AlphaServer 2100s available

[Peter Coghlan]

We occasionally hear of aged computers being employed in the nuclear
power industry, certain military applications or long lifed medical
equipment for example.  I imagine that these machines can have a
significant commercial value long after their contemporaries which are
not involved in these roles.  As far as I know, the Alphaserver 2100
was not commonly used for this sort of work and this is why I mentioned
that I thought it was unlikely to have any commercial value.  If the
opposite was true, it would probably have a bearing on the current day
value of the machine and the price may have been outside of the reach
of any of us.

So we are probably left with what a hobbyist / enthusiast / collector
or scrap dealer will pay for one, which as I said I believe will vary
widely (certainly for the former anyway).  If you want to know what
a scrap dealer will pay for one, you are probably asking the wrong
people although certain people on this list did occasionally comment
on the price of scrap.  I haven't noticed any discussion along these
lines for a long time now though.  They may have become tired of
repeating more or less what I am saying here.

The fact that the thing is big, heavy and relatively difficult to ship
is likely to further reduce the achievable price as more interested
parties are less likely to be located nearby.

If it's sitting in a recyclers with a $100 price tag and not moving,
the answer to the original question is probably "less that $100",
however, this information was not provided with the original question.
Somebody some distance away might be willing to spring for more than
$100 for it but may find the cost and effort of getting it shipped to
be prohibitive.

My Alphaserver 2100 is probably worth nothing.  I am pretty certain it
is not located close to anyone else who would be interested in it.  If
I wanted to get rid of it, I would probably have to pay someone to take
it away or bring it to the recycling depot myself and cross my fingers
that it would be accepted as domestic electronic equipment.  On the
other hand, if someone approached me looking to buy it from me, they
would probably have to put at least four or maybe five figures in front
of the decimal point before I would be motivated enough to think about
letting it go.  That's pretty widely varying.

Sorry if it seems unhelpful but I find questions about the value of
items that there is only a tiny market for to be pretty much impossible
to answer.

Regards,
Peter Coghlan.

Alan Perry via cctalk wrote:
> I wouldn't expect commercial value to come into the discussion on this 
> list. I am wondering what other hobbyists pay in order to gauge whether 
> the price that a local recycler is asking for one (which was around 
> $100) is fair.
> 
> On 4/15/22 3:30 AM, Peter Coghlan via cctalk wrote:
>> It's worth what someone is willing to pay for it and this will vary 
>> widely.
>>
>> I got one for EUR 20 in 2006.  I didn't think this was a bargain because
>> I was under the impression I was getting it for free before I travelled
>> to pick it up.  The previous owner had no further use for it and needed
>> the space it was taking up.
>>
>> I think it's a nice machine although an Alphaserver 2100A would be nicer.
>> It looks and sounds like a real computer except the front panel is a bit
>> pathetic.  It is great for heating the room in winter.  However, it 
>> doesn't
>> seem to have any commercial value.
>>
>> Regards,
>> Peter Coghlan.
>>
>>>
>>> What is an AlphaServer 2100 worth? There was one at RePC in Seattle a 
>>> couple weeks ago and I was thinking about purchasing it.
>>>
>>> On 4/14/22 2:36 PM, Antonio Carlini via cctalk wrote:
>>>> On 12/04/2022 16:34, Dave Wade G4UGM via cctalk wrote:
>>>>> Folks,
>>>>> Does no one fancy a go at this. Had zero interest...
>>>>> Dave
>>>>
>>>> (OFFLIST, I think)
>>>>
>>>> I'm assuming the machine is safe, at least for the moment?
>>>>
>>>> I've actually got less room now than when I had to let it go, so 
>>>> hopefully it can just sit in a corner and be a useful table end or 
>>>> something for a while?
>>>>
>>>> I'm currently struggling with a uVAX 3600 PSu and a VAX 4000 PSU, so 
>>>> if I ever fix those, maybe I can help with the AS2100 ...
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Antonio
>>>>
>>>>