What's going on with Spectrum Prices?

[Sparky]

Has anyone checked ebay recently? It looks like the +3 is unattainable (to me at least), and even Spectrum/Spectrum+ prices have risen. There were millions made, there can't be a shortage?

[TMD2003]

Crikey o'blimey. I wonder if my slightly-broken +3 is worth more than a tenner?

EDIT: HOW much? Look at the state of it! You have got to be having a Turkish, me old mucker!

[Sparky]

350? Out of this world.

[Pegaz]

Unfortunately, it’s not just Spectrum.
All retro hardware/software prices have gone insanely high.
If we add to that the rising of postage cost, things get even worse.
Six years ago, I paid +3 about 40 pounds, fully working like new, I just needed to replace the drive belt.
Today I can only dream about it, especially shopping from the UK will be even more difficult for overseas buyers, after Brexit.

[Sparky]

It makes sense for something like the Camputers Lynx, but for a Speccy that was mass produced??

[+3code]

It makes sense for something like the Camputers Lynx, but for a Speccy that was mass produced??

Yeah, I agree. For some things as an Atari Jaguar or so, OK, but well we live crazy times...

[MrClump]

Basic supply and demand. I would imagine with everything going on right now, spending so much time at home and the world being so messed up many people are probably harking for easier, simpler times. Many have also suddenly found themselves with loads of free time and not much less dosh (furlough). I know that I personally have found some comfort in fiddling around with computers in a way that I have not done for quite some time.

But of course the supply is pretty much finite, other than a few edge case clones there ain’t going to be any more Speccies available. Unless people repair busted ones, and the price of those is skyrocketing too...

It’s not just Spectrums. At the start of lockdown I bought an Amiga 1200 on eBay, I paid way too much even then. Now, I would say that 1200s very similar to mine are going for around 25-30% more than I paid.

[1024MAK]

You also have to take into account that over the last five or six or so years, the price of a lot of classic home computers from the 1980s and 1990s has been going up anyway. Likely due to various internet / media / TV programmes mentioning them a lot more than previously and reminding fifty (or thereabouts) somethings about their past. Then then finding these machines on eBay...

And the supply varies depending on how and when they do loft clearances or similar. So at the moment, I suspect the supply has failed at the very same time that demand has risen.

Mark

[MrClump]

reminding fifty (or thereabouts) somethings about their past. Then then finding these machines on eBay...
Mark

Are you saying all my Spectrums are my mid-life crisis? I thought that was the car in the garage!

[Sparky]

reminding fifty (or thereabouts) somethings about their past. Then then finding these machines on eBay...
Mark

Are you saying all my Spectrums are my mid-life crisis? I thought that was the car in the garage!

And I thought it was my Harley in the garage...

[zx64]

Why demand for retro computers is increasing:
- nostalgia or mid-life crisis for people who had computers in 80s
- modern computers / OS are sh*t.

[toot_toot]

A big part will be the basics of supply and demand.

As it's been pointed out, the biggest issue is that people just aren't selling stuff at the moment on eBay and the like. I have a number of saved searches on eBay and most are not being triggered, when "before covid" they would trigger results 2-3 times a week. It's too much of a pain to ship things at the moment, so people just can't be bothered.

The other thing hitting supply is that Spectrums are getting old, so naturally some are going to stop working and the ones that do work, people are keeping a hold of them with no plans of selling. How many people on here own several Spectrums and are never going to sell them? Those are all Spectrums that could be in the hands of other people!

[Ast A. Moore]

- modern computers / OS are sh*t.

I second that.

[llewelyn]

I agree with Ast.A.Moore, each new iteration of the basic PC seems to become further and further removed from actual usefulness. I don't want or like the 'cloud' notion, we're gradually going to lose the ability to have complete control over our own machines, or so it would seem to me.

I don't want or like touch screen either, I'm no Luddite but the way PC's are going my old DOS machine is starting to look like an attractive option despite what I lose in its limitations which mainly don't matter all that much anyway since I can always fall back on the laptop for video/audio apps when required.

I find that I'm turning to FUSE more and more these days, being in the US I can't have a Speccy anyway though I wish I'd kept my TS2068, I really miss that great mostly unappreciated little machine which, to my way of thinking, could have been developed until it was almost what the Next offers.

Thank heavens I ordered the Next2!

[Sparky]

I don't buy the supply and demand theory in this case.
There is obviously a *lot* of speccys out there, but collectors and not users have given the opportunity for sellers to raise the prices. This is an inflated market due to collectors battling each other for the machines. Once it balances again, I think we will see a reduction in prices.

[MrClump]

I don't buy the supply and demand theory in this case.
There is obviously a *lot* of speccys out there, but collectors and not users have given the opportunity for sellers to raise the prices. This is an inflated market due to collectors battling each other for the machines. Once it balances again, I think we will see a reduction in prices.

You just described precisely why supply and demand causes prices to rise.

[Sparky]

I guess I did.

[akeley]

I've seen these kinda threads on all retro forums recently, but am not sure there actually is anything special going on. I mean, yeah, there is a lot of ker-razy BIN prices, but is anybody actually buying them? That might be somewhow related to Covid, but apart form that I 'd have to see what the auctions are ending in, because that's the real indicator of market value.

And retro gear prices rise naturally - there is nothing surprising about that, for many reasons which have already been mentioned in this thread. I can't really fathom why people still expect to pay 10 quid for a boxed ZX, like it's 2001 in Bricklane or some such

- modern computers / OS are sh*t.

[Guesser]

modern computers / OS are sh*t.

Modern computers are sh*t. We only use them because they're so much better than old ones.

[DouglasReynholm]

people still expect to pay 10 quid for a boxed ZX, like it's 2001 in Bricklane or some such

That's funny, because my parents were in Brick Lane a lot in the 80's (they had a haberdashery shop, and the area was big at the time for wholesale, not so much now), and I definitely remember buying a copy of Tranz Am one day there around '84, for £1.50. Only later did I realise it may not have been legit..

[akeley]

I was just looking at BBC Micro on ebay, what with the "haven't bought any 8 bit stuff in a long time" itch, and spotted one for 200GBP which sounds sort of reasonable (given that other 2 are listed for +500GBP, lol).

Then I looked at other charges. 30GBP for shipping to Poland, hmm, I could swallow that I guess....but 50 GBP "import charges"? Jesus wept. WTFITS? VAT or something?

[1024MAK]

Err, BREXIT...
As the U.K. is no longer part of the E.U., VAT is charged in both directions (import/export) plus there are handling fees to be paid to the company that charges you VAT. All this on top of shipping/transport costs (which also is subject to VAT in most countries).

This along with the restrictions due to the west making a complex hash of handling COVID-19 Corona virus, is making it a nightmare for small companies and individuals trying to send items to/from the U.K.

If you are buying from a U.K. VAT registered company, you could try asking them to sell it to you without including U.K. VAT.
If it’s from an individual, that won’t help.

Mark

[Sparky]

I mean for prices of retro computers.
These last 2 years, the prices have been exploding. I earlier thought it had to do with people reaching a certain age with more money to spend and wanting to relive their youth, but I wonder If the Pandemic and the constant in doors thing isn't to blame on top of everything else?

[PeterJ]

Maybe, this needs merging with this thread:

viewtopic.php?f=24&t=4016&start=20

Any objections?

[PROSM]

It's mostly to do with the former, I would imagine. "Retro" computing has certainly increased in popularity over the past few years, and because of that, there has been an increase in demand for original machines. Consequently, those who want to sell their machines are able to take advantage of this by raising prices. It's a seller's market, since supply is only going to keep decreasing from here, and demand will almost certainly continue to outstrip it. By the time the main audience for these machines is gone, they'll likely be marketed as collectors' display items, with even higher prices.

I can't really attest to how demand for retro computers has fluctuated during this pandemic, but I can provide some anecdotal evidence for the relatively newer consoles (i.e. 2000-2006 generation). I remember seeing Nintendo Wiis on sale in CeX for about £20 in December 2019. Take a look on their website today and you'll see the going rate is about £45. Maybe the same has happened for Spectrums? I wouldn't know, since I don't have the data.