billybillyjim Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Hi, I'm new here, so just let me know if this is the right place to ask this. I recently got a chance to buy an Atari Video Game Selection Center. THere's not a whole lot of info about it anywhere on the internet, so I was curious what you all thought about what would be a fair price to offer for it? I don't want to get ripped off, because it seems like the thing is worth less than one would expect. Any advice is greatly appreciated, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra Commander Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Pics please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybillyjim Posted February 21, 2015 Author Share Posted February 21, 2015 http://images.craigslist.org/00B0B_1U6rkjHwLNM_600x450.jpg http://images.craigslist.org/00202_7zGDMMwqne4_600x450.jpg http://images.craigslist.org/00P0P_T1GhDp5Pgc_600x450.jpg These are the photos. It looks to be in decent shape and it works great, apparently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyperboy Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 That's pretty damn cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarian63 Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 Buy it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyperboy Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 Buy it!And then sell it to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybillyjim Posted February 21, 2015 Author Share Posted February 21, 2015 I'm hoping to buy it but I really don't know what to give as a price. I obviously don't want to ask too little, but I'd rather not pay more than maybe 200... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 Try offering $200 and see what they say, at worst they say "No way, I want at least $500 for it." and if you are lucky, they drool over an offer of $200 and take it right away. It is worth $200 for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybillyjim Posted February 21, 2015 Author Share Posted February 21, 2015 So the guy selling it claimed it was worth $5000... I can't really find anything online to back that up, but either way, I don't think I am gonna bite. Thanks for the help everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 That is utter BS, just walk away. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rasch_C Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 Yeah, I was in the cities and talked to the guy yesterday (hopeing to maybe grab it for about $200). The guy said he had an offer for $1800 and that he was talking with someone from Texas that was giving him the 'lowdown' on these things and apparently is on the belief that only 3 of these exists in the world. I proceeded to tell him to take the $1800 on it because that was pretty good (high). He said he is still doing research. It's worth whatever someone is willing to pay. But I think it is probably worth more in the $500 - $600 range max. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhomaios Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 Yeah, I was in the cities and talked to the guy yesterday (hopeing to maybe grab it for about $200). The guy said he had an offer for $1800 and that he was talking with someone from Texas that was giving him the 'lowdown' on these things and apparently is on the belief that only 3 of these exists in the world. I proceeded to tell him to take the $1800 on it because that was pretty good (high). He said he is still doing research. It's worth whatever someone is willing to pay. But I think it is probably worth more in the $500 - $600 range max. It's a common refrain that an item is "worth" whatever someone is willing to pay. That's an abuse of language. It's not worth that. It's cost to buyers is whatever they are willing to pay. It's worth is whatever the next guy is willing to pay. If someone buys it for $1800, then tries to sell it for that amount, yet nobody but that one buyer would have paid $1800, he'll find out really quickly that it was worth a whole lot less than what he paid for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torr Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 It's a common refrain that an item is "worth" whatever someone is willing to pay. That's an abuse of language. It's not worth that. It's cost to buyers is whatever they are willing to pay. It's worth is whatever the next guy is willing to pay. If someone buys it for $1800, then tries to sell it for that amount, yet nobody but that one buyer would have paid $1800, he'll find out really quickly that it was worth a whole lot less than what he paid for it. Not really. If Person X sold something for $1800 to Person Y and then Person Y COULD find Person Z to sell it to for equal value, then by that logic it IS worth that much. But if we rewind a little, Person X has ALREADY found Person Y willing to pay $1800, no different than Person Y selling to Person Z. Ergo it IS worth that much. And also by that logic if I sell my car for X dollars "Or Best Offer" then whoever made the best offer is theoretically paying too much because they were the only one willing to pay that much. Same goes for auctions, high bidder has theoretically overpaid as well. Pricing of just about ANYTHING in our economy is based on the maximum people are willing to pay. I'm not 100% sure if I can argue against THAT logic, but I don't like what it implies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philflound Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 True value would be what at least 2 people are willing to pay. I offer someone $5000 for something if I had millions of dollars in the bank and just wanted to make sure I got it. If I have no idea the value, $5000 to me would be nothing. If several collectors on here say they'd pay $500-600, and no one else goes any higher, then the going rate should be the $500, not the $5000. If I wanted to resell it, realistically, I probably won't get anywhere near the $5000 I paid. If it turns to bartering, it's a concept of conceived value. When I first found my Kid Vid, I had only 1 English, and 4 Sound 1 Canadian versions. I paid $75 each for them. The Kid Vid I kept, one of the Sound 1 I sold to my friend for $75 because he was the one who hooked me up to the seller. The other 3 I remember trading for other things. I think one of them I got like 25-30 German and Zellers and similar loose carts for. Another I got Malagai and I believe Halloween (or Texas Chainsaw) loose for. I can't remember the last trade. This took place in the late 1990s. Most value wasn't set in stone, but went by either Digital Press or Greiner's guide. I was basing it more on I didn't have these things and I thought I was getting a pretty fair deal overall. The problem with the supply/demand is that if there is too little supply, a market usually can't be established, so someone who wants something bad enough will pay whatever they can afford or consider fair. I can't tell you how many overpriced 2600 boxed lots there are on Ebay, but you can do the search and see. I see people asking an average of $5-7 for empty boxes in lots. It wouldn't be too bad if they actually had decent condition boxes, or they were for rarer games. These people are just hoping for uninformed buyers to pay their price. Sometimes someone will pay that price. Also, that does not constitute the value of something. That is why there are collectors' forums and price guides out there. A guide to help those who are uninformed, but a guide is never set in stone as you've heard time and time again. This is where the supply and demand comes in. Motorodeo is a perfect example. If you search right now, there is a 6-pack with an $80 current bid. These became flooded from Venezuela. Price dropped dramatically. On the other hand, if that same warehouse burned to the ground and all the copies were destroyed, you'd most likely see a spike in price. I say most likely, because there are only so many collectors of Atari 2600 out there and I don't think we're getting a significant amount of new collectors each year. The collectors like myself who have been buying for 20+ years pretty much own the majority of titles. So sales can't be too high. I remember when you paid for shipping for the Motorodeo from Venezuela. Now it's free. Prices are steady or coming down slightly because there is no real demand for it anymore. My guess is that buyers, especially of wholesale amounts are doing it to resell or possibly hold onto them for a number of years to try and get a return on their investment. The whole unearthing of the landfill may have stirred a bit of interest in the market again. E.T. should not be getting $5+ for a loose cart and $20+ for a boxed complete one, but there is renewed desire because of this. There has never been a shortage of E.T. and like I've mentioned before, I think I have a minimum of 10 loose copies. I always sold my boxed complete ones for $8-12, depending on condition of the items. Eventually this will die down and the price will come down again. Especially those who get their copies are no longer in the demand side. That should be a good enough discussion for people. Phil 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rasch_C Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 So, to talk about the Video Game Selection Center specifically, does anyone have an estimate of how many are known in existence? I know they're rare, but I'm pretty sure there is more than 3 known. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra Commander Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 Very cool. Does it work? Did you get to test it personally? I'd pick it apart condition wise regardless of rarity. Condition is everything. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari_Bill Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 I love these but am absolutely sure there are more than 3. This is the Sears version that was in store for demonstration if I'm not mistaken. I know for a fact that I've seen at least 2-3 of these for sale over the last 20 years. This is beyond cool but the condition and the fact that it's incomplete make it worth well under 1000 IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rasch_C Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Very cool. Does it work? Did you get to test it personally? I'd pick it apart condition wise regardless of rarity. Condition is everything. I talked to the guy on the phone and it did not get as far as me seeing it, considering the great disparity between what he thinks it is (rarity) / what it's worth and possible reality. It supposedly is completely functional, which is the main thing, and as far as what the pictures show it seems to look in good condition. I would believe it is probably a great example, but it's not as rare as what he is under the belief of, and because of that I don't think it is as valuable as he thinks. But I digress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rasch_C Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 I did have one more curiosity on this particular unit: does anyone know what would be up with the silver paddle knobs instead of black? This is the only unit I've seen with these. Did some of these come this way, or are these more probably replacements? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari_Bill Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 I did have one more curiosity on this particular unit: does anyone know what would be up with the silver paddle knobs instead of black? This is the only unit I've seen with these. Did some of these come this way, or are these more probably replacements? I remember them being black personally. I played with this unit pretty extensively back in the day at the local sears since the sears was right next to the local arcade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schuwalker Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 (edited) I remember them being black personally. I played with this unit pretty extensively back in the day at the local sears since the sears was right next to the local arcade. Our local Kmart had the one pictured above like the Op's photo. Edited February 23, 2015 by schuwalker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schuwalker Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 (edited) Double post Edited February 23, 2015 by schuwalker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari_Bill Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 Our local Kmart had the one pictured above like the Op's photo. I could be wrong in my thinking it was Sears but I didn't think so. If you look at the games listed on it you'll see submarine commander and steeplechase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcadegeek23 Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 I pIcked this up yesterday. I think it's a great piece of history and very unique. The seller reached out to me after I had done an offer of $600 a while ago. I came up some but overall I have happy to have rescued this. I asked him where he found it and he said it was left with the house when he moved in. Crazy. Plan on cleaning it up a bit but overall is in decent shape given the age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJ Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 Hmmm almost exactly a year to the day... So rasch_c above (Northern Wisc) mentioned "the cities", meaning this item was in the Twin Cities the whole time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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