2 VICs and I want to be fair

yellow_lantern · Post by **yellow_lantern** » Sun Jan 20, 2013 9:47 pm

I bought 2 VICs and accessories for 80 dollars plus actual shipping. I got some books, 2 datasettes, a Commodore joystick, a couple of cartridges. The thing is it turns out one of the VICs is a 2 prong and the other has the same keyboard as the 2 pronger (smaller and slimmer characters on the keys) but with din plug power.

Now the VIC chip on the 2 pronger died but I figure these are worth more than I paid and I want to be fair to the guy so what would be the fair price for these as they are both in good cosmetic condition?

buzbard · Post by **buzbard** » Mon Jan 21, 2013 2:24 am

Seems to me that $80 for a VIC and accessories plus actual shipping, some books, 2 datasettes, a Commodore joystick, a couple of cartridges and a parts VIC is a pretty good deal.

yellow_lantern wrote:Now the VIC chip on the 2 pronger died but I figure these are worth more than I paid and I want to be fair to the guy so what would be the fair price for these as they are both in good cosmetic condition?

Are you kidding? They're worth more after the chips die? I don't think so.

I'm sure the person that sold it to you didn't know the chip was going to fail.
If you want to be fair, be happy with what you have, get another VIC chip off ebay or from a forum member here and fix it.

yellow_lantern · Post by **yellow_lantern** » Mon Jan 21, 2013 8:51 am

No, that's not what I'm saying. My impression has been that the original models are worth a fair bit more than the later ones and I want to give him a fair price.

buzbard · Post by **buzbard** » Mon Jan 21, 2013 9:54 am

Sorry, I'm still not clear about what you're saying.

You bought this collection, one of the VICs died, and now you want to give the guy more money?

If that's what you're saying then I'm not sure what to tell you. I've never really thought of the older VICs as being worth more than the later models.
I have about 6 VICs and only one of them has the round power connector, but I don't see it being worth any less than the others. Other people seem to place a higher value on VICs with the PET style keyboard.

I guess it all comes down to what you think is fair.

A thing is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

yellow_lantern · Post by **yellow_lantern** » Mon Jan 21, 2013 11:20 am

The pics were not very detailed and I offered him a sum for the whole lot; I didn't know they were anything other than the usual late-model VICs which is what I based my price on.

Barney · Post by **Barney** » Mon Jan 21, 2013 4:33 pm

I'm still a little confused on what he is asking. I'm going to take a stab and guess that he bought two vic-20's thinking that he was giving the guy more than enough money. Now that he received the items, he feels that he shortchanged the guy and wants give him more money.

Is this correct? In my opinion, you both made a deal and you both agreed on it so everything is kosher. If anything....you have more of a gripe than the other guy. You just bought two Vic's and one of them but the dust.

Barney

rhurst · Post by **rhurst** » Tue Jan 22, 2013 5:30 am

I might sum this up differently with my own story, which is likely the same for more than a few in this community:

Yeah, my VIC 20s are priceless (to me) too. Just a few years ago, I once paid only $5 for one, boxed, and in pristine condition from a guy that would have tossed in the trash. And, no, it's not for sale unless you can give me a compelling argument it's going to a worthy user/home. Then, I would just give it away.

Mirage1972 · Post by **Mirage1972** » Sun Feb 17, 2013 7:19 pm

To me, $80 for what you listed is more than enough. A little high even. Certainly more than I'd pay. What the heck is the problem?

ral-clan · Post by **ral-clan** » Thu Feb 21, 2013 8:46 am

I agree the original poster's messages are not very clearly written. It's hard to understand what he's trying to say.

But I think he's saying that he paid $80 for two VICs, discovered one is broken, and now is thinking about going back to the original seller to ask to reduce the price since one is broken. But now he is feeling a little guilty about doing that as he feels he already got a good deal even if one is broken. Right?

Well, yes. $80 is probably still a good price for two VICs and accessories - even if one is broken, nowadays.

It would be hard for ME to pay $80 for VIC-20. I'm still used to the 1990s when I picked up most of my VICs for $2.99 CAD to $10 CAD at thrift stores because absolutely NO-ONE (except us) wanted them back then. The retro-computing movement had barely even coalesced back then.

The last VIC-20 I picked up was curbside, on the street, waiting to be picked up by the garbage truck. That was around 2006.

But I suppose that in 2013 $80 is a fair price. Certainly some people are willing to pay that.

orion70 · Post by **orion70** » Thu Feb 21, 2013 9:53 am

If I think about my (now) big collection, most of the VIC stuff was bought in the years 1999-2004, when at least in Italy nobody thought of collecting VIC20s and the very word "retrocomputing" was unknown. A huge lot of common VIC hw and sw back then, for a few euros (well, Italian Lira until Y2K). Then, progressively less stuff, but rarer: I got more picky, and a bit (just a bit

) richer. Also, prices went up because unfortunately retrocomputers became trendy.

Mirage1972 · Post by **Mirage1972** » Thu Feb 21, 2013 5:48 pm

Probably depends on the area. I see nice once go for less than that all the time on ebay. Do I see them go for more? Sure. It's just like anything else, whatever someone is willing to pay. But I sure wouldn't go back and try to give more once a deal has been made. And if the real point was asking for a refund... well, if they worked when they were bought, and the issue occurred after that fact, oh well... it's old equipment, it doesn't last forever, it happens. No way would I ask for a partial refund. Now if the person knows one broke and offers a partial refund... cool! It happens!

Questarian · Post by **Questarian** » Wed Apr 24, 2013 9:23 pm

ral-clan wrote:... It would be hard for ME to pay $80 for VIC-20. I'm still used to the 1990s when I picked up most of my VICs for $2.99 CAD to $10 CAD at thrift stores because absolutely NO-ONE (except us) wanted them back then. The retro-computing movement had barely even coalesced back then.

Ya, There was a time in this area, pre-ebay, when I could pick up pretty much ANY of the old systems for $20 UsD or less, peripherals for $1-5... a LOT of my best goodies/oldies are flea market and yard sale finds.

While the prices have gone up, because of the numbers of Vic-20's, and particularly 64's, they're still pretty reasonable. My experience has been: A average C64/Vic-20, in working condition, is will bring at least $20-40 USD. As we like to tell our collector friends, age does not make things valuable, it just makes them old. "Value" is all about demand. I've seen some (and bought more the a few) retro stuff go for really high prices, and then seen the same things go for a 10th that a week later.

While there were fewer VIC's made, I've generally found them just as frequently as 64's and, oddly enough, typically in better shape then 64's. The impression I've gotten is, perhaps because the VIC's were fairly "early" mass market machines, that the people that had them were more likely to appreciate and take care of them. Price wise, as the bulk of people that jumped into computers in the 80's came in during the C64 era, the VIC seems to get underrated/forgotten, creating a smaller "nostalgia demand", so the prices remain (relatively) reasonable.

-John-

macc · Post by **macc** » Thu Apr 25, 2013 3:21 am

Questarian wrote:age does not make things valuable, it just makes them old.

Thats a proper quote right there!!

Denial

2 VICs and I want to be fair

2 VICs and I want to be fair

Re: 2 VICs and I want to be fair