value of classic DEC machines?

Aside from an occasional spike here and there, I'm not seeing this price inflation. I find that people wanting to sell their goods list them and people willing to bid do so. The prices compare favorably (from the buyer's standpoint) with what's found in the misc.forsale.xxxxxx newsgroups. I've sold very little on eBay, but have bought quite a number of items, all at prices well below "market," whatever that means. I've been frustrated a number of times, but that was because someone else wanted something more than I did. On occasion, I've lost a bidding contest by only a dollar or two, but, often enough, I've ended up in the situation wherein I have bid more than I wanted, just to win, and still paid less than I'd have had to pay locally, including taxes, etc. You can complain, I guess, but it won't do any good. A nationally advertised internet auction puts an item in front of about as broad a market as one could want, and that will bring the highest prices, for sure, but it will not force anyone to pay more than they want to. That's why I advise folks wanting to sell something they don't know how to price to go to eBay and check the "completed items" prices. The occasional spike will stand out, and the ridiculous "asking" prices will stand out in the form of no-bid auctions. I have to say, I've not been treated badly, overall, on the internet auctions. Of course, I don't generally bid before I know what something I can buy elsewhere costs. I also don't bid until I know what similar items have auctioned for in the past. I think the latter is the way to find out what something is "worth" rather than trusting one's "gut" feeling. Dick ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sellam Ismail" <foo(a)siconic.com> To: <classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org> Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2001 8:40 PM Subject: Re: value of classic DEC machines?