Confessions of a
Garage Sale Hunter III


I posted a list of 'items I'd like to have' on 5 December 2006. Here's an update :


- a 3DO, a game console from 1993. Cost $700 at launch!
[2007 status] I spotted one on the Belgian eBay in February. I bid/bade €50, but someone else won the auction with €80.

- a DAT-tape recorder. It offers digital audio on tape and it's extremely useful for interviews.
[2007] Some turned up on eBay, but the starting bids were very high (€100-€200).

- a DCC-player. A failed attempt to create portable audio, this Digital Compact Cassette quickly disappeared.
[2007] I've seen a Marantz model on sale in a second hand shop in Antwerp. Price : €89. A bit steep. I'm thinking it over.
- a Game Gear, a Sega handheld. Impressive compared to the original Game Boy, with its colourscreen and TV-tuner. Shame the batterylife was below par.
[2007] Found one in a second hand game store! €10, excellent picture, kaput sound.

- a Dreamcast, without a doubt Sega's finest console.
[2007] Found one on eBay! €50, 2 controllers, 7 games. Very nice.

- a Sega Saturn, a Sega console that fought against Sony's PlayStation and Nintendo's Nintendo64. Sega finished third.
[2007] All quiet on the Saturn front ...

- a 8-Track-player. Common in the USA, rare in Belgium. It tried to replace the MC (the normal cassette), but never gained enough momentum to really impress.
[2007] I still have to see one with my own eyes, so the search ain't over. I did see some 8-track tapes this year.


New items on the list

- a CD-I-player. Crappy sound, crappy picture, happy Julian [when he'll find one]. Saw one on the local fleamarket, but it was gone before I could convince my folks.

- a CED-player. LaserDisc-esque machine that failed to make a significant impression on the market. Yes : a machine that lost against the LaserDisc! Niche vs. Super Niche, tonight on Fox!



Julian De Backer, 23 December 2007