So, many Famicoms...

[JC]

Well, maybe we'd tell you off for wanting to pay too much. We're all pretty tight saps here. But I was just curious what, as a newbie, you'd be willing to pay. Not 'cause I want to rip you off right now -- we'll save that for later -- but because I'm curious what a newbie thinks the Famicom is worth.

And that NES chip looks neat, aside from all the glitches. I probably have one in that controller-console I just bought. The controller-console has a few glitches, but nothing major. Occasionally on the screen there are dark, scrolling patches. Yeah, bad, but overall not too bad for how cheap they can come.

[nes_pwnerer]

There are probably some clones that are better than others. I guess I just got the short end of the stick (music is all swiched around and tint is off. As well, it won't play Castlevania III due to it having an extra chip). Anywho, from what I've been able to gather, the fair prices for thesse things are roughly equal to the of the NES-101(not on eBay), so $50-$70 is what I'm thinking. How close am I, if at all?

[JC]

Sounds reasonable to me: lower end for console/cords only, higher end for CIB. You can even get luckier if you find a national seller. Shipping from overseas is a bitch for large items, so I'd recommend finding a Famicom wherever you are. And sometimes if you're patient enough, you'll find one that's mislisted, which'll bring down the price considerably. I got lucky with mine -- found a cheap BIN with CIB Famicom and 40 games, but I think the shipping was overpriced. I paid just over $100, plus shipping.

[nes_pwnerer]

Yeah, if you wait long enough you can get anything at any price. One thing remains; should I just wait it out for the real deal or stick with the pirate? The good old red-and-white master of disaster just has that extra charm.

[JC]

I'd really hesitate before I buy a foreign pirate. I have a couple and they're difficult to get working. In fact, I haven't yet gotten my pirate consoles working.

[nes_pwnerer]

Wow. I didn't know pirates were so bad. I'm definatly sticking with the real thing now.

If I'm feeling sassy, I might keep an eye on the auction perviously posted; see if it goes for anything.

[JC]

Hey, you better not swipe that from me.

And yeah, it isn't that the pirates themselves are bad, but that foreign systems have all their unique TV and power requirements. It takes a lot of converters and know-how to get them working. I don't have the converters or know-how!

[nes_pwnerer]

My brother's a bit of a comp guy, but w/e. The real thing is also more reliable so yea, thats the way I'll go

Don't worry, I won't swipe it  ... Seriously, I haven't got that kinda money right now so don't worry. Man, I need a job.

[Doc]

I was lucky. My first system ever was pirated, and it was very simple and worked very well. The only problem being that the colors were a bit bright...

[nes_pwnerer]

Yes, it's things like the bright colours and such that drive me away from pirated systems. I'm really anal about all that. However, the guy selling the system is from Texas, so I'll ask him about the hookups, see if there's a problem there.

[JC]

Like I said, look at the pic; the power adapator it comes with it not gonna be easy to hook up. I was in communication with the seller last night about this item. He is nice and may be able to offer you some hints on how to get it to work. He may have the hookups he used to get it working (assuming he actually used it) and he might be willing to offer them up as part of the purchase. It's a neat system, but it might not be more than a collector's item, if you can't get it to work.

[nes_pwnerer]

He does say that it's never been tested. This seems to be a lot of trouble for something that might not even be functioning to begin with. This is all rather frustrating because I remember a number of months back, I could've picked up an AV modified one w/o hookups for $25 plus  $20-$30 something (it's been awhile and I can't really rememeber) shipping since it was in Thailand. Looking back, I can't believe I passed that up. Oh well, I'll just keep my eyes peeled for one in the future.

[JC]

Hmm...I remember that one. I thought of picking it up myself. I hesitated and the next time I checked, it was gone.

[nes_pwnerer]

Yeah, what ever happened to those guys? I'm crossing my fingers to hope they crank out a few more.

Also, what's the value of a Twin? They're a few of them up right now at around $55 apiece.

[JC]

The Twin Famicoms usually go for over $100, I think, depending, of course, on condition. If you're really looking for a quality Famicom/FDS combination, the Twin is the one to go for! But those can get expensive.