Abby Normal

I penciled in for 2 and decided on 1. The seller left open the possibility I could come back for more at the same price if I wished. Depending on my experience, I may actually do that even if I do take the extra shipping hit.

This person (who also has an account here: LonelyMachines) has an excellent page of minidisc articles, including reviews of several models including: Sony MZ-E630MZ-RH1: Initial ImpressionsMZ-RH1: Field RecordingMZ-EH930MZ-EH1: I wasn't going to include this one in the list, but then I clicked through and he's got a pic of Grado headphones. I have coveted Grados for quite some time.The Main Page Listing All His MiniDisc Articles: There are some interesting articles on the state of the format and a couple on blank media.

I thought the comment about the Metal/Normal switch being a genre-specific equalizer was much funnier.

This guy apparently uses USPS--and the lowest rate is $12.95 US to Canada according to his calculator: Bryco DRP-40 DAT rack Minidisc storage for 40 JVC tape Are there additional customs fees that get charged even if the listing doesn't say so?

Here's what it looks like when I use it with the Context Search: It creates a new tab and if it gets a good enough match it goes right to the appropriate equipment page. In this particular case it didn't actually work because I selected the D at the end. The equipment browser doesn't have the "D" in its title for this model.

Ha! I just reported this same seller (pmtpleasant) 2 days ago. He has a listing for a NIB Sony Radio that he wants over $2000 for. For a couple of weeks, he switched the bulk of that price to the shipping ($200 for the item, over $2000 for shipping). FFS, what an asshole.

So, a little background on my historical interest in MD: For a couple of years after it first came out I was excited about it, but every time I looked I got angrier. The format was sexy, but Sony was killing it with stupid restrictions. It was also a bit out of my price range. "For that price, it should include a nice case!" After awhile I just lost interest. It's only fitting that my interest should be rekindled by the only unit that you can backup your digital content from. I hope Sony has another great idea in my lifetime and doesn't kill it this time around.

Well, at least the fever broke before the end. It didn't go higher.

The issue here is that not everyone is charging that high price or shipping. Stock isn't all that sparse yet in comparison with demand. Unless someone with a huge wad of cash and an MD fetish starts going around emptying people's stock soon, we have a fair amount of buffer for now. If stock were really dwindling that much, there wouldn't be so many places offering quantities of 50 or 100. By the way. I quipped to Pro-Tape staff that UPS is expensive and they called USPS unreliable. I can't quibble that in some areas it is inconsistent, but I seem to have excellent results from USPS.

Okay--I'm new here, so I suppose it's possible I'm missing something. Look at this auction (by the time you read it, it may very well be over--but that isn't the point): MZ-NH600D The current bid is almost $75 USD--it's used and it isn't even in that special condition. There are several scattered on Amazon marketplace and ebay that are refurbished and are going for less than that. Please don't tell me the included "black" HiMD used disc is what makes it special.

If you mean some other Mozilla derived browser besides Firefox--possibly. I don't think it'll be harmful to try.

I'm not sure if this really fits anywhere, but this seems the closest fit. I wanted to create a FireFox search engine plugin for the equipment browser here. I tried using the Mycroft project form first and only succeeded in listing a broken plugin there. I think it's because my search URL uses some special characters that the Mycroft form doesn't convert to URLencoded, which is a must for the XML file required. But I digress: I've attached the necessary XML file in this post. Download it and dump it into your searchplugins directory (mine is under C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox) then restart your browser. You can use it by selecting it from the dropdown on the search toolbar, but that gets to be a pain because then you might forget to set it back to Google or whatever your preferred default is. It's best used in combination with the Context Search plugin found here: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/240 What's it for? What I do is when I see an MD unit I want, I select the model number then (in combination with the context search plugin) I right-click the selected text and go down to "Search for" which expands to a list of all my search plugins. Why bother having a special plugin instead of just searching Google? This just reduces it by one step for me. The search plugin actually uses Google but adds a couple search terms that singles out minidisc.org AND it also adds a special parameter that executes Google's "I Feel Lucky" function, which automatically sends you to the first result rather than leaving you on Google's search results page. I'm not saying this will be terribly useful to many people. I will use it a lot and I thought I'd share just in case someone else finds it beneficial. narp minidiscorg_gearbrowser.xml

I came to the exact same conclusion, unfortunately. I don't think I'll be ordering from them anytime soon. The shipping starts to make sense when you order 30 or more (at least for my area). Even then it's a bit of a stretch. I know that it's more difficult for smaller operations, but "free shipping when you buy $X or more" is frequently what cinches a deal for me. That would certainly help. Same with pauseplaystop.com. minidisco.com offers me free UPS ground on an order of 20 HiMD blanks. $99.00 USD. I'd say it's minidisco.com FTW.

Ch-ching. Another $12.99 spent. I didn't have anything by the Spin Doctors and I'm pretty sure I like them. I bought SPIN DOCTORS POCKET FULL OF KRYPTONITE $9.99 + shipping.

Wow, ProTape is awesome--assuming their shipping prices don't cancel it out. I have e-mailed them for a formula to use for my area.

I apologize for the quality. My camera is a little dated now and I live with animals--so you might see the occasional cat hair or other detritus if you are looking for it. Narp's MZ-RH1 gallery I must say I was somewhat disappointed that the OLED display doesn't perform well outside. The remote's display seems to work admirably in that environment, though.

I should add the concepts driving my opinion here also lead me to oppose the media broadcasting "exit polls" while people are still voting in other areas of the country. I also am driven to support IRV (instant runoff voting--called alternative vote or preferential vote in Canada and UK). It's all about fairness. This seems counter-intuitive, but only because someone coined the term "snipe" and it has caught on. "Snipe" lends itself to the negative connotations and so people naturally color their analysis of the issue through this bias. I don't have another term to put in its place, so it will have to do for now.

I split out the sniping discussion to a new topic: Auction Sniping

Thanks for the tip. I didn't know about them. They have a bigger selection too if I want to start getting fancy with MD art and such.

I understand how people get the idea that "when more than one person does it...it fails", but it isn't true. I draw your attention to this Wikipedia entry on Auction Types: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auction#Prima...ypes_of_auction Since internally ebay uses a variation on the "sealed-bid second-price auction", all sniping does is turn it into a hybrid/variation of the "sealed-bid first-price auction"--whether 1 person does it or 20. The key is the fact that it is still the person who entered the highest maximum bid who wins--whenever they entered a bid. It took me a little to wrap my head around this concept, too. The problem is we're all tempted to believe that snipers can just enter an arbitrarily high maximum bid and win every auction if they beat out all other bidders and snipers. The catch is that if they win they are still committed to pay 10% over the second highest maximum bid that was not theirs--even if that bid is considerably higher than they really wanted to pay. In reality, rational bidders--sniping and non-sniping--will simply enter the maximum amount they are willing to pay, irrespective of when they submit (or revise it).

Keep in mind my comments are in the context of a US buyer. I'm not so sure. The deal looks okay until start adding in shipping. I suppose I might feel differently if I called them and found out exactly what they'd charge. For international they just say "at cost freight"--I have no idea what this means. I have found decent deals on ebay for new Sony Gold 80 Minute discs that include free priority shipping. The sweet spot for these deals appears to be "quantity 20" deals. I've also seen fair deals on HiMD on ebay. When the ebay sources dry up, minidisco appears to have the next best deal (unless they start raising their prices) for North American buyers, especially if you buy from their bulk section. In fact, their bulk section prices are better than what I paid on ebay in quantities of 100. I didn't want 100 discs yet, so I went with the ebay 20 pack instead.

I don't think there's anything wrong with changing your mind, but by the time snipers come into play you should already have your mind made up how much it is worth to you. What I do frequently is make use of the "Completed Listings" option to see what the item has been going for (presuming it's a frequently listed item, that is). Making a determination for what my spending limit on an item is the same for whether I bid outright or bid at the last minute. Bidding wars do not reveal "true value"--they artificially inflate it. I have participated in bidding wars and I feel a rush and it's rather exhilarating...and extremely risky. A month or two ago I participated in one that I was very very relieved that I lost in the end anyway. I could not really afford to spend that amount. Luckily--the item got bid up some 200$ higher than I bid. It's possible that this comes down to economic differences. If I were making better money right now I might enjoy the occasional bidding war. As I said--the high felt good, doubly so because I didn't have to spend the money. It's a dangerous game (for me).

Wow--this topic is near and dear to my heart. We probably ought to take it to the "Everything else" forum, though. It's more of a political/philosophical debate really. The solution is to always bid the maximum you are willing to pay at the very outset. If that happens to be higher than the sniper's attempts, then you win. If not, you lose. If the sniper entered a higher maximum bid than you and he won, he won fair and square--it is completely and utterly irrelevant that he did it at the last second. The only folks who should be annoyed by snipers are the sellers, not the buyers. Bidding wars only benefit sellers. Having more bids earlier than the last few moments puts up a sign for "auction chasing"--i.e. "hey, look at all those bids, I wonder what the fuss is all about? I know! I'll join in and run up the bid and the buyer will have to shell out more than he'd have to if I'd just gone ahead and went for what I came looking for." It isn't dishonest to "snipe"--it's merely a tool for keeping the weird psychology from running up the price too much. Anybody, sniper or not, who enters a single bid for the maximum he's willing to pay, is guaranteed to have to pay no more than exactly that amount (+shipping+insurance). I confess. I use this method sometimes. I am frequently outbid at the last second even so. How do I react? I say to myself, "well, he bid higher than I was willing to pay for the item--it's his." Don't let yourself be drawn into bidding wars whether or not they are in the last few moments. Bid once for the highest amount you're willing to pay for the item--whether at the last second or 6 days prior. When someone snipes me or out-snipes me, I'm generally relieved. That person saved me from being drawn into a bidding war and spending more than I intended. Am I going to get angry with a sniper who bids with a 2 second lead time if I use a 10 second lead time? No, because the only thing that matters is the fact that I am already committed to spend a certain amount and no more. I will win or I will lose. I placed a value on the item to me and if I win it for that amount or less I am happy. If I lose it because someone spent more, I am relieved. Sometimes I will discover that a certain item will always bid higher than I'm willing to spend. I have made a mental list of these items. I have resolved to go to more garage/yard/estate sales and find these items so I can make a few bucks on e-bay.

I have been looking at ebay for pre-recorded MDs, but they are virtually all more than I'm willing to pay. Also, the selection is pretty lousy. I'm not looking at collector's value. I just would like to have some in MD format to add to the "conversation" value of the format. So, what I'd like to see happen is for people who are genuinely looking to "get out of MD" is for them to post their pre-pressed (not pirated, bootleg, copied from CD/other format) collections that they'd like to sell. If the collections are substantial, I may be wanting to buy a good number of them. I may be dreaming in terms of how low I'd like to bid--I have a fair CD collection already and really I'm thinking of my pricing wishes in the context of the myriad ways I can already get this content. The desire to get them in MD format is more of a novelty interest--and not a strong enough one to warrant paying the prices I've been seeing on ebay. Thanks.

I really thought there was more interest. Anyone (else) want to ante up for a two? I was hoping there'd be enough to get the price reduced slightly. One for your girlfriend, boyfriend, mother, father, sister, brother, cousin, nephew, uncle, aunt, grandma, grandpa, son, daughter, mistress, teacher, boss, employee? Hello?