Turbo Duo Question

[Megatron]

Hey all,

I have a scenario/question to the Turbografx/PC Engine crowd out there...

One of my local game stores received something I have never seen in person - a US Turbo Duo, complete in box.  Item looks great, box is in great shape, has styrofoam, plastic wrap, and it honestly looks minimally used.  I have a good relationship with the owners and I was lucky enough to be there the day it got traded in.  I expressed my interest in it.  They told me they would need to fully test and price the item before selling it, but they put my name on it and told me they'd give me a call in a day or two.
When they did call, they told me it needs a new capacitor, which they plan to install - they just have to order the part.  Once that's done, they will update me on condition and price, although the owner seems confident everything will be fine once they replace the capacitor.  But until then, they won't set a price, even a ballpark figure. 

So my question to the community - what is one of these worth?  Let's assume that it works perfect after the fix.  Has all accessories, box, etc.  I can't seem to find a sale of this item for price comparison.  Everything I find are the Japanese versions, and there are different models, etc.  I know "value" and the concept of worth is different for everyone, but I guess I'm looking to get an estimate as to how many hundreds of dollars I am likely going to spend.  And what about the capacitor issue?  Is this something I should be concerned with in the future? or is it more of a common problem and "easy" fix that won't impact the console long term?

I admit that when it comes to TG-16 stuff I am out of my depth.  This is the one major console I don't own, and have sought after one for a while.   
Any info you guys have would be greatly appreciated.  I'm trying to not get my hopes up too high.  The thing may not work, or they may come back with a stupidly high cost that I just can't justify....or, knowing my luck, an employee or someone with better connections than me will want it and snipe it from me. 

TL DR...
What would be a good price for a US Turboduo complete in box (B+ condition)?
Is a capacitor problem in a Turboduo common and easily fixed, or is that a potential deal breaker in terms of function?

[wiggy]

Capacitors are either shot or damned near on every turbo duo at this point. They should really do a full recap before selling it.

As far as price, that’s a tough one. Someone I follow on IG just grabbed one for about $700 iirc. Not sure on the exact condition of his though, and I can’t even remember who it was specifically in order to go find the post (I follow about 350 pages with the RCG IG account )

[Megatron]

Thanks for the info on the capacitors. I understand next to nothing when it comes to the electrical stuff with consoles.  So if this is a pretty common/standard fix, then I'm not worried about the machine working.

$700 is kind of what I was thinking, and while that may be a realistic price I can't justify much more than that for a console that isn't going to see that much play time.  Especially when I can get a Japanese model for half that.  I've seen lots of obscure stuff come through this place (Neo Geo, the handheld turbografx, sealed in the box NES, etc) and nothing has been TOO high, so I'm hoping this is the same.  It's frustrating, but I get why they didn't want to commit to any kind of price range.  Even saying "no less than $X" will put that range as a possibility in people's minds.  And you don't want to piss off a customer by saying "no less than $600" then asking 900.
If it is that high, I may need to think about whether it's worth selling some stuff will fetch a high price that I honestly don't need (Sculptor's Cut, CIB Hagane, Powerblade 2) to make up some of that cost.  Otherwise, this will have to go to somebody else willing to drop a grand for this.   Fingers crossed. 

[Tech13]

The US Duo is really overpriced IMHO. The best one to get if you want to play almost everything is the Japanese DUO-RX. They are easy to get modded to be region free and are more durable than the US version. I think the DUo RX still requires the Arcade II card to play everything under the sun IIRC.

While a US DUO is a great find, and defiantly cheaper than the TG16 + CD adapter route, $700 for a system that is not 100% is a bit too high in my mind. Now if they are going to recap the system, that is worth it.

[wiggy]

Personally, I’d avoid the RX. The only difference is the over-priced controller.

[Megatron]

Anybody know anything about this?

https://shop.terraonion.com/en/pc-engine/12-super_sd_system_3-pc_engine.html

The terraonion Super SD System 3.

I know this is basically just an everdrive style add on.  I already have a TG-16.  I prefer actual hardware, however under $300 isn't that bad compared to what I'm seeing lately. 

[TDIRunner]

Anybody know anything about this?

https://shop.terraonion.com/en/pc-engine/12-super_sd_system_3-pc_engine.html

The terraonion Super SD System 3.

I know this is basically just an everdrive style add on.  I already have a TG-16.  I prefer actual hardware, however under $300 isn't that bad compared to what I'm seeing lately. 

Honestly, I eventually plan to get one of these.  There were some issues when it first came out, but I believe they have resolved them.

I currently use a Duo R.  That along with my Everdrive, Arcade Card, and an assortment of blank CDs allows me to play just about anything that was offered on that system for any region.  However, I've considered selling those three things to fund the purchase of the Super SD System 3 to attach to my Core Grafx that I never got rid of.  In theory it should last longer since I wouldn't have to worry about the moving parts of the CD system or laser.  Still undecided. 

[Megatron]

So a bit of an update.  They did a complete recap of the system.  It took longer than they expected, but it's working and in pristine condition...the problem is this has given me time to think about it.  As Wiggy suggested, they want $700 for it, which honestly isn't the worst it could be.  They also said they'd throw in a cheaper Hu card or CD title of my choice (they have a decent size stock of them that came with this trade in).  

I also was able to see that it wasn't as "great" of shape as I originally thought.  Box is has some dings, controller has a scratch, etc.  Nothing wrong with that - it just makes it harder to jump in with both feet.  Like I said, I have a good relationship with the owners of this place so he let me take some pictures of it, even play it for a little while.












So as you can see, the box has some damage.  And the system has some light signs of wear.  The manual looks great, and has all foam and even plastic wrap (not pictured) for everything inside the box.  

But I just couldn't do it.  
I have about $250 credit at this place, but still would have needed to sell some things in order to get it.  I had sold my Sega CDX to a friend for $300 (was thinking about selling it anyway, this just made me act faster), and I was also thinking about parting with my Gamecube component cable and/or my turbografx-16 with turbo everdrive.  
Ultimately, I had to be honest with myself that this thing would get played maybe a few times a year, if that.  And $700 for a trophy is just too high for me right now, especially with some life stuff that's going on.  

So I bought the Terraonion Super SD System 3 for $300 instead.    Basically I ended up just trading my Sega CDX for the Super SD.  I will likely sell my Turbo Everdrive down the road, maybe even pick up a PC engine or Core FX and get rid of my TG-16, since the Super SD works with TG, but you have to unscrew it a little to make it fit.  

I have a buddy who is really into this type of stuff, and isn't married with children, and often has money to burn.  So he may pick it up, which would at least allow me to play it once in a while.

Anyway, thanks for all the input.  
If anybody actually DOES want it, the store might be willing to ship.  I didn't ask if they'd ship it, but these high ticket items either fly off the shelf right away or sit for months.  They still have a NEO GEO and a Amiga CD32 from last year, so they might be willing.  Or if you live near San Diego, you can just check it out.  You can PM me and I'll give you the name/number of the store if you want it.  

[TDIRunner]

Honestly, there is really no reason to get that outside of hardcore collecting purposes.  There are much better and cheaper ways to play TG16 games on original hardware. 

With that said, it's still pretty cool to see one like that in the "wild."  So I understand the temptation.