I started using ebay in 1996, back when most listing didn't even have pictures. I specialized in video games that I bought by the carload at the thrift store and re-sold on ebay. In the last few years, I started researching different modifications (mods) that people have done on classic video games. One of the most popular mods is the composite video output. Most vintage systems came with the little switchbox that you would have to flip to get the game to come up. This is called an RF signal. These switchboxes wear out, and the signal picks up a lot of interference.
By soldering up a small circuit and adding some RCA ports to the back of the console, you can eliminate this problem, and in some cases, vastly increase the value of the system. My favorite (and most profitable) system to mod is the Colecovision. Typically I add about $10 worth of parts and 3 hours of work to a system that would usually sell for about $50. Now that system sells for over $200.
I will document my work the next time I do another system. I plan to add some mod pages to this blog where I will detail the mods that I am doing, and possibly offer the parts necessary to do the mods as well.
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June 9, 2010
I started this blog to chronicle the items that I buy at garage sales and flip on ebay. I have been doing this for a long time, and the only drawback is that sometimes I end up with pieces and parts, odds and ends, and general piles of stuff that sit unsold. Some of these items need repair, some are orphans that need to be paired with other items.
After my first month of garage saleing this year, it was apparent that this hobby, although a money maker, was straining our marriage.
Although I usually end up making money on this stuff, sometimes it has to sit for months or years until it is ready to sell. This would not be a problem if I had a nice big barn or huge basement. Unfortunately, I have neither of those things and the piles of crap drive my wife crazy. Crazy to the point of talking about moving to a bigger house, because of my crap.
We just refinanced into a 15 year mortgage at a fixed 4.25%, with a payment that is only about $200 more than we were paying when we bought the place 5 years ago. Our house is not huge, but it is a great property in a great neighborhood with great neighbors. I don't want to move, and moving to a bigger place just to store my yard sale junk is what really sounds crazy to me.
So...
I have come to the conclusion that I need to get my house under control. My house is bursting at the seams with video games, board games, and a plethora of other junk that needs to go. The house is bloated. We are going to exorcise the bloat.
I am officially on yard sale hiatus, but I will continue to sell on ebay and craigslist to get rid of the excess junk. I will continue to blog about the stuff I am selling, and I will do my best to remember what I paid for it, and try to offer buying tips for similar items.
I love my wife, and I love my house. I need to clean my crap out of the house so that my wife will love our house again.
