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Early custom Kraftwerk vocoder on the auction block
You wax faux-nostalgic about the heyday of early robo-Kraut-rock, your early signed pressing of Radio-Activity is rivaled only by your original Neu! Super / Neuschnee 7-inch, and you got a belly laugh at that one scene about the record the nihilists once cut in The Big Lebowski. Kraftwerk fans, today is your lucky day. The original one-of-a-kind prototype vocoder Kraftwerk pictured on the rear cover art of and used to record "Ananas Symphonie" and "Kristallo" on their 1973 release Ralf & Florian. As of the time of this writing it's already up to five grand, so if you want yourself an extremely expensive piece of history for electronics and electronic music, you'd better get a move on, schnell.[Via Music Thing]
Sidekick 3 fetches $4050 on eBay
Despite the fact that the long-anticipated official launch date is fast approaching, the demand for Sidekick 3s appears to be as hot as ever, with one lucky/crazy individual scoring one of the suckers for over four grand on eBay -- and it wasn't even a pimped out one. While the seller appears to be legit (no, it's not us), we can't say the zero feedback of the winning bidder inspires much confidence of him actually ever receiving a dime. But who knows, maybe it's some celebrity going incognito after failing to snag a freebie at the big launch party in LA last week. Gotta fit in, you know.[Via GigaOM]
Top five tips we turned down this week
Every day, Joystiq receives innumerable tips from people eager to guide our way through the world of video game news and culture. Most of the time, everything goes swimmingly: an interesting link pops up, you let us know, and we write it up. Sometimes, it doesn't go so smoothly.When we reject a tip, it may be because we've already reported on the story, or because the content of the tip isn't right for Joystiq. Other times, the rejected tip is dead wrong. Usually this is the fault of the source, not the tipster. Very often, rejected tips are also ones that, for whatever reason, make us laugh. This post is dedicated to the tipsters behind the tips that we didn't use this week.
Black DS Lite's flesh compared to PSP, DS Phat
Spudstercool, the tipster that sent us shots of the black DS Lite yesterday, was busy last night taking a few more photos of his black DS Lite alongside his PSP and now discarded DS Phat. This thing is hawt. Some answers to questions in the earlier comments thread: The DS Phat goes for around £70 on eBay.co.uk although GAME stores will give you £40 towards a DS Lite if you give them your DS Phat. The North American release date for the black DS Lite is, as yet, unannounced. You can import a U.K. DS Lite to your country without worrying about region encoding for games, but you'll still need to figure out a way of converting the UK DS Lite's 3-pin 230V/50Hz power adapter to your local mains power.
Widget Watch: Earthlink Shopping
One of my favorite things about the web is how it enables anyone, with even the slightest bit of effort, to become an educated consumer. Whenever I make a significant purchase (new camera, phone, etc), my first stops are sites like PriceGrabber, which allow you to search for things using specific criteria such as megapixels for cameras, carrier availability for phones, or speed for computers. This helps me get an idea of what my options are. The added benefit of these sites is the fact that they provide pricing quotes from hundreds of stores around the web, as well as ratings and customer reviews for those stores. While on the topic of smart internet shopping, lets take a peek at the new Earthlink Shopping widget. While it doesn't allow for the refined searching interface that I enjoy so very much, it does make it quick and easy to check prices on things. The widget searches eBay, shopping.com, and amazon.com for your search term, and displays the results in familiar search engine form. Earthlink Shopping also displays store and product ratings when available.
WTB: Unofficial Guides, PST
We've seen some of the problems surrounding unauthorised WoW guides, but just how good are they? I've run into adverts for WoW ebooks and guides on eBay several times now, but I always dismissed them quickly. Until recently, that is. I've put my money where my mouth is and coughed up for two eBay ebooks -- both with similar advertisements, promising WoW tips, tricks and secrets. I won't advertise the exact products here, but if you're tempted by similar offerings, read on for the lowdown.
Get revenge on a 360 Ebay scammer: Call his mom
Moms really do know best. They also get results. Here's a satisfying tale from a guy who bought a used 360 on Ebay for $315 and got burned. He does a little detective work and tracks the non-shipping seller down to some town in Ohio, then calls him up only to get the phone slammed in his face. So who does he call next? The cops? Nah, he dials the dude's Mom and rats him out. Minutes later he has a refund, an apology and the pleasure of posting the most humiliating Ebay feedback ever. As reader Jamaicanbwoydre notes: Vigilante justice rules -- especially when Mom is playing the Charles Bronson role.
Griefing and self-governance in online games
The Guardian has produced an excellent column that addresses the problem of "griefers", people that abuse, team-kill and cheat other players of online games, particularly MMOs. Griefing has always been a problem where real players compete against their peers, although with massively multiplayer online games the problem has become much more serious. Earning a battleship in Eve Online or crafting a special item in World of Warcraft can take weeks if not months of game time. On top of that, the recent trend for people to sell items on auction sites like eBay has meant that rare online items have a monetary value.The article cites several high profile situations where griefers have bent moral codes with the Guiding Hand Social Club's ruination of Ubiqua Seraph in Eve Online and the funeral crash in WoW being the two main examples. Solutions that companies have come up with to limit these types of situations from happening are also looked at with the Xbox Live points system and strong community measures (like guilds and friend lists) being top on the list of letting players self-govern the problem. Effective community governance is essential if companies want to keep players inside the game and so that the owners don't have to resort to more drastic measures, like Blizzard does with its periodic account banning binges.Update: fixed a couple of minor grammatical errors.
Blizzard Closes Another Round of Accounts
In their never-ending war against the evil gold farmers of the planet, Blizzard has announced that during the month of May, over 30,000 accounts have been suspended, removing over 30 million in gold from the economy across all servers. Now, just look at those numbers for a moment: 30 thousand accounts closed. That's a number of subscribers that many small game companies would love to claim as their entire playerbase, and those are not only just the cheaters in WoW, but only the ones who got caught! And 30 million gold out of the economy...that's...well, I'm actually not sure what the hell that means, because I'm not an economist. i'm sure Ben Stien could tell you.In any case, the bottom line is, don't cheat, or Blizzard will get you. If they're lucky. You can read the full announcement at the official homepage right here.
M-M-M-MacBook Pro eBay scam
If you remember the P-P-P-Powerbook scam last year, then you're going to love the new and improved M-M-M-Macbook scam. Once again, a Something Awful forum dweller by the name of isnoop has documented quite the adventure involving a MacBook Pro sale on eBay, and the intrepid scammer who didn't quite get what he ordered. Check out the first post in the forum for links to the key events of the scam, and marvel at this wonderful entertainment the internets make available.[thanks C Keigher!]
Widget Watch: eBay Watcher 3.0
If your picture is hanging on eBay's 'Favorite Customers of All Time' award wall, this eBay Watcher widget might be just for you. As a powerhouse eBay monitoring tool, this widget has it all: up to three items can be watched at once, audio feedback for price changes and auction ending, Growl notifications, automatic refreshing at user-specified intervals, localized display labels for German, French, Spanish, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese and Italian and even a world clock. Just about the only thing this widget is missing is a kitchen sink, though I'm sure an eBay widget could help you even with that minor setback.One complaint I have about this widget is the explanation as to why you should register it from Hawk Innovations. Discussions about whether one should charge money for a widget aside, check it out: "Our demo version has a 50-50 chance of working. Make sure your widget works 100% of the time by registering now!" Cryptic as that may be, I think it deserves at least a few points for being one of the more... unique demo limitations I've seen.So, a '50-50 chance of working' demo is available, and a license (which includes two machines) will run a mere $5. Hey: nobody said making eBay's 'favorite customers' wall was free.
iSale 3.1 adds eBay interactivity, prepares for upcoming site changes
iSale, the application our own Scott McNulty dubbed 'the Delicious Library for eBay auctions', has been bumped to version 3.1 with some very useful site interactivity and significant changes under the hood. iSale 3.1 can now relist unsold auctions and allow you to watch how many people have looked at and are watching your auction - right from within iSale. An improved widget can also display the watch count, hit count, highest bid and feedback from the highest bidder. Last in this new version is a localized and active links preview for English, German and French languages. Under the hood, iSale has been tuned for an upcoming change to eBay's communication standards which goes live on July 1st.For a refresher, here's a list of the other features iSale already offers: beautiful auction templates, a 'funky pinboard' with photos of auction items, one-click locating of buyers with Google Maps, 'Smart Date' simplified auction scheduling, description importing from Amazon and eBay, Address Book/Mail integration, .Mac syncing, iCal scheduling and much more.iSale 3.1 is a Universal Binary, offers a three-auction demo and sells for $39.95 USD. Upgrades from iSale 2.x are $14.90 USD.
Post-E3 swag shopping on Ebay
If you thought selling your E3 swag haul on Ebay was going to pay for your bus ticket back home or, fancifully, your $600 PS3, consider the frustrating law of supply and demand. Currently a luggage bag worth of junk is going for around around $50-$70. Smaller lots are fetching far less, while single PS3 lanyards -- the pennies of the E3 swag economy -- are going for a mere $.99. (Sony distributed these things with the zeal of Hare Krishnas doling out flowers on doomsday -- their apparent substitute for an accessible PR operation). Adopting a Marxist perpsective, making the gullible fanboy proletariat pay for swag is a cruel capitalistic joke anyway. If, like me, you believe free crap should remain free, stick around. Joystiq will unload it's treasure trove of cheaply-produced, Chinese-made chotchkeys to our loyal readers in due time.
Game development team for sale on eBay
Ever wanted to own a game studio, or to see an idea come to fruition? Got a few hundred thousand dollars going spare? This could be the auction for you. An Oregon-based "award-winning video game development team" is up for auction, and the lucky winner will get the team of eight to do his or her bidding for 90 days.Unfortunately we can't decide if it's a humorous publicity stunt or a deep and meaningful statement about the industry. It might be an easy way to get outsourced work, but selling your team on eBay is surely something of a low.
Scalpers want $1K for pair of E3 badges
Earlier this morning we received word that a pair of E3 badges was being auctioned on eBay. According to our tipster, the starting bid was $300. Unfortunately, the auction was pulled before we could get a look.However, moments ago, we were tipped off by another reader who had discovered a similar sale on craigslist. As it turns out, it's the same pair of badges, now being offered for $1,000! Here's the post:"I have a pair of E3 Badges I am selling. I had these posted on Ebay but the ESA pulled the auction. Purchasing these will get you onto the show floor of E3 2006. My manager and I will fly down to L.A. and pick up the badge holders with our ID's. You will not have to show ID at any point from there on out. Our travel expenses are included in the badge price. The pair of badges is $1000 obo. Please email me with any questions. Thanks. "What's a chance to be the first on your block to see the PS3 and Revolution in action worth to you and a friend?[Thanks, T & Eric]
Mom & Pop plot to screw you out of a PS3... and put food on their table
We despise the bait-and-switch and illegal bundling tricks that some unscrupulous retailers played on gamers who were looking to purchase Xbox 360s last holiday season (Best Buy, we're thinking of you). But should we be even more alarmed by the way in which small games retailers take advantage of temporary shortages to make a killing selling scarce consoles on eBay? Several weeks ago, I visited a tiny games retailer in my old 'hood of Astoria, NY, just outside of Manhattan. Once I got the clerk talking, he let slip that his boss had eBayed every Xbox 360 he'd received since the system's launch, most of them for 100% over retail price. "Will you do the same with the PS3s you get?" "Totally," the clerk responded. In other words, if the PlayStation 3 is scarce this holiday season, don't expect your local games retailer to save one for you. He'll do the economically rational thing and divert his allotment of consoles to the global marketplace, where they'll fetch a higher price. After all, he's in the business of making money, not running a charity, right? Rational merchants guided by the invisible hand? Or shady shysters? Is there any solution to this problem?
eBay launches PayPal Mobile for impulse buying IRL
So PayPal Mobile -- not to be confused with Papal Mobile, the MVNO for the active-lifestyle Pope on the go -- is finally getting off the ground today, bringing a whole generation's eBay buying addiction to bear in the real world. We're just excited to finally put an end to certain restaurant leechers (you know who you are) who never seem to "remember" cash, but won't have as much of an excuse with their phone sitting right there in their pocket. PayPal hopes to work with brick and mortar stores, charities, and media outlets to nab those impulse buys from people who might not be carrying a credit card, or don't want to take the time to make a regular physical transaction. To make payments you first need to activate you phone at the PayPal website, and then you just text message PayPal a product ID number, or an amount and a recipient. PayPal will then call you to make sure the purchase is legit -- they require a unique PIN number to confirm. After that PayPal will pay the recipient, and even specify shipping info with what is currently listed on your account. Current retailers that are slated to work with the service include 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, Bravo, MTV, and the NBA Store.[Via CNNMoney.com]
Paying Real Taxes for Virtual Items?
All you have to do is visit eBay to see that your virtual acquisitions in Azeroth have real money value. But if my epic-geared character has a real value (a priest in my guild was recently offered $1000 for his character), does that make it a taxable asset? The IRS has no definitive answer for this, though as the market for buying and selling virtual goods becomes larger, there's the chance that this could change. While such real life consequences for a game might seem far-fetched, they're already starting to occur - players in South Korea have been prosecuted for stealing virtual property and Chinese courts have ordered game companies to restore stolen (virtual) goods. Can the IRS be far behind?
WTF? Xbox 360 "commemorative toast"
Stumbled upon an eBay auction for "THE ORIGINAL XBOX 360 PREMIUM TOAST" while looking into the whole Jesus on a 360 thing last night. The text of the auction reads: "The XBox craze has hit the nation. Now is your chance to own the original commemorative toast. What better way to show your love for the new console by having this one-of-a-kind trophy framed in your game room. (frame not included) Don't miss out on this phenomenon! By buying this, you are helping a family achieve a dream of owning their first home. Bid with pride!"The strangest part: there were actually 16 bids! One (questionably) lucky bidder got the (dubious) honor of forking over $33.48 for their very own piece of commemorative toast. One's born every minute...[Via Way Out Auctions]
Owner Uses AU eBay to Try to Catch Powerbook Thief
On Tuesday, two idiots in Australia walked into a business and stole a 17" Powerbook. They then proceeded to attach a modem and actually checked the owner's email. As a result, the owner now has an IP address used by the thieves. He also has video and still footage from security cameras in his business as well as pictures of the car the thieves drove away in.The owner has posted most of this information up on an eBay Australian auction and has been running a full-court press offensive with the media. The police are involved and are helping to try track down the thieves.But it gets better! The thieves apparently called the owner from a "withheld" phone number at 2:20am and were angry that so much attention has been called to their crime. They've offered to return the stolen Powerbook but it apparently hasn't happened yet.Via del.icio.us.
