What is a fair price for a Vectrex? Should I get one?

[marvelvscapcom2]

I almost never post these "How much is it?" posts because I know they can be annoying and I have the power to google it but truly i've never seen one in the wild ever, and the only way to figure out price would be to go off ebay sold listings.  This item is large so Ebayers will be factoring in shipping and fees.  I don't have a source to find an actual price and due to it's rarity and my inability to find one in the wild I might have to cave on a slightly high asking price if I do decide I want one. 


Say I was offered a mint flawless working condition one in excellent condition for 350 and it would be shipped to me in the leisure of my home free of charge.  Is that a fair deal or am I being ripped off? 

Any help would be appreciated. 

My second part is do you think I should buy one?  I have always loved the bright screen with the neat overlays. It looks like almost spaceship scientific.  It screams retro and I love the blast from the past vibe of them.   But of course with that comes the expensive price tag.    Does anyone have pros and cons to share about them?

[soera]

For me personally, Id say no-go. But Im burned out on retro ... how often would you see yourself using a Vectrex and its games over what you are playing now? Its definitely neat looking but is it $350 worth of neat looking?

[rayne315]

I cannot speak to the price of it (I found mine for free at an estate sale because the people running it thought it was just a broken CRT tv) but I can tell you it is very nice to fire up and get to see a vector display. there is really nothing quite like it. but as far as play time. I have 10 games for it (plus the one on the vectrex) and I have put a combined total of 20 minutes into it. its a cool collectors piece but it will definitely not get played.

ive never looked up the price but I would never buy one for more than $250 shipped with games and a second controller.

[sworddude]

Most people buy it just as a display or conversation piece, just something to show off this is pretty much a collecting side only of the whole retro scene.

It is pretty expensive since it is not super common, It's pretty much a collectible piece only to most people, it is atari esk with a slight twist.

I'm not an atari lover so to me It's worthless but for the pre nes era atari fans who really appreciate and love to play atari like games it will get plenty of play time i'm pretty sure of that, If you however do not fit in that category than at the very least you have some nice fire making materials for your cheminée and a large hole in your wallet 

[burningdoom]

Online prices are crazy. But if you've got the money burn, I say go for it. It's very unique. There's not another system out there like it. The Vector graphics and the horizontal screen are awesome. That's one I'd LOVE to add to my collection.

[thewelshman]

If you are a serious collector and this is something you would enjoy both playing, and having as a conversation piece, I say go for it. A fair price is whatever you feel comfortable with paying. A lot of the time, game collecting is like collecting art. It's all about what you're willing to pay for the art. Basquiat is a good example. He was a Neo-expressionist painter from the 80s and his art looked like something a 6 year old would doodle on the wall in crayon, but one of his paintings sold for $110 million.

It's all about what you're willing and able to pay for something.

[wartoy]

I just recently bought mine about a month ago paid 400.00 at a retro store with 10 games he was asking over 500.00 but he gave me a special price.
To be honest I haven't played it for more than 15min since I got it but I still don't have the game I'm most interested in owning  (Star castle) this system captures the the feel of the old arcade games very well Imo.I'm sure I'll play much more once I acquire my favorite arcade game of all time so I guess I'm saying yes I think it's worth it.

[sworddude]

I just recently bought mine about a month ago paid 400.00 at a retro store with 10 games he was asking over 500.00 but he gave me a special price.
To be honest I haven't played it for more than 15min since I got it but I still don't have the game I'm most interested in owning  (Star castle) this system captures the the feel of the old arcade games very well Imo.I'm sure I'll play much more once I acquire my favorite arcade game of all time so I guess I'm saying yes I think it's worth it.

If you collect and like atari like games than yes you will enjoy it otherwise It's not recommended in my opinion since it is pretty pricy.

While it does give more of an arcade vibe and slightly different grapics and sounds, it comes pretty near the simplicity of atari games.

Even if also like to play 8 bit master system and nes games if you don't like atari games vectrex will most likely not suit your palette

Seeing as you are pretty big on atari I can see why you might give it allot of play time with certain games.