Tubeway army is currently @ £20+ with a few hours left on ebay.
I can't understand the ridiculous prices of second hand software on Ebay- theoretically it should be about simple supply and demand with a moderating factor of quality and a degree of variance inherent to auction sites and partially reflective of the mode of selling. However, most of the highest priced actually sold items on Ebay, excluding utilities, seem to be at best mid-level quality wise, sometimes considerably worse, and often ones that seemed to be two a penny at the time. There also seems to have been a significant general inflation over the past couple of years.
One thing that stands out is the mark up on Dragon Data releases, with the Dragon Data versions of games selling for way more than other versions of the same game, and some pretty dire software selling for relatively large chunks of cash.
Does the availability of the archive here influence these prices in some way? Is there something else I am missing?
Can anyone explain the prices of 2nd hand software?
Re: Can anyone explain the prices of 2nd hand software?
Prices do seem to have crept up such that the base level (about a fiver plus 2 quid postage for most of them?) is just the wrong side of acceptable. But if you saw something you particularly wanted for that price, you probably wouldn't begrudge it. Still, unreliable media, likely subject to all sorts of degradation over time... I guess you're paying to get the packaging more than anything else?
I have been keeping my eye out for Tube Way Army specifically (my copy evaporated), and it seems to be rare enough on eBay for some reason. 20 quid, however, is too much for me - especially for something that every Tandy would have had on their shelves (presumably - if the Torquay outlet had it, I can't imagine it being rare!)
I have been keeping my eye out for Tube Way Army specifically (my copy evaporated), and it seems to be rare enough on eBay for some reason. 20 quid, however, is too much for me - especially for something that every Tandy would have had on their shelves (presumably - if the Torquay outlet had it, I can't imagine it being rare!)
Re: Can anyone explain the prices of 2nd hand software?
I suspect in the TWA case that the problem is many copies have simply died. Microdeal and Dragon data tapes seem to invariably play 20 years later. Other companies' efforts, notably Design Design, Blaby and Quickbeam, seem to keel over in a slight breeze.
I don't know much about the physical composition of tapes in the 80's- I am guessing there were several different types of tape available. I seem to recall some manufacturers had different Cr/Fe labelled tapes, which would presumably be prone to degradation at different rates?
Either way I suspect that it is definitely the specific issue with TWA as I have seen a fair few copies that simply won't load over the past few years.
I don't know much about the physical composition of tapes in the 80's- I am guessing there were several different types of tape available. I seem to recall some manufacturers had different Cr/Fe labelled tapes, which would presumably be prone to degradation at different rates?
Either way I suspect that it is definitely the specific issue with TWA as I have seen a fair few copies that simply won't load over the past few years.