13 Jun
1997
13 Jun
'97
3:16 p.m.
I frequent two thrift stores in the same town on a regular basis and the
prices, while higher than what you folks on the west cost are used to, were
reasonable. However three weeks ago they started getting in a lot of PC
equipment and the prices on it were ridiculous i.e $70 for a Packard Bell XT
clone with a monochrome monitor and $50 for an IBM 5150 PC with monitor.
While I was amused I wasn't really concerned since I have little interest in
this type of gear.
Now however the madness has infected the old 8 bit equipment. Some examples.
Apple IIc with monitor, 5 1/4" and 3 1/2" external drives $75. Not too bad
you say. Well then how about a C-64 with a 1571 disk drive and power supplies
for $80? The killer was a Coco 1 with manuals for $99 dollars.
Three weeks ago the C-64 and the Coco would have been $12 each and the 1571
about $15. I assume that they have someone new pricing this equipment but I
can't for the life of me figure out the rationale behind these prices.
Needless to say they're not moving much equipment.
Sorry for the rant but I just had to let it out. I did complain to the
cashier who said (sincerely I believe) that she would inform the manager .
Lou
13 Jun
13 Jun
6:49 p.m.
On Fri, 13 Jun 1997 BigLouS(a)aol.com wrote:
I frequent two thrift stores in the same town on a
regular basis and the
prices, while higher than what you folks on the west cost are used to, were
reasonable. However three weeks ago they started getting in a lot of PC
equipment and the prices on it were ridiculous i.e $70 for a Packard Bell XT
clone with a monochrome monitor and $50 for an IBM 5150 PC with monitor.
While I was amused I wasn't really concerned since I have little interest in
this type of gear.
Now however the madness has infected the old 8 bit equipment. Some examples.
Apple IIc with monitor, 5 1/4" and 3 1/2" external drives $75. Not too bad
you say. Well then how about a C-64 with a 1571 disk drive and power supplies
for $80? The killer was a Coco 1 with manuals for $99 dollars.
I hear you. But what you have to realize is, as lame as these prices are
to us, these computers still really are usable, and probably are worth
that price to some people, since the way they see it, a new computer
costs in the thousands, while these only cost less than $100. To them,
the distinction between computers from the 80's versus computers from the
90s is old vs. new. Not obsolete vs. new as it should be. However, as
far as going market value is concerned based on flea market prices, yes
these are inflated.
Three weeks ago the C-64 and the Coco would have been
$12 each and the 1571
about $15. I assume that they have someone new pricing this equipment but I
can't for the life of me figure out the rationale behind these prices.
Needless to say they're not moving much equipment.
Sorry for the rant but I just had to let it out. I did complain to the
cashier who said (sincerely I believe) that she would inform the manager .
Sometimes the people who are in charge of the pricing at the thrifts are
clueless, and just need to be informed. I went into a thrift one day and
saw a bunch of nice computers that I wanted, but they were all way
over-priced...$45 for a TI-99/4a, $25 for a C64, etc. I found the guy in
charge of the pricing and told him diplomatically that they were way out
of line. He was really cool about it and was willing to entertain an
offer, so I offered $5 per unit. He agreed and ended up taking all 12 of
the various systems that were sitting out. On top of that I got a 50%
electronics discount (they have discounts on certain days for certain
items) and then %30 on top of that for some other discount!!! I ended up
paying only $25 or so.
So the moral of the story is, talk to the manager and work out a deal.
Tell them the prices are out of line, or else you would be interested in
buying. If they still hedge, offer to come back in a week and if the
systems are still there (which they most likely will be) ask to buy them
at the price you want, or at least at a substantial discount.
Another thrift store I go to has phenomenal pricing on old 8-bit stuff.
I can usually go in there and pick-up a TI-99/4a, a VIC-20, a C64, an
Atari x00, each for anywhere from $.99 to $2.98. Just last week I got a
VIC-20 for $1.98. I got a TI-99/4a before that for $.99, and one day I
got an Atari 800XL for $.99 and a 1050 drive for $1.98. It amazes me
that they get this stuff in all the time, because this store is in a
pretty low income area.
Sam
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Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass
11:04 p.m.
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14 Jun
14 Jun
1:46 a.m.
On Sat, 14 Jun 1997, Tim Shoppa wrote:
I don't think $50-$100 for a working system with
drive, OS, and manual is
too far out of line, as long as the thrift is offering some sort of
value for the extra $. For example, if the thrift is willing to
warranty the entire system, or the thrift is including an original
copy of MS-DOS 1.0 with that original PC along with the original manuals :-),
or the thrift is offering some sort of "first-time-user" support
for the system, then the thrift may very well be offering some
extra value to a certain portion of its market.
I have never heard of a thrift store offering this sort of support. They are
in the business of moving what amounts to garage sale items or
throw-outs. I have never seen a thrift store warrant anything.
On the other hand, if the thrift is selling
unsupported "as-is where-is"
no-warranty stuff for $100, I think a reality correction will be coming
along shortly for the folks there who price stuff...
Exactly.
Sam
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass
3:16 a.m.
I don't think $50-$100 for a working system with
drive, OS, and
manual is too far out of line, as long as the thrift is offering
some sort of value for the extra $.
For $100, I would expect to at least get a 386, not an XT. Not very
long ago, surplus places were selling 486's (less the monitor) for not
much more than that, and many of those systems were _new_. :-) Even
older Pentium systems are well under $1,000 now, and you can do so much
more with them. Of course, I claim that a computer is never obsolete
until it fails to meet your needs.
I would put the value of a working XT _with_ Mono/CGA/EGA monitor at
about $50 max, but I would never pay that much for one (well, maybe if
it had a good EGA monitor).
Chuckle, most older PC's are now more valuable as individual parts, then
as a whole working system. Typically, the monitor (assuming color VGA)
is the most valuable part.
~ Mike
11:02 a.m.
On Fri, 13 Jun 1997 BigLouS(a)aol.com wrote:
Apple IIc with monitor, 5 1/4" and 3 1/2"
external drives $75. Not too bad
you say. Well then how about a C-64 with a 1571 disk drive and power supplies
for $80? The killer was a Coco 1 with manuals for $99 dollars.
Three weeks ago the C-64 and the Coco would have been $12 each and the 1571
about $15. I assume that they have someone new pricing this equipment but I
can't for the life of me figure out the rationale behind these prices.
We probably have a lurker on the mailing list. Shit happens.
--
Ward Griffiths
"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within
the system, but too early to shoot the bastards." --Claire Wolfe
10054
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BigLouS＠aol.com -
dastar＠crl.com -
gram＠cnct.com -
shoppa＠alph02.triumf.ca -
sprague＠VivaNET.com