! Ha! HA HA! No, seriously...

    http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...sPageName=WDVW

    Come on, man. I know white Astrocades are somewhat unusual but they're not worth three frickin' hundred dollars. I think this particular Astrocade must be white from all the coke this guy's been snorting.

    JR
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    Looks like Mr Mcgrail went a little nutso on 10 cent listing day.

    dave

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    Default Re: $300 Astrocade?! Ha! HA HA! No, seriously...

    Quote Originally Posted by ManekiNeko
    http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=62054&item=8111277 376&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

    Come on, man. I know white Astrocades are somewhat unusual but they're not worth three frickin' hundred dollars. I think this particular Astrocade must be white from all the coke this guy's been snorting.

    JR
    As a kid I remember Nancy Reagan saying, "Just say no". As a kid and as an adult I have taken her advice and I have never done any drugs. I don't appreciate your comment.

    I saw one of the white Bally systems sell last year for over $250 so I don't think that my price is too far out there. I did however list some crazy auctions in order to get exposure for some of my other items. On free eBay days and 10 cent listing days, I usually list at least a few crazy ones so that my other auctions get noticed. I sold a lot of stuff this week so I guess it worked out. I am getting ready to move into a new house so I need the cash. I will be selling a lot of items over the next month or so.

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    Default Re: $300 Astrocade?! Ha! HA HA! No, seriously...

    Quote Originally Posted by mcgrail0007@netzero.net
    As a kid I remember Nancy Reagan saying, "Just say no". As a kid and as an adult I have taken her advice and I have never done any drugs. I don't appreciate your comment.
    I apologize. Still, three hundred dollars for an Astrocade seems rather, uh, excessive. I've got a white Astrocade and the thought never occured to me that I could sell it for more than sixty dollars.

    Someone else back me up on this. A white Astrocade isn't worth more than a hundred clams, is it?

    JR
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    I agree that this item is probably not worth the fixed price the seller is asking for. I am sure the Astrocade that sold for $250 last year on ebay was the result of a bidding war and that is not indicative of the true value of the system. I believe these types of items should be auctioned with a modest reserve price and let the bidders decide what it is worth. I think $80 would be an appropriate reserve price to set. I avoid BIN's unless I see it as a good value. Unfortunately most BIN auctions are set at the high end of what an item is usually worth and that is why I avoid BIN auctions. If this console were boxed and in near mint condition I would agree with the original BIN price of $300. As this auction stands now I doubt it will sell even for $200. Perhaps the seller really does not want to part with this item or hopes some newbie jumps on this as a rare opportunity to own " one of the rarest system for any of the classic gaming systems" as the seller states? I think a Bally Astrocade would be nice to have, but not for $300. According to the DP collector's guide, and what I have seen on ebay, I could get a loose Vectrex 3D imager set for that amount of money and it is listed at a rarity of 9 where the white Astrocade is only a rarity 7.

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    Quote Originally Posted by number6
    I agree that this item is probably not worth the fixed price the seller is asking for. I am sure the Astrocade that sold for $250 last year on ebay was the result of a bidding war and that is not indicative of the true value of the system. I believe these types of items should be auctioned with a modest reserve price and let the bidders decide what it is worth. I think $80 would be an appropriate reserve price to set. I avoid BIN's unless I see it as a good value. Unfortunately most BIN auctions are set at the high end of what an item is usually worth and that is why I avoid BIN auctions. If this console were boxed and in near mint condition I would agree with the original BIN price of $300. As this auction stands now I doubt it will sell even for $200. Perhaps the seller really does not want to part with this item or hopes some newbie jumps on this as a rare opportunity to own " one of the rarest system for any of the classic gaming systems" as the seller states? I think a Bally Astrocade would be nice to have, but not for $300. According to the DP collector's guide, and what I have seen on ebay, I could get a loose Vectrex 3D imager set for that amount of money and it is listed at a rarity of 9 where the white Astrocade is only a rarity 7.
    It's worth whatever he can get for it. If he feels he can get $300 (it's now $199), then why do you care? Like we are going to tell someone, "Sorry you can't sell it for that much because I don't think it's worth that amount." The problem here is that you are looking at it from your narrow viewpoint as a frugal collector. The seller on the other hand is trying to maximize his profits. Maybe you won't pay that amount, but maybe someone else will. Apparently someone bought one for $250 last year and that is why he listed it as he did. So what does he have to lose if he doesn't sell it? 10 cents, and he can always re-list the item at a lower price

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    I was objectively reviewing this auction based on experiences I have had on ebay. ManekiNeko asked for some backup and I provided my opinion on the matter. I did not say "Sorry you can't sell it for that much because I don't think it's worth that amount." If you bothered to read my post you would know that I said the item is "probably not worth the fixed price the seller is asking for". That's a big difference.

    The problem here is that you are looking at it from your narrow viewpoint as a frugal collector.

    I thought most of us here are guilty of being frugal? Sorry if that bothers you so much. As a buyer I am trying to get the items for the lowest price possible.

    The seller on the other hand is trying to maximize his profits.
    We are looking at this auction from a buyer's perspective are we not? Of course the seller wants the most he can get. I would argue that opening the item to actual bidding could indeed get him the price he wants or more. As it stands I doubt anyone will bite and that was the point of my argument. I could really care less if someone pays that much for the item. I am only giving my perspective. I also provided reasons for why I thought the way I do by using the DP collector's guide rarity rating as a point of reference. You seemed to totally ignore that.

    Obviously you are looking at this as a seller and you strongly disagree with me. I could really care less about a seller maximizing profits. I am in this hobby to collect video games and I would like to stretch my collecting dollar as far as it can go. I am however interested in paying a fair and resonable amount for the items I purchase. I for one don't like to be gouged and I will offer my opinion on items I think are overpriced whenever I feel like it. I also do my best to quantify my reasoning which I would have hoped helped some people understand my point of view. Obviously I failed in this instance. Hopefully I have cleared up any misunderstandings?

    Finally, if you are only in this hobby to turn a quick dollar I have nothing but contempt for you. Sorry, but that's how I feel about the matter. If you can't provide constructive criticism to my remarks please don't bother responding.

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    Not again. My brain can't take it. (No offense to you guys though)

    dave

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    Quote Originally Posted by number6
    I thought most of us here are guilty of being frugal? Sorry if that bothers you so much. As a buyer I am trying to get the items for the lowest price possible.
    Who said it was bothering me? I as commenting on the fact that you said...

    I believe these types of items should be auctioned with a modest reserve price and let the bidders decide what it is worth.
    If that isn't telling the seller what to do, I don't know what is. I was just trying to point out the hypocrisy of it all. Here we are telling the seller that it should be llisted for less, when he is trying to get the most out of his auctions, which he himself is basing upon past auctions.

    Quote Originally Posted by number6
    We are looking at this auction from a buyer's perspective are we not? Of course the seller wants the most he can get. I would argue that opening the item to actual bidding could indeed get him the price he wants or more. As it stands I doubt anyone will bite and that was the point of my argument. I could really care less if someone pays that much for the item. I am only giving my perspective. I also provided reasons for why I thought the way I do by using the DP collector's guide rarity rating as a point of reference. You seemed to totally ignore that.
    No, I don't ignore that at all. Just like you discount the prices on ebay, I discount the accuracy of the pricing in the DP guide. As many people in the past have pointed out, the DP Guide is not the end all be all as to pricing. While the rarity rating may be accurate, the pricing is not always accurate. The guide IMHO is more like a guide as to what Joe and the contributors feel an item is worth or what they would pay for an item, not necessarily its true value which is very hard to discern. For instance, the guide does not take into consideration ebay prices, retail prices for used games at EB/Gamestop or regional considerations. On the other hand, there are many people (yourself included) who do not believe ebay pricing should play a factor into pricing. I simply do not follow this maxim. Ebay is becoming more and more of a common place to find classic games, especially now that EB/Gamestop pretty much no longer carry those items. Not everyone has Goodwill or Pawn Shops near them. Not everyone has mom 'n pop video stores near them. Not everyone can find steals at garage sales.

    Quote Originally Posted by number6
    Obviously you are looking at this as a seller and you strongly disagree with me. I could really care less about a seller maximizing profits. I am in this hobby to collect video games and I would like to stretch my collecting dollar as far as it can go. I am however interested in paying a fair and resonable amount for the items I purchase. I for one don't like to be gouged and I will offer my opinion on items I think are overpriced whenever I feel like it. I also do my best to quantify my reasoning which I would have hoped helped some people understand my point of view. Obviously I failed in this instance. Hopefully I have cleared up any misunderstandings?
    No, I'm really looking at this from forum perspective - "Yet more ebay insanity." I simply do not find this auction insane just because the seller may be trying to get a few extra dollars out of an obviously rare item. Now, if his BIN was $1,000, then I would probably agree. But just because its a little more than what you may be willing to pay as a frugal collector does not make it "insane."

    Quote Originally Posted by number6
    Finally, if you are only in this hobby to turn a quick dollar I have nothing but contempt for you. Sorry, but that's how I feel about the matter. If you can't provide constructive criticism to my remarks please don't bother responding.
    This has nothing to do with making a quick dollar. Using your logic the seller should not make a dime on reselling a rare item just so people like you can get a good deal.

    Oh by the way, don't tell a forum poster whether they can or cannot respond to a topic. That is just plain asinine.

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    Quote Originally Posted by portnoyd
    Not again. My brain can't take it. (No offense to you guys though)

    dave
    I agree. The whole "its worth whatever you can get for it" versus the "sellers should use common sense" is a topic NOT worth arguing as there will be no definate winner. ever. plus it's already been beat to death.

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    Who said it was bothering me? I as commenting on the fact that you said...

    If that isn't telling the seller what to do, I don't know what is. I was just trying to point out the hypocrisy of it all. Here we are telling the seller that it should be llisted for less, when he is trying to get the most out of his auctions, which he himself is basing upon past auctions.

    The above quote is in response to my suggestion on how I would run the auction if I really wanted to sell the item. I am not telling the seller how to run their auction. I am merely pointing out what would make the auction stand out for me as something I may be interested in. When I see BIN auctions such as this one the only thing that comes to my mind is price gouging. I am sure there is someone in this world that thinks $200 - $300 for a loose Astrocade with one broken controller is a good deal. I doubt that person has read the DP collector’s guide or done any research on ebay to see what these systems actually go for over time. These types of buyers are impulse buyers, but I doubt there are that many for classic gaming consoles especially one this old and obscure. I think most of the members of this forum are always looking for the best deal possible. I happen to give my opinion on this item and you want to tell me my opinion is all wrong? It’s not wrong as far as I am concerned and I think I have a valid position on this matter because I do take the time to research before I give an opinion.

    Just like you discount the prices on ebay, I discount the accuracy of the pricing in the DP guide. As many people in the past have pointed out, the DP Guide is not the end all be all as to pricing. While the rarity rating may be accurate, the pricing is not always accurate. The guide IMHO is more like a guide as to what Joe and the contributors feel an item is worth or what they would pay for an item, not necessarily its true value which is very hard to discern.
    While I agree that the prices in the collector’s guide are not set in stone I believe that it is a valid guideline to use while collecting video games from anywhere including ebay. While the values in the DP collector’s guide are on the low side I have seen first hand that it is pretty accurate as far as the Vectrex 3D imager is concerned. The Astrocade console up for auction is a rarity 7 and was initially priced above the low ball value for a rarity 9 item. To me that seems like the seller is asking too much. Like I said it would be better to let people bid on the item and see what the bidding gets up to. The seller could set the reserve at the high price he wanted and if it does not sell at least he would get a feel for what the item is worth now. The seller set the high end value for what the item would be worth (boxed and complete would only warrant that in my opinion) as a BIN set price auction. Like I said earlier I guess the seller does not really want to sell the item or the seller is hoping some newbie will make a mistake and pay way more then necessary. The only reason I said what I said initially was to show my agreement with ManekiNeko that this auction was way overpriced. I can’t help it if that bothers you, but I am not going to back down on anything I said because I believe what I said and I have concrete information to back it up. You have provided nothing that would change my mind on the matter.

    No, I'm really looking at this from forum perspective - "Yet more ebay insanity." I simply do not find this auction insane just because the seller may be trying to get a few extra dollars out of an obviously rare item. Now, if his BIN was $1,000, then I would probably agree. But just because its a little more than what you may be willing to pay as a frugal collector does not make it "insane."

    Sorry, I guess I should have been clearer for you. Again I will quote my post so I can point out something else you missed (though it was clearly there):

    “We are looking at this auction from a buyer's perspective are we not?”

    I said this auction which I thought would make it clear to you that we are talking about the current topic which is titled “$300 Astrocade?! Ha! HA HA! No, seriously...” and the first post in this topic contained the point of conversation “Come on, man. I know white Astrocades are somewhat unusual but they're not worth three frickin' hundred dollars.” That is the topic we are discussing. Not the broader area “Yet More Ebay Insanity”. I am sorry if you can’t distinguish between focused areas of thought and the more general category that contains them. I guess by your logic that every post in the “Video Game Discussion” board is only about video games and does not contain posts about events like E3 or video game related collectables like watches?

    Anyway, I think the item is overpriced by at least 45%. Do I think it's an insane price? No.


    Oh by the way, don't tell a forum poster whether they can or cannot respond to a topic. That is just plain asinine.

    Again if you actually read what I had written you would know that I did not tell you that you could not respond. I wish you would take the time to actually read what I write. I asked you in a polite manner to PLEASE not respond to my post if you could not provide constructive criticism. At least in your second post you did provide some useful information as to why you disagreed with me. That’s the only reason I bothered responding

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