Does Atarimax take Paypal? (A fork of the old Steve takes ages to reply)

[Mclaneinc]

Hi folks,

 

Written to Steve re his 32 in 1 OS just to see if he takes paypal and not had a reply, its not a long time since I sent the emails and we know he's not like greased lightning of the blocks so I thought I'd ask if anyone knows..

 

Its just I've got some money om paypal and transferring it back to my pay as you go card and then sending out costs me (blame the recession and me losing my house, leaving a huge bill that makes me as credit worthy as a tax fiddling MP).

 

Have always meant to get one but I've put it off for other things (normally home stuff) but fancy and install of one in my 130XE before my eyesight really goes

 

 

As per the long time before replies and age as time goes by I also am keen to know if Steve is still actually supplying orders, I don't mind a wait as long as I know if he's still in service..

 

 

Dreading the duty snatch by our tax people on it too..

 

Paul....

[Gunstar]

I'm pretty sure he does now. Once you select what you want on his page and go to pay, I do believe I used Paypal the last time I ordered from him, which was my programmer cart, only about a year ago.

[OmaOhneBH]

I asked him early 2018, if Paypal is possible, he answered he has closed his Paypal account.

[Mclaneinc]

Ah, thanks guys, if you look at the page if does not offer paypal as a payment option BUT it does say straight after to contact him about other ways to pay...Hence the message to him..

 

Sounds like I'm out of luck from Oma's message.. (thank you).......(of course a thank you to you as well Matt)

 

Just trying to save where possible here, every penny does indeed count...More so if it gets hit by UK taxes on the way in...

[Gunstar]

Well, that's a shame, unfortunately I don't like to wait for people to get back to me either, and if I have to wait for a reply from Steve for orders or payments, etc., most likely I'll find some other Atari related item some place else to buy long before he gets back to me...unless there is something specific that I have to get only from him, which is rare, usually I'm just looking for a new Atari toy to buy, and if I can't purchase instantly I generally move on and look for something else, so that means less sales for him from me!

[+Mr Robot]

So the question you should be asking is:-

 

What is the best addon I can buy for my Atari 130XE for <dosh in paypal>, I already have <addons installed>, supplier must take PayPal

 

This would make a great "What gift should I get my Atari loving friend for Christmas" thread as well

[Mclaneinc]

Mr Robot, I LIKE your thinking....

 

Thankfully I can get it on my pay as you go, its net friendly but Paypal would have been nice

 

And thanks to some nice replies I know Steve won't be able to help in the papypal route BUT I can still get it...<customs grumble...> tho...

 

As said, I don't care about Steve's reply time normally but it was a particular question that asked you to contact him and with Xmas mail looking the usual mess I'll now probably wait until after Xmas...

 

Unless of course any one has one for sale

 

Paul...

 

Happy (very early) Xmas all, seasons greetings...Xmas not your thing then just accept the seasons greetings

[Guest]

I asked him early 2018, if Paypal is possible, he answered he has closed his Paypal account.

 

there's more than one way to "skin a cat".

there is a website other than atarimax.com selling these that accepts paypal

Edited November 13, 2018 by Guest

[_The Doctor__]

https://www.8bitclassics.com/store/atarimax/

still shows paypal...

I normally don't use pay pal for normal reputable store purchases, all my credit cards have protections as do my bank cards, I don't like paying pay pal fees to send money nor do I like stores having to pay the fees either on top of the normal fees from banks or cards.

 

I only use paypal for auction sites that I have no idea who or what kind of people they are, or for friend transfers.

Edited November 14, 2018 by _The Doctor__

[mr-atari]

No....

[Mclaneinc]

Ah, that's weird Doc, I could not find a way to pay by paypal on his site before and although the eyesight is going slowly it isn't THAT bad...Weird but very appreciated..

 

Brenski mentions another place but does not name it...Bit odd.....

 

 

I just got a call 2 secs after I typed the above from the car hire company that my mother in law pays for (long story), apparently I got a parking ticket in Hammersmith for entering and not exiting a box junction....OH GREAT FLUFFY BALLS

 

Story of my life, see a little pressie and something happens to take it away...Well I can only blame myself it seems, its a busy road and I am careful (no endorsements ever but the odd parking ticket over the 30+ years of driving)...Oh well...

 

The best laid plans and all that...

 

Sorry to have troubled you guys, I appreciate the help people....Hopefully it serves asa help for others too,,

 

Paul..

Edited November 14, 2018 by Mclaneinc

[flashjazzcat]

How about Lotharek.pl. Just order an Ultimate. You know you're gonna get hammered by import duty and VAT ordering from the US, and that's on top of the shipping. I'm all for supporting Steve's business, but when the desired payment method is not supported and you have to shell out on VAT and customs fees, you might as well take advantage of the EU Customs Union while it lasts. U1MB provides multiple operating systems in a much more convenient manner and gives you RAM and a bunch of other stuff on top, and I do not find it inconceivable that you could end up paying more in total for a 32-in-1.

You'll also get a rapid response from Lotharek, and he accepts PayPal.

 

With regard to installation: on a 130XE, you'll need to desolder and socket the OS ROM in both cases. U1MB requires an MMU socket and four extra wires as opposed to the 32-in-1's three wires. If you're capable of the task common to both, you're capable of the latter.

 

If you don't like Ultimate, get a SysCheck from tf_hh. Four operating systems on a portable device you can also use for troubleshooting dead machines.

Edited November 14, 2018 by flashjazzcat

[Mclaneinc]

Jon, thank you for the good reasons to get the Ultimate...

 

I guess I saw 32 in 1 in one hit and thought, nice, the fact I'd use a small percentage of them all does not make sense I guess. I'll read up about the Ultimate again, did read about it years ago but the head in a sieve these days..

 

Sadly my newly acquired parking ticket has put plans on hold a little (can't really moan, its my fault)...

 

And yes, gord knows what will happen with customs soon...

 

Thank you kind sir...

 

Appreciated..

[Guest]

i didn't mention another place. i mentioned another site - because Steve may have removed the paypal option from atarimax.com but it still exists @ https://www.8bitclassics.com/store/

[SS]

I love the U1MB and, if I was only doing a modification on one machine, it would be my first choice. That said, I have looked at that 32-in-1 page so many times. There is just something really alluring about it. If I were to pick up yet another 800XL, I would probably get a 32-in-1 for it.

 

I also own a SYS-CHECK, by the way, and it is quite brilliant. It is also a very good choice, particularly because it is a completely external solution. I use it with my original 800XL because I want to leave that machine otherwise stock.

Edited November 14, 2018 by SS

[Gunstar]

I love the U1MB and, if I was only doing a modification on one machine, it would be my first choice. That said, I have looked at that 32-in-1 page so many times. There is just something really alluring about it. If I were to pick up yet another 800XL, I would probably get a 32-in-1 for it.

 

I also own a SYS-CHECK, by the way, and it is quite brilliant. It is also a very good choice, particularly because it is a completely external solution. I use it with my original 800XL because I want to leave that machine otherwise stock.

I've owned and loved a 32-in-1 for at least a decade now, at the time I got it, I already had a Rambo 256K memory upgrade and the U1MB, if it was even out yet, I didn't know about it, or decided that 256K I already had was enough and for me in the states, the 32-in-1 would have been the cheaper route anyway.

 

These days I still have the 32-in-1 and a 256K Rambo compatible upgrade, of course as seen below in the sig, but I to think the Sys-check is quite brillaint too, and use it most of the time for memory at least, but also more and more for the Qmeg 4.4 OS on it, which is also brilliant, far better than the V3 on my 32-in-1!

 

But my other 1200XL, the U1MB is my first choice for it, if I ever get around to it. And an U1MB is also going in an 800XL I'm restoring for a friend. he'll be getting it hopefully in time for Christmas with an SDrive Max to boot!

Edited November 14, 2018 by Gunstar

[flashjazzcat]

For UK buyers:

 

32-in-1: 63USD = 48GBP (including UK postage)

 

U1MB: 239PLN = 48GBP (excluding shipping)

 

Not sure what the U1MB shipping is to the UK, but I doubt it's equal to the 17.50GBP UK customs will potentially charge on the 32-in-1. It's what I paid on a NOS XE keyboard I bought for ~$35 in 2009.

[+Mr Robot]

I ship a lot of stuff between the UK and USA, both directions. It's cheap to send stuff to the USA and expensive to send it to the UK but in 8 years I've not been hit with a single customs charge. I sent an iPad once and paid the customs on that up front (it was ridiculously expensive but I needed the insurance). Unless you're sending high value goods you are unlikely to ever get an additional charge.

 

I send 'USA only' stuff to friends in the UK all the time, everyone is dismayed by the postage cost but no one has ever had a package stopped at customs either.

 

If you are in the USA and want to feel how the Brits feel, order something from Canada. It makes me cry every time I see the shipping cost, sometimes it's more than the value of the goods.

 

Having said that, Lotharek's shipping cost to the USA was very reasonable so I doubt it would be a factor in the buying decision for a Brit, but you might have to wait until 2020 for a delivery to arrive from Atarimax!

 

I would say that the UAV, Stereo Pokey and U1MB are the essential upgrades for an Atari user (add an Antix to that if you are in the USA)

[Guest]

The UK situation is not as straightforward as it appears for several reasons:

 

■ Gifts > £39 and goods >£15 attract VAT @15%

■ depending on the HS code of the item it may also attract import duty

■ the courier/post office will usually apply a fee of £9 just for "handling" the item - ie doing their job!!!

■ all of the above is then subject to being noticed by Border/Customs Officers - which depends upon:

the value/insurance declaration on the parcel -

my friend who works for HMRC says that where clear documents/valuations aren't attached to the package, this naturally arouses suspicion

 

so, in some instances it's possible the receiver may be charged nothing at all, but (where the correct value has been declared - either for gift or sale)

for something valued like the 32-in-1

$49.99 + $14 (shipping) = $63.99 / £51.58

the buyer is liable for :

import duty = £0.00 (HS code is excempt)

VAT = £10.32

courier handling = £9

so your £51.58 purchase just cleared the £70 barrier.

Edited November 14, 2018 by Guest

[Mclaneinc]

Yes, its a tough old choice when it comes to US to UK stuff, having been hit 3 times with stuff for my daughter I shudder every time there's a package due..

 

You did mention another place with these, care to share please..

 

I can't decide between both, the 32 in 1 sounds like you get so much but the Ultimate offers different extra's as long as alternate OS's..

[+Nezgar]

For the do-it-yourselfers out there, or if you already have some degree of upgrades already in a system, there's also Dropcheck's 4-in-1 OS PCB. Just add a single 27C512 E/EPROM, and 2 switches. (Or 2 OS's with 1 SPST switch, or 3 OS's with 1 SPDT switch)

 

Would cover the most commom stock, highspeed, and 800 compatible use cases...

 

Similar with the go4retro 2764 adapter, switch between 2, 4, or 8 ROMS in the BASIC socket too. This adapter does not fit next to the 32-in-1. I just received the dropcheck OS adapter, will find out soon how that fits alongside.

[flashjazzcat]

I can't decide between both, the 32 in 1 sounds like you get so much but the Ultimate offers different extra's as long as alternate OS's..

Without wishing to completely shit on the 32-in-1, let's be clear about what it offers: an arbitrary selection of thirty-two operating systems you can swap out via a boot menu... and that's all. Editing the selection requires pulling the PLCC flash ROM out of the device, using a well-hidden online editing tool to customise the ROM image, and the purchase and use of an AtariMax Flash cartridge or external USB EPROM programmer to commit the changes. So unless you know you're going to be happy with the existing selection or you already have the other necessary tools to hand (and access to the ROM editor or to someone who can access it for you), you need to factor in those other costs as well.

The fact the 32-in-1 has... well... thirty-two operating systems out of the box is not a significant advantage, since I do not believe even the average gamer requires instant access to more than a handful of operating system ROMs on a regular basis. Both SysCheck and U1MB's four-OS selections can be flashed in-situ if you don't like what's already on the device. It takes a matter of minutes in both cases.

As for the added value of both U1MB and SysCheck: I won't launch into an exposition about the features they offer since there are already exhaustive descriptions elsewhere on the forum, on Lotharek's site, my site, in tf_hh's product catalogue, etc. Both offer a lot of functionality beyond the single facility of the 32-in-1, but if you want to use either for nothing other than OS-switching, they do that too.

Edited November 14, 2018 by flashjazzcat

[firebottle]

Speaking of Atarimax Steve... anybody know what his turnaround time is on orders lately?

[_The Doctor__]

more fees and taxes keeping us from selling to the eu/uk world it seems, and yet we still get e-packets from china for nothing at all really....there has got to be a more fair way...

Edited November 14, 2018 by _The Doctor__

[E474]

I got a Sys-Check 2 from tf_hh and can really recommend it. It's helped me fix a couple of systems (and will be handy to have in the future if anything goes wrong), it gives me 512K memory and can be flashed for/can use 4 different OSs. It's also a plug in solution, so no soldering (which I am not that good at).