Messages

46

Off Topic / Re: Rank the shipping services from best to worst? USPS, UPS, DHL, Fedex

« on: September 12, 2021, 01:17:09 pm »

#1 In my area FedEx is the best . Never had anything broken in their trust , tracking info is good , and their office hours are 9am to 5pm .
#2 Then UPS . Had a few packages misdelivered over the years , more than a few packages beat up badly or broken items inside , good tracking , usually no problems . Office hours are abysmal 4:30pm to 6pm , they're only open to the public for 1.5 hours a day .
#3 Then DHL simply because I've not used them much as we have no DHL office near . They usually use USPS for final delivery here so you end up with a carrier switch-off , tracking is not as good as others as you have to select which service is being used global vs express . Really no reason to use them in my area .
#4 Bringing up the rear USPS is the worst . Let me say first that my current mail dude is the best and never makes mistakes on his end . Office hours are great . The rest , not so great . Things arrive opened sometimes with items missing , smashed , water damaged , etc . Some of this can be chalked up to bad shippers/packaging , but not all of it . Highest chance of getting a damaged item with USPS hands down . Tracking is absolute shite . I've had about 4 things marked delivered that were never delivered to me . Just last week I had a package from ebay shipped through them show as delivered to an undisclosed package locker . I was sitting there as the mailman came by , he dropped some mail and left as usual , the problem was that we don't have lockers in my neighborhood . I had to go down to their office at which point they told me that they had a new employee at the hub scan some packages wrong and that I should receive it that day . They let that wrong tracking info slide without fixing it knowing that there was a problem with it . There's a lot of opportunity for mistakes in their tracking system that you don't see happen with anyone else .

** I also have to add that another negative with UPS last year around the holidays is that they used private contractors to deliver their overflow . Those contractors are basically hobos off the streets with open pick-ups overfilled with packages getting rained and snowed on so lost packages were a problem .

47

Classic Video Games / Re: Grading older games

« on: September 11, 2021, 12:06:56 pm »

In most cases the batteries in games anyway dry up so in most instances nothing would happen aside from save batteries etc being dead. if you have terrible luck than you can have simular scenario's as say xbox consoles in wich you get leaks.

I had a lithium button battery from a watch explode once . It was sitting on my wooden work bench waiting to be replaced , not shorting or anything . After that I don't totally trust them .

Did the explosion leave a mark on that work bench?

Nope , no burns or anything . I just noticed that the battery was missing , not on the bench anymore . Looked around the ground at the foot of the bench and found half of it and then found the other half across the room .

48

Classic Video Games / Re: Grading older games

« on: September 08, 2021, 01:41:32 pm »

In most cases the batteries in games anyway dry up so in most instances nothing would happen aside from save batteries etc being dead. if you have terrible luck than you can have simular scenario's as say xbox consoles in wich you get leaks.

I had a lithium button battery from a watch explode once . It was sitting on my wooden work bench waiting to be replaced , not shorting or anything . After that I don't totally trust them .

49

Classic Video Games / Re: Grading older games

« on: September 08, 2021, 10:32:16 am »

It's been a thing for a while in the world of comics and trading cards. I've never been one to do it, personally, but there's no denying the selling power graded items have in those markets. So I don't see why video games would be any different.

Some video games have batteries inside , can't wait to see what happens to those when the batteries start venting inside the case .

50

General / Re: Intro thread

« on: June 17, 2021, 11:59:32 am »

Hello ! I don't have many collector's editions , mostly the common steelbooks . I'm too cheap to pay the prices I'm afraid .

51

Video Showcase / Re: New YouTube Channel

« on: May 20, 2021, 06:46:37 pm »

Well done .

52

Off Topic / Re: People in US - Do you consume food from any of these brands or not?

« on: May 09, 2021, 12:37:14 am »

I've bought them all before , but none are my regular brands . I used to buy Snyder's jalapeno pretzel pieces a lot , they're the bomb .

53

Hardware and Tech / Re: Looking for Xbox One Advice.

« on: April 02, 2021, 06:05:32 pm »

That sucks . I would guess that it fried something too . That must've been a really bad surge . Time to get a Series X  ...... and a UPS . I get a lot of lightning storms and haven't lost any electronics since I started using UPS's for everything , knock on wood .

54

Classic Video Games / Re: Atari 2600

« on: March 14, 2021, 07:52:02 pm »

the major downside for me would be that you needed to sit by the game console itself and keep hitting the reset switch every single time you lost the game.

At the time that was all that was really necessary considering that the average TV screen in the late 70's was 19"-25" you were going to be sitting on the floor right next to the TV/game system anyways . Also some Atari games used the fire button as the start/reset button .

55

Classic Video Games / Re: Atari 2600

« on: March 13, 2021, 01:34:06 pm »

Personally, I'd take Intellivision over Atari 2600 any day. There's a much more interesting variety of games, IMO.

Although the Intellivision games were great , the controllers sucked the worst out of the big 3 consoles IMO and the fact that you could not just go out and buy a better one for it hobbled it . They sold those joystick kits for the stock controllers , but it was like putting a Band-Aid on a knife wound . I picked up a TandyVision One last year and those controllers certainly bring back bad memories .

Can you plug a Sega Genesis controller into it and use It? You can on the Atari 2600.

Nope , some models/model (I know the model II at least) used the same 9-pin as the Atari , but nothing else was compatible . The original and model III , you can't remove the controllers without disassembly of the console .

The Colecovision had some other choices including a trackball .

56

Classic Video Games / Re: Atari 2600

« on: March 12, 2021, 04:50:03 pm »

Personally, I'd take Intellivision over Atari 2600 any day. There's a much more interesting variety of games, IMO.

Although the Intellivision games were great , the controllers sucked the worst out of the big 3 consoles IMO and the fact that you could not just go out and buy a better one for it hobbled it . They sold those joystick kits for the stock controllers , but it was like putting a Band-Aid on a knife wound . I picked up a TandyVision One last year and those controllers certainly bring back bad memories .

57

Classic Video Games / Re: Atari 2600

« on: March 11, 2021, 08:01:48 pm »

As far as revisiting the Atari VCS in 2021 , it's very primitive .

58

Classic Video Games / Re: Atari 2600

« on: March 11, 2021, 07:20:32 pm »

When it came out it was fine . Just having video games at home was fun even if they did look like ass , people were coming from  pong . The joysticks were one of the better designs of it's time and there were tons of 3rd party controller designs . The console was built like a tank , carts were of a good design . Games had a lot of big titles , they were plentiful and easily found in a variety of stores . Luckily as a kid we got the Atari 400 instead and never had to deal with the 2600 except visiting friends . I only recently picked up some 2600 variant consoles because they were dirt cheap . I do not collect the games as there are usually much better versions available . The NES came out in a different time . The NES sucked when compared to the Sega Genesis and so on .

59

Classic Video Games / Re: What retro items you are expecting will get expensier this 2021?

« on: March 09, 2021, 02:59:32 pm »

I think TG-16/Pc Engine will go up in 2021 . They're not super cheap at the moment , but I think there will be a surge in demand for them as the Analog Duo comes out . Especially PC engine and CD games .

60

Classic Video Games / Re: Nintendo 3DS turns 10 years old.

« on: March 08, 2021, 06:52:02 pm »

The old DS's and DS Lite's were the best way to play single player GBA games . Still worth keeping for that purpose .

The honor of the best way to play single player GBA games belongs to the Game Boy Player. 

But you are absolutely correct that the best way to play your GBA games in portable form would be with the DS/DS Lite. At the time, playing GBA games on that amazingly bright and truly backlit DS screen with the built-in stereo speakers was kinda like going from watching your favorite VHS movies on DVD for the first time.

To play all GB/GBC/GBA games in portable form, the second model of the GBA SP with the much better screen is as good of a device as you'll get that isn't the Analogue Pocket.

I have to disagree on this one. The GBA-SP 101 model has it beat. It's not as large or clunky as a DS, and it's screen is fantastic and bright.

I've found that DS screens frankly suck in the sunlight. While the GBA-SP does great in it.

Now the sound, yeah, can't argue that.

But as you said, Game Boy Player is hands down the best way to play GBA. You don't have to weigh the pros or cons like you do DS vs GBA, it's just better in every way.

I guess that I play more in shadow than direct sunlight . For handhelds , I still prefer the DS Lite over the SP 101 for GBA games . An SP with IPS mod wins hands down , but that's not really fair to put into the equation . I did the IPS mod to one of my 001's and it's glorious . Someday I plan on putting an IPS in one of my regular GBA's , that would be the total package .