Altair - A different perspective

It is likely that I am the only person on this list who is a total "outsider". I am a collectibles dealer. I never touched a computer keyboard until two years ago. I will now probably be asked to leave but before that happens I would like to share my Altair "experiences" with you. This will be long winded so if you are only interested in "sound-bite" length messages hit your back button now. This little story cannot be told in a couple of sentences. I no longer remember how I learned of the existence of the Altair 8800 but it was about a year and a half ago. I learned about the history of it and it's association with the beginning of Gates' and Allen's business careers. I decided that the Altair's potentially could be a big deal so I started looking for them. Almost immediately I discovered a source. I bought eight of them for from $100 to $300 apiece in about two months time. At that time the price edged up to $3-500 so I said to hell with it and stopped buying. I then put it all on the back burner for six months. Then, earlier this year, someone offered to buy one from me for $800. I thought this was a sucker price so gladly let it go. Two weeks later, that last batch of Altairs and drives went on Ebay. The computers sold for roughly $2K apiece. As a lark, I immediately listed a MITS serial board and modem board on Ebay. At the time I was so ignorant about what I had that I listed them separately. I did not even know that together they are a cassette interface. One brought $250 and the other $200. I could not believe it. $450! Like everyone on this list, I was somewhat shocked that the computers had actually sold for $2K. When I first discovered this list (six months ago) I posted asking for your opinions of the value of an Altair 8800. As always, you all were very responsive. I vividly remember Jim Willing stating that, in his opinion, the 8800 was worth $250. So I concluded that the $2000 Ebay bids must be the "real" sucker price. I offered the buyer of my boards one of my 8800's for $2K. Sold it. Then a week later sold him two more for $1500 each. I now had payed for every Altair item I had ever bought and had a tidy profit as well. I was ecstatic. Then, needless to say, I started to actively buy them again. Went back to my one (and only) source and bought four more 8800's, one 8800a, two 8800b's, one turnkey b, one Attache, seven Altair floppy drives, two MITS hard drives, controllers, four Imsai's, three Sol 20's, every iminaginable software, and enough docs and literature to fill a four drawer filing cabinet. And I stumbled onto what may be the only surviving example of a still unassembled Altair 8800 kit. Up until last week I had been able to have it all shipped to me but the last load was too much to ship so I drove almost 2000 miles round trip to retrieve it. When I returned Friday a friend informed me that two Altairs had been listed the day before on Ebay. (I still do not understand the amazing coincidence of two separate sellers listing Altair's within 35 minutes of each other since it had been four months since the last ones were listed). It occurred to me that since the Altair's were about to be hyped again that I should participate. Since I had just come home with five Altair floppy drives, I decided that was the logical thing to sell. The auction ends today (Friday). My source for buying ended abruptly last week (that is another whole story). So it is unlikely that I will be able to buy any more. I now think of the six months I passed on them because I would have had to pay $400. If I had kept buying during that time I would have a great many more of them now. But I feel very fortunate to have the ones I do. Why am I telling you all of this? It is because I have been engaged in buying and selling collectibles for 25 years. I was in on the beginnings of many other of these kinds of phenomena (jukeboxes, antique radio, Coca-Cola, the list is long). But I have never had so much fun as I have had with this. There is no doubt that my involvement with it is totally different from that of everyone else on this list. And I am certain that (based on much of what I have read here) that many will find it deplorable that someone like me is a subscriber. But the personal computer is now as important as the electric lamp was 100 years ago. And, over time, the first examples will be regarded with the same reverance as Edison's first light bulbs. I feel lucky to be one of the people witnessing the birth of that. Bob Wood ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com