Designer Mach4

Larry · Post by **Larry** » Thu Dec 27, 2012 1:22 am

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/140898924904 ... 1438.l2649

Went for $600. I thought the buyer got a bargain. If the international
community were included it may have doubled that price. Maybe it's
new owner will drop it back on ebay in a few months and make a killing.
L

SirDave · Post by **SirDave** » Thu Dec 27, 2012 5:19 am

Larry, I think you're right that $600 was a pretty good price, but it's hard to believe the Fidelity Master 2365 could go for as much as $1200- I tend to doubt it. On the other hand, it comes up so rarely it's hard to be sure what people beyond the U.S. would be willing to pay so maybe you're right.

Pragmatically, the 2365 is not all that much an upgrade beyond the Fidelity Designer 2265 which goes for $500-600 USD these days. I actually think the latter is 'prettier' than the former, but then beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Since I'm into chess plastic portables and laptops, I find all of the Designer/Master units interesting. Overall, I'm a big fan of the 2265- love the look of it when it's turned on and really enjoy playing it: very human-like play though there are others here that would know more about that than me. My one big gripe with it (which includes my Designer Display 2000 and I'm sure the 2100 and the 2365 which I don't have) is that there's no game save, an inexplicable Fidelity oversight...

Larry · Post by **Larry** » Thu Dec 27, 2012 6:49 am

SirDave wrote: it's hard to believe the Fidelity Master 2365 could go for as much as $1200- I tend to doubt it.

You might be right Dave, but on the other hand the prices of hard-to-get
units can swing wildly. Just depends on whether or not there are a few
well heeled, determined bidders out there. I followed this one in the
closing seconds to see the auto bidding slugfest. It
did'nt happen... the high bid of $600 stood for hours prior to the auction
ending, and stayed stood until the end. Surprised me.
It was about five years ago a Designer2325 was up for grabs as a
buy-it-now for $750. I had the option on it, but turned it down as being
a bit high. Had it been an Excel Mach4 I would have grabbed it for sure.
I'm an Excelaholic. The Excel has what I consider the ideal format, just
the right size, light on each square, big bright LED display that I can
use in fairly dim light without my reading glasses.
Larry

Reinfeld · Post by **Reinfeld** » Thu Dec 27, 2012 6:37 pm

Well, I certainly think it's a bargain. I didn't expect my bid of $600 would stand up, but it did. It also appeared to be the seller's baseline/reserve threshold.

I expected a bidding war and was prepared (with gritted teeth) to go higher - but I was pleasantly surprised.

I've seen two 2325s on ebay in the past year. This one was the second - and it came with all packaging, which is even more uncommon. I've never seen an Excel Mach IV in an auction - but that design, mirroring the blocky effect of Excellence and Par Excellence, is somewhat less appealing to me than the more spacious Franco Rocco board, in spite of prior snarky statements I've made. At any rate, I wanted the pinnacle of Fidelity's development, and this is it. More details after the package arrives.

- R.

SirDave · Post by **SirDave** » Thu Dec 27, 2012 7:02 pm

Reinfeld wrote:Well, I certainly think it's a bargain. I didn't expect my bid of $600 would stand up, but it did. It also appeared to be the seller's baseline/reserve threshold.

I expected a bidding war and was prepared (with gritted teeth) to go higher - but I was pleasantly surprised.

- R.

Good move and congratulations! Like Larry I followed the auction over the last 60 sec & was astounded that there was no activity in the last 5 sec. I was tempted to bid but I don't have the chess skill to benefit from any differences from the 2265 and I'm not enough of a collector to add yet a 4th Rocco design board to my collection. Still I envy you a 'leetle' bit