WTB: Expansion Port Cover

[dukbrand]

I would like to buy a cover for the 15-pin expansion port on the front of my famicom.

[NintendoKing]

Its crazy how many original Famicom's that are missing these, where did they all go?

[manuel]

I guess they get thrown away or just went AWOL over time.

[NintendoKing]

I have never seen a AV Famicom missing one, they are always on those. But original Famicom's are always missing them, its so strange.

[dukbrand]

So odds of finding one are slim?

[P]

Might be, but I think Xious on this forum have these.

[Xious]

Yes, I have them for sale. I also include them with high-grade (cosmetic) systems that I sell, and I even have the Sharp version for Twin systems.

[manuel]

Just because I'm curious, for how much are you selling those covers?

[Xious]

I'd have to think about it... I mean, they're a tiny part, so I don't want to overprice them, but they're also becoming tougher to get, and I've seen them sell for 1,444 Yen on YAJ plus postage, so it's really hard to adjudicate a fair price. As I said, usually I include them on high-grade systems.

What do people here think is really a fair price? Maybe I should think about reproducing these too... I have to get my own plastics lab set-up so I no longer have to rely on a flaky woman out of my area to make my plastic stuff.

[MasterDisk]

Isn't Tea4Two printing them for cheap ? (http://www.tea4two.jp/product_info.php/products_id/80/, there could be others)...

[fredJ]

I think $4-$7 would be a fair price, if I sold it separately.
Personally I would sell it for $4.

[Xious]

I don't think Tea4Two sells them, but I could be wrong. As I said, I actually paid 1,488 yen for one on YAJ, but that was foolish of me at the time. For the record, maybe 1 out of 20 systems that i get has one on it.

For a FW member, I'd probably sell one for $10, just because that's about what they cost me to replace, but I have to give some thought to how much they'll cost to reproduce. I can't really sell them for less because they cost about US$10 to import and I have a limited supply.

I'm willing to trade something for one as well... I probably have about a dozen of them at most, and I have over 150 FC units in stock, to give you an idea of how few come in with the units. I also tend to, as I said, include them with high-end systems, either FCs that are very clean or with Square-Button systems, so I can only part wit one or two of them at most until I find a source for them in bulk.

I'll probably reproduce the Sharp type too, which is far easier, and will only be a couple dollars a-piece. I'm still working on doing repros of the Robot parts (e.g. claws) and the Square-Button controller keys as well (as I have a NOS set to use for master moulds). It just takes time, mostly because the gal that does my plastic stuff is ill and flaky Once I have my own plastics lab set up, i can do this kind of thing more readily. 

[UglyJoe]

I'm still working on doing repros of the Robot parts (e.g. claws)

I'd definitely buy a claw from you.  My poor R.O.B. has been missing a hand for as long I've had him.  Still works with just one, though

[fredJ]

Xious: I was wondering, is there a market for these? Most people over here wouldn't care, and I'm not sure I would get more money for a famicom with a cover than one without.  Famicoms aren't that expensive to begin with...

[Xious]

People that are collecting them, and want very nice systems do care: That's why I price everything by grade (condition) as well as rarity. You'd be shocked how much a nice FC system fetches outside of Nippon, especially completely restored with a warranty and even more with an professional A/V conversion.

I don't even bother listing non-A/V systems on auction sites, as I can sell an toned (a.k.a. 'sun-tanned) one for a very decent price while marketing my higher-end goods for nothing at the same time. You've seen some photos of the quality of my restoration work... I've only had one problem in the last two years, and that was restoring an FDS with physically broken parts. I made it work 90%, when the average person would've said it was impossible and used it for parts; I still gave a warranty on it, but it took forever to get it working without charging the owner upside-down for labour: He wanted to keep the original drive mechanism, and now he regrets not going the replacement mech route that I advised.

I even restore the game carts, removing scuffs and scratches, which are only too evident on some of the Namcot and Taito (shiny black cased) games.  I have special compounds for the correct types of plastic and wheels made for exactly these types of materials that are all custom-order. In fact, I restored three games that i recently included in a trade order, that I put in there as a bonus. No only did I clean the contacts, but I cleaned the entire cart case and removed as many of the scuffs and dents as was possible without causing rippling. That was for a free, gift-inclusion.

Some people in this industry are glorified junk-merchants. they buy systems and then just turn them around. I spend countless hours detailing and restoring everything in all capacities: Electronic, mechanical and cosmetic. One motto I stand by is: "I sell perfect systems.', and I mean that. Everything that I can do, I do, and I invent ways of restoring things that other people wouldn't dare touch. I also reproduce parts and make new, custom parts when I have any demand. I research compounds to make things work and look better...sometimes even work better than factory-new. I design products to upgrade systems and I devise work-around modules for system flaws.

Sometimes I even have custom parts machined, such as springs or switches. I'm thinking of having a run of very-custom FDS belts made that will last for decades rather than mere years... None of that is cheap to do, and no-one else in the industry, (save perhaps Tea4Two) does this at all. 

So yes, I can be more expensive than other merchants, but I bleed money into this as an industry, not a kitchen-sink hobby, and I maintain an inventory of over 275,000 items, all the old-fashioned way. Think of that the net time someone else claims to be the biggest vendor in this business.

I also have two dedicated phone lines, take calls 24/7 (which means that even if I'm sleeping I will usually answer) and I take credit cards the normal way: over the phone; I hate PayPal and everything they represent. I also still take paper payments, which few people accept, and I even prefer them.  It's a lot of work, but no full-time business isn't, and this is only one of four full-time businesses that I manage

So, yes I think there's a market for reproduction port covers: It'd be to collectors, and only because the originals are getting scarce: The Sharp covers, all the more-so as they were rarely saved at all.

@Joe: I've been hoping to do the robot parts for ages, but the gal that does my plastic stuff has been getting flakier and flakier, so I need to invest in some heavy-duty tools in order to make them. I will also likely make them in a colour that differs ever-so-slightly from the originals so that people know they are reproductions. I don't want my repros going out there and being re-sold as original parts and then getting the short end of it from the community. That's why I mark the reproduction FDS games as I do: To prevent counterfeiting in a way that isn't horribly obtrusive.

The other thing I'm working on is new buttons for Square Button FC systems. I have a pair of NOS buttons to use as masters and I just need some more tools and materials to do it myself. The gal that was going to do it just isn't reliable and every-time I try to meet with her she's not feeling up to it. I feel sorry for her current state of health, but I either need a new plastics-maker or I need the tools for myself .Honestly, I'm nlt sure which I'd prefer...