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Volume 1, ISSUE 1

January 2005

Welcome everyone to the first issue of the CoCo Lounge online Magazine.

COLLECTING COCO'S AND EBAY: Some general guidelines on what is going down on Ebay. -by Glen VanDenBiggelaar

When I was a teenager, back in the '80s, I never could afford some of the real nice "toys" for our CoCo. Consequently. we just had a couple of joysticks, a tape drive and a few dozen games. By the time high school came around, I lost interest in my CoCo, because I had accomplished all that I could with Basic. Like everyone else, I had wrote many programs and games, but they never went anywhere. I almost set the house on fire a few times, because we only had one TV for the kids and the Intellivision was hooked up to it most of the time, so I had to get old TV's from yard sales and such. More than one of these shorted out and filled my room up with smoke. I was one of the first kids on my block with a computer in my room (common place now) but back then it was very rare.
Now flash forward 20 years later, thanks to Ebay, I can get all the "toys" that made the CoCo cool (for a relative decent price). Remember, a lot of the stuff was only available through mail order, or in the US. Up here in Canada, we had not much.

I have been on Ebay everyday for the last few years, watching the auctions. I have notice a lot of trends. Here are my best tips:

TIPS FOR BUYERS :

Collecting CoCo's themselves on Ebay is an art form.

1. Don't just scan the TRS 80 listings
   ( Home > All Categories > Computers & Networking > Vintage Computing Products > TRS 80
   Many non-computer people will list them elsewhere, because they don't know that that category exits. Do a general search for "TANDY" but exclude words like "Jessica","Leather" and "Leather craft". I have seen BRAND NEW floppy drives still sealed in the box, go for $20.
2. Before Bidding, do a search of Completed AUCTIONS for that product for the average price.
   I have watched these so called "RARE" Items go for way more than what the auction listing 2 spaces down goes for. For Example: A Color Computer 2 is a very COMMON machine, and if you pay more than $9.99 US for 1 in box with all the books and hook ups, you have paid WAY too much. I have picked up a few with bonus items for a little as 99 cents (it the shipping to Canada that kills you).
3. When buying a CoCo 2 ALWAYS ask for the model number.
   Tandy made over 10 different models of the CoCo 2, some only had 16K. You might want one with 64K and you will get them for the same price.
4. Look for auctions that have the computer and ACCESORIES.
   You may want a Multi-Pak, but Multi-Paks (that will ship to Canada) , will go for over $35. Look for an auction with a CoCo and accessories. I found an auction with 2 CoCo's,13 Joysticks and a Multi-Pack for $31 and at the time most Multi-Paks were over $50. You might end up with a lot of extra stuff, but you can always turn around and make the money back, by selling it again.
5. Look at other TRS-80 Computers,
   I am hunting for a Tandy RGB Monitor to complete my collection, Monitors themselves are hard to find alone, but look for a Tandy 1000 HX or such with a RGB monitor. I have seen these go for as little as $15 US. Keep the monitor and resell the computer.
6. Do NOT pay over $30 US for a CoCo 3.
   I laugh every day I see a CoCo 3 Auction, Most go for between $35-$50. You can go to cloud9 and by a used one (That has been refurbished, and you know it will work) for $30. You can Buy a new one for $70 (NOS). With Cloud9's reputation of excellent's, its a no brainer.

TIPS FOR SELLERS:

1. Don't Just List as TRS 80 .
   I have seen so many sellers do this, it makes me nuts. Tell us what TRS 80 this device goes to. What kind of TRS 80 computer this is, or what TRS 80 computer this game is for. Just the other day, I had to correct a seller who's description (and Header) said TRS-80 Portable Computer -see photo. The photo was of a CoCo1 in the box. I e-mailed him and asked if that was correct photo and asked him to updated description.
2. State the model number.
   EVEN if you know nothing about the device, chances are someone does and there is a web site that lists the model numbers and descriptions. Co Co 2 Auctions are notorious for this.
3. State in the auction you will ship to Canada or worldwide.
   Most Auctions will go for a much higher price if you ship to Canada, because we didn't get the products that Tandy released in the States. What might be common items at yard sales for you in the States, could be ultra-rare in Canada. Remember, we are paying for the extra shipping, so it doesn't cost you the seller any more.
4. Offer other forms of Shipping, besides UPS.
   UPS CHARGES A "BOARDER FEE" (legalized extortion) for us Canadian's. It ends up usually double what we would pay at the US Post office. A lot of bidders will not even look at an auction that states UPS as shipping. The seller never sees these "FEES" because it hits us COD, and we can't get the shipment until those fees are paid.
5. Not all people have a Credit Card.
   PayPal is great, but if you don't have a credit card, it can take up to a week for them to take the money out of our bank account. Accept Postal Money Orders- Any bank in the US will take Postal Money Orders and should not charge you to cash them.

Common Prices

Rare Items (prices jump all over)

RS 232 Paks
OS 9 Software and Books
NON Basic Books
Mice (both 1 and 2 button)
Floppy Software
X-Pads
Tandy RGB Monitors (Separate)

Remember, Now is the best time to start collecting your CoCo's. With Cloud 9's Super Board nearing completion, over the next year the prices will just keep going up. According to the chat on the new's groups, you couldn't give multi-paks away a few years ago. I guess its people like me who are "re-discovering" the fun from their youth that is driving the price up.

Next month I plan to do an Interview with Mark Marlette and Boisy Pitre of Cloud9, If all 3 of us can get the time together.

(c) 2007 QuarkX.

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