19 Sep
1997
19 Sep
'97
3:30 p.m.
What irks me slightly about the Old Computer Auction
Web is their slogan
"Setting values for antique computers". They are trying to put
themselves in a very lofty position with this slogan. Trying to set the
value of ANY collectable is impossible since there are shortages of one
thing vs. surpluses of another in different parts of the country or the
world. Like, I can go pick up an Apple //e any weekend for $5-$10,
whereas someone in Iowa or South Carolina (no offense meant, just trying
to pick some states where one wouldn't readily be able to find an Apple
//e, I have no clue if these states are appropriate or not) or Europe
cannot readily find a //e. Conversely, someone in the UK can easily find
a Sinclair Spectrum or someone in France can find an Oric without too
much trouble while it would be next to impossible to find one in the states.
If you think that is a problem, try collecting in Australia. :) Pretty
much no competition for old computers (as far as I know I am one of only
two serious collectors in the state), but also almost no systems.
Everything seems to be in the US, but here the only common computer seems
to be the C64. So the values are horribly confused. On the plus side, and
awful lot of people are willing to give away their computers, as there is
nothing else to do with them. That's how I got my Lisa, for example. When
asked how much I think a given system is worth I invariably find myself in
a quandry, as there are very few of them (whatever it may be) but also
very, very few collectors. As an example, the Mac 128 I've seen from free
to $200, with $50 being the most common, the Apple IIc ranges from $5 (I
bought it) to $100, and the Amstrad CPC6128 goes from $7 to $150. All of
this in the one city. How do you advise people how much their system is
worth in that sort of climate?
Mind you, I just picked up (last night) an Tandy TRS-80 Color Computer I
for $20 - high, I thought, until you realise that it was new in box, never
even plugged in.
Adam.