*** M E M O R U M ***

Anybody seen this (admittedly nice) crazy buy-it-now auction on ebay?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ULTRA-RARE-V ... 890.l49286

Crazy, opportunistic or worth it? Personally, I think it's at the top end in terms of total package, but probably twice what current prices are now.

CRAZY!

And opportunistic too. The seller is well known for the prices for his many “ultra rare” postings. He’s a dealer, not a typical seller.

That price is significantly more than a basic MTX has ever sold for on eBay UK.

If a buyer has the cash to burn and is prepared to pay a ridiculous price such as this, then I guess that you could say that it was “worth” it. For any sensible person though, it’s way too much and they would be better waiting for a more sensibly priced one. (There is a lower priced on on eBay UK at the moment too.) It is highly likely that it won’t sell and will get relisted at lower prices until it does sell.

It looks like it’s in nice condition, but it’s not even boxed and has had the rubber feet replaced. Still, the seller has nicely bagged up the manual in a plastic bag, so it must be worth it

As an aside, Adrian’s take on eBay listings like this comes to mind when I see them

https://binarydinosaurs.co.uk/Museum/museum-wow.php

This eBay seller is well known for their way of trading. They always list items at well above the market rate, and keep re-listing month after month.

Mark

Love that sarcastic and cynical look at Ebay traders, Dave.

I guess this is not much different to the Antique shops I sometimes ended up looking around on days out or on holidays with the folks in the 70s/80s, where things of dubious "antique" value would be polished up (or often not!) and the seller would price it upon looking at what kind of mug you looked like.

I guess the difference is that everybody can do it these days, not just people with shop premises on pretty-village high streets and coastal side-streets. This, I think is best captured by the dross you find at boot fairs, old game consoles that look like they've been buried in a kids sandpit and FIFA 07 discs that look like someone has eaten their dinner off of them - "50 quid to you mate, it's retro don't you know!"

I heard that this fellow isn't actually a trader. He has a nice collection of computers but will always sell if the price is good enough. So he does this. I did ask him why he tries it on as my concern was market distortion, but got no reply.

That's interesting Jon. So he is selling up because he's exiting, in this case, the Memotech "scene"? Or does he work on the assumption that he can always pick another up for the usual prices or plays the long game, banking that he'll get another for a bargain from a house-clearance or boot sale?

Not direct questions for you Jon, just musing about the mindset.

gunrock wrote: ↑20 Apr 2021 14:07 That's interesting Jon. So he is selling up because he's exiting, in this case, the Memotech "scene"?

Not exactly, no. He is happy to sell items if there is someone who is willing to pay the price he wants. I’m not sure he’s exiting, as that would mean he was ‘in’ the ‘scene’. He does this with a wide variety of 1980s and 1990s computers. His auctions have been mentioned on an Acorn forum many times.

I don’t watch him, so I don’t know if he buys computers and does any servicing on them, or just buys them in reasonable condition, cleans them and then realists them, or whatever.

Have a look at his items for sale/sold/completed auctions and his shop. He is also registered as a business seller.

I would class him as a trader myself.

Mark

I’m pretty sure he is a trader. He bought a 16K ZX80 RAM pack off me a while back but won’t list it until his current one sells I guess. Hard to claim its ultra rare if he lists two at the same time...

People keep buying his stuff though.

gunrock wrote: ↑16 Apr 2021 08:34 Anybody seen this (admittedly nice) crazy buy-it-now auction on ebay?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ULTRA-RARE-V ... 890.l49286

Crazy, opportunistic or worth it? Personally, I think it's at the top end in terms of total package, but probably twice what current prices are now.

Crazy, but I have a few I will sell for that price