Law212 wrote on 2022-01-26, 15:05:
appiah4 wrote on 2022-01-26, 06:59:
Meatball wrote on 2022-01-25, 22:55:I love these comparisions; and I see them all over the boards: […]
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I love these comparisions; and I see them all over the boards:
They go something like this:
"oh, you're crazy buying so-and-so hardware which was practically brand new, which you spent all of 2 minutes looking for; I searched 3 years and found a broken down piece of crap which I fixed up, and it's not even the same model, for only $20."
I'm glad for everyone here, including myself, who keeps a list of which items they would pay dumb money for, and which items they would not consider at all.
The point is that they can be had for much cheaper if you are patient and don't rely on overpriced marketplaces, so take that into consideration. Or if you want to you can make it look like someone is telling you how to spend your money.
This applies to retro PC games as well. If you just buy from ebay and other collectors you can expect to pay top dollar for some games , and many will shell out hundreds of dollars for a game because they think they might not get another chance at that game. As a PC game collector I have found that if you wait you can find people getting rid of PC games. TO many people these are just junk to be thrown out. I have had game lots of almost 100 games given to me free just to get it out of their house. Itall depends where you look. I look at thrift stores for hardware and have found some amazing computers and one even had a nice voodoo 2 12 MB card in it. Again there are also people just throwing it out because to them its junk.
but buying from ebay you will be paying hundreds of dollars. I like to hit up relatives, co workers and so on asking if they have old junk computers and many times they do.
I understand all of that, and I am aware of the alternatives. The time spent bugging people, looking through trash, flea markets, excessive waiting, etc. is not interesting, nor worth it to me. If I want something, I buy it. If what I want isn't available, and there isn't a sufficient substitution, and if it's not available on eBay (or Yahoo Japan to a lesser extent), this means I wait.
I just buy from eBay usually, and I don't care about the rest. I am willing to pay the convenience fee. If someone spends their time looking for stuff to sell to me on Ebay, I'll pay them for their time and the convenience of me not lifting a finger other than to answer the doorbell when the package arrives with the utmost gratitude. Same as when I pay my utilities bills. There's an extra 3% charge to pay using a credit card. I pay it. It saves me the time of stamps, checks, and so on.
Some people might also just enjoy "the hunt." I get that, also. I'll take a package of 73% ground beef or a superb filet mignon to hunting down a cow (and spending all of that time processing it) any day of the week. I know how to take down my meat, if need be, however. Fortunately, it is not necessary in this day and age. Same goes with buying items. I desire, I see, I buy, no further effort expended.
If you guys thought I was crazy spending $500 on a boxed AWE32 (This is the true price with tax, shipping, and a few missing manuals, but I had to buy a complete set of discs with those manuals), this next one will have you phoning the men in white coats to take me away:
I recently bought a boxed Japanese version of Drakan for $225.00 (with tax, shipping, and currency conversion fees) and it was missing the manual. And I have no interest in playing the Japanese version. I probably spent another $75.00 buying the manual on Yahoo Japan through an auction service, which happened to show up around the same time as the Japanese copy. I was looking for the American release, but I didn't want to pay the prices being offered (which were half of this price). But there was something about the Japanese version artwork - I just had to have this version. I waited a week to see if the price would change, but it didn't. Who knows if it will ever show up again (and what if the next one is missing the inner liner? I am sure someone here will know where to find it. I didn't bother asking anyone, and I'm OK with it.
I'm sure there are others like me (or nothing would sell on eBay), but most people seem to only want to announce their purchases if won't evoke the wrath of the "hahaha! I got the exact same card for $0.75 (insert story here)" crowd.
I have nothing against those deal finders, either. I tip my hat to you all!