How much is a good condition originally boxed amstrad cpc 464?

[lynwen]

I would like to buy one but no idea on how much is too much? I bought a non tested console (no screen) so may not work for £10.50. But then I see people putting ones on for £90 and nothing special about them, others go for £10-£30.
Please advise.

[lynwen]

I have offered £40

I hope that is a fair offer

[Devilmarkus]

You shouldn't tell the people, how much you offered

This only would raise the end-price.

But IMHO £40 is quite enough.

[lynwen]

Eek, have bought for £40.

There are other ebay listings going for £50-£90 and they are not in their original box

[beaker]

You've bought a boxed system for the price of a new console game - probably give you more hours of fun too, so it can't be bad 

[Ciana]

Based on what I've seen since I obsessively started following the listings, £40 is a good deal if it's boxed and in top shape. And as Beaker says, you will have hours of fun with it... it's an investment in happiness

I consider myself lucky to be a fan of a machine that is not really as sought after as other machines (apart from certain mega expensive accessories and games!)

[steve]

Does it include a monitor?

[lynwen]

Does it include a monitor?

A green screen in original box however it's too far for me to collect so they will post just the console and games

[Ciana]

ohhhh I thought it had a monitor. Hummm.... you'll need a PSU and SCART adaptor

[lynwen]

I already have the colour monitor 

[Gryzor]

That's a fair price. Boxed CPCs don't come up very often; as a matter of fact it used to be that they were very rare in auctions and I've only seen them appearing lately. 40 quid is not bad at all. yes, maybe it could have been 30, but as others noted, that's quite a bang for your buck, so you can feel happy  Let us know when it arrives, and post pics if you can!

[lynwen]

Ok, other half pretty pee'd off about me using his ebay account (and paypal account) buying amstrad related things... Perhaps 3x amstrad cpc 464 is a little excessive... 

[Gryzor]

I'd be mad at my girl for ordering 3x464's with my ebay account, too. 

"What the bloody hell, man, 3 464s? Are you crazy? How about a 664? How about a 6128? How about ah HxC floppy emulator? Baaaad girl".

Ah, who am I kidding, I'd let her buy all the Amstrad gear she'd want, but I'm pretty happy she's ok with me having them around while I bribe her with Sega stuff.

Tell him "the guys at that forum say they're really becoming rare, so it's an investment".

[lynwen]

The other two were really cheap as they are broken just wanted a little project

Selling them on eBay once fixed, one fixed one to go, which will pay for the expensive one I bought

Logic being I'll get my money back ... His money back... Ah its all the same ... And have a couple of projects and a mint condition machine all at the same time :-)

[db6128]

Tell him "the guys at that forum say they're really becoming rare, so it's an investment".

But they're only becoming rare because lynwen is buying them all.

[lynwen]

After telling me the box was in " the moulded polystyrne and they are in good solid condition" it transpires the box has "TO READING" scrawled on it.

I am now disappointed and not sure what to reply to person in question with. She has got it all ready to post, an extra £15 on top of £40.

I wouldn't have even offered that amount had I known there was writing on the box. I think the most I would have offered is £20.

I cant decide what to do, I dont want to be unfair but I dont want to spend over £50 for something that is disappointing.

All over a box I know I'm being a bit anal but

[lynwen]

Here is the photo, would post the link but not sure if ebay links are allowed.

[beaker]

Ebay links are allowed 

If you did it as a BIN you have a cooling off period under UK law for distance selling which is listed on this ebay page eBay UK - eBay Safety Centre: Know Your Rights. If she starts to make a fuss you can open a case and ebay should come down on your side and give you your money back (although it sounds like you've not paid yet), especially if the item is not as described in the listing.

Maybe see how you feel about it in the morning - it does look pretty mint from the picture and it IS still an original box - the To Reading is just part of the history of it now 

[db6128]

Presumably the reference to polystyrene concerned the contents of the box, not the exterior. Not knowing the specifics, I don't find it hard to believe that a box may have been written on by a retailer/courier/whatever back in the day.

You have to go over the language used – or, just as importantly, not used – in the listing meticulously before thinking about filing a complaint; sellers can get away with almost anything if the wording is vague enough, under the logic that the buyer should have checked/thought more/etc. I'm not saying you're wrong, but make sure you're right!

[beaker]

I don't think it matters does it if it wasn't an auction listing, you can basically just change your mind for any reason?

What if you change your mind? Distance Selling Regulations
The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 generally apply to sales to consumers made by sellers acting in the course of a business, which have been made at a distance. In other words, where there's no face-to-face contact between the seller and the consumer before the contract is made. The Distance Selling Regulations apply to items purchased via Buy It Now listings and Second Chance Offers on eBay.co.uk. However, they don't apply to auction format listings on eBay.co.uk.
The Regulations also provide a period of seven working days after the date of receipt within which the consumer can cancel the contract (often referred to as the "cooling off" period) and get their money back, including the original postage and packing charges. The consumer can be asked to return the goods at their own expense, but only if the seller informed them of this requirement before the contract was made (otherwise, the seller is responsible for collecting the goods). If a business seller has not provided the information required under the Distance Selling Regulations (as discussed above), the buyer will have up to 3 months to cancel the contract and get their money back.
The cancellation rights do not apply to certain items including software, audio or video recordings that have been unsealed, perishable goods such as food or flowers, or items that have been made to order.

[lynwen]

I'd be mad at my girl for ordering 3x464's with my ebay account, too.

"What the bloody hell, man, 3 464s? Are you crazy? How about a 664? How about a 6128? How about ah HxC floppy emulator? Baaaad girl".

Ah, who am I kidding, I'd let her buy all the Amstrad gear she'd want, but I'm pretty happy she's ok with me having them around while I bribe her with Sega stuff.

Tell him "the guys at that forum say they're really becoming rare, so it's an investment".

What is a HxC Floppy EMULATOR?


Is it worth getting the external 3" floppy drive that attaches to it? I didn't bother with any of the tech you mentioned as I am trying to re create my childhood, but its starting to become a bit of a hobby now I fear I may start collecting things I didnt have back then. 

[steve]

The HxC floppy emulator allows you to store files on SD card as if it were a floppy disk, it costs about £80 and will need the DDI-1 disk interface, which should come with an FD-1 3" disk drive, you will also be able to connect a 3.5" disk drive provided you use a DOS that supports 3.5" drives, AMSDOS does not support 3.5"  drives.

[Gryzor]

The HxC floppy emulator is probably the one thing to own once you've got a working CPC, some games and (maybe) a joystick. You can read all about it here: HxC2001 HeadQuarters : HxC Floppy Emulator

But yeah, basically it's like Steve said, it's a device that emulates a floppy disk drive (not only for the Amstrad, but for a lot of other machines) and then you can load all the games you want form an SD card. Really handy, because all of a sudden you can load up all the games out there to your CPC.

Just a quick note, it's not £80, it's €80, for the uncased version.

Btw, I see he's released a cased version in white plastic (for the Plus?), and one in a 3.5" disk enclosure (for towered Amigas etc maybe?)


Concerning your question about whether it's worth it, well, it depends. A plain vanilla 464 is fantastic as long as you can find all the games you want/need on eBay (I'm assuming that 'keeping it simple' means no messing with audio files from your PC) and can put up with the loading times (for many it's a pleasure in its own). But, if you start to expand, then this is what you need to get first.


But then, it becomes a bit complicated - for instance, for the money you will give for a floppy interface you can probably get a 6128, which has double the memory AND an embedded drive. It depends on how down to basics you want to keep it.

[beaker]

Btw, I see he's released a cased version in white plastic (for the Plus?)

Oh very tempted... I already have a HxC in a black case for the original 6128 but it would be nice to have a white one for the Plus......

[db6128]

To be clear, you could also just connect a disk drive to your 464 using the DDI-1 interface and the FD-1 drive. However, these are quite rare, so you may find that buying an HxC costs about the same. The latter would give you a lot more versatility, assuming you don't mind downloading games and copying them over rather than buying originals.

Everyone needs to stop talking about the HxC, or I might end up buying one myself.