Re: Z80 pods, 2 versions...

Yes Keith, that's always been the problem, and will always be a problem. And it
sucks. But from my perspective, there is no mixing hobbiest with those who are
in it for the business. I'm guessing we're going to be tip-toeing around this
for a bit on this list, but I doubt we'll come up with a solution to it.

Hell on my part, it's been over 10 years that I have been struggling with
hobbiest that turn professional and immediately stopped doing the favours that
we once exchanged with each other, and started charging for them. That's the
way it is, and it's been painful. Odd part is, they still fully expected to
enjoy the benefits of the hobby crowd that we once were. ...voluntarily fixing
his games when we got the chance to get together, and helping out with tech.
support and pricing discussions over the phone. These were, and are friends,
but we no longer talk pinball, and I don't go to their places anymore. Largely
because I come away with the feeling of being taken advantage of, and as I said
before, it sucks. Easiest solution for me... say goodbye because when business
is more important than friends... well, it just isn't worth the hassle being
friends.

I brought this Z80 issue up with John about a month ago, kind of shocked that I
had sent him up a pod 4 months ago that he claimed he really needed and couldn't
find, and here he was turning around selling Z80 pods for outrageous prices 3
months later. ...problem is, 4 months ago, I want to believe John did NOT have
any Z80 pods. And I do believe that. Things have changed though, John's not
stupid. He came across a market that he now knows he can exploit, has done the
network research for the parts, and is capitalizing on it. He has been doing
this in his business for many years. We all can. The difference is that we
don't do it for a living, and John does.

So when we show John, (and not just John, there are many others, Gaymond used to
be a hobbiest too), this market and others, the threat we are exposing
ourselves to is to see that market be exploited against us; the market itself.
However, I don't know any alternative. There are political histories that
parallel this idealism vs. capitalism scenario, and they are equal stories of
exploitation. There is one difference, we are supposedly highly intelligent
people, we may be able to work out a sol'n that Che Guevara could not.
(...sorry, that would take a lot of effort to explain the parallels... shouldn't
have tossed that out).

And I'd be interested in hearing one, because I struggle with this daily. I
make the Ni-Wumpf CPU for old pinball machines, and still can't tell if and when
I've crossed the line into exploitation of my own hobby. Now I'm working on
other PCB's... the danger grows. It's a hobby, but the danger grows.

My solution: Know who you're talking with, and their motivation. If a hobbiest
asks a favour, you do it; if they offer a favour, you thank them and remain in
debt. But if a business offers you a favour.. know their motivation.

Ace

"Keith, Brendan" wrote:

> So you're buying up more pods and accessories than you need,
> then ebaying them to maximize your profit, thus taking them off
> the market except to the most well-heeled buyers, whether
> hobbyist or not?
>

 To UNSUBSCRIBE from techtoolslist, send a message with "UNSUBSCRIBE" in the
 message body to: techtoolslist-request@flippers.com. Please direct other
 questions, comments, or problems to jrr@flippers.com.
Received on Wed Mar 15 09:45:11 2000