Ebay madness

It can - my uncle in Chicago has not only handguns and rifles but military weapons to include a 50 cal machine gun or two, a 500 lb British bomb (diffused) from WWII, and a turret cannon from a Sherman tank (minus the tank, and in his garage). He also collects arrowheads/clubs/axes as well as medival items like armor, maces, crossbows, etc. His house is absolutely full of the stuff and in some rooms it's actually creepy as one room looks like a torture chamber from medical days and yet another looks like one of Hitler's armories. -> -----Original Message----- -> From: owner-classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org -> [mailto:owner-classiccmp@classiccmp.org]On Behalf Of Jeff Hellige -> Sent: Saturday, August 04, 2001 11:13 AM -> To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org -> Subject: Re: Ebay madness -> -> -> >Collecting firearms has been greatly complicated by recent laws, yet -> >it remains very popular. Getting old iron shipped does not require the -> >paperwork and problems having a rifle or handgun shipped across state -> >lines does. -> -> Collecting firearms takes up nowhere near the space that -> collecting vintage computers does though, and the space problem is -> the thing that I see will limit the people who get into this hobby. -> That is also why it's doubtful you will see specialty shops selling -> vintage computer stuff the way you see shops dealing in stamps, -> coins, vintage cameras and comic books. The onhand inventory would -> be very limited due to space which would mean that the seller would -> stick to those few very high priced systems in order to make a -> profit. The problem there is that there wouldn't be a large enough -> supply to make it worth while, even though the demand might be there. -> Classic car dealers get away with it because the hobby as a whole is -> built around big ticket items, which again is not the case with -> collecting computers. -> -> >Vintage hardware is valuable, and will appreciate in value. Demand will -> >rise, and supplies will only drop for the really classic stuff. -> >What do you think people might pay for a working Imsai 8080 in 20 years? -> -> Of course demand will rise and supplies will drop as time -> goes on. Much to our dismay, regardless of how we put the word out, -> people will still trash these early systems. Attrition due to parts -> wearing out and corrosion will also whittle away at the supplly. You -> give an example of one of the few big dollar systems though. Demand -> already outpaces the supply. This doesn't mean it will be that way -> for a larger selection of machines though. There are a lot of truly -> interesting machines that are practically ignored and that it is -> nearly impossible to find information concerning. -> -> Jeff -> -- -> Home of the TRS-80 Model 2000 FAQ File -> http://www.cchaven.com -> http://www.geocities.com/siliconvalley/lakes/6757 -> ->