I'm a new member looking into buying a A1S1 . Would like to know roughly what is a fair value for one in excellent condition? Thank you in advance.
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One Million Dollars!
Seriously... Hard to say. I've seen prices all over the place on eBay, etc. Realistically there are very few of them out there. Fewer in original and unmolested "excellent" condition. They rarely come up for sale. Most of the nice ones seem to be at least in the tens of thousands of dollar range.
I'm assuming you are strictly a collector or looking for an investment and not someone who would actually want to use the machine?
If you actually want something to use, I wouldn't recommend trying to buy a pristine original. For running early software there are other options like reproductions or functional equivalents using different ROM options for much cheaper machines like a ][+.
Thank you for the reply.
I would fall in the category of both user and collector. I did notice I made a typo in my original post. I am looking for a A2S1, I definitely can't afford an Apple 1 :)
I am looking into a ][+. Although I am considering a ][ to use as well as the collectability aspect of it.
I assumed you were probably talking about a ][. If you really want to seriously use it, a ][+ with one of the various ROM solutions to run INTBASIC is probably a better choice. A decent ][ used to be available for a few thousand, but collector interest in them has taken off the past few years and you will likely be paying a lot more than that now. Even machines like a //e that were made in massive quantities have gone up a lot.
If you are wealthy enough that you could buy and maintain an exotic car (like a Ferarri or Lambo) without worrying about it, then by all means, a mint ][ is within your budget. If you're like me, and you drive a well used Corvette, then a ][+ with a ROM device might be a better choice.
If you're speculating on value, then bid whatever you can, but keep in mind we've seen "corrections" in the collectibles markets (like in 2007-2008 when most things went down by 1/3 or more), and many people are expecting we will see a major economic meltdown and severe recession within the next two years. If that happens another cratering of collectible values is likely. Collecting to try to make money is nearly as risky as gambling.
There's a ][ for around $1000 with a buy it now on eBay currently. That seems to be close to the range, although I did sell one that I had for around $750 about two years ago. Of course it does depend on the machine's board.
$1000 would be far cheaper than normal for a real ][ if it is in anything near original and unmolested condition and actually works. I'd be skeptical it is a fake. Most of the ones under $3k I've seen in the last 5 years have had at least a few issues.
Wow those prices seem really high, is that just the base machine or inclusive of a display and disk drives?
I'm in the UK and recently got a base REV A un-enhanced ][e with FDD controller for £140 including shipping. To be fair, that was a lucky strike as most here seem to be starting at £350 for a base machine and then heading upwards of that, the most expensive I've seen starting at £1000 but including lots of extras, so essentially a complete setup ready to go and refurbished.
//e units are much, much cheaper than a ][. Apple made literally several million //e over approximately a 10 year period. Most ][ were made in 1978 or 1979 and only a few tens of thousands were made. the ][+ was made from 1979-ish up until 1982, Apple made a few hundred thousand if I recall correctly. So the relative scarcity as well as being the earliest is why the ][ has so much more collector value.
Understood, thanks for the info, I'm still new to the world of Apple II's thhe last time I used one until recently neing 40 years ago :)
I've seen multiple ][ s on eBay over the last year that sold in the roughly $700-$1100-ish range, if they're rev. 3 or higher.
The rev. 3 ][ that I sold in 2018-19 was up for about a week or two with a buy it now and it was fully functional aside from some ornery sticking keys.
And the price I sold mine for as well as the others I mention, I'm talking just the unit itself, nothing else. No drives, monitors, etc.