[Coco] Ebay laugh of the day.

[Steve Ostrom]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mark McDougall" <msmcdoug at iinet.net.au>
To: "CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts" <coco at maltedmedia.com>
Sent: Saturday, January 02, 2010 11:02 PM
Subject: Re: [Coco] Ebay laugh of the day.


> Tim Fadden wrote:
>
>> Its called supply and demand. If there is little to no supply and lots of 
>> demand, the owner can demand whatever price he wants. :-)  Called 
>> free-enterprise.  If you don't like it, don't buy it.
>
> I agree, but greed has a knock-on effect, especially in "niche" markets 
> like retro computing/gaming.
>
> I've seen the retro scene change markedly over the last decade. These 
> days, it's well known that trading in retro computing and gaming goods can 
> turn a tidy profit. There's actually more product available now than there 
> has ever been - but it's also a lot more expensive.
>
> Long gone are the days when I could pick up a NES for AUD$1 at the flea 
> markets - or NES games for AUD$1 each. I bought a boxed NES console for 
> AUD$7 once! Right now there's a boxed NES *game* in so-so condition on 
> eBay Buy It Now for AUD$119!!! I've spent less on my entire NES collection 
> of 4 consoles, a draw full of controllers and ~40 games!!!
>
> > |              Mark McDougall                | "Electrical Engineers do 
> > it
> |

One more thing to consider is that if retro software or hardware sells for 
$1, very few people will be willing to look at their collections from the 
past and put items up for auction.  Why bother?  This means many of the 
hard-to-get items will languish in a moldy box in someone's basement or 
garage and will be lost forever.  If the prices are higher, then some of 
these older and "rarer" items will become available for collectors.

Ever since the Coco 1 came out, I've been a Coco user, software writer and 
collector of original all-things-Coco, and I'd love to get some older 
software that is never seen anymore.  My hope is that if retro prices go 
higher instead of lower, then some forgotten items may surface again.  Just 
another slant on the debate.

-- Steve --