8/27/06 Sales of Note

Sales of note for August 27th, 2006:

View the CoCo Price Guide at http://coco.clubltdstudios.com/reference/pricelist.txt
The CoCo Price Guide FAQ is available at http://coco.clubltdstudios.com/reference/cocopriceguidefaq.html


Haven't done one of these lately, plus a Price Guide update, so let's have a whack.

The Complete Rainbow Guide To OS-9 level 2

A handy resource for the OS-9 or NitrOS-9 user. Also appeared to be at least Good condition, possible better. Sold for a bit less that what we've seen before. Adjusted the price down slightly.

The Offical Basic09 Tour Guide

If you love BASIC, you have to try BASIC09. One of the best BASICs I've ever used, and possible one of the best reasons (arguably) to run OS-9. :) This Tour Guide book, by the CoCo famous Dale Puckett, was sold through Radio Shack. Alas, I've never seen it, but I hear good things. This copy appeared to be in Good to Very Good condition, at least. Sold for a more than previously recorded, so I adjusted the price up a tad.

The OS-9 Guru 1-the facts

First time for this one, and a rare one it is! This is the Microware OS-9 book, apparently. Selling at US$20.50, it is now added to the Price Guide at that price. As always, be aware that data is a bit thin.

Okay, here's a good example of the difficulties in compiling a Price Guide:

Tandy Color Computer Disk Drive FD 502 Dual Drive

This dual FD-502 sold for US$29.00. Now, I haven't actually recorded a duel FD-502 yet, but the single drive version would go for about US$50.00 (roughly). This one, though, came with a flat shipping rate of US$20.00. So we know exactly how much the buyer paid: US$49.00. Considering the overall condition, that would be a respectible, if not particularly noteworthy, price for this drive. But, my policy on recording prices for the Price Guide is not to include shipping as a part of the price listed, since usually you can't tell how much the seller actually paid for the fees. Shipping, however, does play an important part of a buyer's consideration for "total price." Messes things up a bit, doesn't it?

Since I don't record shipping, I have to consider: is the shipping reasonable enough not to be a factor? In otherwords, is the shipping charged (if known) reasonable and expected? In this case, no. That drive, well packed, would ship to most places in the U.S. via Parcel Post for between US$6.00 to US$15.00. Normally, if the shipping is too high, I don't consider the item for the Price Guide, no matter how noteworthy the sale. Even with "handling" fees, this one was a bit high. On the other hand, at $49.00 total, the drive is a good deal for the buyer, and it's obvious that shipping was most likely a factor here. Do I list at US$49.00, US$29.00, somewhere in between? Not at all?

I dunno. The trick is to be as consistant as possible. Factoring in shipping and handling tends to introduce a larger margin for variation. You could say the same thing about NOT including the shipping in the Price when known. But I figure I'd post the thoughts here and see if anyone had any feedback. Should shipping be included in Price Guide prices (it is, clearly, relevent)? Should it be averaged? If so, how do you deal with it if the shipping is unknown? Just list it without and live with the inconsistancy? Factor it in by averaging known previous sales? Whew! I really have no idea. I've been debating this one in my head since the Price Guide started. Thoughts?

The prices in the Price Guide, FWIW, are usually compiled from items whose prices are as "pure" as possible. Pure meaning the shipping and handling is "normal" for the item, and can therefore be removed as a factor. Items that aren't normal, on the other hand, simply aren't considered. That's (one reason) why you'll often see a unique item sell, but it doesn't appear in the Guide. Most often it's because insufficient data about the sale was available to make a determination for the Price Guide. (Of course, sometimes I list them anyway, but I try to warn everyone through these posts when I do.)

Dorsett Courseware - Talk/tutor Programs, Tandy TRS-80

I was kind of surprised at this one. Thought a few more people would bid on it. I doubt you'll see these come up very often. Granted there's a not whole lot of cool factor for them, but at the very least I thought the hardcore collectors would be having a go at it. One did, and won. :) Dorsett did a bunch of these for the CoCo. If I remember correctly, they were like the Disney cassette tapes Tandy did, in that they loaded program bits and graphics from the tape. Then you left the Play button on and it "talked" from a prerecorded voice off the tape. Interspaced between the recorded bits where more program and graphic bits that loaded on cue. This worked pretty well, actually. We use to make music videos this way that loaded graphics from disk on a timed que while the music played on cassette player, so you got sound and graphics at the same time. Fun stuff. Anyhoo, first listing in the Price Guide and split the price for each set.

RADIO SHACK TRS-80 Model (2) COMPUTER +5 GAMES+MANUALS

This one finally sold for a whopping US$76.00! This is the one with the sweet looking paks, including a fully boxed, with instructions, Panic Button. I'll record a sighting for Panic Button, and the rest, but no price. The last time Panic Button sold was sans box for US$10.00. Still, I'm telling ya folks, the CoCo 2 is the thing. :) Oh, and another Typing Tutor sold. Get 'em while there hot! Sheesh.

TRS-80 color computer, multipak speech pad books TRS 80

Actually, I'm a little disappointed on this one. Sold at US$51.00, but most of the items in here were in collectible condition. IMHO, the seller failed to offer the shipping calculator and that had an effect. There's nothing here compelling enough to go nuts over, but it's fine lot of CoCo 2 goodness. I think it could have done better. (shrug)

Assembly Language Graphics for the TRS -80 CoCo

First time in the Price Guide for this one. Not a bad price, but considering it's rarity, I figured higher. At US$16.50, it went well, though.

Rad Warrior for Tandy Color Computer 3 coco 3

General upward price change for this pak, after a (arguable) Good copy sold for a rather large US$12.00! Who knows, maybe the timing was just right. If the history of this pak proves true, the price will adjust back down in couple of sales. But ya never know...

Koronis Rift for Tandy Color Computer 3 Disk coco

Sold for US$20.00 with box and manuals. Very nice! The seller of the previous two includes great pictures and video of the games actually running. And he seems to be getting higher than average prices for the games. Seller's take note! Adjusted the Fine price up a bit on this one, but we'll see where it goes before making any other modifications.

Temple of Rom for Radio Shack Color Computer coco

Wow! Temple of ROM going for over US$18.00? With 16 bids? Yup! This is a neat game, but not sure it's that neat. heh! Adjusted the prices up slightly for this one, but not too crazy. We'll keep an eye on it.

Like New 512K CoCo 3 with CM8 Monitor

From the CoCo Longue auctions, this loaded CoCo 3 went for US$300.00 on Buy It Now. Included duel drives, a PAL upgraded MPI, cassette, OS-9 L2, NitrOS-9, and bunch of other goodies. A good buy for a complete system!

Tandy CM-8 color RGB monitor for COCO 3

Death of the CoCo monitor? Perhaps. The mighty and rare CM-8 sells for a mere US$26.00. With S-Video and VGA connection options available now, are these vintage monitors becoming less in demand? This unit wasn't particularly collectible, but would make a good usable display. Alas, not a lot of interest. Keeping an eye on it.

Huge Lot for Tandy Radio Shack CoC0 3 color computer

Here's a nice big, fat lot of CoCo 3 goodness that went for US$66.00. Good sale, good buy. I was browsing the later issues of Rainbow the other day and it occured to me that the rarest of the rare includes plenty of CoCo 3 stuff. True, some of it can just be downloaded now, but the originals? Few and far between. Even the really rare stuff we do see tends to be for the CoCo 1/2. Where art thou CoCo 3 stuff?

Rainbow magazine (first 12 issues) RARE

First full year of The Rainbow went for US$52.00. Okay, I took a shot at pricing for the early issues of The Rainbow, but keep in mind this is a W.A.G. (Wild Ass Guess) Too rare, too few sales. Have a look and let me know if you think I'm way off, on target, or just loopy for even trying. :)


IMS MM/1 OS9/68k computer. MM-1. Not Tandy Coco 3.

Okay, another W.A.G., but I really wanted to get this one in the Price Guide. :) Maybe if the buyer ever reads this, they'll send in or post some additional information about the configuration. Anyhow, I valued it at $175.00. Again, though, this is a one time sale with no precedent, so mileage may vary significantly on future offerings. (I should come up with a way to mark these in the Price Guide, eh?)

Tandy Cassette Recorder for Color Computer II w/cable!

At US$56.00!!! This one wins the "What the?!?" award for this round. :)

General Adjustments

The price of a CoCo 3 has gone up slightly over the last few months (averaging $33.00 for a Good condition unit by itself). A slight adjust has been made to the 128K CoCo 3 listing. If the 3 continues to sell at $40.00 plus for Good units, I'll do a bigger adjustment shortly. Watch out!

Even with some unusally high priced sales, CoCo 2 prices have only averaged up slightly. A small adjustment has been made to reflect this in the CoCo 2 price listings. As predicted, the asking price for CoCo 2s has dropped a bit, so if you're in the market, it's not a bad time. :)

Angel's Luck,
Capt.