Atari 800XL - One owner since new

[Ashley83]

2 hours ago, Beeblebrox said:

@Ashley83

TBH I'd just clean it up as best you can. It sounds like you could waste a lot of money customising it and may or may not sell it. Custom spray painting would cost a lot I'd imagine. You could end up out of pocket. This is old retro tech so as far as I am aware there are no custom shells to buy. (I've not come across any).  I do apprecaite it sounds like you are trying to maximise a profit selling it which is fair enough. I'd just get it working, clean up the case as best you can, and sell it as is. 

That's just my opinion of couse. 

You can buy clear cases for the 800XL so you can see all the internal circuit boarding. I know I guy who does custom spray painting of consoles for about £200. It wasn't just about making a profit. If I modded the case, I might keep it for a while before selling it. Just wanted to know if people are interested in these 8bit systems if they are custom and not stock. Like for instance classic cars that have original stock materials often more sort after than stuff thats been modernised and pimped up. I'm not a money grub. I just like to sell things decent and give them long a life as possible. I mean we all consume way to many resources as it is, so reusing things can only be a positive. 

[Beeblebrox]

6 hours ago, Ashley83 said:

You can buy clear cases for the 800XL so you can see all the internal circuit boarding. I know I guy who does custom spray painting of consoles for about £200. It wasn't just about making a profit. If I modded the case, I might keep it for a while before selling it. Just wanted to know if people are interested in these 8bit systems if they are custom and not stock. Like for instance classic cars that have original stock materials often more sort after than stuff thats been modernised and pimped up. I'm not a money grub. I just like to sell things decent and give them long a life as possible. I mean we all consume way to many resources as it is, so reusing things can only be a positive. 

@Ashley83  Ah cool -  Fair point. I've not seen the clear cases before. Absolutely agree re resources. I've savaged a good few Atari's this year that were either dead or not functioning correctly.  Plus my other interest is woodworking, (built my own hobbit shed/workshop complete with round door with reclaimed pallet wood a few years back. I also work for an environmental project. ). Good luck and would love to see what you do with it.

Edited October 6, 2021 by Beeblebrox

[Sugarland]

7 hours ago, Ashley83 said:

Just wanted to know if people are interested in these 8bit systems if they are custom and not stock.

 

It's both. Presently there's still a lot of A8 systems out in the wild and there's no shortage. Prices have gone up in the past few years, however.  IMO if the work is of good quality and not a hack job, the mods can add value. However case mods are often not necessary.  For example people were recently drilling holes in their cases for Sophia 2 installs when it was later discovered that a longer internal cable routed to the PBI port with a custom 3d printed DVI port in the PBI bay was usually the better way to go. That method does inhibit PBI usage but a workaround can be made for that as well (a dual PBI/DVI expander, theoretically).  

 

Recently Amiga 500's have benefited from a new HDMI port by using Pi Zero's and people are taking extra precautions to not drill the A500 case since that's a permanent decision to original hardware.  See here.

 

My advice is to avoid irreversibly modifying hardware.  A UAV-D can be removed cleanly with no trace.  Other mods can not.   Ask yourself "Is this mod really needed or necessary?"

 

 

[_The Doctor__]

The clear cases turned out to be terrible... don't do it. There's a couple of threads explaining what happens with them over time. skip them

[Ashley83]

On 10/7/2021 at 2:53 AM, _The Doctor__ said:

The clear cases turned out to be terrible... don't do it. There's a couple of threads explaining what happens with them over time. skip them

Haha, thanks for the heads up

 

[Ashley83]

Just a quick update on this.

 

I got the USB power supply from Atari Giant, works great. 

 

I also managed to figure out the sound issue. It was just that the component connections (yellow, red and white) weren't going to be correct on this connector i brought from amazon. There was also a black component on it, and if you put this black pin in instead of the white pin the sound works perfectly on the tv and with the scart adapter. So happy days!

 

So i've now tested it and everything still works perfectly, which I'm pretty amazed by given it's been stored away for so many years.

 

Thanks everyone for the advise. It's for sale as it is, at a fair price if anyone interested. 

[Ashley83]

Here's some updated pictures.......

 

It's on Gumtree if anyone wants to make me a fair offer.

 

https://www.gumtree.com/p/atari/atari-800xl-tested-fully-working-one-owner-since-new/1416310272

 

[Beeblebrox]

@Ashley83

Good luck with the sale. IMHO I tried for years to sell many things on Gumtree and spent a huge amount of time dealing with time wasters. Now I am selling on Ebay with its huge audience/reach and wished I switched years ago. ?

[Ashley83]

On 10/16/2021 at 10:34 PM, Beeblebrox said:

@Ashley83

Good luck with the sale. IMHO I tried for years to sell many things on Gumtree and spent a huge amount of time dealing with time wasters. Now I am selling on Ebay with its huge audience/reach and wished I switched years ago. ?

I did sell on Ebay for years. They've just peed me off so many times over recent years I'm done with them. Not giving them 13% when they don't look after sellers anymore. They only care about buyers interests. 

[Ashley83]

Selling for £99 if anyone interested. I think thats a great price. 

[Beeblebrox]

11 minutes ago, Ashley83 said:

I did sell on Ebay for years. They've just peed me off so many times over recent years I'm done with them. Not giving them 13% when they don't look after sellers anymore. They only care about buyers interests. 

@Ashley83  I agree re fees and such. The difference for me with something like gumtree is the amount of time wasters and haggling. Plus I've tried selling on amazon as well and the potential audience on ebay sees me selling things constantly as opposed to weeks at a time. Plus the ebay payouts are regular and quick. ? I tend to factor the fees into my asking price and rarely lose out. Good luck with the sale. Have u posted it on AAs trading board?

Edited October 20, 2021 by Beeblebrox

[Mclaneinc]

Not sold anything on ebay for a year plus, just too much fee's, as for Gumtree, yes totally agreed, full of time wasters for the most part and goods definitely not as described many times. Went to pick up a chest of drawers for my daughter, got there, and it was falling to pieces when I saw it, the lady then was annoyed that I would not buy it.. I'm the one already out of pocket for driving all the way for nothing.

[Beeblebrox]

15 minutes ago, Mclaneinc said:

Not sold anything on ebay for a year plus, just too much fee's, as for Gumtree, yes totally agreed, full of time wasters for the most part and goods definitely not as described many times. Went to pick up a chest of drawers for my daughter, got there, and it was falling to pieces when I saw it, the lady then was annoyed that I would not buy it.. I'm the one already out of pocket for driving all the way for nothing.

@Mclaneinc  Arrgghh re Gumtree... what's with some people?! Clueless.

 

I lost track of the times people said they would come to pick something up over the 8 years I was on Gumtree and never turned up. Once had a guy who I'd been in comms with and who had agreed to buy something not bother to turn up on the day. I recall I waited all morning having changed my plans. When I asked him what happened he just said "he'd changed his mind". I was utterly speechless that he'd not had the courtesy to just let me know! The air was blue that day I can tell ya! 

 

Worse thing that happened to me selling on classifieds like Gumtree was a guy turned up once to buy something off me when I was living in a basement flat and had a mate with him who looked "well dodgy". 3 days later during the daytime me and my flatmate we burgled. I'm pretty sure it was no coincidence and they'd cased the joint. No proof though at the time and police couldn't do much.

 

Anyhoo, I'll get off my soap box - I am sure Gumtree works for some. Ebay, though expensive, has an absolutley hugh audience/scope and regular payouts, a secure payments system and the ebay money back guarantee -  so I am happy enough. Amazon marketplace pails in comparrison and you are so restricted on what you can sell.

 

BTW - I don't work for Ebay heh heh!

 

 

Edited October 22, 2021 by Beeblebrox

[Mclaneinc]

Sorry to hear about the flat, I suspect you were right about the pair, just exposes the risks of practices like that and Craigslist, the numbers of folks mugged in the USA..

 

As always, safe costs more.. We just have to accept that there's a hardcore of folk who inhabit these places looking to rob you blind, at least with the ebay ratings system you have a clue of what the person is like.

[Beeblebrox]

13 minutes ago, Mclaneinc said:

Sorry to hear about the flat, I suspect you were right about the pair, just exposes the risks of practices like that and Craigslist, the numbers of folks mugged in the USA..

 

As always, safe costs more.. We just have to accept that there's a hardcore of folk who inhabit these places looking to rob you blind, at least with the ebay ratings system you have a clue of what the person is like.

@Mclaneinc  thanks. It was a loooong time ago. I think at the time my room was an utter dump with piles of half built PC hardware, cables and wires (as I was heavily into PCs at the time) - they must have taken a look at it and thought the place had already been burgled heh heh because my flat mate lost a lot of stuff that day! (That'll teach him to be tidy!  )

 

Ah yes - the Ebay feedback rating do help. 

 

Far safer these days to seal yourself away in a bunker surrounded by all things Atari!  (I'm sure my other half probably wouldn't agree  )

Edited October 22, 2021 by Beeblebrox

[Mclaneinc]

Partners don't always appreciate the finer stuff in life

 

My wife is OK about it..

[Ashley83]

7 hours ago, Beeblebrox said:

@Mclaneinc  Arrgghh re Gumtree... what's with some people?! Clueless.

 

I lost track of the times people said they would come to pick something up over the 8 years I was on Gumtree and never turned up. Once had a guy who I'd been in comms with and who had agreed to buy something not bother to turn up on the day. I recall I waited all morning having changed my plans. When I asked him what happened he just said "he'd changed his mind". I was utterly speechless that he'd not had the courtesy to just let me know! The air was blue that day I can tell ya! 

 

 

 

Yes, you do get lot of time wasters on Gumtree and Facebook. Ebay you will get the best price most of the time. They've just peed me off, so I begrudge making them money now lol. They can do one. 

[+Steve Jones]

I just saw this thread, I assume you sold this by now?

 

 

[+x=usr(1536)]

Oh, Internet!

Edited February 10, 2022 by x=usr(1536)
Using computar is hard