Retro Games Collector » Auction watch

More rare ZX Spectrum software auctions

admin — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 14:30:33 +0000

Back once again with more news of Sinclair ZX Spectrum software auctions that have ended with good prices being paid, and more proof that there are collectors out there with deep pockets indeed…

The software in question here is none other than the very rare Sinclair branded Macmillan Education titles; MacMan In The Treasure Caves, MacMans Magic Mirror and Soundabout.

As mentioned in our earlier post on this topic, Sinclair branded educational titles can fetch surprising sums in an auction and these were no exception, with Soundabout making a whopping £156.09, MacMan In The Treasure Caves making £129.45 and MacMans Magic Mirror making a very respectable £78.00.

Thanks to Guy Bearman for the info.

Whacko prices for Jacko games – Case 2

admin — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:57:57 +0000

It had to happen. With the demise of the sequin gloved, ape loving pop legend there had to be a rise in price for merchandise bearing his name. Even 20 year old ZX Spectrum software isn’t immune from price hikes. Take this little gem I saw on a popular internet auction site: 1989 Spectrum Michael Jackson Moonwalker Game + Poster.

It might not seem like a lot of money to pay, but prior to WJ’s demise the game was pretty much worthless. Doubt if it would have had a single bid let alone 8 of them.

Worse still it looks like everyone is digging out their old Moonwalker games, I just saw the Amiga version with a starting price of £29.99 and a Commodore 64 version starting at £19.99. Sad but true.

Now I’m sure I’ve got a copy here somewhere…

Ridiculous prices for Retro Games on auction sites – Case 1

admin — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:35:56 +0000

I was just surfing through a popular auction site’s Vintage & Retro Gaming listings as I do and came across a Cascade Cassette 50 for the Sinclair ZX81. Not a really rare piece of software by any stretch of the imagination but as with all ZX81 software these days, getting rarer and therefore expectedly more expensive year on year. Be prepared to normally pay anything between £5 to £10 depending on condition and the number of bidders.

But this Cassette 50 is different. “How so?” I hear you ask. Is it a pre-release copy? No. Has it got an unusual inlay with a typo? Erm, no… In fact this piece of software has only one thing that makes it so special. It’s price.

A Buy It Now for £50.00? I would normally laugh at the price and move on but this seller is either taking the p*ss or has no idea of the value of this item. They either want to convince an unsuspecting newbie collector into thinking it is super-rare when it isn’t or they need to learn its true market value before listing it.

From the listing:

“This is Very common for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, but Extremely rare for the ZX81.”

No it’s bloody not.

A seller has every right to sell an item for what they want and I acknowledge that. But con-artists deserve to be treated with contempt, whether they are selling you a second-hand car or selling you Cascade’s finest on an internet auction site. I have the nasty feeling that they know full well how much it is really worth…

Somebody make them an offer for £5…

UPDATE: Surprise, surprise, the auction ended without a buyer. Shocking that. Anyway at the time of writing they have relisted the item for £40. Still £35 too expensive I’m afraid…

Rare ZX Spectrum titles fetch a high price on ebay

admin — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 22:31:09 +0000

As a collector of all things Sinclair I was interested in a particular auction back in December for the following set of rare Sinclair branded educational/business titles. The photos are from the actual auction listings.

Micro Prolog (L 2/S) – by Logic Programming Associates
Which? Tax Calculator 1983-84 (4332) – by Consumer’s Association

Weathermaster (4325) – by Macmillan
MacMan’s Magic Mirror (4335) – by Macmillan

Disease Dodgers (4327) – by Macmillan
Planet Patrol (4326) – by Macmillan

Oil Strike (4324) – by Macmillan

Now of all the titles above the ones that I was particularly interested in were the Macmillan educational titles and the Which? Tax Calculator. Educational titles were not very popular for the ZX Spectrum, no matter how many times we told Mom and Dad that we needed the Speccy for our education, everyone really knew (including Mom and Dad I suspect) that we only wanted to play JetPac. So it follows that educational titles were not sold in huge numbers and are therefore rarer finds. Add to that, the above titles were not produced in any great numbers anyway and you end up with a set of very rare titles indeed.

It seems that on that night Sinclair collectors with much deeper pockets were ready to spring into action. I didn’t leave empty handed, I managed to bag Micro Prolog, the title I least wanted. The other titles all pushed the boundaries and exceeded the amounts I had ever seen paid for ZX Spectrum titles of this nature with the following winning bids:

As you can see with the one I won, I was way off the mark and as keen as I am, could never afford to (or want to) spend that much on one ZX Spectrum software title let alone six. It would end in divorce. Or castration in my sleep.

There are certain items that remain the holy grail of any collector’s wishlist and whilst these titles are definitely on my list, I won’t be spending this sort of money to acquire them. I’ll just wait until I see them in a box amongst some other stuff at a car boot sale going for a song. In my dreams…

Do you know of any auctions worth mentioning (past or present)? Let us know about them if you think they would be of interest – admin@retrogamescollector.com