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Culling the (Atari 8-bit) Herd (on Ebay)


phc_joe

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Hi; I have been a die-hard Atari 8-bit user since buying the snazzy new 130XE when it was first released and gradually acquired a motley collection of hardware. The past 30-40 years have taken me into various new responsibilities and interests and I look at this pile of stuff (along with a bunch of other piles of stuff) and say to myself "I'm not likely to use many of these things anymore, time to get them to someone who needs and wants them". Unfortunately I have forgotten how to use a whole bunch of these things and will have to re-learn a bit in order to test them/get them ready to auction.

 

So, over the next few weeks I will be putting some or all of the following out on Ebay (Ebay name: "Kibbywibbles" (the kitten we had when we started selling stuff there, who passed away about 5 years ago at the age of about 15))

 

(Already sold) 65XE with horrid case and keyboard with many dead keys (Sorry: This one is already sold).

 

*Currently listed as of 1/10/2022*

130XE with a ROM board/switch that can switch/boot between 3 different chips (This is currently listed/available, however it does not boot past the dreaded green screen) 

 

I may sell all of the following: but will do so strategically so I can test everything before listing it/actually selling it to anyone.

 

Not yet listed:

130XE with 320 RAM upgrade/CSS Multiplexer OS (in good working order)/Will probably include some extra ePROMS of unknown pedigree as they can easily be swapped into the ROM socket.

CSS Black Box with Floppy Board (Bob Puff was my main go-to guy back in the day!)

SpartaDOS X Cartridge

R-time-8 cartridge (I managed to put a new battery in it and it still works!)

800XL standard/good working order

1050 disk drive

XF551 disk drives (2)

Hard drive with various Sparta/MyDOS boot partitions and utilities.

Various game cartridges and 8-bit software mostly on 5.25 disks.

Some old Atari books that I never had time to read/do anything with.

 

If you are looking for any old programs public domain or otherwise, message me and I will see if I have them.

 

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just remember that ebay will eat 40 percent of whatever you sell, they get you coming and going... most people are better off not having to deal with it, also the buyer then has to pay taxes as well...

also understand ebay will inflate the value of whatever you use their look up tool on, they want more of that 40% goodness.

Edited by _The Doctor__
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See? I've forgotten so much I lost track of the fact that there is this community of dedicated 8-bit Atarians still out there. I know Ebay takes a chunk (not sure it's 40%) but they also make the items visible to a very wide audience (and sometimes some serious high rollers).

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21 minutes ago, _The Doctor__ said:

just remember that ebay will eat 40 percent of whatever you sell, they get you coming and going... most people are better off not having to deal with it, also the buyer then has to pay taxes as well...

also understand ebay will inflate the value of whatever you use their look up tool on, they want more of that 40% goodness.

eBay only charges a 12.55% final value fee in most categories, and this includes payment processing that you previously needed to pay PayPal about 3% for.  Not anywhere near the 40% you stated.  Here is a page detailing eBay's selling fees:

 

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/frais-pour-les-vendeurs-particuliers?id=4822

 

And there are no more listing fees unless you're listing over 250 items a month (and you get more free listings if you have an eBay Store).

 

 ..Al

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You pay for pictures you pay for listing you pay for d*mn near everything in setting it up, you pay for each option, you pay fee after fee, you also pay the final value fee. Don't forget he ebay shipping system. You don't get the money right away anymore.

Full disclosure I don't have any stock in ebay or any of it's shipping systems and it's subsidiaries. Ebay is terrible and I won't use it or buy from there anymore. A great number of people won't. I'd rather do things the old fashioned way, direct, or in person.

 

And yes it can be as much as almost 40 percent when you tally it all up from beginning to end with all the bells and whistles.

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2 minutes ago, _The Doctor__ said:

You pay for pictures you pay for listing you pay for d*mn near everything in setting it up, you pay for each option, you pay fee after fee, you also pay the final value fee. Don't forget he ebay shipping system. You don't get the money right away anymore.

Full disclosure I don't have any stock in ebay or any of it's shipping systems and it's subsidiaries. Ebay is terrible and I won't use it or buy from there anymore. A great number of people won't. I'd rather do things the old fashioned way, direct, or in person.

 

And yes it can be as much as almost 40 percent when you tally it all up from beginning to end with all the bells and whistles.

Yeah, this is not true at all.  You can have up to 12 photos for free in your listings, which is more than enough for most auctions.  And you don't need any of the optional stuff to sell, I don't use any of those options with my listings, all I pay is the final value fee for every item, that's it, so only 12.55%.  The optional fees are on the page I linked above. And they are generally fixed value fees (like $2.00 for a bold title), so even if you were to load up on all the various options, the percentage it eats into the sale price will vary greatly depending on how much the item sells for.  Obviously not worth it for low-priced items, but if you're selling items for hundreds or thousands of dollars, these fees would be a small percentage of the final value.

 

 ..Al

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I guess you really love ebay,

you don't need any of the stuff to sell, blah blah... sure that's true but that doesn't seem to work for most. You have to know what you're doing not everyone is a veteran ebay seller that knows all the tricks/ in and outs of ebay.

are you grand fathered in or something al?

 

I won't buy from ebay, others won't as well. I have seen how much they've taken from folks who don't know any better... glad your the special one who only pays 12.5 percent final value fee and don't seem to pay any other fees, it must be a small club.

 

buyer pays shipping and tax... got it.

Edited by _The Doctor__
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27 minutes ago, phc_joe said:

See? I've forgotten so much I lost track of the fact that there is this community of dedicated 8-bit Atarians still out there. I know Ebay takes a chunk (not sure it's 40%) but they also make the items visible to a very wide audience (and sometimes some serious high rollers).

I recently sold a 1050 drive on ebay and by the time it was over, they got 45% of what I cleared... never again.

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And that is why I drive across state lines, rent a room, and buy directly from people!

In the end they get more, I get more, and ebay gets nothing. Uncle Sam's cousin doesn't need to get taxes on this stuff for the umpteenth time either.

Edited by _The Doctor__
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1 minute ago, _The Doctor__ said:

I guess you really love ebay,

No, I don't love eBay, it's just another tool to sell, and it has an enormous number of people using it.

1 minute ago, _The Doctor__ said:

you don't need any of the stuff to sell, blah blah... sure that's true but that doesn't seem to work for most. You have to know what you're doing not everyone is a veteran ebay seller that knows all the tricks/ in and outs of ebay.

Bullocks, it's rare for me to see any of these options being used on auctions, most people are not using anything special.  You don't have to know what you're doing to sell on eBay, it's not that hard.  And you certainly don't need to know what you're doing to avoid all the extra fees, they are spelled out pretty clearly.

1 minute ago, _The Doctor__ said:

are you grand fathered in or something al?

Nope, I'm paying the same fees as everyone else, nobody is being "grandfathered in". 

1 minute ago, _The Doctor__ said:

I won't buy from ebay, others won't as well. I have seen how much they've taken from folks who don't know any better... glad your the special one who only pays 12 percent total, it must be a small club.

Good for you!  I won't have to compete with you on eBay, then.  I like how you are privy to eBay's internal data and know how many people are paying for optional features. You obviously have a strong bias against eBay that's clouding your judgement. 

1 minute ago, _The Doctor__ said:

buyer pays shipping and tax... got it.

I'm not even sure what you mean by this, yeah, you pay for shipping and tax pretty much everywhere you buy something online these days, and this includes eBay (and Etsy, and any other such sites).  This isn't unique to eBay at all.  And not all sellers charge for shipping on eBay, and I'm one of them (except for some items). 

 

Please stop responding to this thread since you took it off topic with your eBay rant.  Unless you want to comment on the items phc_joe will be listing soon. 

 

Thank you,

 

 ..Al

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3 minutes ago, _The Doctor__ said:

And that is why I drive across state lines, rent a room, and buy directly from people!

LOL, good for you, I'm sure that saves you a lot of time and money.

3 minutes ago, _The Doctor__ said:

In the end they get more, I get more, and ebay gets nothing. Uncle Sam's cousin doesn't need to get taxes on this stuff for the umpteenth time either.

Please, just stop responding.

 

 ..Al

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3 minutes ago, _The Doctor__ said:

You didn't like what I said, but it's the truth. And I only responded to you after I let the guy know some things. He already sells on ebay so I am sure he has some idea

I didn't like what you said as it's ridiculous.  Yeah, you let the "guy know some things", basically that you hate eBay, we get it.

 

Do you insert yourself into every thread where someone lists items on eBay?  Kicking you out of this thread, most people are not paying anywhere nearly 40%, nobody would sell on eBay if that were the case.  Yeah, the guy already sells on eBay and continues to do so, so you're not helping your argument at all. 

 

 ..Al

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32 minutes ago, Albert said:

I'm genuinely curious how how you managed to only net 55% from a sale on eBay.

 

I could be mistaken.  I sold the drive for $26 and ebay sent me $17 which would be 65% to me but then I am pretty sure I paid $5 to list the item up front so that's where I got the 45%

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19 minutes ago, bf2k+ said:

I could be mistaken.  I sold the drive for $26 and ebay sent me $17 which would be 65% to me but then I am pretty sure I paid $5 to list the item up front so that's where I got the 45%

I'd be curious in the breakdown of fees, I have to assume most of this was optional stuff.  Not a big deal, but I was just trying to make the point that most people aren't paying 40% in fees.  No way in hell I would sell anything at all on eBay if I was paying anything near that.  I looked through my history for 2021 and I paid 11.9% total in fees for the entire year.  Which isn't bad, really.  This does include a 10% "Top Rated Seller" discount, and I don't buy any optional listing features, just not worth it in my opinion, especially for lower-priced items (which all of mine are, everything is under $100, and most much less than that). 

 

 ..Al

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4 hours ago, _The Doctor__ said:

And that is why I drive across state lines, rent a room, and buy directly from people!

That's what I did when I bought a former User Group collection about 10 years ago, though it was the next province over since I'm in Canada.

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8 hours ago, Albert said:

I'd be curious in the breakdown of fees, I have to assume most of this was optional stuff.  Not a big deal, but I was just trying to make the point that most people aren't paying 40% in fees.  No way in hell I would sell anything at all on eBay if I was paying anything near that.  I looked through my history for 2021 and I paid 11.9% total in fees for the entire year.  Which isn't bad, really.  This does include a 10% "Top Rated Seller" discount, and I don't buy any optional listing features, just not worth it in my opinion, especially for lower-priced items (which all of mine are, everything is under $100, and most much less than that). 

 

 ..Al

There was not a single optional listing fee.  I only posted 4 pics.  However when it didn't sell the first time and I relisted, they automatically check 1 or 2 of the optional fees and if you don't pay close attention to that, they get you there.  Fortunately I noticed and unchecked things like "allow buyer to make an offer" (they really like that one and push it.  It was checked every time I tried doing any kind of edits to the listing and I always had to double-check it and un-check it.)

 

The last time I sold something on ebay (before last month) was 2008 when the listing fee was $1.  Things have changed there a lot.  I do think they decided I was a new user even though I have a 100% feedback rating and 222 feedbacks. 

 

I still  have 6 working 1050s and 3 or 4 CPUs to sell here but I don't want to use ebay again. 

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9 hours ago, Sugarland said:

Thanks for the link to the store.  $150 as an opening bid for a non-working and heavily yellowed and used 130XE with upgraded 3way OS Omnimon switcher...

Yep I think is too much.  But at the same time, I have been waiting for a 65XE aor 130XE for a long time in eBay and the prices and condition are not better than this. 

Finally, I decided to get a new 130XE PAL with defective GTIA from myatari (B&C Computer  I guess) dealing directly with Bruce and I received a perfect beauty for less than $200... 180 I guess including shipping.

I am super happy with it, I had a Sophia 2 which I installed and connected to a monitor via DVI. So eBay is just another option.

I really recommend starting with a low opening bid to generate some interest, and then let the "market" decide the price. To get a fair price tag for everyone you have to think when the auction will finish so it does not finish at 4AM.

 

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13 hours ago, phc_joe said:

See? I've forgotten so much I lost track of the fact that there is this community of dedicated 8-bit Atarians still out there. I know Ebay takes a chunk (not sure it's 40%) but they also make the items visible to a very wide audience (and sometimes some serious high rollers).

You have to watch the fees, but also, in the U.S., Uncle SAM has decided that if you receive more than $600 a year via PayPal/etc that you'll receive a 1099K and pay income tax on that money (all of it, not just your gain/loss (unless you have good records to prove it)).  So, via eBay, eBay's going to take their chunk, use PayPal, they'll take their chunk, and finally, the Feds are standing in line to take a nice chunk too. 

 

It is only a matter of time before the govt tracks every transfer of money.  With this change for 2022 tax year and beyond we've gotten much closer.

 

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