Message: 21
Date: Mon, 15 Jul 2024 06:55:09 -0700
From: Sellam Abraham<sellam.ismail(a)gmail.com>
Subject: [cctalk] Re: Ebay past pricing
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cctalk(a)classiccmp.org>
Message-ID:
<CAHJBWnQg8S3iJr+zofjcxhDkCX3qG-5oeXOtvrKPVpVEthROcg(a)mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
I think we are talking apples and oranges. I use Worthpoint to find pricing for uncommon (I hate the misuse of the word "rare) items that don't show up in Ebay searches. So far, the only limitation I've found with Wortphoint is their lack of shipping costs which anyone who sells on Ebay knows is part of the Ebay price. That is not a serious enough reason for me not to use Worthpoint.
A recent example of Ebay failures would be the pricing on Intel MDS system parts. Another example is Lobo Drives/System computers. Or the Lobo HD/floppy disk box. Do I need to go on?
Marvin
> On Sun, Jul 14, 2024, 11:49 PM Marvin Johnston via cctalk <
> cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> wrote:
>
> My opinion, it is the best I've seen for looking up past ebay sales.
>
> Marvin
I subscribed to Worthpoint for a couple months and found it kind of
worthless (see what I did there).
Yes, it let's you go back further than eBay's Terapeak search (which is
available free to all eBay sellers and goes back through two years worth of
listings) but I found the data to be unreliable, incomplete, and it does
not store enough details from the original listing for my purposes. I don't
believe it differentiates between listings and actual sold items. In one
instance I found one of my own listings, and I forgot what was wrong about
it, but it had entirely wrong information.
I don't believe it's at all worth $30/month. I'd maybe pay that for a years
worth of access. Maybe.
Sellam
I would guess most people here are aware of how to use ebay to suggest
(mostly inflated) pricing. In the past, I have used Hammertap and
Terapeak, but they both seem to have gone away. That said, I finally bit
the bullet and joined Worthpoint. So far it is the best I have used and
at this point highly recommend it . The format is similar to Ebay BUT...
it goes back in time much farther than anything else I've used. The
farthest back I've seen so far is 2016. It even shows the one Intel MDS
system Scott (?) posted about that sold for $500 about 1 year ago in
July 2023.
The pricing is comparable with the other services I've used at about
$30/month for the basic searching ability (all I am interested in.).
IMNSHO, it is well worth it as in addition to past pricing, it also goes
back farther than anything I've used previously.
My opinion, it is the best I've seen for looking up past ebay sales.
Marvin
Might be of interest to some on this list. A 30 minute video detailing the start of Cray computing from the Rand days all the way to its final resting place in HP.https://youtu.be/SOQ6F7HMfSc?si=YTGTcexPZOoNhxHZ
In keeping with a previous discussion about reducing a collection size,
I have an intel MDS system I am kind of looking to sell. This system
consists of the processor box, dual floppy drives, two keyboards (one
missing a keycap), and monitor. Unfortunately, no manuals or software
came with it when I got it some 30 or so years ago. Also I have never
powered it up and won't since it has been sitting for a long time and
will need a careful checkout to make sure it is safe to power up.
I do plan on attending VCFMW in early September, and can bring it with
me (and Sellam) for pickup at the show. My route will be I5 to I80 from
California so it might be possible for the buyer to make arrangements
with us to transfer the unit to the buyer along the way. Generally
speaking, there won't be much time along the way since I generally drive
24/7 except for short stops for gas and rest as needed
Long winded way of asking here has anyone a clear idea of what to
charge. It has been sitting in my garage since I acquired it.
Marvin
I was lucky enough to pick up three MicroNOVA cards and one was a mN602 CPU card. I would love to rebuild the system it came from which was a MP/100 or MP/200 from my research since the mN602 is a nova 4 instruction set chip so is pretty powerful. Unfortunately I only have the CPU card a line printer controller and a mystery card I haven’t yet identified.
I’m looking for these parts to help with this project.
MicroNOVA MP/100 or MP/200 chassis and backplane
4220 paper tape controller
4337 video keyboard interface or 4207-S Async card.
Disk controller
MicroNOVA memory
Would anyone know of someone who would have some of these parts as I think this would make an interesting system configuration.
I think this is an appropriate time for this announcement.
Over the many years I've been collecting, there have been more than several
instances of a collector dying and their collection effectively being cast
to the wind because their surviving spouse or family members have no idea
what to do with their computer collection. We are all very aware of this
unfortunate phenomenon.
To that end, I've been developing a Revocable Living Trust (RLT) for
computer collectors. I've been working on this off and on for the past
many months, and though it isn't quite ready yet, this is a good
opportunity to announce my plans.
The advantages of a RLT are many for the computer collector, including
simplicity, and one's continued access to and enjoyment of their
collections while they are alive. It's a good start, but not a complete
solution, as the effectiveness of the RLT depends on the trustees one has
chosen to carry out their wishes once they've departed the mortal coil.
That's where what I'm developing comes into play: a multi-modal trustee
services corporation which one can name as (at least one of) their
trustee(s), which in the event of one's demise will immediately launch into
action to protect the trust assets (the computer collection) and distribute
it as per the trust indenture. And so much more.
The trust indenture itself will be cheap (a nominal $49 is my target price)
but I have yet to work out the execution and pricing for all the other
services that will be offered, which will include actually coming out to
the collection site to secure the collection and handle or assist in its
distribution.
This message is intended to be a feeler to gauge interest in the product.
To that end, if this is of interest to you, please contact me privately and
let me know. I can actually set you up with the trust documents right
away, as those are basically done at this point, which you can execute and
get notarized, etc. to at least have that protection in place. The
establishment of the trustee services corporation described above will take
a bit more time.
If I didn't myself fall ill within the last 9 months (heart attack, nearly
died, subsequent heart surgery) I would have already had this ready to go.
The irony of this all has not at all escaped me. Fortunately, my
collection is now covered for when it's my time to go.
How about you?
Sellam
For irrelevant reasons, I noticed the other day that the
parts-for-power-plants mafia and ebay sellers are all asking $45 - $120
for a Sun 330-2014 key. WTH.
If you don't care about the purple plastic on one end, I'm pretty sure
that you can make these thusly:
Ilco 1043J aka IL11, cut 34244 b-t
Illinois/TImberline disc, DSD-44
The Sun handbook says these systems use this key:
PRODUCT AC POWER KEY POWER INTERLOCK KEY DOOR KEY
E3000/E3500 330-2014 No Interlock 330-2014
E4x00/E5x00/E6x00 330-2014 No Interlock No Key
Sun Fire V480/V880/V490/V890 330-2014 No Interlock 330-2014
Sun Fire 3800/48x0/6800 330-2014 No Interlock 330-2014
Sun Fire E4900/E6900 330-2014 No Interlock 330-2014
56" and 68" Rack 330-2014 No Interlock No Key
Sun Fire Cabinet 330-2014 No Interlock 330-2014
Hopefully this saves someone some bucks.
De
I found a stack of 5.25" Norton Utilities disks in my basement.
I haven't had a 5.25" drive for years, so I don't know whether they're
readable.
If you want to try them, send me a PDF for a shipping label for an
8x10x1 9oz envelope.
