Atari 2600 FOR BEER!1

Entry posted by phaxda June 3, 2008

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The craigslist ad said:

Atari 2600 FOR BEER!!!!!!!!!!!1

I got an Atari 2600 with 2 boxes of games and a bunch of controllers (pong paddles, joysticks etc. etc.) that I will part with for a 30 pack of Tecate
Call 707-334-xxxx ask for Bronco Hogballs first come first serve.... you pick up

With a name like that, how could I not call? Bronco said he was busy playing a rock/punk show later on the evening I phoned him, but recommended that I come over with the Tecate the following afternoon. I figured it was a decent deal--the Tecate was probably 20 bucks, add about 5 more for gas, not to mention the adventure at hand!

Well, Bronco apparently got pretty wasted at his show, so he didn't call me back until about 8:00 PM the next day (last night, as it happens) but I said "what the hell" and took off to get his beer. Tougher to find a place open than I though it would be, so I had to pay top dollar at the grocery store, $27.16. So now including gas we're well over $30 and I'm thinking man, those had better be some big boxes.

Pulled up at the Hogball residence about 9:00 PM or so and Bronco answered the door right away. Nice young fellow, looked to be just over 21 maybe by a day or two, happy to see me and his beer. Got it upstairs, and he showed me the Atari goods. I noticed right away that one box was mostly Coleco games, which might have seemed like a bummer, but I was actually kinda happy about it because I don't collect for Coleco so am sure to sell these to raise funds to pay for future BEER/ATARI barter arrangements. And cart for cart, even common Coleco stuff tends to get a few more bucks, I think. Most of the rest was Atari 2600, with just an APF Blackjack cart and Demon Attack (I think it's C64, but can't be sure) as oddballs. I estimated it at about 75 carts, so was feeling pretty good.

Woody 4-switch, a stock joystick, 2 sets of paddles, and 2 power supplies rounded out the deal and Bronco gave me a hand by carrying a box down the stairs. Had a nice drive home to the ever-so-pleased wife who immediately noticed that the carts and system were, well, REALLY DIRTY. She was right. Here's a picture of the console, close up. EW.

This morning, while AtariAge was down, I did a full system disassembly and cleanup and took cart inventory. A total of 102 carts with 18 duplicates. Apparently two collections had been combined into one. Highlights were Wing War for the Coleco and an immaculate Artillery Duel (I think it was protected by all the dust or something because it is in NICE shape), which was a cart I needed for my collection. Also got a 2600 Ghostbusters and Smurfs/Gargamel, some other various R3-R4 stuff. I would estimate the total value of the haul in the $60-$75 range, so did all right. I will definitely get my beer and gas money back!

The one thing that may cut into profits is the amount of time it is going to take to clean these carts. They are filthy. It took me a half-hour alone on the Coleco ones. Tar from cigarettes, dust, spiderwebs, sticky soda spills, you name it. Four common carts had to be tossed in the trash because they had cigarette BURNS on/in them that made them unfit for play or homebrew shells. These had it all! Luckily cart cleaning is something I can do while watching the French Open on TV.

The console is now clean as a whistle (hmm, looking at the picture I still see some spot, grrr.) and works great--I had some fun playing Artillery Duel. This beer for Atari trade was definitely one of my more fun Atari Experiences!