I didn't mention Juicy Crumb as the third buying option only because when I used a VPN based in the US to see the price for US buyers
(which I have to do because I live in Japan, and that site forces you to see fixed prices based on your location, with no option for the visitor to switch price by location), the price shown was over US$900. A $900 price point is $300 more than the current EBAY pricing, and as
@zigzagjoe mentions in his reply above, EBAY pricing is higher than his "direct" pricing
(initiated by a PM to him, payment via Paypal, which is what I chose).
Why the price disparity? Not sure about Juicy Crumb (if indeed it is $622, that would be about the price on EBAY with shipping), but I do know EBAY fees are high. I think people know there are fees, but most don't know how massive they are. We just blindly go around looking at EBAY auctions for vintage stuff and then gripe about the inflated prices. But many times those prices are rather high in large part to high fees. Even back around 2005 when I bought most of my compact Macs, I tried finding lower cost options.
As mentioned in my video, I actually bought a Micron Xceed Grayscale kit and the SE/30 in which it was housed for $200 back in 2010, and I achieved that by way of California Craig's List even though I live in Japan, because I was able to use a family member to meet the seller on his highway trip past Fresno at the time. Yes, I tried my best to save money, and I did, thanks to family! (That was also back when USPS offered reasonably priced Ocean Shipping to Japan, but that's been long gone for many years.)
The upside to all this is that you have multiple choices to buy when it comes to the LCD Color Kit.
Even at the direct price (which is the lowest price), this kit isn't priced for everyone. It is more than the cost of the Mac itself, and for some people, quite a bit more. It's a very advanced kit which took a lot of effort to produce, and the parts aren't cheap. The quality is shockingly good.
If you are somebody who has purchased a lot of cards from Bolle over the years, your total cash outlay would be at least as high as this LCD kit — sometimes more. This isn't saying anything negative about Bolle either. Recreations like Bolle's or Creations like the LCD color kit from ZZJ are costly to make, and manufacturing requires a lot of direct labor by the sellers, who in this case is ZZJ. I think most would-be buyers understand this, but of course, folks who can't afford it do moan the prices. And I know because a couple people have said as much to me about the Color Kit.
The vintage Mac hobby is certainly not for the faint of heart, and especially not when you get an SE/30. It's such a highly upgradable machine, you end up spending more money on it than perhaps any other 68k Mac. I should know! Believe me! I know!
Being married with kids also presents its own set of problems when you're in this hobby. My advise to those folks is to
ALWAYS prioritize FAMILY. If you have some spare money and the wife won't get too mad, then enjoy splurging on some upgrades. This hobby is often a stress relief for many of us, so even though money can't buy TRUE happiness, it actually can help buy you some relief from the stresses of life.
If you're not married or have kids but you simply lack funds, I can sympathize. I treat "grail" upgrades like this as I did when I wanted that fancy toy back when I was a kid. Save every single penny that comes your way! And it wasn't just when I was a kid when I did that either.
My first Mac was the 128K in 1984, purchased "for the family" (ha ha) by way of a special "bonus" my father got that year (he got the computer and ImageWriter instead of a cash bonus). Lack of RAM, external drive, and other important things prompted me to spend the meager money I had at the time on whatever upgrades I could afford, which always happened after many paid lawn mowings, let me tell you!
In my college days, I had a part time job, but I also had a girlfriend too, and balancing my spending on her and my Mac was always difficult! But I eventually saved up enough to buy a Mac IIvx in college, only to be broad-sided by Apple stupidly killing it only a few months later. I was then back to saving my pennies again to afford the $1,000 Quadra 650 logic board upgrade for it the following year. (I had a near min-wage part time job while in college, but I was living at home with my parents, which helped reduce my expenses overall.) That Q650 in a IIvx case was the Mac I brought with me to Japan in '94.
I could go on an on about price, money and saving pennies, but I think you get the picture.
This kit isn't cheap, but the value proposition is there. It's absolutely worth saving for.
