Why I decided to auction off my outsized, decades-built collection

[NoelleAmelie]

You made a good choice, I think. No point in keeping stuff you don't want, and having things just to have them. I learnt that pretty fast myself and ended up selling off a lot of excess to people here, and now I just have a small collection of stuff I like and actually want to play. Having a small collection makes it easy to sort through things and transport them too! I learned from moving recently that carrying boxes of stuff isn't fun.

[Bill Loguidice]

And so, the massive unloading of my videogame and computer collection begins. This is day 1 of 2 (hopefully only two) that they'll be here moving stuff out. It sounds like the auction will be in April or May now to allow for more advertising time, etc.

I spent several days putting a few things aside I was keeping, but the vast majority (and then some, like tons of books and other media) is going to auction.

Here's the placeholder for the online portion of the auction: http://www.auctionzip.com/cgi-bin/auctionview.cgi?lid=3023450

It has some photos from last month of a portion of the collection before removal (View Full Photo Gallery Link (182 images)).

[Midnight Synergy]

Wow ... that is a LOT of stuff! Best of luck with the auction!

[Swami]

 

And so, the massive unloading of my videogame and computer collection begins. This is day 1 of 2 (hopefully only two) that they'll be here moving stuff out. It sounds like the auction will be in April or May now to allow for more advertising time, etc.

I spent several days putting a few things aside I was keeping, but the vast majority (and then some, like tons of books and other media) is going to auction.

Here's the placeholder for the online portion of the auction: http://www.auctionzip.com/cgi-bin/auctionview.cgi?lid=3023450

It has some photos from last month of a portion of the collection before removal (View Full Photo Gallery Link (182 images)).

 

 

I just went through all the pictures. Amazing collection. The pictures are a bit on the small side. By any chance, do you have a Foot Craz pad for the Atari 2600 hidden in there somewhere?

[Bill Loguidice]

 

I just went through all the pictures. Amazing collection. The pictures are a bit on the small side. By any chance, do you have a Foot Craz pad for the Atari 2600 hidden in there somewhere?

 

I don't. I do have a Joyboard and a Footpedal, but that's it.

[thetick1]

I'm in the NYC metro and might have to take a trip to auction site. Please keep us posted when items are available. I'm looking to get a C64DTV but I would like it cheap. I'm sure I'll find one someday at a yard sale or flea market. I might also look to get a VIC-20 cheap as my original is having some reliability issues turning on. I need to some debug diagnosis.

[Bill Loguidice]

I'm in the NYC metro and might have to take a trip to auction site. Please keep us posted when items are available. I'm looking to get a C64DTV but I would like it cheap. I'm sure I'll find one someday at a yard sale or flea market. I might also look to get a VIC-20 cheap as my original is having some reliability issues turning on. I need to some debug diagnosis.

 

I have two boxed DTV's and two VIC-20s in there. The one VIC-20 is the more desirable model with the toggle on/off switch, etc.

[Bill Loguidice]

For those interested, this is the vintage stuff I ended up keeping for various reasons (with minimal related accessories, flash carts, software, books, etc.):

 

- C-64c, C-64c (PAL), C-128DCR

- Apple IIe Platinum

- Atari 800, Atari 800XE (PAL), Atari 1200XL

- Vectrex

- CoCo 3, CoCo 2 (education model), Tano Dragon

- Sony PS3 (with full BC)

[Keatah]

Congrats on coming this far. And especially keeping relevant early systems such as the Apple //ep, C-128D, and Atari 800/1200. Especially the Apple //ep - because it covers 99% or more of the II series library.

 

I've found manuals to be more important than ever for nostalgia - if you ever read them back in the day. On a sub-zero winter's day they bring back all the warm cozy times of childhood, and more.

[R.Cade]

These pictures look strangely familiar. My basement is similar, but not as extensive. I tend to periodically decide to unload a section and then buy up a new one to replace it. This helps keep it under control. You are unloading all at once... It will probably be liberating.

Edited December 31, 2017 by R.Cade

[high voltage]

You're selling any interesting Atari Portfolio stuff?

[Swami]

These pictures look strangely familiar. My basement is similar, but not as extensive. I tend to periodically decide to unload a section and then buy up a new one to replace it. This helps keep it under control. You are unloading all at once... It will probably be liberating.

 

Definitely a lot of nostalgic memories looking through that equipment. Also, I remember playing games and learning programming in elementary school on the first computer I used, which was the Apple IIe.

[Bill Loguidice]

You're selling any interesting Atari Portfolio stuff?

 

Lots of Atari Portfolio stuff, but I don't think anything particularly interesting or unusual.

[Bill Loguidice]

You are unloading all at once... It will probably be liberating.

 

It already is in many ways. Our basement is now clean (we've spent a few days on it), we've re-done the shelving, etc. It's really great. There's now a dedicated makerspace down there, the gym is 100% again, the living area is clear, the office is getting there, etc. It's quite nice (although lots of work). Once it's all in order it will really be fantastic. I certainly will miss some of that stuff at some point, but ultimately it's just stuff. I'd rather "do" than be inundated with stuff I can't do things with because there's no room.

[junksave]

Nice story about your collection history. I live by these words I saw once in a quilting shop...

 

"Its not hoarding if its organized."

 

When collection gets too disorganized or damaged due to the chaos, this is a good opportunity to reconsider the collecting habits.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Bill Loguidice]

For those interested: After liquidating my videogame and computer collection, what I kept and why

[Keatah]

The reasoning behind keeping the Apple II is rather well thought out and many others share that sentiment. The 8-bit only models represent the essence of the II series better than the IIgs ever could. And the best II models, IMHO, would be II+, //e, //ep.

 

Also, this big downsizing you conducted is nothing new. I'm encountering more and more people that are doing the same thing. And they cite the same reasons. Being able to enjoy a few specific platforms or not having the room to keep it all displayed nicely and available. Time consumption and just plain'ol being realistic are among other factors.

 

---

 

I got to thinking about the pictures and stuff. About 5% more or less would be of high nostalgic value to me, despite me myself having had a similarly sized hoard and much of the same thing PLUS arcade cabs in a tiny warehouse. It's not that I wasn't interested in the other 95%, it's that it's simply overwhelming!

 

It's sort of like anything else, you want to have quality time with the material, not more, and definitely not gobs upon gobs more.

 

If I ever decide (likely) to downsize all my extraneous (non-sentimental) Apple II material, I'd go with 1 buyer or an auction house. Some years ago I made a few futile attempts to start parting it out to individuals and it got to be nothing but a headache full of haggling and criticisms both online and offline. Lots of whining "I WANT THIS" "I DON'T WANT THAT".. and on and on. So I won't be doing that again.

Edited January 15, 2018 by Keatah

[Bill Loguidice]

The reasoning behind keeping the Apple II is rather well thought out and many others share that sentiment. The 8-bit only models represent the essence of the II series better than the IIgs ever could. And the best II models, IMHO, would be II+, //e, //ep.

 

Also, this big downsizing you conducted is nothing new. I'm encountering more and more people that are doing the same thing. And they cite the same reasons. Being able to enjoy a few specific platforms or not having the room to keep it all displayed nicely and available. Time consumption and just plain'ol being realistic are among other factors.

 

---

 

I got to thinking about the pictures and stuff. About 5% more or less would be of high nostalgic value to me, despite me myself having had a similarly sized hoard and much of the same thing PLUS arcade cabs in a tiny warehouse. It's not that I wasn't interested in the other 95%, it's that it's simply overwhelming!

 

It's sort of like anything else, you want to have quality time with the material, not more, and definitely not gobs upon gobs more.

 

If I ever decide (likely) to downsize all my extraneous (non-sentimental) Apple II material, I'd go with 1 buyer or an auction house. Some years ago I made a few futile attempts to start parting it out to individuals and it got to be nothing but a headache full of haggling and criticisms both online and offline. Lots of whining "I WANT THIS" "I DON'T WANT THAT".. and on and on. So I won't be doing that again.

 

A narrow focus does seem to be the way to go. My "problem" was (and is, frankly) that everything interested me, so I had no filter. I know Armchair Arcade and some of my other endeavors would have been more "successful" with a more specific focus. However, I'm just not wired like that. And again, I've hammered this point home before, but the hobby has also caught up with what used to be a pretty hardcore endeavor. It's all evolved and continues to evolve at a furious pace. Emulation, emulation platforms, FPGAs, etc., have all made experiencing this stuff easier than ever from its start in the mid-90s, and the move to all-digital and the benefits of flashcarts and what-not have made keeping stacks of physical goods unnecessary. You rarely need the real hardware unless that's what you're specifically nostalgic for and still want that more tactile experience. I know I've at least gotten to hold/experience many dozens of different systems, so I don't really need to keep on doing that.

 

I also agree about selling piecemeal. I like to think of myself as a hard-working, non-lazy person, but not when it comes to packing and shipping things. I'm the opposite. I literally dread and HATE the process, and that's not even counting the post-sale headaches you mentioned. I know I had to turn away many acquaintances who wanted stuff because I just couldn't bring myself to be bothered (I also hate to move, but I know that's a more common feeling). That's why contracting this auction house was so appealing. They did most of the work. It's not like I wasn't ready to get pennies-on-the-dollar for this stuff anyway, and this is probably a nice in-between between that and getting maximum value by selling individual things on my own (which would have involved the aforementioned personal hell).

 

I really did waiver about keeping anything, though. My wife talked me out of doing that (and I'm grateful) on the basis that I can always sell the stuff later and it wouldn't make sense to buy any of it again (and I know I'd be stubborn and NOT buy it again). I think I would have been sad if I couldn't keep some of the stuff that I did. As it is, I can feel good about the whole process.

 

Going forward, I'm going to keep my eye on FPGA systems. I know I still have a ZX Spectrum Next coming at some point, which will cover all the Spectrum stuff I got rid of, and I'm certainly keeping an eye on that one ColecoVision/MSX/Atari 2600/etc. console. All of that is powered by SD cards, so no issues there. Then there's the Mega65, etc. While the last thing I want to do is suddenly build a collection of FPGA systems, I have no issue with adding a select few if they're polished and complete. That may even allow me to further whittle down my actual vintage holdings. Certainly a system like the Retro Freak supplemented with regular emulation made it easier for me to let go of the Sega Genesis, PC Engine, NES, SNES, etc.

[Bill Loguidice]

Nice story about your collection history. I live by these words I saw once in a quilting shop...

 

"Its not hoarding if its organized."

 

When collection gets too disorganized or damaged due to the chaos, this is a good opportunity to reconsider the collecting habits.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I was always a collector since childhood, since before collecting this stuff was really a thing. In terms of organization, I eventually became inspired by Robert X. Cringley and his "Triumph of the Nerds" (although it might have been the sequel) in the scene where he's in his garage and has computers on multi-level shelving, and then brings one down to talk about it. I was pretty good about doing that for some time, but as the mass of stuff grew and I made messes due to various book projects, I was never able to recover. Now I have that concept back, albeit on an extremely modest level.

[junksave]

I was pretty good about doing that for some time, but as the mass of stuff grew and I made messes due to various book projects, I was never able to recover.

 

As if being a writer wasn't hard enough - having to manage 1000 electronic parts all at the same time - this is tough! Its a man vs. machine fight for survival. Machines usually win.

[Keatah]

I remain rather happy with my modest collection of:

1- Apple II.

2- Ti-59 calculator, TRS-80 Pocket Computers 1, 2, and 4.

3- Classic 486 DX/2-50 & Pentium III @ 1.4GHz.

4- A couple of modern rigs for contemporary computing and emulation, among other daily tasks.

 

..it's a little more than that because of accessories, media, manuals and spare parts. But none of it spills out of one room and into the next. It doesn't consume the whole damn basement, wine cellar, 2 guest rooms, part living room, or 2 garages either. And it doesn't require I rent a portion of a tiny warehouse (big storage lockers) either. Not anymore. It's also holding steady because I've got everything I need and I only accumulate a piece now and then, with focus on manuals currently. In fact there are currently only 2 pieces of Apple hardware on my list to acquire.

 

1 - 3 is my childhood stuff. Stuff I grew up with. Sentimentality doesn't extend to any modern stuff, however, because modern stuff is turned over frequently and are utility/work systems. Upgrade this, get rid of that, replace this system.. Nothing to get nostalgic over. For me, the nostalgia stops at Pentium III or Pentium M. Can't imagine me ever wanting to play around with Windows 7 or 8 or some intermediate point release of FireFox browser for fun. Not at this juncture. I'm happy to leave that to the OS preservationists or web archivers.

 

In fact I aborted plans to build-up a Pentium-Pro. Something I had interest in for a long time, but never got around to. Now it doesn't matter one iota. What would I do with it when it was done? It's just a slower Pentium II, which is a slower Pentium III. 2 legacy PC's will do me fine thankyouverymuch.

 

---

 

Today I'm much happier with a practical collection that is aesthetically pleasing and useful. It's fun to gather up all my old programs, and finish some of them. It's fun to conduct experiments to see if the old Apple Disk II can store more than 143,360 bytes - to which the answer is probably hiding in the GCR coding scheme and track stepping, or something. It's fun to replay some text adventures and the early Sirius & Br0derbund shooters. And more! With the extraneous junk out of the way the mind is free to explore and invent.

[Swami]

 

I was always a collector since childhood, since before collecting this stuff was really a thing. In terms of organization, I eventually became inspired by Robert X. Cringley and his "Triumph of the Nerds" (although it might have been the sequel) in the scene where he's in his garage and has computers on multi-level shelving, and then brings one down to talk about it. I was pretty good about doing that for some time, but as the mass of stuff grew and I made messes due to various book projects, I was never able to recover. Now I have that concept back, albeit on an extremely modest level.

I think it is harder to maintain this with computers and large peripherals, since you usually need them table-top to work well, unlike game consoles, drives and handheld peripherals that can sit at any level. You can have like sixteen consoles gathered around a couple TVs, but only maybe two or three computers. I hate to move this 35 year old stuff around much. I'm not sure how much of even the light repetetive impacts it can sustain.

[Bill Loguidice]

I think it is harder to maintain this with computers and large peripherals, since you usually need them table-top to work well, unlike game consoles, drives and handheld peripherals that can sit at any level. You can have like sixteen consoles gathered around a couple TVs, but only maybe two or three computers. I hate to move this 35 year old stuff around much. I'm not sure how much of even the light repetetive impacts it can sustain.

 

I don't like having anything plugged in unless it's actively used. Otherwise, I either want it unplugged, but ready to go, or plugged into a multi-strip outlet where I can switch the power off when I'm done using it.

 

And vintage consoles can be deceptive as well in terms of what you need to keep/store. Controllers, game boxes/cases, peripherals, etc. It adds up.

 

I'm quite happy with the way things are now.

[phoenixdownita]

Has the auction already happened?

[Bill Loguidice]

Has the auction already happened?

 

No. Most likely April or May. I'll definitely post about it once an official date is set. Thanks.