16 Jul
2005
16 Jul
'05
7:06 p.m.
>> I paid over $1100 for my dual 133 BeBox. I
bought it during the "dot
comm" era and a lot of people (including
myself) with too much money were buying toys
But that was when the computer was still virtually new -- they produced
those in 1996 -- there was still supply available.
>> individuals always determine the ultimate
value of things for
themselves.
Granted, on specific items, as I said about the Curta in my other reply just
now. We just can't have one person being irresponsible and manipulating the
whole market for everyone else. It's one thing for prices to change over
time, but to have one person come in out of nowhere and start f-cking with
everything just because he can isn't right.
-----Original Message-----
From: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org]
On Behalf Of James Rice
Sent: Saturday, July 16, 2005 1:50 PM
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
Subject: Re: Oops -- hit 'enter' too soon -- rest of message here -- RE:
Need contact information for dkdkk
'Computer Collector Newsletter' wrote:
Hit 'send' in the middle of cutting and
pasting, sorry....
That's ridiculous! Sellam is not crying that he couldn't afford to win
one or two specific auctions because of Dennis K(full surname unknown).
Some people may not like Sellam's word choice, but he's speaking up in
defense of all of us. He is pointing out that our hobby suddenly has
this guy who is being an irresponsible renegade. Say, for example,
that some rich person heard a small part of the NPR story, or quickly
scanned an article about that Christie's auction, and decided in his
own mind that, "Oh, old computers are collectible and worth lots of
money, I should invest in some"... so the guy jumps out there,
anonymously, and starts hoarding every
C64 and TRS-80 he can find for $500... would that be good for the hobby?
Would you be happy, James, because it ups the value of your C64 or
TRS-80 from $20 to $500? Or would you be ticked because some idiot who
didn't do his homework is crashing the entire market for those machines?
That's just hypothetical; I'm sure we all strongly hope that Dennis K.
turns out to be responsible in the end, since according to Bill Maddox,
he was formerly associated with the Boston Computer Museum.
Attention, Vince (vrs at msn.com) -- you're the only person on cctalk who
said you directly know who Dennis K. is. If you can't reveal his
surname or approximate location, then what can you share about his
ethics, hobby awareness, and intentions? If the mysterious Dennis K.
is a good, aware, well-intended collectors, then someone who knows his
firsthand should come to his defense, too.
- Evan
Actually I wouldn't care if the cost jumped suddenly. I over paid for lot
of my items. Example: I paid over $1100 for my dual 133 BeBox. I bought
it during the "dot comm" era and a lot of people (including
myself) with too much money were buying toys. Do I care that I can only get
half of my money back? No, it's not for sale at any price. I paid twice as
much as current value for my Turbo Dimension NeXT cube. Same result as the
BeBox. I really don't care. I like them, I wanted them and I'm still
satisfied with my items and my purchases. So they are still worth the
original cost to me? Yes, they are. Eventually they will be worth as much
as I paid or more. I probably won't sell then either. Would I stop
collecting if the price suddenly jumped?
Probably. I would slow down my purchasing but that's the only result.
Who knows I might take advantage of the new value of my collection and make
some money for a change.
I'm sorry if the tone of my original message was misunderstood by some.
I'm not cutting Sellam or anyone else down, just pointing out the world
market place will determine price, individuals always determine the ultimate
value of things for themselves.
James
--
www.blackcube.org The Texas State Home for Wayward and Orphaned Computers