atrax27407 Posted December 22, 2017 Share Posted December 22, 2017 (edited) Unfortunately, effective at the beginning of the year, I am going to have to raise the price of all EPROMs purchased from Hummingbird EPROMs. Over the years, the price has remained constant since I started this endeavor almost 20 years ago. However, the unreliability of the cheaper, foreign-sourced chips and the gradual increase in US domestic postal rates have caused me to run at a deficit for the past year (i.e., it was costing me more to buy and ship chips than I was taking in on each order). As a result, effective January 1, the new rates that will be in effect are as follows: A single EPROM $8 (US) 2 or more EPROMs $8 (for the first chip) and $6 for each additional chip (ex. 2 chips $14, 3 chips $20, etc.) These prices include 1st Class USPS shipping (with tracking) anywhere in the Continental US. International orders will have an additional flat $10 postage charge in addition to the chip price and all orders will be shipped via International 1st class mail (approximate 10-15 day delivery to most countries). I sincerely hope that this will not inconvenience anyone in our community. Thanks! Edited December 22, 2017 by atrax27407 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted December 22, 2017 Share Posted December 22, 2017 I am not familiar with the type of EPROM you need, what is it? I am just curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrax27407 Posted December 22, 2017 Author Share Posted December 22, 2017 I don't need EPROMs. I sell a vast variety of EPROMs for the TI and accessories and have been doing so for 20 or so years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Ksarul Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 He programs pretty much any EPROM used by the 99/4-family hardware, so it is a lot of different EPROMS. Some of the older ones are getting very difficult to find as reliable, functional chips, and even then the prices are a lot higher for the questionable chips (TMS 2532 and TMS 2532As are two that I know from personal experience that are getting troublesome to find as quality chips ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrax27407 Posted December 23, 2017 Author Share Posted December 23, 2017 The bottom line is that the cost of each EPROM order from Hummingbird EPROMS shipped to a US destination will increase by $2 after 01/01/18. International orders will go up to a flat added postage fee of $10 to reflect the actual First Class International Postage rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osgeld Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 I have never ordered from you, nor have a ti but really that seems about right, I order "nos" chips from reputable electronics shop and get a 1:3 fail rate (until you beat that one into submission, then can you really trust it) and I don't get them all that often, I cant imagine how it is for someone that buys a lot of them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shift838 Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 I always wondered why your prices were very good. Your new prices are still more than fair and you know i'm a repeat customer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega-TI Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 Twenty years WITHOUT a price increase! Dang, that's going way above and beyond the call of duty for the community. I'd say it's about time there buddy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega-TI Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 Twenty years WITHOUT a price increase! Dang, that's going way above and beyond the call of duty for the community. I'd say it's about time there buddy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 https://www.ebay.com/itm/10x-TI-2532-UV-EPROM-TMS2532A-32K-DIP24/250879846624?epid=1950085107&hash=item3a699aa8e0:m:m1FmrPZpHQrDotEvduu6B1Q Dunno why you think chips are getting expensive or hard to find in quality. You can bet every single eprom from the link above is in mint condition, in full working order and the supply is never running out. Paying more than $1 (EDIT: or maybe $2 TOPS if you are desperate) for any eprom in the 4k to 32k range is insane. Used socket pull or NOS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 I don't need EPROMs. I sell a vast variety of EPROMs for the TI and accessories and have been doing so for 20 or so years. Well, you are not pulling them out of your butt, you have to be buying them somewhere. I was trying to be helpful, but your attitude doesn't align with mine. And so, tubes and tubes of 2532's are staying on the shelf. Merry Christmas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+nanochess Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 ...However, the unreliability of the cheaper, foreign-sourced chips... Sorry but CPUWIZ and me read this, and indeed it looks like you need EPROMs, so he was asking what chip number do you use. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrax27407 Posted December 23, 2017 Author Share Posted December 23, 2017 (edited) IC-CHINA is probably the best of the lot of Chinese-sourced chips. Even at that, my experience is that their TMS2532As (they don't have TMS2532s) have a failure rate of approximately 50%. If they are advertised as "previously used" they might even be higher. The end result is that you end up effectively paying the same for their used chips as you would for new chips from a US supplier. In addition, the other suppliers that provide chips provide ones that are from a "midnight run" at some plant and most of them fail the USER ID test. So. an AMD chip is not an AMD chip but a counterfeit replica. A lot of them will work but there is also a relatively large number of them that won't. They never went through a QC check. I prefer to buy my chips from a US source where I have no problems with exchanges and the stock is new. Edited December 23, 2017 by atrax27407 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrax27407 Posted December 23, 2017 Author Share Posted December 23, 2017 (edited) I have US sources for all of the chips that I use. No hassles with exchanges and the chips are not pulls or "previously owned". As a result, the EPROMs program and verify the first time - every time. Some of my suppliers have not changed their prices in several years. They ship promptly and I can get an order in a matter of days instead of weeks. It is, however, getting more and more difficult to find a source of reliable chips at a decent price. If either CPUWIZ or NANOCHESS can PM me and provide a reasonable quote on any EPROM, I will entertain it. Edited December 23, 2017 by atrax27407 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osgeld Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 (edited) https://www.ebay.com/itm/10x-TI-2532-UV-EPROM-TMS2532A-32K-DIP24/250879846624?epid=1950085107&hash=item3a699aa8e0:m:m1FmrPZpHQrDotEvduu6B1Q Dunno why you think chips are getting expensive or hard to find in quality. You can bet every single eprom from the link above is in mint condition, in full working order and the supply is never running out. Paying more than $1 (EDIT: or maybe $2 TOPS if you are desperate) for any eprom in the 4k to 32k range is insane. Used socket pull or NOS. its mint condition, with a 75% fail to write rate, bought a bunch from that exact seller and your SOL on returns as it will cost you like 26$ to return postage up to 16 ounces so that 14x deal "new old stock" that was batch erased from old e-waste plc's and industrial computers really cost's you almost 2 per chip at worst case fail rate do you want to be the one selling the drunken haters people of atariage a chip it took an overvolt and 4 tries to program and maintain the face of a reputable dealer for 2 bucks after hassle? I don't proms have been obsolete for like 20 years now, there's still demand, and no new supply, its not that big of an increase for services (as the op is not selling blank roms in the first place) Edited December 23, 2017 by Osgeld Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 I've had a couple experiences with bad chips from shaddy sellers in the past sure but there are way more reliable sources with guaranteed chips than bad ones. All chip sizes from 2k to 2MB and thousands of them at that. This $8 and $10 bucks a chip for 4k chips of any flavor is highway robbery non-sense. 3 percent fail rate is ok and the cost of business, 25,50,75 & 100 percent failure rate is crazy and without a doubt a transaction to you can get your money back on from any credit card company worth the plastic their card is stamped on. Plain and simple, chips are cheap and plentiful. Saying otherwise just isn't true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 I prefer to buy my chips from a US source where I have no problems with exchanges and the stock is new. Guess where all those chips you are buying in the USA where imported from in the first place? CHINA. EDIT: Just to play along though I could have bought 500x NOS 2532's the other day from the USA and they sure as shit where not a zillion dollars each that would require a resale price of $10 a pop, not even half that to still at least double my money if I had bought them. I'm not sharing the source though cause obviously I found a diamond in the rough from what you are saying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osgeld Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 (edited) 3 percent fail rate is ok dunno I bought 100 of them last batch, not form that ebay seller, is 30 bucks pissed in the wind for "NEW OLD STOCK 100% good A OK NEVER USED BLAH BLAH BLAH" OK? lucily I was not selling them on a computer / video game forum, but on a deal with a guy on some vintage chevy truck's forum that wanted tewaked ECU roms Edited December 23, 2017 by Osgeld Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 dunno I bought 100 of them last batch, not form that ebay seller, is 30 bucks pissed in the wind for "NEW OLD STOCK 100% good A OK NEVER USED BLAH BLAH BLAH" OK? lucily I was not selling them on a computer / video game forum, but on a deal with a guy on some vintage chevy truck's forum that wanted tewaked ECU roms I would go to my credit card company if the seller was not working with you to fix the situation. I picked IC-CHINA off the cuff. I've bought from them and only had good experiences but if I had a bad one you can be damn sure I wouldn't let them have my money in return for a batch of dead chips. I'm very sorry to hear they sold you bunk chips. There are many other sellers that will get you what you want but I'm sure you already know this. Be a little more demanding in the future with getting your money back if someone sells you something that isn't what it's supposed to be. It's your money and they need to earn it not take it under false pretense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icemanxp300 Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 proms have been obsolete for like 20 years now, there's still demand, and no new supply, its not that big of an increase for services (as the op is not selling blank roms in the first place) While this may be true, I find it VERY likely that they are manufacturing new eproms. As far as pricing goes I generally buy in lots of like 50 at a time. I pay usually $1 to $1.60 per chip shipped. I generally buy from JKParts on ebay. They pack in nice long plastic channel and ship fast. I have a very low failure rate on m27c160's however their am27c400's seem to be more along the lines of 15% fail but after a short erase most of those program fine. I'd say out of 100 only 4-5 are no good. If I erase a chip a few times and it still fails I just toss it. Not wasting my time or relying on a chip that needs erased for hours. I have also purchased from other sellers and there are some shitty ones. If my chips come smash stacked together or in foam I don't buy from them again. I only want them in u-channel. The legs are protected way better that way. I get really irritated having a stack of chips squashed together and seeing legs so bent I'm afraid they will fall off if I move them. I had a problem w/ a few batches of chips not being the speed they were suppose to be. They were listed as 120 but were more like 200. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrax27407 Posted December 23, 2017 Author Share Posted December 23, 2017 You folks might be surprised to know that the "obsolete" and "discontinued" chips are still being actively manufactured in the US (and other original countries of manufacture). Although they have been largely supplanted by newer chips, you can still even buy TMS2532s (or any other 4K-512K chip) new and they function just like they did when they first rolled off the production line years ago. The only problem is that the manufacturer doesn't produce them on a continuous basis so the supply is sporadic in nature. To get a supply of genuine chips, you just have to choose your sources carefully. Chinese-produced chips have a long history of being both sub-standard and counterfeit. If you bother to check the chip ID when you program them, you will readily see what I mean. I am not interested in providing a product that fails due to "bit rot" after a couple of weeks. That is why I use first quality chip sources. I strive to supply a quality product so I choose my EPROM sources very carefully. I did not intend this to be a discussion with a bunch of Atariage "trolls" about the merits of Chinese-sourced vs US-sourced chips. All that was intended was to announce that because of chip costs, postage, packaging, and other operational factors, I was going to have to raise my rates by $2 per order ( the first increase in 20 years) for domestically-shipped orders and more for International orders. So, in the words of my Aussie mates, you blokes can buggar off and go back to the forum from whence you came! I will still provide my EPROM service to members of the TI community as long as I am able and provide quality replacements and upgrades for existing TI systems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icemanxp300 Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinphaltimus Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 Haters gonna hate Atrax - You have every right to charge what you want. I was kind of taken back by the venom spewing over your price changes. Not used to seeing that here, but I guess the holiday season does that to some. Disrespectful and unnecessary. Kudos for taking the high ground as always. And have a wonderful holiday. And thank you for your services. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digdugnate Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 i'm a little surprised at the vitriol when all the dude is trying to do is let everyone know that prices would increase for a service he provides the hobbyist community. I don't usually have the need for EEPROM burning, but if I do i'll be sure to look him up. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega-TI Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 It takes a "special type of person" who does not belong to a community or even contribute to it, to come in and stir up dung. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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