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Almost got a 2600 Meltdown prototype for $1


joesmooth

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Joesmooth, although hindsight is 20/20 this is what people should do if they find a proto for $1. Be sure to buy four other games for $1 a piece as well. Be sure that you stack all five game on top of each other with the valuable game second from the bottom. Then tell the guy that you want to buy these 5 games for $5. If he for some reason wants to look at the games go through the games and quickly pass through the games with the statement"I have this,this,this,this(make this one real quick),and this. Most likely he won't even bother checking through the games and you will be able to walk out with a gold mine in your hands.

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The main problem is that he saw that I was interested in a game he had for sale and proceeded to jack up the price. When I offered him what he wanted the second time around, it didn't matter. He still refused to sell it. I don't know if it is illegal for a retail store to do such a thing, but I doubt it and it really just seems unethical to me.

 

Oh, actually, he also mentioned that he had been to CGE a few times (in Vegas) and that most of the people there were geeks. No, I'm not just making that up. I took it with a grain of salt, considering the guy that actually -said- that, but it was sort of insulting. But, he seemed confident that he could go to the show or unload it somewhere else for more money (I'm sure he could..)

 

@StanJr: The place is Game World in Las Vegas, NV at the mall at the corner of Durango and Spring Mountain. So if people live locally, feel free to either boycott or stop by the store and say "hello" :roll:

 

@Cap5750: There won't be a next time :|

 

@AtariLeaf: He'll probably just keep jacking up the price given the more people that show interest. It seems to me that he'll never let it go, though he did say that he "didn't care about Atari 2600 and would just sell or trade it to get more NES stuff".

 

@Thomas: The case was the 20th Century Fox style with the sets of "ribs" on each side, like Activision cases, but more ribs. The sticker was a white sticker, probably 1.5" wide by 2.5" long and just wrapped slightly around the front case and onto part of the end-label section. The "Meltdown" was written in blue ballpoint pen in script. Until the store owner broke the label, it was in perfect intact condition, nice and white, with no tearing or anything like that. But, he obviously didn't care to keep it nice.

 

@keilbaca: Yeah, he was searching online. He didn't mention if and where he went, as he just came out and said he couldn't sell it, etc. He did that last time I went in a little over a year ago for some Intellivision stuff. I didn't buy anything from him that day, either. I don't think he's going to put it back into his $1 box, either. :)

 

@CPUWIZ: Given that I've never bought a prototype before (mostly because I am so cheap), I didn't have and/or want to go spend $200 for the prototype, especially without being able to -verify- that it was actually Meltdown. Since all I saw was the PCB (no label on the EPROM) and case, it's not like it was verified or certified in any way. Also, the dude probably wouldn't have sold it to me, as others have referenced to in this post, if I offered him $200, he would have asked for more. I'm sure this type of shit happens all the time, just not with a 2600 prototype sitting 5 feet in front of me. Curt seemed to think it was worth going back in and trying to get the $70 he originally wanted (even though the guy dropped the price down to $50 while we were talking again, but balked later). $200 for someone "like me" seems excessive unless the cartridge came from a known reputable source.

 

@NovaXPress: The guy didn't plug in the game, so I could only -assume- it was the Meltdown. The PCB was definitely an EPROM-based board, commonly used for prototypes. The EPROM was brand new, as was common from "back in the day", but most any 2K or 4K EPROMs you get these days are used and reused and their packaging is scratched and worn. The fact that it was a 2600 board (and not a 7800) led me to believe that it was a prototype for the 2600. The label said Meltdown, so I can only assume it was. The cartridge case was also brand new, with no sticker residue on the front label, which the shop owner kindly pointed out to me. So, whether or not it was actually Meltdown, I guess we'll never know, but it was a prototype! :x

 

@homerwannabe: Yeah, I had thought about that after-the-fact. In all honesty, I went into the store on the way to do some other things and really wasn't expecting to see anything at all. So, I was caught totally unprepared. Since I was looking through the other boxes of classic stuff (that they had to bring out from behind the counter one by one), it must have been obvious that I knew what I was looking for. If I was smart, I would have stopped looking once I found the proto (though I wasn't exactly sure that it WAS one right when I saw it), picked up Pitfall, Combat, and Missile Command, and handed them to him all at once. I'm kicking myself about it now, but I'm just not that slick, I guess!

 

Joe

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I would have thrown a $1 down on the counter and ran for the door. It isn't like he could get you for stealing because you paid for that item out of the $1 box of atari stuff.  :D

 

Great!! You didn't pay the 6-cent tax!!

 

Now Uncle Sam is gonna be after you. :D

 

The seller does not have to sell anything to you if he doesn't want to, regardless of what the price is on it. I agree that the seller is an A**HOLE for raising the price again and again. I have also learned not to buy a rare cart by itself, Buy a stack of them next time.

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Is there any chance of getting the guy to just plug it in so you can see what it really is? He can only benefit from having a confirmed Meltdown.

 

But based on label alone, for all we know that cart had Deady Duck in it.

 

Possibly, I assume he has a 2600 system in the store. But, I'm back in San Diego now and I don't plan on ever returning to his store.

 

Joe

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Was Squish Em an original console game by Interphase or a port of a PC game? I thought it was original. Perhaps Fox had an agreement with Interphase which fell through. I wouldn't be surprized if there's a 2600 Sewer Sam actually floating around.

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as Squish Em an original console game by Interphase or a port of a PC game? I thought it was original. Perhaps Fox had an agreement with Interphase which fell through. I wouldn't be surprized if there's a 2600 Sewer Sam actually floating around

 

Actually I believe Squish em was developed by Sirius and licensed to Interphase. I have Squish em for the 400 and its a Sirius cart. Since TCF actually licensed Sirius games for their first few releases because they didn't have a programming staff yet, it wouldn't surprise me that Squish em was one of those games.

 

Tempest

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:x What an absolute TURD!!!! :x

 

Put it this way if it was the actual game prototype and he wanted so so so much

for it WHY did he RUIN the lable?

 

He just DEVALUED the proto! :sad: and he may have even BROKEN the PCB. :x

 

Let's just say this, If this turns up online some one who is going to help preserve

it better win it because story is sad, unbeleivably sad! :x :sad:

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Or when it comes up for auction, we can flame him like crazy and get a really low price on it. payback's a bitch :)

 

:thumbsup: Good idea

 

But then he might not sell it, and may start filing complaints. :sad:

 

Hmm maybe who ever wins it should just neg him anyway. :D :evil: :lol:

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Hmm maybe who ever wins it should just neg him anyway. :D  :evil:  :lol:

 

I thought the goal was to get the game into the hands of someone with the means of preserving it. What does flaming the guy and leaving him an instant negative accomplish :?

 

Its all light jokes no harm intended. ;) :ponder:....

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The seller does not have to sell anything to you if he doesn't want to, regardless of what the price is on it.

Weird concept. If someone offers something for sale and puts a price tag on it, he has to sell it for this price.

 

At least in Germany. It happens quite often, especially when a special offer period is over. Sometimes they forget to put the old price back on it. :)

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The seller does not have to sell anything to you if he doesn't want to, regardless of what the price is on it.

Weird concept. If someone offers something for sale and puts a price tag on it, he has to sell it for this price.

 

At least in Germany. It happens quite often, especially when a special offer period is over. Sometimes they forget to put the old price back on it. :)

That's the law in Texas too.

 

I would have ASSUMED it was a national-level law...

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The seller does not have to sell anything to you if he doesn't want to, regardless of what the price is on it.

Weird concept. If someone offers something for sale and puts a price tag on it, he has to sell it for this price.

 

At least in Germany. It happens quite often, especially when a special offer period is over. Sometimes they forget to put the old price back on it. :)

That's the law in Texas too.

 

I would have ASSUMED it was a national-level law...

 

I don't know about Texas, There might be some local law.

 

Consumer Education Website:

 

Q: Can't I insist that a shop sells me something at the marked price - even though they may have made a mistake?

 

A: No. This is where a lot of people get confused about their rights. Shops are not legally obliged to sell customers anything but most are happy to serve you because that's why they're in business. If they choose not to there isn't much you can do about it unless they discriminate against you because of your race, religion or sex. That is illegal.

 

For customer relations or from clueless employees most large stores will

go ahead and honor the mistake price. If they don't, then you are powerless to do anything except bitch(Which will sometimes work. :D ).

 

Q: If a store says there was a price mistake in an ad, do they still have to sell the advertised item at the advertised price?

 

A: Not necessarily. Mistakes can happen, and advertisements have usually been viewed by the Courts as mere offers to deal, not creating any binding obligation on the part of the merchant. If there has been a mistake, the merchant should take prompt action to correct it, for instance, by placing a correction ad in the newspaper and posting a sign in the store.

 

However, it often pays to speak up and let the merchant know you're unhappy. Many merchants are sufficiently concerned about customer relations to make an adjustment for a customer who has been inconvenienced because of a mistake.

 

If a particular merchant makes repeated "mistakes" in advertising, it may be a matter for DCA to investigate. Too many "mistakes" might add up to a deceptive trade practice.

 

=================================================

 

I'm not defending the vendor, But if he does not accept your money for the item then legally you have no rights.

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Q: Can't I insist that a shop sells me something at the marked price - even though they may have made a mistake?

 

A: No. This is where a lot of people get confused about their rights. Shops are not legally obliged to sell customers anything but most are happy to serve you because that's why they're in business. If they choose not to there isn't much you can do about it unless they discriminate against you because of your race, religion or sex. That is illegal.

 

Maybe his religion is collecting and he kept up with his endless raising of a price on an item, to thwart a follower of the BIRA BIRA God. :D

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