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Post by garryg on Feb 2, 2021 14:48:30 GMT -5
What is it that's drove Vectrex prices up so drastically over the past ten years? The community doesn't seem to have drastically grown, and coverage in things like youtube seems to be more-or-less constant. So if it's suddenly become so 'collectable' all of a sudden, and that's why prices are going through the roof, why? Why now, why not ten years ago. Why could I buy my Vectrex then for £40 including postage, when some people are wanting more than that for an average original game now? OK, mini-rant over, but seriously I just saw two broken Vectrex being sold for 'Spares and Repairs' one of these had a 'buy it now' of £269.00 (which was the average price of an unboxed working one not so long ago) and the other was starting bidding at £100. Apparently that one has sound but no picture, so from experience that could just be the on/off-volume switch, but it could equally be a burst tube! I really would like to know what's driving, and continuing to drive, the price up. I like programming the Vectrex, but when my one goes I can't justify spending £500 far less £1000+ on a new one. Then again when it does go I can always sell it for five to six times what I bought it for 'Spares and Repairs'  Actually I'll probably stick it in the loft, and look at it occasionally when I'm up doing something (workspace in the loft) and be sad  |
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Post by hcmffm on Feb 2, 2021 15:29:46 GMT -5
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the prices of Vectrex prices. Right, prices of original Vectrex consoles, games, and parts have risen. Two possible explanations for this: - Those people that remember the Vectrex are adults, now, and have the money to spend quite a bit on a Vectrex - Inflation What I find is more significant and noticable that prices for rare Vectrex items have risen quite a bit. 700 EUR or even 700 USD for a VecFever aren't unusual. Such prices are a real problem I think but it's the market: offer and demand.  Please note that there's a number of people around (including me) that have a heart for developers. So if your Vectrex console should ever go down and you should be hesitant to buy a new one due to the price, please let us know. |
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Post by VectorX on Feb 2, 2021 16:45:10 GMT -5
The pandemic has also been a factor, as tons more people are stuck at home more than ever and needing something to do.
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Post by garryg on Feb 2, 2021 18:14:05 GMT -5
I suppose I'm just one of those people how have an intrinsic 'value' for something, that I just won't go over.
I guess that I'm lucky that I could spend the asking price for a Vectrex now so I do have a choice. I just wouldn't pay what is now becoming the norm to ask. In my opinion it's just greed as there is no reason for them to be that high.
Already this has alienated a lot of new or younger people who would play and possibly develop for the system, but are priced out from ever being able to do so. To me this upturn in cost can only turn into a downturn in hardware and software development, eventually leading to the demise of the Vectrex community. Leaving the remaining units in the hands, or rather display cases, of the collectors.
I don't know, maybe that's too bleak a picture. I'm always interested in what others think. Do you see this happening if you are new to the Vectrex? Or do you see owning one now as an investment?
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Post by cNp on Feb 3, 2021 3:12:25 GMT -5
Prices for everything retro gaming has been going up... and slightly exponentially I would say. Whilst some of us never left the old games behind, or got back into them 10 years ago, the majority of people with nostalgia for this stuff are now reaching the point of their lives with disposable income, time on their hands as kids get older, and general mid life looking back at their youth and wanting a bit of it back. With all collectables, toys, records, whatever, the very nicest condition stuff goes up massively more than average stuff as well as it's, by definition, even rarer. I always thought the difficulty of posting a Vectrex console kept its price lower compared to the other consoles 10 or 20 years ago but that has stopped being such a factor. I would also say the community has grown a lot, especially the last 5 years... until it recently sold out, my first game, Big Blue, just kept selling, in pretty much the same numbers as my second game and that was mainly new people coming on board... that was over the last 4 years. The Facebook group is now at 4.4K members and it doesn't feel long ago when it hit 1K  Some notable gaming YouTubers have done videos on the Vectrex which has boosted its popularity too... Jack Black joined YouTube not too long back and his first video... Vectrex! |
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Post by garryg on Feb 3, 2021 8:09:12 GMT -5
Hmm, I was initially thinking of making around Ten Circus Vectrex carts, and was thinking I'd be lucky to sell those! Think id be a bit sad if I saw them on eBay for thrice the price a week later I have seen more 'big' channels on YouTube talking about the Vectrex over the last few years. In one way it's good that it's getting notoriety, but unlike the ATARI 2600 there isn't a tone of them out there. So this still looks like it's set to be an expensive console to 'collect' and own. Which is a bit of a shame. I suppose that how well the 'scene' does depends of how much of those collectors buying up the consoles are also collecting the games, including home brew games and hardware. If the sellers can sell for higher that's good for them, but still bad for anyone starting that can't afford high prices. Again leading to fewer and fewer new people getting interested in the Vectrex. So what happens when the current retro-rush fades? Do the collectors sell and we all get reasonably priced stuff again, or do they keep their collection and the Vectrex hardware market disappears? We are definitely living in interesting times, as far as the retro market is concerned. People are now equating it to the antiques market, which is rife with snobbery. So is that the retro future? |
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Post by Peer on Feb 3, 2021 11:43:10 GMT -5
... So is that the retro future? Hehe, "retro future"? Now that is a phrase I like. Kind of a contradiction in itself. Which is maybe the reason why I like it |
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Post by VECTREXER on Feb 3, 2021 14:06:18 GMT -5
How long into the future is a current game purchase considered innocent from having the term "scalping" applied to it's future sale?
Should a Ford Model T bein sold for more than $500 be considered for having the buyer named a scalper?
Should all eBay sales of Vectrex items where the price is over $30 be considered for having the buyer named a scalper? Even if the market set the price by having the item's start price listed as $0.01? Would even $15 sale price be considered as scalping?
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Post by VectorX on Feb 3, 2021 14:35:53 GMT -5
Should a Ford Model T bein sold for more than $500 be considered for having the buyer named a scalper? No way, as Model Ts have several decades more years and value to them rather than compared to a Vectrex!  Would even $15 sale price be considered as scalping? Nah, maybe $40 or more (not much further from your original thought of $30 over). |
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Post by drsnuggles on Feb 3, 2021 15:09:43 GMT -5
Just some thoughts from my side
We are hunters and collectors and that's coded into our DNA.
Does it make sense? The last ~30k years this worked quite well.
Do we like it?
<snob>If you are on top of pyramid you will like it</snob>
Looks like i'm the bottom feeder since don't even have a vectrex anymore. Gave it to my best friend decades ago. We are still best friends even if i always lose in Minestorm.
4.4k.. I'm also in that group but locked out, because i couldn't find the passport of Doctor Snuggles... Thanks FB
If it goes down...
If it still works it wont fail that quickly. GCE forgot to implement obsolescence. At least i hope for you. Good Luck!
Retro future
Things will never be the same.
Same same but different.
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Post by VECTREXER on Feb 3, 2021 16:24:42 GMT -5
I would say hunting and collecting still powers us the same, but in a different ways. To some, carts. To others the knowledge to make those carts. The quest aspect is still there to motivate and satisfy us. I chose carts as an example. But anything related to the Vectrex that has that special interest for a particular person probably has a parallel in other areas of hunting and collecting. Whether food, history, or some other activity humans enjoy. Also the emotions to go along with the input and outcomes.
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Post by kokovec on Feb 3, 2021 18:02:02 GMT -5
There will come a time when my generation will pass on and the Vectrex will become a museum curiosity.
I have emotional attachment to the machine because my father bought me one when I was younger.
My daughter will inherit it and who knows what she'll do with it.
I suspect that future collectors will be people that think the Vectrex is a cool part of history.
Although, they'll need to be in the top 1% of earners to afford one.
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Post by garryg on Feb 3, 2021 19:32:40 GMT -5
How long into the future is a current game purchase considered innocent from having the term "scalping" applied to it's future sale? To me it's not about when, it's about the starting price people are asking for, in auctions on eBay or anywhere else, now being inflated to see if they can get someone to bite at the high price. If people ask high, then people see high and the perceived value is forced up. Even though the 'knowledgeable' buyers see that price as scalping and don't buy. They may wait for a seller to offer the goods at a 'fair' price, but some others will take the inflated price, perpetuating the perceived higher value. Obviously this doesn't just apply to Vectrex stuff. I realise it isn't going to stop, that 'fair priced' item is just as, if not more, likely to be bought by someone who will immediately try to flip it for at least twice the value or more, especially on eBay. Doesn't mean I have to like it |
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Post by VectorX on Feb 3, 2021 21:23:02 GMT -5
Some notable gaming YouTubers have done videos on the Vectrex which has boosted its popularity too... Jack Black joined YouTube not too long back and his first video... Vectrex! Got a link? I can't find it. |
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Post by cNp on Feb 4, 2021 1:00:20 GMT -5
Some notable gaming YouTubers have done videos on the Vectrex which has boosted its popularity too... Jack Black joined YouTube not too long back and his first video... Vectrex! Got a link? I can't find it. |
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