Adventure Game Studio

Community => General Discussion => Topic started by: Darth Mandarb on Fri 09/07/2004 00:25:12

Title: The wonderful eBay ...
Post by: Darth Mandarb on Fri 09/07/2004 00:25:12
So I was browsing around eBay in boredom the other day ...

(http://www.twin-design.com/ags/graphics/ebay01-spacequestIII.jpg)

... when I came across this little gem.

I put in a bid figuring, since there were like 4 days left on the auction, that somebody would surely outbid me.Ã,  Well nobody did!!

With shipping this cost me a grand total of $5.49 (USD).

I now have an original copy of my favorite game of all time.

Anybody else find anything good on eBay?
Title: Re: The wonderful eBay ...
Post by: Moox on Fri 09/07/2004 00:37:05
I bought a ultra ata to pci card once. Only purchase I have made.
Title: Re: The wonderful eBay ...
Post by: Rave on Fri 09/07/2004 00:47:42
Oh good lord. Are those big ass floppy disks? I havn't seen somthing like that in ages. :P And for the record, I havn't played any space quest games.
Title: Re: The wonderful eBay ...
Post by: shbaz on Fri 09/07/2004 00:56:19
Vacuum tubes. Loads of them.

This is totally unrelated to AGS or games at all, but it's one of my favorite hobbies.

This is a little less than half of my tubes:
(http://img32.photobucket.com/albums/v96/shbazjinkens/amp/Tubes.jpg)

Here is my first amplifier:
(http://img32.photobucket.com/albums/v96/shbazjinkens/amp/ampfront.jpg)(http://img32.photobucket.com/albums/v96/shbazjinkens/amp/ampback.jpg)
http://img32.photobucket.com/albums/v96/shbazjinkens/amp/controls.jpg
http://img32.photobucket.com/albums/v96/shbazjinkens/amp/CamPic10.jpg
http://img32.photobucket.com/albums/v96/shbazjinkens/amp/CamPic9.jpg

I hand tooled the leather and bought the box from a friend who had ripped off the vinyl.. I thought it gave it a nice vintage look and would look good with leather so I left it that way. A guy at my dorm asked me why I played a 50 year old amp, when in fact it was less than a year old then.

Here is my current project amplifier (building for a friend):
(http://img32.photobucket.com/albums/v96/shbazjinkens/amp/50wampfront.jpg)
(http://img32.photobucket.com/albums/v96/shbazjinkens/amp/50wampback.jpg)


I'm addicted. I've spent years reading about building this stuff. I know about tone, distortion, effects, and what capacitors affect the signal most preferably.

How does this relate to eBay? Well, this stuff is ancient news now. All of the companies that manufacture vacuum tubes (all 3-6 of them) are in foreign countries and most are crap, so I bought old but unused tubes on eBay (all of the ones in the first pic are from there). I've also bought other audio stuff (speakers, transformers, etc).

In conclusion, I love eBay because it allows me to do wonderful things with audio (like the above) at low prices. It has saved me hundreds of dollars (provided I use all of that stuff  :D).
Title: Re: The wonderful eBay ...
Post by: rodekill on Fri 09/07/2004 07:12:43
I had a big-ass thread all about my e-bay adventures, but it seems to be long gone.
My greatest find was also SQ3.
I ordered it, and when it arrived, it was still sealed in the shrinkwrap, with the original 79$ pricetag on it from Radioshack!
I nearly died that day, as sad as that sounds.
Title: Re: The wonderful eBay ...
Post by: DGMacphee on Fri 09/07/2004 07:46:10
I wonder if Chis will make an appearance in this thread too.
Title: Re: The wonderful eBay ...
Post by: AGA on Fri 09/07/2004 08:10:05
I've bought a whole lotta adventures off eBay, at least 20. I'd give you a list of them, but eBay seems to have removed its 'view member's items won' thing.
Title: Re: The wonderful eBay ...
Post by: Timosity on Fri 09/07/2004 09:10:51
It's great how sometimes you can just put in an early bid and end up winning, that's a great find, the only version of SQ3 I own is in the 1-5 collection.

I'd never played SQ6 so I put in a bid for $1 US and won, it cost $6 US for postage, it ended up about $12 AUS with the exchange rate at the time, it would be less than 10 bucks now
Title: Re: The wonderful eBay ...
Post by: AGA on Fri 09/07/2004 11:11:26
I've never paid more than $20 US for any game off eBay, and I've found tons of classic Sierra and LEC games. You just need to shop around, and be willing to pay probably more than the cost of the actual item just for shipping :P
Title: Re: The wonderful eBay ...
Post by: Privateer Puddin' on Fri 09/07/2004 11:34:53
Monkey Island 2 Hint Book, yey! :P
Title: Re: The wonderful eBay ...
Post by: ScottDoom on Fri 09/07/2004 11:36:36
I'd actually like to get Torin's Passage off of eBay. I owned this game and after we moved I never saw it again.

I just don't know if it'll work on XP, so I'm not going to buy it unless someone can assure me it does...
Title: Re: The wonderful eBay ...
Post by: Timosity on Fri 09/07/2004 13:23:27
Quote from: rodekill on Fri 09/07/2004 07:12:43
I had a big-ass thread all about my e-bay adventures, but it seems to be long gone.

http://www.agsforums.com/yabb/index.php?topic=7547.0
Title: Re: The wonderful eBay ...
Post by: ScottDoom on Fri 09/07/2004 13:42:19
Quote from: Timosity on Fri 09/07/2004 13:23:27
Quote from: rodekill on Fri 09/07/2004 07:12:43
I had a big-ass thread all about my e-bay adventures, but it seems to be long gone.

http://www.agsforums.com/yabb/index.php?topic=7547.0

"dick strocking poofter fucks"

L
M
F
A
O
Title: Re: The wonderful eBay ...
Post by: Stee on Fri 09/07/2004 17:39:18
Def Jam Vendetta £6.22 w/shipping for PS2
Unlimited Hosting Account £4.50

My recent purchases
Title: Re: The wonderful eBay ...
Post by: LGM on Fri 09/07/2004 17:48:36
If I was 18, or my mom would trust me with an ebay account, I would probably buy old adventures, old computer parts, camera accessories.. Or random things that look cool.
Title: Re: The wonderful eBay ...
Post by: Moox on Fri 09/07/2004 19:36:34
thats an awesome hobby baz
Title: Re: The wonderful eBay ...
Post by: Darth Mandarb on Fri 09/07/2004 20:23:36
Rode - I remembered that thread ... but couldn't find it in a search.Ã,  (I didn't remember it was you who started it)Ã,  Funny that it's for the same item!

Baz - Wow!Ã,  Now that's a fascinating hobby which I know NOTHING about :)Ã,  Sounds interesting indeed.

I have also recently won:
1) Faxanadu (for the NES)
2) Hook (for the SegaCD)
3) DragonWarrior (for the NES)

With those three items, and SQIII, I spent just over $20.00 USD (including shipping).Ã,  God I love eBay.

I was bidding on an Atari 520ST (with several games including SpaceQuest II, Loom, and Kings Quest) but I got outbid at $29.99 ... I already have the Atari 520ST but it no longer is reliable.

I have to restrain myself big-time now that my PayPal account ties directly into my eBay account ;)
Title: Re: The wonderful eBay ...
Post by: Ben on Fri 09/07/2004 23:25:26
shbaz: That is the most kickass thing I've ever seen  :D. How much did it cost you to build that combo?

Heh.. Just yesterday I was looking at used Warmoth guitar parts on ebay. When I get some money saved up I want to build my own guitar-- something I know almost nothing about. I figure I can start with cheap stuff to learn the basics, and from there try and build something nicer..

Nobody will notice I suck if I have a cool guitar-- RIGHT?
Title: Re: The wonderful eBay ...
Post by: Sutebi on Sat 10/07/2004 03:16:04
Ah, Dragonwarrior for the NES. I got that bad boy with Nintendo Power years ago. That game rocked. You could probably have actually found it real cheap at used game stores, like Funcoland. Any one remember Funcoland? They used to have TV commercials and stuff, and the last one I saw was basically being shut down. I guess E-Bay is better than it.

Yeah, I searched for parts for my '93 Ford Probe GT, but I decided not to buy any of them because most were in "good condition" which means they are crap, but I've bought some adventure games off of it too. I think that's where I got my copy of Loom.
Title: Re: The wonderful eBay ...
Post by: Darth Mandarb on Sat 10/07/2004 05:07:29
Quote from: Sutebi on Sat 10/07/2004 03:16:04
Ah, Dragonwarrior for the NES. I got that bad boy with Nintendo Power years ago. That game rocked. You could probably have actually found it real cheap at used game stores, like Funcoland. Any one remember Funcoland? They used to have TV commercials and stuff, and the last one I saw was basically being shut down. I guess E-Bay is better than it.
It was one of my favorite RPGs ever ... for it (with shipping) I paid a whopping $5.99 ... and shipping was $5.00 :)

I remember Funco land ... I believe (may be wrong) they were bought out by GameStop.

At least, that's what is now where the Funco Land used to be.
Title: Re: The wonderful eBay ...
Post by: shbaz on Sat 10/07/2004 14:12:57
Quote from: Ben on Fri 09/07/2004 23:25:26
shbaz: How much did it cost you to build that combo?

The transformers, speaker, and the box + chassis are usually the most expensive items. I bought the output transformer on eBay for $35 (total), power transformer was salvaged from an old piece of army equipment along with a bunch of sockets, tubes, and mounting hardware (free - circa 1958 - cold war), the speaker was a $40 Jensen one from tubesandmore.com, and the box and chassis came from a Kustom amp my friend blew up and ripped the tolex off of. I bought it for $10. Add about $40 for all of the capacitors, switches, the light, resistors and wire from Mouser.com.. Add $5 for two of the power tubes I bought from eBay and it costed about $125 and loads of my time. Most DIY projects can cost much more (click AX84 link below to see) but I had some good luck with the $10 box, the free cold war thingy and eBay.

QuoteHeh.. Just yesterday I was looking at used Warmoth guitar parts on ebay. When I get some money saved up I want to build my own guitar-- something I know almost nothing about. I figure I can start with cheap stuff to learn the basics, and from there try and build something nicer..

Nobody will notice I suck if I have a cool guitar-- RIGHT?

I wanted to do this a while back too but never got around to it. Building your own neck is a huge job because you have to precisely measure the fret lengths (obtained through a formula that inputs the distance between nut and bridge) and make a channel for the truss rod etc. If you really want to do it though - This guy (http://europa.spaceports.com/~fishbake/) is the freaking king of DIY audio stuff and he's done it. You can buy new (unused) necks on eBay as well as bodies (but make sure the neck will fit into the socket!). Check out Ampage.org (http://www.ampage.org); they have a section for guitar guys. I always wanted to do it all or nothing though, because guitars are pretty cheap to buy and mod anyway.

I think a better amp makes a cheap guitar sound better than a better guitar would make a cheap amp sound though.. Tube amps really are a huge leap from any SS equipment (even tube emulating stuff) and they'll hide a $100 squire strat as if it were an original 50's Fender.

Oh yeah.. heh.. I just thought of another eBay story. That guy John Tirone that I linked above once posted on the Ampage forums that someone had ripped his website and was selling it for $10 on eBay. The ensuing anger from the Ampage community ended up finding the perpetrator's name, telephone number, home address, Church (where he was a youth minister) and one guy who lived nearby even offered to beat him up for John. John refused because he was a devout Christian man, and instead e-mailed the pastor of the church. He talked with the guy about it, and e-mailed back saying that his excuse was that he was selling the time he took to find the information, not the information. I think he lost his title of youth pastor, but he might still be selling the stuff on eBay now.
Title: Re: The wonderful eBay ...
Post by: AGA on Sat 10/07/2004 15:08:14
Whoa, somebody else who's played Faxanadu. I used to love that game. Although the RPGing was only very basic, going up levels and getting new weapons really gave you a sense of accomplishment. Awesome game.
Title: Re: The wonderful eBay ...
Post by: Ben on Sat 10/07/2004 20:42:13
Quote from: shbazjinkens on Sat 10/07/2004 14:12:57
I wanted to do this a while back too but never got around to it. Building your own neck is a huge job because you have to precisely measure the fret lengths (obtained through a formula that inputs the distance between nut and bridge) and make a channel for the truss rod etc. If you really want to do it though - This guy (http://europa.spaceports.com/~fishbake/) is the freaking king of DIY audio stuff and he's done it. You can buy new (unused) necks on eBay as well as bodies (but make sure the neck will fit into the socket!). Check out Ampage.org (http://www.ampage.org); they have a section for guitar guys. I always wanted to do it all or nothing though, because guitars are pretty cheap to buy and mod anyway.

Yeah, I was just planning on buying a finished neck and body. I'd never try to do that sort of thing myself, especially for my first guitar. Mostly I just want to learn about wiring pickups and things like that, so I might be better off just getting a cheap Squire or something and mod it.. But it's a shame to waste nice custom pickups on a plywood guitar  :-\

Thanks for the Ampage.org link, BTW. The homebrew gallery looks really interesting..
Title: Re: The wonderful eBay ...
Post by: shbaz on Sat 10/07/2004 21:41:26
Quote from: Ben on Sat 10/07/2004 20:42:13
Yeah, I was just planning on buying a finished neck and body. I'd never try to do that sort of thing myself, especially for my first guitar. Mostly I just want to learn about wiring pickups and things like that, so I might be better off just getting a cheap Squire or something and mod it.. But it's a shame to waste nice custom pickups on a plywood guitar  :-\

If you can't tell it's plywood and you play distorted, there's hardly a difference. If you play clean, there's a minor noticable difference, but it really only matters if the body is hollow.

If all else fails, buy used or a less notorious brand-name. You can always sand off the headstock and replace it with your name.
Title: Re: The wonderful eBay ...
Post by: Hinders on Sun 11/07/2004 14:04:24
Quote from: AGA on Sat 10/07/2004 15:08:14
Whoa, somebody else who's played Faxanadu. I used to love that game. Although the RPGing was only very basic, going up levels and getting new weapons really gave you a sense of accomplishment. Awesome game.

i had that game for my nes, bought it for 20mk(3euro) and it was awesome, the last boss was difficult though...
Title: Re: The wonderful eBay ...
Post by: Timosity on Fri 16/07/2004 17:07:48
If you wanted to get a lot of Sierra games in one go and have pleanty of money (not long to go on this one)

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8118371956

maybe you like that Lucas fella better

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8118803898

It'll be interesting how much they go for, and I guess shipping would be pretty steep

edit: actually shipping for the Sierra one is free worldwide
Title: Re: The wonderful eBay ...
Post by: Darth Mandarb on Fri 16/07/2004 18:03:02
Timosity - Wow!Ã,  That second one (for the LucasArts games) is a double WOW!Ã,  I'm watching that one and in 9 days I might bid if it's not gotten too high.

Faxanadu ... alas ... it arrived and was in great (looking) shape.Ã,  But it wouldn't work when I put the game in :(Ã,  I took it out and cleaned the connector part as best I could.Ã,  I was able to get it to work, but the graphics are glitchy.Ã,  I'm gonna take it apart and clean the whole thing to see what happens.

When you pay $0.99 for a 15 year old game what do you expect?
Title: Re: The wonderful eBay ...
Post by: Hollister Man on Fri 16/07/2004 18:37:15
BB: I'd loan you my copy, but Holland is a long way away. ;)  Its good, but 5 is better.  6 was kinda a letdown.