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TI Related -- Ebay / Heads Up Notice


Omega-TI

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$80 + shipping for a "tested"/"working" is all i am finding on ebay at the moment....

Unless you want to take a chance on a "as is"/"untested" listing for anywhere from $12 to $50 ...

Just how leery should i be when considering a "untested"/"as is" TI?

Obviously, if the unit is severed dented or listed as "for parts"/"parts only" i'll be passing on it.

Any one got a list of Red Flags to avoid in TI purchases?

... Maybe i should just wait unitl Jan. / Feb. 2020 after the holiday season and hope for better prices?

 

 

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41 minutes ago, jrhodes said:

Any one got a list of Red Flags to avoid in TI purchases?

... Maybe i should just wait unitl Jan. / Feb. 2020 after the holiday season and hope for better prices?

 

 

After being burned once by a gentleman that swore up and down (ebay messages during my pre-sale questioning) that he was a pro at "grading" vintage equipment,

I would be wary of minimum pictures and also the claim of "new"/"unused" even if "sealed" in a clear baggy.

That was supposedly what I was buying. When I received it, the sideport contacts (never pictured, though requested so I could rule QI/non-QI) were heavily worn and corroded

as I would expect a used machine to be that is 35+ years old.

Now, the ones where they show you their stock as new, unopened boxes still packed in pairs, maybe, but then again those are the ones commanding top dollar.

Honestly it swings in 3-4 month surges, so if you aren't finding acceptable sales now it may change in another 1-2 months.

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$80 + shipping for a "tested"/"working" is all i am finding on ebay at the moment....
Unless you want to take a chance on a "as is"/"untested" listing for anywhere from $12 to $50 ...
Just how leery should i be when considering a "untested"/"as is" TI?
Obviously, if the unit is severed dented or listed as "for parts"/"parts only" i'll be passing on it.
Any one got a list of Red Flags to avoid in TI purchases?
... Maybe i should just wait unitl Jan. / Feb. 2020 after the holiday season and hope for better prices?
 
 
My very first TI which I got a couple of months back I got as is for $20 on OfferUp.
I used the Atx1 PSupply and a rewired Sega genesis video adapter... Works just fine. Sometimes taking a chance can be worth it. Not defending either choice. Sometimes the RNG gods can roll the dice in your favor.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

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Seems to me that the average price for a good working TI console has gone up significantly in the past few years despite the fact that a bare console has little use beyond cartridge gaming and will require a signicant financial outlay before it becomes a decent base system (32K, NanoPEB/TIPI/FinalGrom). I don't know how many "nostalgic" buyers are aware of this....

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14 hours ago, jrhodes said:

$80 + shipping for a "tested"/"working" is all i am finding on ebay at the moment....

Unless you want to take a chance on a "as is"/"untested" listing for anywhere from $12 to $50 ...

Just how leery should i be when considering a "untested"/"as is" TI?

Obviously, if the unit is severed dented or listed as "for parts"/"parts only" i'll be passing on it.

Any one got a list of Red Flags to avoid in TI purchases?

... Maybe i should just wait unitl Jan. / Feb. 2020 after the holiday season and hope for better prices?

 

 

I'm much more wary of an "untested" system on eBay than I am on Facebook Marketplace/Craigslist/OfferUp/Mercari/letgo. Since we all know "untested" on eBay is often actually "tested and doesn't work but I'm a snake and don't mind lying in an attempt to fleece buyers of their money." On those other sites, untested is often truly untested due to not having an RF hookup on a modern TV or honestly just not even trying to hook it up because they just found it in their basement and want it gone for a little quick cash. 

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I got burned on an "untested but was working when I put it away many years ago" TI which also included an MBX, which was really the only reason I bought it. Sure enough, neither worked. I was able to get the TI repaired, but I don't know of anyone who can help to repair the MBX. It turns on, but is not recognized by the TI. So I'd be much more inclined to buy a tested/working one unless you are good at repairing TIs.

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1 hour ago, Opry99er said:

This lot looks to have some really cool software I haven't seen before...  price is high though.

 

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F143447310698

Pretty much all of the software is relatively common. The "R" rated demo and game are both from Tex-Comp. IIRC the demo was a picture slide show and the game was a modification of a program out of the German TI-Revue magazine. The original game was called Alien Landing. Some clown modified the base station graphic shooting at the aliens into a male generative organ and renamed the game Pen** Shooting. In the process, he removed all references to the original game author and passed it off as his own work. . .Tex-Comp picked it up for US distribution, and probably had no idea at the time that it was a rip-off of someone else's game.

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Is shipping international?  If so, I will TOTALLY buy that PEB.  It would give poor Helocast his weekends back. (As is, the guy has been very dutiful in feeding me measurements of his PEB. If I buy yours, I can finish the work, and he can have his life back. I totally appreciate all he's done so far, but I don't want to trouble him or be a bother. Since this is an auction listing, consider this a "I will buy it if you ship international, give me a price via PM" kinda thing.)

Edited by wierd_w
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1 hour ago, Schmitzi said:

"Engineering Prototype" (TI-99/4)

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/133251808632

 

image.thumb.png.f9053bc737250fc30599777d0a3552f1.png

 

 

I have no comment on the 99/4, but I looked at the seller's store, full of vintage tech instruments. 

 

He is also selling an incomplete set of Space Raiders. He has an excess of Hortas, not enough robots (love those Robby style robots), and too many Ceti cruisers. I can think of two that are missing, so, buy for "parts only".

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-McDonalds-Happy-Meal-Diener-Keshi-1979-Space-Raiders-Misc-Lot-of-9/143195363418?hash=item21571bd85a:g:FKEAAOSw~dhcoNIC

 

What's with all the rubber eraser auctions along with the gear? I like it.

 

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2 hours ago, Schmitzi said:

"Engineering Prototype" (TI-99/4)

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/133251808632

 

image.thumb.png.f9053bc737250fc30599777d0a3552f1.png

 

Price is high, but the auction is very good at showing what he's got, including PCB shots. There are a lot of bodge wires on the board, it's probably legit.

 

I'm wondering what the ribbon cable over the ROMs is for. ;)

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Notice also that it seems to have the wiring for the IR components in the top of the shell--although the IR sensor is not visible. The VDP is a TMX9918, which I haven't seen in the wild before. Looking at the dates on all of the chips, this one looks to have been manufactured sometime in the summer of 1979, which would make it a late prototype (also supported by the serial number, as that is a pretty high number for a prototype).

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