Collector's Corner..On Collecting Dedicated Chess Computers

Post by **Steve B** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 7:42 am

I tend to agree with Dave on the Atlanta price of 510 Euro as being too high
The Selling price for any one computer on any particular Ebay auction is always hard to predict and subject to the emotions of a particular buyer
A great resource to use to get an idea of price trends for a particualr model is Jose's site which i have quoted and linked to many times
its a pity its not as up to date as it used to be
a review of the Atlanta on his site shows an avg. price of just around 400 Euro with the trend definitely up in the last few years
still i think this recent price of 510 Euro is definitely high and perhaps the highest ever paid for an Atlanta and probably just an aberration
my guess..some collector wanted it for his collection and he was willing to pay a certain price ..period

now lets take Jon's Coveted Marco Polo
Jon wanted one for many years ..was looking for one for many years and was willing to pay a high price for it when a pristine one reared its head on Ebay
the MP sold for $89.95 when first released for sale as new
i have my invoice for it and the price list by my main supplier back then
Jose's site shows an average price of about 35 Euro
Jon's price of $110 is 22% higher then when first released for sale and i believe sets a new worlds record for a Marco Polo on Ebay

2 computers selling for higher then normal prices bought by someone who just "wanted it" ..thats my bet
my guess is we wont see another Atlanta or Marco Polo selling for these high prices anytime soon

these blips on the map are different then what we are seeing with the wooden computers..which all seem to be selling for unusually high prices..no matter the make,model or ELO

Prices are a harsh Mistress Regards
Steve

SirDave · Post by **SirDave** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 3:38 pm

I was just minding my own business last night (Thur) with no intention of buying anything, but happened to check out eBay and someone had just put up a Citrine for $125. The box was a bit of a mess, but the unit was described as 'never used' and, indeed the pieces were still in plastic bags as were the other accessories; manual looks fine. The board looked pretty good and may be perfect, though I think I may have seen a small defect on the right upper edge- could be just the photo though.

Anyway, even though I hadn't planned to have a Citrine anytime in the immediate future, I snapped it up. What particularly sweetened the deal was that shipping was free. I ordinarily would have asked some questions, but was pretty sure it would be gone before I got the answers. Plus, I've seen very used Citrines with no box or manual go for above $150 with $20 shipping and, of course, they are selling new for $320 or more.

Novag Sucks Me In Again Regards,
Dave

Post by **Steve B** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 5:02 pm

SirDave wrote:I was just minding my own business last night (Thur) with no intention of buying anything, but happened to check out eBay and someone had just put up a Citrine for $125. The box was a bit of a mess, but the unit was described as 'never used' and, indeed the pieces were still in plastic bags as were the other accessories; manual looks fine. The board looked pretty good and may be perfect, though I think I may have seen a small defect on the right upper edge- could be just the photo though.

Anyway, even though I hadn't planned to have a Citrine anytime in the immediate future, I snapped it up. What particularly sweetened the deal was that shipping was free. I ordinarily would have asked some questions, but was pretty sure it would be gone before I got the answers. Plus, I've seen very used Citrines with no box or manual go for above $150 with $20 shipping and, of course, they are selling new for $320 or more.

Novag Sucks Me In Again Regards,
Dave

Well that shoots to hell my theory that ALL wooden chess computers are going up in value

Well Done Regards
Steve

SirDave · Post by **SirDave** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 5:12 pm

Steve B wrote:
Well that shoots to hell my theory that ALL wooden chess computers are going up in value

Well, maybe not so much. It seems that there are a number out there that think of the Citrine as more of a wannabe wood board...

Still, it's about as much wood as I'm prepared to go for right now, price-wise and size-wise. After all, drum-roll, I'm supposed to be The Portable Collector!

IvenGO · Post by **IvenGO** » Sat Jul 21, 2012 2:48 am

And what's the reasonable price for FD 2265 in your opinion? I wonder why its becoming higher and higher every month; last sold for 450 euros without adapter!

Terry McCracken · Post by **Terry McCracken** » Sat Jul 21, 2012 5:45 am

IvenGO wrote:And what's the reasonable price for FD 2265 in your opinion? I wonder why its becoming higher and higher every month; last sold for 450 euros without adapter!

It's 23 years old now, working models in mint condition or even working are getting ever more scarce. Soon they will be worth 1200 to 1500 USD!

Monsieur Plastique · Post by **Monsieur Plastique** » Sat Jul 21, 2012 5:52 am

SirDave wrote:Well, maybe not so much. It seems that there are a number out there that think of the Citrine as more of a wannabe wood board...

Hi Dave,

I have always likened the Citrine board (and the Astral, etc) to wood as I have, say, paper mache to parchment. And to be fair to the one you have bought, I haven't seen any of those Novag boards that are perfect - well, not like the Mephisto boards for example which really were pretty much perfect out of the factory. But that is what you get with chipboard, veener and mass production.

As for portables, you will be elated to know that the price of the Kasparov Plus has been reduced, with a starting bid of $95 and a buy it now of $250.

Post by **Steve B** » Sat Jul 21, 2012 8:12 am

Monsieur Plastique wrote:

I have always likened the Citrine board (and the Astral, etc) to wood as I have, say, paper mache to parchment. And to be fair to the one you have bought, I haven't seen any of those Novag boards that are perfect - well, not like the Mephisto boards for example which really were pretty much perfect out of the factory. But that is what you get with chipboard, veener and mass production.

Mephisto does have the refutation of having released wooden boards built like brick houses and its true
none of my wooden Mephisto boards have had problems over the years ..which is astonishing(there were a few exceptions but i suspect these boards were bad when i acquired them in a trade)
Fidelity boards pop Reed switches every other Tuedsay
Conchess boards break as soon as any household pet gets anywheres near them(reference to $3500 MM auction)

having said that...i do notice that the Mephisto PLASTIC modules are starting to feel the ravages of time
in recent years i have had several modules just stop working
Risc I-1MB
Polgar 5 Mhz
MM II
MM IV
ESB II
Luckily I was able to either have them repaired or replaced
I've had a few Fidelity Modules go bad on me over the years
but i have had no issues with any of the Scisys/Saitek modules
(i have had problems with their large wooden boards)

Mephisto is the undisputed King of the Wooden Board
But Saitek takes the Modular Crown Regards
Steve

Jed · Post by **Jed** » Sat Jul 21, 2012 5:41 pm

Here's a great chance to own a complete set of Travel Champion chess pieces.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/KASPAROV-TRAVEL ... 0760590998

Maybe if I buy the whole set he'll throw in the computer for free!

Regards,

Jed

Larry · Post by **Larry** » Sat Jul 21, 2012 11:43 pm

Jed wrote:Here's a great chance to own a complete set of Travel Champion chess pieces.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/KASPAROV-TRAVEL ... 0760590998

Maybe if I buy the whole set he'll throw in the computer for free!

Regards,

Jed

This is a joke auction, right?...$2.99 each chess piece?... that multiplies
out to about $95 for the set. Even if he threw in the computer it would
be a ridiculous price. To be fair, the generous guy is including free shipping.
Larry

Post by **Steve B** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 1:35 am

Larry wrote:
Jed wrote:Here's a great chance to own a complete set of Travel Champion chess pieces.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/KASPAROV-TRAVEL ... 0760590998

Maybe if I buy the whole set he'll throw in the computer for free!

Regards,

Jed
This is a joke auction, right?...$2.99 each chess piece?... that multiplies
out to about $95 for the set. Even if he threw in the computer it would
be a ridiculous price. To be fair, the generous guy is including free shipping.
Larry

i dont know if this guy is joking or what

we could be looking at a future Mephisto piece auction from this guy as well
here he sold a Mephisto Chess Challenger without its pieces
http://www.ebay.com/itm/330726099107

WTF ?? Regards
Steve

IvenGO · Post by **IvenGO** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 3:50 am

Terry McCracken wrote:
IvenGO wrote:And what's the reasonable price for FD 2265 in your opinion? I wonder why its becoming higher and higher every month; last sold for 450 euros without adapter!
It's 23 years old now, working models in mint condition or even working are getting ever more scarce. Soon they will be worth 1200 to 1500 USD!

Akademie is also 23 years old, but with wooden auto-response board and much better display and general ergonomy! Market value is around 100-150 euro only...

Terry McCracken · Post by **Terry McCracken** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 5:35 am

IvenGO wrote:
Terry McCracken wrote:
IvenGO wrote:And what's the reasonable price for FD 2265 in your opinion? I wonder why its becoming higher and higher every month; last sold for 450 euros without adapter!
It's 23 years old now, working models in mint condition or even working are getting ever more scarce. Soon they will be worth 1200 to 1500 USD!

Akademie is also 23 years old, but with wooden auto-response board and much better display and general ergonomy! Market value is around 100-150 euro only...

It was the only program by Fidelity that achieved a Master rating in a human tournament. A year later Fidelity was bought out by Hegner & Glasser.

ricard60 · Post by **ricard60** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 12:53 pm

Not only the fidelity 2265 got the master title but also the fidelity 2325.

Both masters regards
Ricardo

IvenGO · Post by **IvenGO** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 3:30 pm

There are the reasons for this, of course, but my mind refuses to accept how plastic unit may cost 3-4x higher than wooden one with comparable playing strength...