eBay (aka: ePay, eVay, oyVay, etc...)

I'll admit that I am confused about the subtext in Jim's message where he writes: At 10:02 PM 10/25/98 -0800, you wrote: It sounds like this is a "bad" thing. Is it? If so why? It would seem that eBay is making a market for older computers that before didn't exist. Now is it that the 'old timers' who were used to picking up C64's at a garage sale for $1 will now have to pay $25 are grumbling? Doesn't this potentially increase the value of your own collection many fold? Isn't that a good thing? Traditionally there is a rush of "collectible fever" (if you've ever dealt with collectibles, and my Dad has for many more years than I) where lots of people rush in an buy anything that may be collectible hoping to get in at the bottom of the next "beanie" craze, then there is a rush of junk dealers who prey on those bozos and come in and sell them a bunch of "L@@K! R@RE!" Commodore 64's or 486SL machines for over market prices, and then there is a general "crash" of the market as the bozo's leave and prices go back to more rational levels (but usually higher than they were before the "collectible" craze hit) and then, if they are truely collectable (and there are many properties of things that make them so) then the price begins to reflect actual rarity, condition, and that imponderable "desirability." --Chuck (Who is waiting for his Korg M1 synthesizer to become 'collectible' because he gave away an Arp Odessey when he was still clueless...)