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My Air Raid Auction Update


Tanman

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Actually money is a blend of fabric and paper with some plastic added in.

For American money, don't forget metal and poison. Some of the black ink is magnetic (for machine readability) with iron in it, and the plastic strip has metallic printing on it. The bills are also treated to kill fungi and microbes, to prevent money from becoming a vector for disease (which it could do quite well otherwise).

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Actually money is plastic

Come to Canada, Pang! All our money is turning into coins. 1 dollar bills became a coin called a Loonie (has a Loon on it), and 2 dollar bills became a coin called a Twoney (for 2 bucks). Most Canadians spell it Toonie though because we think our government is Loonie Toonie for doing this. They're talking about converting the 5 dollar bill to a coin next.

No need to travel,our $1 and $2 are also coins,our lowest note is the $5 :D

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[said stuff about money and madness ]

 

There are many astoundingly wealthy people in this world. There are also many, many people who collect Atari 2600 video games. It is reasonable to assume there is a significant overlap among these two groups of people, any one of which may "squander" twelve kilo-bucks on a video game with the same financial repercussions you or I might incur by spending 60 cents on a bag of peanut M&M's. Is either purchase madness? Ask the guy from Zimbabwe who lives in a mud and dung shack, laboring 80 hours in the blazing African sun for the equivalent of 60 cents per week.

 

There are millions of speculators who follow stocks and commodities exchanges every day, who "invest" not in corporations, but in the trend lines of closing prices of corporations. All they know, or care to know, is the financial trend. If a stock trend points sharply upward, then they may be convinced a "buy low, sell high" money making opportunity is there for the taking. To them, it would be madness not to capitalize on it. Now, you may argue that stock certificates, which grant you fractional ownership of a real financial entity, have intrinsic value. But what about futures investors? Futures investors hold nothing at all. They invest in the hope that other investors will, in all their madness, continue to overpay for the stock of the company they are gambling on. But once again, if such speculators are convinced a money-making opportunity exists by gambling on futures, then to them, it would be madness not to jump in.

 

Some people look at the collectibles market as a means to speculatively invest, without the hassle of brokerage fees. Some of these speculators may love video games, some may be indifferent, and some may even HATE video games and video game collectors with a passion. But all collectibles speculators who invest in a particular video game will understand what a sharply upward trending sale price means. They are like futures investors. They are investing in the hope that other collectors (or other investors) will continue to overpay for the game they are gambling on. They will gamble once more, at some later date, when they believe the time is ripe to cash out.

 

I'm not suggesting all of the present bidders for Air Raid are dispassionate, speculative investors. A few of them could be, though. As the hobby continues to mature, as sale prices for key rare games continue to rise, more and more speculative investors will be attracted to high profile Atari game auctions like Air Raid. But is that such a bad thing, really? If you're one of those lucky collectors who found a copy of Air Raid (or some other uber-rare title) at a yard sale or thrift store for a buck or two, you should be thrilled to know you can auction that sucker off for a king's ransom. And if you don't have such a rarity in your collection, you should still be thrilled to know the potential exists for you to make such a find that can reward you so handsomely. With the possible exception of owning your own home, it is madness for you to own anything you cannot really afford to buy. This is especially true for collectibles.

 

It doesn't make wealthy collectors "better collectors" because they have the financial wherewithal to buy the games they really, really want. It just makes them different. In video game collecting, as it is in all matters of living, it is important to stay within your means. If it is madness for you to pay $12,000 for a copy of Air Raid, and yet a copy of that title somehow landed in your collection via a find or clever trade, then that level of madness would be exactly the same for you not to sell it. For all the collectors, then, who lament the fact that Air Raid has now gone beyond their means, I say stop lamenting. Stuff like this is gonna happen. No matter who you are, you really can't have everything. Enjoy and be thankful for what you have.There is plenty of exciting stuff out there for you collect that is within your means.

 

Of course, as any long time collector knows, there is a very fine line between hobby and mental illness. It is therefore best maintain focus on your own line. There is challenge enough in that without wondering whether someone else has crossed theirs.

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Actually money is plastic

Come to Canada, Pang! All our money is turning into coins. 1 dollar bills became a coin called a Loonie (has a Loon on it), and 2 dollar bills became a coin called a Twoney (for 2 bucks). Most Canadians spell it Toonie though because we think our government is Loonie Toonie for doing this. They're talking about converting the 5 dollar bill to a coin next.

No need to travel,our $1 and $2 are also coins,our lowest note is the $5 :D

 

So how do you tip strippers then?

 

icon_mrgreen.gif

 

 

 

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Actually money is plastic

Come to Canada, Pang! All our money is turning into coins. 1 dollar bills became a coin called a Loonie (has a Loon on it), and 2 dollar bills became a coin called a Twoney (for 2 bucks). Most Canadians spell it Toonie though because we think our government is Loonie Toonie for doing this. They're talking about converting the 5 dollar bill to a coin next.

No need to travel,our $1 and $2 are also coins,our lowest note is the $5 :D

 

So how do you tip strippers then?

 

icon_mrgreen.gif

 

Same way we do cows in the midwest

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More monkey business on the auction. The top bidder is mad that I won't retract his bid and that I sm going report him if he cancels.

I am going to post the names of all the bidder who are jacking around when the auction is over

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I know it's probably best for me to keep this thought to myself but... well... I just can't.

 

With a little less than a day and a half to go, the bid on this item is now up over $12,000.

 

$12,000 for some cardboard, plastic and silicon, housing one of the crappiest video games ever made.

 

It's rare, sure. But it's still crap.

 

I don't have any ill will towards Tanman for selling this -- absolutely it's his prerogative and good for him for making it happen. I also don't have any ill will towards the bidders on this item, and the eventual winner who will pay at least $12,000 for it, maybe a lot more. There's a good chance that these bidders are part of the community here and if not, they're still probably known to some of the board members.

 

But... really. $12,000? For this?

 

I think it's madness.

 

 

Tell that too the person who just bought action #1 comic book for 1.5 million or the guy who paid 900,000.00 for a Honus Wagner baseball card . Too each his own

 

If you are wealthy enough that you can spend that kind of money on a collectible item like this without incurring severe financial hardship, good for you. You've achieved a level of one definition of success that I am sure a lot of Americans (and others, but mostly Americans, of which I am one, although I don't count myself among this lot) both envy and aspire to. And you're free to spend your money however you like.

 

But, honestly... is this how you want to spend it? Do you anticipate looking back on this years or decades hence and think, that was a good way to spend that money? "It really made a difference in my life, in the world, for me to spend that money on this game and add it to my personal horde of rare items."

 

Minimum wage in the U.S. is $7.25 per hour. A lot of people are struggling to get by in life on that. Working for $7.25 an hour, 40 hours a week, it takes over 41 weeks to make $12,000. Before taxes. Realistically, this is more than a year's wages for a person in that boat.

 

Good for you. You're not in that boat. But... again... really?

 

I'm not sure what Tanman plans to do with the money he'll make on this. And again, it's his prerogative to spend it any way he wants. I am just hopeful that he finds a better use for it.

 

That is all. Flame away.

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More monkey business on the auction.

 

I am going to post the names of all the bidder who are jacking around when the auction is over

 

"MONKEY BUSINESS"? "NAMES OF BIDDERS"????

 

I did not do it!!!!! :lol:

 

I bid on it once early on but once it went past $3,000 it became too rich for my blood!

 

Or did it? :twisted:

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On Pitfall Harry's post here without quoting it all. Investors jump into the hobby market all the time, especially when the stock market is struggling. Comic books see lots of investment at times of Wall Street woes. But pretty much any type of collectible has the big money investors jumping in. And they don't want the common stuff of the hobby, they want the cream of the crop. These are the ones buying high quality, graded items, whether they are comics, video games, stamps, coins, or toys. So I agree with the fact that investors may drive the auction higher.

 

Phil

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But it's also paper, just like that box.

 

What I'm saying is: everything is relative.

 

If you start talking like that (like Room 34 does) nothing is worth anything anymore.

 

For him, it's just a cardboard box.

 

And it is.

 

But it's also much, much more than that.

 

 

I totally agree with you. I don't begrudge anyone from spending their money the way they want to. Whoever gets this thing is going to be very lucky indeed!

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More monkey business on the auction. The top bidder is mad that I won't retract his bid and that I sm going report him if he cancels.

 

 

Hopefully his bid isn't so huge that it holds up until the end and someone who really wants it and is responsible wins it. Tomorrow night is going to be crazy on the Air Raid bidding front! Will be fun to watch! :P

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Wowzers!! You see the details on the 41 feedback user that retracted the $13k bid? Seems all the guy does is retract bids with that account. I say "that account" as it's clear they are up to something and must have a different account to use along side this crazy retraction crazy mess (at least I assume so).

 

30-Day Summary

Total bids: 303

Items bid on: 144

Bid activity (%) with this seller: 0%

Bid retractions: 156

Bid retractions (6 months): 233

 

 

A total of 156 bid retractions in 30 days and 233 bid retractions in 6 months? That is clearly abuse of the system. I wonder how the account has not been banned?

 

 

nevermind,i see now

Edited by revolutionika
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There is a good chance Jose hasn't seen this yet.

 

Last Active: Mar 29 2010 1:12 PM

 

He isn't responding to his personal email. :ponder:

 

Oh man, it would suck to be a huge collector like that and just happen to go on vacation the two weeks that something like this happens..... :woozy:

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That's easy to fix, though. Simply administer a 100 question quiz before selling any game-related item valued at over fifty dollars. If they don't know who panama jack is or what the cannon from yar's is called, don't sell.

 

j/k... or is it

 

 

You can only do something like that with a private auction. When you have a public auction, you have to be prepared to deal with the public.

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Is that a caveman on the $2 coin? Interesting choice of coin art if it is.

Probably an Australian Aborigine, put on the coin to represent the indigenous peoples of Australia before European settlement.

 

(And yes, I admit that I posted this mainly to get in on this thread while it's still hot. I have nothing to contribute to the primary discussion, except to say that I think it's crazy to spend this much money on a 2600 game. But hey ... each to his own, and I'm happy for Tanman that it's getting so much interest.)

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No no, what was happening is people were bidding the minimum thinking that there was an autobid to trump them. There wasn't so they panic and cancel their bid.

 

 

More monkey business on the auction. The top bidder is mad that I won't retract his bid and that I sm going report him if he cancels.

 

 

Hopefully his bid isn't so huge that it holds up until the end and someone who really wants it and is responsible wins it. Tomorrow night is going to be crazy on the Air Raid bidding front! Will be fun to watch! :P

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