desertrout
Member
I've done this (mostly because my wife made me for these very reasons - she was quite frank about it lol). Remember to take pictures with identifying marks (serial #'s in particular).
- VCF South West - June 14 - 16, Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center at University of Texas at Dallas
- VCF West - Aug 2 - 3, Computer History Museum, Mountain View, CA
- VCF Midwest - Sept 7 - 8 2024, Schaumburg, IL
- VCF SoCal - Mid February 2025, Location TBD, Southern CA
- VCF East - April 2025, Infoage Museum, Wall NJ
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Collecting ethics
- Thread starter falter
- Start date
skate323k137
Experienced Member
My music equipment is inventoried within reverb.com with serials, my vinyl is cataloged with grades on Discogs, but my retro computers are just tracked in a Google sheet at the time being.
Mr Fahrenheit
Experienced Member
Sometimes sellers are taking advantage of the situation, as well.
I'll give an example. I purchased a Macintosh LC on eBay, which pictured the infamous Apple IIe PDS card (which often sells for between $250-400 on its own, if it's working), for a buy-it-now of $125. The LC itself (being non-working) is worth no more than $50 at most, being non-functional. Who knows if the IIe card worked or not, so I figured I'd "take a chance" at $125.
When I received it, the IIe card was missing. I contacted the seller. They said they had a pile of these computers, and they took one photo of one of them, seeing as they were all "identical", and listed them with all the same photo. They were surprised they all sold so fast.
I looked back at the seller's history, and sure enough, I found several LC computers, with identical picture, which seemingly included the IIe card. I guess they listed one, it sold instantly, they listed another, and another, and another, and I had bought one of those "others". They had sold a pile of machines in the matter of hours.
So, sometimes a "deal" isn't any deal at all, and it's also very much "buyer beware". If I had been "the good neighbor" and simply let the seller know that the machine was worth more, and "here's another $100 for your trouble", I would have severely overpaid for a non-working, incomplete item.
And, to be fair, this has happened twice to me now (a Mac LC with IIe card pictured). It seems some sellers are either completely oblivious, or completely aware, of the value of some things. In terms of eBay and a buy-it-now situation, if the seller prices something and has it listed for public purchase, that's their business and not mine to tell them what they should be selling it for. After all, you might not be getting 100% what you think.
For all I know, this seller I mentioned had a pile of Mac LCs, all with the IIe cards inside, and someone told them about the IIe cards being worth that much. And then after the items all sold, the seller removed them prior to shipping, and resold them all later. I'll never know.
I'll give an example. I purchased a Macintosh LC on eBay, which pictured the infamous Apple IIe PDS card (which often sells for between $250-400 on its own, if it's working), for a buy-it-now of $125. The LC itself (being non-working) is worth no more than $50 at most, being non-functional. Who knows if the IIe card worked or not, so I figured I'd "take a chance" at $125.
When I received it, the IIe card was missing. I contacted the seller. They said they had a pile of these computers, and they took one photo of one of them, seeing as they were all "identical", and listed them with all the same photo. They were surprised they all sold so fast.
I looked back at the seller's history, and sure enough, I found several LC computers, with identical picture, which seemingly included the IIe card. I guess they listed one, it sold instantly, they listed another, and another, and another, and I had bought one of those "others". They had sold a pile of machines in the matter of hours.
So, sometimes a "deal" isn't any deal at all, and it's also very much "buyer beware". If I had been "the good neighbor" and simply let the seller know that the machine was worth more, and "here's another $100 for your trouble", I would have severely overpaid for a non-working, incomplete item.
And, to be fair, this has happened twice to me now (a Mac LC with IIe card pictured). It seems some sellers are either completely oblivious, or completely aware, of the value of some things. In terms of eBay and a buy-it-now situation, if the seller prices something and has it listed for public purchase, that's their business and not mine to tell them what they should be selling it for. After all, you might not be getting 100% what you think.
For all I know, this seller I mentioned had a pile of Mac LCs, all with the IIe cards inside, and someone told them about the IIe cards being worth that much. And then after the items all sold, the seller removed them prior to shipping, and resold them all later. I'll never know.
Thats why you can return items if they are not as advertised and a fake picture showing a card that is not included would be enough for that.
Anyway, I don't see the issue of sellers listing stuff for too little or too much on ebay. This is all obsolete junk with no real value other than what people want to spend for their OCD. If you want to sell me a Powermac 9150 for $20 I will go get my wallet. Would it sell for more on ebay, most likely but maybe the seller just wants it gone and it would look ugly in front of their $2M house on trash day. Would I feel bad if somebody who is on the verge of being homeless sold a rarity for chump change, probably, but I don't think well off people not getting the last cent out of something that would not change their economic math at all is a problem.
Things are different if you know the person and they ask you for a fair value and you lowball the shit out of them. Thats also why I hate when people ask for offers on something they plan on selling. I want a price to see if it is a deal or not. No point in paying going rate unless you need it now.
Anyway, I don't see the issue of sellers listing stuff for too little or too much on ebay. This is all obsolete junk with no real value other than what people want to spend for their OCD. If you want to sell me a Powermac 9150 for $20 I will go get my wallet. Would it sell for more on ebay, most likely but maybe the seller just wants it gone and it would look ugly in front of their $2M house on trash day. Would I feel bad if somebody who is on the verge of being homeless sold a rarity for chump change, probably, but I don't think well off people not getting the last cent out of something that would not change their economic math at all is a problem.
Things are different if you know the person and they ask you for a fair value and you lowball the shit out of them. Thats also why I hate when people ask for offers on something they plan on selling. I want a price to see if it is a deal or not. No point in paying going rate unless you need it now.
Al Kossow
Documentation Wizard
Exactly why I lost interest in the Exorset 30 the guy is trying to sell in Sparks. It's "priceless"
falter
Veteran Member
Thank you for all the interesting responses. It is true that all this obsolete gear doesn't really have much intrinsic value. It's kind of a speculative bubble that will play itself out to a large degree, I suspect, when GenX dwindles. You know, unless they come up with fully bionic body replacements before then. Or otherwise immediately in the event of nuclear war.
I just.. I don't know, maybe i'm a softie. There are some sellers I have no problem buying an unwitting deal from, like vintagecomputermuseum. I don't have too much sympathy for estate salers unless they're really nice people I've had good interactions with before. But there are others - charities, widows/widowers - I see something like a cromemco dazzler that I know will go for $700-1200 all day long, and they've got it listed as 'unknown computer cards' for $150 BIN. And my conscience gets to me.
I just.. I don't know, maybe i'm a softie. There are some sellers I have no problem buying an unwitting deal from, like vintagecomputermuseum. I don't have too much sympathy for estate salers unless they're really nice people I've had good interactions with before. But there are others - charities, widows/widowers - I see something like a cromemco dazzler that I know will go for $700-1200 all day long, and they've got it listed as 'unknown computer cards' for $150 BIN. And my conscience gets to me.