"Pristine" ZX80 for sale on eBay

[321hunter]

A ZX80, described by the seller as "factory-sealed" and in "pristine condition," has been listed on eBay. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Factory-Sealed- ... 2477703136 The seller will ship only to US addresses, so UK enthusiasts will need to enlist the aid of a US-based friend to purchase. Bidding ends on March 12. Worth a look.

[torrid]

"Factory sealed"?

[Moggy]

HMMM An issue two ZX80 with a badly aligned Issue one function sticker stuck on it with the whole she-bang wrapped in cling film and whilst the cassette connector cables look kosher the TV cable looks suspect and as for the power supply..

Also it seems to have the UK black Sinclair label on the underside( obscured ) as opposed to the larger USA FCC label so a pass from me I'm afraid.

I don't suggest in any way the seller is being fraudulent but I rather think someone way back then may have been less than honest when they sold it to him/her.

[RetroTechie]

"Factory sealed"?

Don't think I've ever seen original Sinclair boxing that included plastic wrapping as shown. Although I might be mistaken. I haven't seen that many original Sinclair unboxings... (let alone ZX80)

But yeah more probably a previous owner wrapped it all up, and (at best) that plastic wasn't opened since. At worst, seller is presenting some 'alternative facts' in order to drive up the auction result.

So according to Moggy it's a UK version, obviously it's in good nick, and hey a ZX80.. working or not.. No doubt it'll fetch a good price.

[Moggy]

If memory serves the ZX80 didn't come "boxed" like the ZX81/spectrum.
Rather than a properly printed box the polystyrene inners were shipped in whatever plain brown cardboard boxes Tek, then later Timex, had to hand.

Also the manual with that 80 looks suspiciously like the one that was issued with the kits as opposed to factory made.(white flat plastic binding as opposed to wire ring bind) but will stand corrected if anyone knows different.

If anyone wants the "feel" of a ZX80 rather than an emulator then all you need is a spare ZX81 five resistors and an EPROM programmer, much cheaper.

[msansom]

The guy says he's the original purchaser from the early 1980s at some electronics show.

I suppose that it's possible that some guy in the US imported some units "in bulk", not individually boxed and wrapped the parts in cling wrap to sell at some electronics show. In fact, if someone did buy a dozen or so units in bulk Sinclair might well have wrapped them like that to avoid shipping damage. I definitely recall seeing advertisements for ZX80s in the US around 1980/81 in magazines like Popular Science and Popular Electronics. In fact, I wanted one.

If the thing was boxed (how were ZX80s boxed? I've never seen one new) then I think he might have something that enhances the value. But unboxed pieces in cling wrap? I don't think I'd pay a premium beyond that of just buying a really clean, possibly unused unit. In fact, I'd almost like to see the unit out of the cling wrap to get a better look. As I said, I don't think the presence of cling wrap enhances the value, but I'm not a ZX80 collector either.

[PokeMon]

Crazy shit.
This thing look like a wrapped break time snack.
Never believe that Clive did sell/ship them in this poor boxing.

[Moggy]

This thing look like a wrapped break time snack.

I nearly pizzed myself when I read that.

[321hunter]

In response to Moggy's comment that "the manual with that 80 looks suspiciously like the one that was issued with the kits as opposed to factory made.(white flat plastic binding as opposed to wire ring bind) but will stand corrected if anyone knows different." … there's a 1981 magazine ad on eBay that shows a factory-made ZX80 (as opposed to a kit) and a manual with white plastic binding. The wire binding came later, apparently.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SINCLAIR-ZX80-C ... Swax5YtFGr

[Moggy]

In response to Moggy's comment that "the manual with that 80 looks suspiciously like the one that was issued with the kits as opposed to factory made.(white flat plastic binding as opposed to wire ring bind) but will stand corrected if anyone knows different." … there's a 1981 magazine ad on eBay that shows a factory-made ZX80 (as opposed to a kit) and a manual with white plastic binding. The wire binding came later, apparently.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SINCLAIR-ZX80-C ... Swax5YtFGr

Excellent find with pictorial evidence answers the question,nice one.