We're updating our homeowners insurance and they've asked us to itemize some of the more valuable personal property. I have two rev-0 and three rev-7 original IIs in very good condition. I searched ebay, but it doesn't look like these come up for sale very often. Seems like I saw a late serial number II go for about $2000 a few years ago. I remember because of the impact when my jaw hit the floor. Is that in the ballpark?
Bill,
Prices on eBay for original Apple II computers (when available) are all over the place.
Some have been placed with Buy It Now (BIN) prices of at or just less than $1,000.00 and sold right away. Some have not.
Some have been auctioned off with starting prices of $250.00 and gone over a thousand or more. Some have not made it past $500.00.
I'm up there almost every day checking out prices on everything Apple. That is why I started the "This Is Laughable" thread.
I will not advise you to sell, or not sell your Apple's, or how much you should sell them for, but I will adive you to look at the Apple II items that are for sale and think about what you might want to ask for them.
If you're looking for an Insurance Value Only; I would place them in the $1,000.00 to $2,000.00 range.
Good Luck,
Steven
Cool. Thanks. I watch eBay, but not often enough to spot the IIs.
I am not planning to sell. If I did, I would just have to turn around and spend all the money on another hobby.
Here's the one that got away from me....
Seller loses patience after a few hours of auction
in order to
Sell it for this instead
Woosh!
A rev 0 system went for $6100 in 2011. Giving a value on an Apple II, sight unseen, is like trying to value a 64 1/2 Mustang without seeing it. Though there are a lot more of them around, Rev 0 Apple IIs actually come up for auction less often the Apple 1s.
http://www.willegal.net/appleii/appleii-kit.htm
Regards,
Mike Willegal
Akochera,
That seller didn't sell that A2 for $300. He listed it at that and it didn't sell.
Now it appears he relisted it again and it's currently at $76.
When I bought my first Apple new, it was an Apple ][+.
Cost $1200, which was a good deal considering they included a 16K mem board for no charge.
No longer have it.
I don't have mine either, alas
I believe A2 you refer to above is a IIe, not the original II that was aso being sold by the same seller. Ebay does show that the original II was sold for $300 as a BIN, after the bids of its previous auction were cancelled.
Edit: if you click the seller's name and select completed auctions, it is clearer than the link in my other post
Akochera,
Yes, you're correct.
I was mistaken.
Quitting an auction in the middle really stinks too.
Neon,
That is not the first time a seller has cancelled an Apple auction in the middle without explanation. It has happened at least twice in the past year.
And you're right. It stinks.
It's been an eventful 3 weeks for original Apple II's on ebay. Four sold in all, and as far as I can tell, the only complete Apple IIs sold all year. Well, there was that odd Apple II with weird replacement lid a while back, might have been 2012, but it fell victim to the cancelled auction syndrome and I don't know what it sold for.
So this gives us some interesting information for value... but also a question...
Three Apple IIs were of the late variety, with flat, flush power light, likely all manufactured during the time II+ was also in production. Two sold for the neighborhood of $900 incl. shipping (I was one of the buyers), and the third sold for... well... look for yourself and please tell me why this has enhanced value... is it the numeric accessory?
Latest Apple II
The fourth was an earlier Apple II, but was cancelled auction/BIN which we have already discussed. I don't count that one.
So I'd say that 800-900ish is the floor for late model original Apple IIs these days, but may possibly sell for much more.
Edit: and another just listed...
I doubt that it was the numeric keypad - those rarely go for much. It seems more likely that it was the Integer ROMs. Integer ROMs aren't exactly hard to come by, but for some reason, they really seem to boost the value of original IIs. It also has an Applicard, which is arguably the best CPM card that was made for the Apple II. I'm not sure what they are fetching these days, but I'd be shocked if it were more than $150. So, it was probably the mostly the ROMs.
BTW, I see that there is what appears to be a likely rev 3 with integer ROMs out there right now:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-Apple-II-1978-Date-Stamp-Motherboard-/140855375384?_trksid=p5197.m1992&_trkparms=aid%3D111000%26algo%3DREC.CURRENT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D14%26meid%3D2300502866301715063%26pid%3D100015%26prg%3D1006%26rk%3D1%26sd%3D190726318123%26
Didn't the other Apple IIs also have Integer ROMs? (I'm not counting the II+s that are everywhere, prices of those sometimes confuse me too, but that's another thread) This will probably remain an Ebay mystery.
Yes, I saw that other one, people are really cleaning out their attics it seems.
I didn't see those auctions, so I don't know, but most IIs were upgraded with Applesoft ROMs. It is pretty unusual to come across a II that still has them installed on the main board unless someone has reinstalled them. It is a bit like finding a II with a 13 sector disk controller. They're out there, but most of them have probably been in mothballs almost since they were purchased.
The system that sold for $1800 has several attributes that together may have contributed to its higher resale value as a collectible: 1) Serial number still in the black/white sticker range predating the red/white style, 2) a rev.4 motherboard present that is likely the original...although knowing the handwritten date code would support that better, 2) its original A2M001 PSU which is quite rare...most have later 605-5703 or IIe PSUs swapped in after failure, and 3) Integer ROMs that look to be the original ones that came with the system based on 79XX date codes and Synertek "S" logo as opposed to later 1980+ ones ripped from a Firmware card that are frequently labeled KOREA.
Can you provide links or photos to the other systems for comparison?
Bottom line is I think the price was high because those main components look to be factory stock...and collectors willing to pay a premium look for that.
Howie
EDIT: I went back and saw the auction text mentions the motherboard date code of 7940; I think that along with the serial numbers of both the PSU and system itself (as well as the 79XX codes on the ROMs) supports all original components as the reason for the sale price. Then again, with Ebay you never really know for sure what drives bidders to compete!
[quote=epoxy2600
Can you provide links or photos to the other systems for comparison?
[/quote]
Just to review:
Sold Sept 20, I said $1,800 but near $1,900 w/ shipping
and then some for comparison:
Sold August 30, $900 w/ shipping
Sold September 5, about $900 w/ shipping
Sold September 24, $850 w/ shipping
and one still up for auction:
Approaching $900 as I write this but will probably go for more
And, since we are consolidating, the $300 BIN from this cancelled auction.
All of this activity in the past month or so, after a long dry spell.
According to the seller's feedback, I think the $300 BIN machine was the one you bought Epoxy2600?
Indeed it was :). I was simply lucky to stumble upon the $300 BIN listing minutes after the seller posted it, and grabbed it. After the fact I saw he had what appeared to be the identical auction still running and emailed for an explanation: turns out someone asked if he'd sell for $300 and he decided the best way to accept would be to set up another listing as a BIN open for anyone to take advantage of...which I just happened to be the first to take him up on.
Since Akochera made the point in this thread that he wasn't considering the $300 BIN as a valid one to compare in our price discussions, I figured no need to mention it and didn't want to risk coming across like I was gloating about the score.
Howie
Hi Howie
That was some steal then :), all the original pictures are gone now from that ad but are still there on the canselled ad, looked fairly earlyish machine, nice A2M001 silver power supply and maybe a rev4 MB.
How early a serial no was it?
Cheers
James
Hi James, yes it is a nice reminder that even with prices on original Apple II systems rising, there are still good deals out there...even on Ebay.
The $300 BIN is a mid-1979 production system, serial A2S1-27547 with A2M001 power supply serial 37355. It has a rev.4 motherboard with 7920 date code = end of May, upgraded with AppleSoft ROMs. It came with several cards installed:
1) Apple Language Card
2) Apple 1979 Synch Printer Card
3) An unbranded card named "Perfect 80"...maybe an 80 column card?
4) A card labeled SOLARTRON...maybe a Z80 CPU card?
5) Apple Disk II Interface card with an interesting piggyback IC mod wired to a toggle switch.
I believe it was among the last standard Apple II machines to have the old style keyboard with brown/white keycap power light before they switched to the flat white square. Also, I think the gap of about 10,000 between the system serial# vs. its PSU indicates it was assembled alongside the first II Plus systems; I'm sure by late May 1979 they were rolling II Plus systems off the line to introduce in June.
Howie
That would be a 13/16 sector switch mod.
Two most recent:
Ended September 29, about $975 w/ shipping
Ended October 5, about $1,400 w/ shipping
It seems to me that the former should have sold for much more than the later... the $975 was an earlier model than the $1,400 unit, and the $1,400 unit didn't even have integer roms! My guess is that the $1,400 model matched the childhood memories of the high bidders (there were 4 bidders competing above a thousand dollars).
Sold September 24, $850 w/ shipping
My Apple II
1. Motherboard rev.4 (8010)
2. Integer Basic
3. Red label, s/n A2S1-63006
4. PowerSupply 605-5703 s/n 013104
5. Language card 670-X006
Andrey Antonov
My Apple Museum
on fleaBay, "fair price" don't exists; it's entirely dependent on who happens to be looking and how deep their wallets are.
Funny. To me, that sounds like the definition of a fair price.
heh, that's certainly one way of looking at it
My point was that price could vary wildly from one day to the next,
depending on who happens to be looking on that particular day...
I think you two are in violent agreement. You're saying exactly the same thing. Some days, I get Apple II gear for free, and I'm not even looking. Some days, I really, really want one particular thing - that day, I have to pay whatever the aggregate demand is on that one day for that one thing. Supply and demand... and both are very, very spotty in the Apple II "market."