THIS is Laughable!

Hello Steven,

unfortunatly a lot of people, which have built up a replica of the Apple-1 - either MIMEO or Newton NTI are searching hard for such a keyboard, if it´s in working condition - and at the other hand several guys have such keyboards as spare parts in their storage and know this..... and some seem to take advantage of that fact...

it´s like selling first aid stuff in an area after an earthquake or selling bottled water in an area after the flood....

unfortunatly such keyboards have been selling at that prices.....
It´s just another example of the rise of new ages ... praise the bucks - and worship the Wallstreet...

Only thing you can do, is pray for some kind of "heavenly justice".... may such guys have a breakdown of the car in a desert area and then meet another guy giving them the taste of their own medicine selling them a bottle of water for 20 bucks , giving them a lift to the next gasoline station for 100 bucks and there a guy towing the car to the station for 1000 bucks...

That´s why i recommend in such case not to hunt for the original keyboard but instead try to get a working keyboard from a clone computer... you can get even the entire clone computer for far less than THIS price....

speedyG

Look at this guys feedback:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Apple-II-with-2-disk-drives-/131191575695?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT&_trksid=p2047675.l2557&nma=true&si=LAtDA3fTWFl0A7fPBwSs9yNwPcw%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

I hope he does not screw the new buyer like he did the old one.

That topic is another often repeated shame about ebay......
as far as ebay collects it´s fees - they don´t care a damn sh... about members not following ebay rules....
correct dealing platform would react like this:
"if you don´t accept our rules - get off our platform - we cancel immediatly your account...."
but it does not happen...
instead they´re like TOMMY from the Who
"we can´t see, we can´t hear, we can´t speak"
complaints are only answered with standard senseless and useless textmails
the so called "Investigation department" is only a myth....
the only thing they investigate,
is if someone tries to hack the accounts to get their customers data
as it just had happened again few weeks ago...
the only real investigation department, is the one at the FBI investigating the deals with stolen items
and at the customs investigating the faked labels......

if they would be serious with their rules they´d have at least 30% less members....
loosing a bunch of money.....

so it´s the same old story...:
greed, greed, we are so greed, give us your money, cause we are so greed...

so correct interpretation of the only true ebay rule:
as far as you pay our fees, you may cheat, traitor and lie as much as you like...

Hi guys. I've been a lurker for awhile and this is my first post. Thanks all for your interesting commentary.

Thought I should post about a very recent experience with respect to a 512 Mac, as it's a bit of a counterexample with respect to Speedy's
negative experiences on ebay.

I purchased a 512K mac on EBay a couple of months ago. It was advertised as fully working and I went so far as to send a few specific
questions to the seller to confirm that it was fully working. Everything came back affirmative. A couple of weeks later, I received the
unit. After powering up, I found that I couldn't insert a disk in the drive - the mechanism was jammed. I was annoyed at this, but
figured that I might be able to repair it if this were the only problem with the unit. After purchasing a floppy emu (excellent unit by the way)
I was able to boot the system up - only to find that several keys did not respond.

So - I sent a polite note (several over the course a few weeks) to the seller with zero response - silence. After that I decided to
launch an paypal claim. The process was not fast - it took a month or so - but it worked incredibly well. The seller claimed at
some length to paypal that I clearly damaged the unit myself. They went through our prior correspondence and decided in my favor.

I shipped the unit back, paypal extracted the money from the seller and a week later it was credited to my paypal account.

So - not to dismiss any gripes that anybody else has - but I have to say that I was extremely impressed with the Paypal/Ebay process.
I will be one step more comfortable purchasing through ebay.

Cheers!

Hi twopaddle,

Sorry you had to deal with a crook. The guy should have just given you a partial refund; or allowed you to ship it back for a full refund. This is what I would have done... But then again I'm not a crook.

Welcome to the forum!

Hi TW,

Thanks for the welcome. I'm sure that that's what most people would have done. I don't know that I'd classify the guy necessarily as a "crook" - maybe just as
a bit of a shyster. Either that or he got the machine somewhere from somebody who told him that it worked and never bothered to test it himself. Anyway,
I was really impressed by how Paypal dealt with it.

maybe just a bit of a shyster.

LOL. That's a new word for me. :bigsmile: I agree Paypal is legit, I love it. ebay used to be legit; but they have kind of gone down hill in the last several years. Yet I keep selling through them. ebay gets such a big audience. I still make some sales through Craigslist; but I have to admit I can sell stuff a lot quicker on ebay.

Hi TW,

Thanks for the welcome. I'm sure that that's what most people would have done. I don't know that I'd classify the guy necessarily as a "crook" - maybe just as
a bit of a shyster. Either that or he got the machine somewhere from somebody who told him that it worked and never bothered to test it himself. Anyway,
I was really impressed by how Paypal dealt with it.

Hello TW,

welcome to the forum.....
the statements you made don´t opposite in any way the statements i have made....
in fact if i buy anything at ebay, i prior to bidding examine the feedbacks of the seller very carefully....
some of them don´t accept payment by paypal and in such case and additional negative feedback i won´t bid on the item...

in fact paypal is the only rather safe "insurance" while dealing with ebay !

I had several guys in earlier days not dealing with paypal, selling trash and of course NOT refunding !

I do make a difference with issues related to ebay and with issues related to paypal !
And there is a BIG DIFFERENCE!

And it seems you have not watched news and newspapers throughout the last years.....
as explained above : bunches of stolen cars, stolen items from burglary and other illigal sources
as well as copied / faked "high class" items are sold every day at ebay.... that´s fact !

A short call to next FBI will confirm that.... the moment you enter the call with an explenation related to "ebay"
they pass over the call to a department specialized only dealing with such crimes....
and it´s the FBI because the moment the payment passes the border of one state
it´s getting a federal crime and local police won´t handle it anymore....

Some victims instead involve the U.S. Mail inspectors in case the items have been mailed with U.S. Mail
and it turns out the stuff to result from former steal of burglary....

and guys at ebay know this very well and don´t care a bit...
"we´re sorry for the inconvinience, we can´t handle that kind of stuff..."

In fact a lot of sellers at ebay are honest and reliable dealing partners....
and i don´t want to scare anybody off from purchasing items by dealing at ebay -
but it is highly recommended to view the feedbacks and
to read the descriptions of the items very carefully....

It´s just the fact to be understood as a serious warning to be carefull....

sincerely speedyG

The major problem has been, is, and continues to be the sellers.

More than 60% of them are ignorant of what items they are selling.

That reminds me that, I have heard somewhere that 97% of Lawyers, give the rest an bad name... Of course it was from a Statistician, that claimed that 72% of all statics were made up. on the spot...

Is it only 60% that are clueless about how to price Apple ][ Equipment.. Is it the same group that is clueless about Commodore Equipment?? Atari 400/800 Equipment?? Coleco Adam Equipment?? Maybe their specialty is Beanie-Babies??

Anyway, it is darn annoying that these "sellers" are doing this..

[Edit: I have No Clue the current market price of Beanie-Babies, but I would sure find out before I started listing them... ]

MarkO

Marko,

Read the description on this one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-1984-Macintosh-128k-M0001-IN-ORIGINAL-BOX-Once-in-a-Lifetime-Find-/231242958333?pt=US_Vintage_Computers_Mainframes&hash=item35d72785fd

The section I refer to is "This is a special Mac..."

I rest my case! LOL

Steven :)

Look what is in the "People who viewed this item also viewed..." Links:
1984 Macintosh 128K Numeric Keypad M0001 Mac 512K TESTED Early Accessory NICE!

Thanks for the welcome Steven. And thanks for the entertaining reads.

I've only started to get into old computers in the last year or so. I'm sure it's the onset of
nostalgia that comes as a person starts to move into the second half of middle age! Either that
or (as my wife will say) my clutch is starting to slip.

If you want the opinion of a relative newbie (and it's worth what you paid for it!), I think you're
going to see these higher prices holding up. There are a small number of machines (the early
Apple 2, 2+'s, PETS, TRS-80s) that were really iconic of the rather exciting onset of the computer age.

Those folks who were teens at the time (like me) are just starting to get to the point where
we're looking back as much as we are forward. Combine that with the facts that a lot of these
folks have a fair bit of money now, have no preconceived idea as to what these machines are
worth, and also that there are fewer and fewer really good examples out there, and I believe
you're just starting to see the beginning of a price appreciation of high quality vintage systems.

I've been trying for a year to get a really good quality PET 2001N. I just missed out a near-mint system
that ended up going for over $700. That's what the market bears, it seems.

Take a look at what's happened in the market for good quality muscle cars. The price started to skyrocket
right around the time when the earliest boomers hit their 50s. I suspect that these old PCs are going
to see the same effect - but to a lesser degree, since you can ride around town in a shiny TRS-80 model 1.

Marko,

Read the description on this one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-1984-Macintosh-128k-M0001-IN-ORIGINAL-BOX-Once-in-a-Lifetime-Find-/231242958333?pt=US_Vintage_Computers_Mainframes&hash=item35d72785fd

The section I refer to is "This is a special Mac..."

I rest my case! LOL

Steven :)

Hello Steven,

well at least the customer knows what he is paying that several extra thousands of bucks...:
very clean styrofoam packaging forms ! this ebay offer follows up one ebay rule:
the more pictures the better the price.... so making also pictures of the foam parts
truely raises the price at least 2000 bucks higher...

i´m sure a lot of users are deeply disappointed, that they kicked off the packaging material
of their computers in the trash.... from todays view - they tossed thousands of bucks in the waste...
lol
speedyG

Marko,

Read the description on this one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-1984-Macintosh-128k-M0001-IN-ORIGINAL-BOX-Once-in-a-Lifetime-Find-/231242958333?pt=US_Vintage_Computers_Mainframes&hash=item35d72785fd

The section I refer to is "This is a special Mac..."

I rest my case! LOL

Steven :)

Hello Steven,

well at least the customer knows what he is paying that several extra thousands of bucks...:
very clean styrofoam packaging forms ! this ebay offer follows up one ebay rule:
the more pictures the better the price.... so making also pictures of the foam parts
truely raises the price at least 2000 bucks higher...

i´m sure a lot of users are deeply disappointed, that they kicked off the packaging material
of their computers in the trash.... from todays view - they tossed thousands of bucks in the waste...
lol
speedyG

Not to mention I am SHOCKED that the seller did not comment on the near 100% intact original tape that holds the box together!!! It still has stickiness left to it! OH MY GOD!!!

Actually, I would swear I saw this same machine sell before the end of 2013. I guess it could be the same seller with another 128k but the pictures and the description are awfully familiar.
Zan

Yes, well, I'm also part of the problem.

There. I admitted it.

I'm part of the problem because I've done well as a programmer for the past 30 years, and I can afford to indulge myself when collecting old computers.

That pristine Apple /// I've been posting pictures on here about? $1,500.00. I suppose I could argue that due to its rarity and NOS status, it was worth that much. And since I was a programmer who used them back in the day I've got it set up here and am happily hacking away in USCD Pascal, trying to re-create a clock-calendar program I wrote back in the 80s.

(I've already done it on the //e in Pascal, but the //e uses TurtleGraphics, and the /// does not. So most of the "draw the clock face" routines have to be recoded from scratch. A fair amount of trigonometry is involved.)

So the price was worth it, to me at least. And yeah, this box fetish thing some people have going on strikes me as weird, but rather than cut up and throw aware the boxes all that /// stuff came in, I've put them away in an inside closet. You know, just in case.

That said, my Apple //e purchases have been much less expensive. The mint (not represented as NOS, but to my eyes indistinguishable from same) //e I have set up was $400, but I subsequently picked up a really cruddy one for $15. I had to hose the motherboard off, literally with a garden hose, because it was so sublimely filthy (mouse droppings. Dust. Insect fragments. And apparently at one point it had been immersed in boiling chicken fat. OK, probably not, but that's kinda what it looked like).

After pulling all the socketed chips, and letting it dry in the baking sun and zero humidity of a Nevada summer last year, it works perfectly. Now I have spare parts should I need them.

But I agree with the main point here: anyone who wants an Apple ][ or old compact 68K Mac to play with can find one at a good price if they're willing to:

• Do a little research first.
  
• Be patient and not grab the first one that comes along, regardless of price.
  

Sellers can ask for stupid prices, but it's hard to blame them if someone grabs the item they're selling.

The Apple /// you have? Much more than $1,500. 3k-4k easy.

I can't say it enough, vintage computers is getting like car collecting.

If you want a pristine just out of the factory unit, it will cost and people will pay because they want the nostalgia of the unit looking like they remember. Perfect, original and running is always a big plus...

Restored to factory could actually cost more depending on the system because all the parts that might have gone bad have been replaced and the unit looks factory fresh. Apple II not as much as say a system like an early Altair with 100's of brittle wires. Replacing them correctly could increase the value if it was done the same way as back in the day.

There will always be barn finds... Cheap ones you find, but they will require work to minimally get them running and clean them up. And in some cases as a basis for restoration (which BTW real restoration isn't cheap, I'm talking more than a bit of Retr0brite. I'm talking back to out the door specs including date codes and case refinishing)

Cheers,
Corey

That guy, on sahibinden.com (the Turkish eBay) wants $4.500 for the second revision Macintosh Plus.
http://www.sahibinden.com/ilan/alisveris-bilgisayar-masaustu-steve-jobs-in-ilk-adimlari.apple-macintosh-plus-1986-model-160927317/detay

That guy, on sahibinden.com (the Turkish eBay) wants $4.500 for the second revision Macintosh Plus.
http://www.sahibinden.com/ilan/alisveris-bilgisayar-masaustu-steve-jobs-in-ilk-adimlari.apple-macintosh-plus-1986-model-160927317/detay

Ok and then there are the crazy ones who think they have found a Picasso, when all they have is a dime store copy.... I guess adding "Steve Jobs" to the listing title has to add about 4000 to the price easy....

Cheers,
Corey

The Apple /// you have? Much more than $1,500. 3k-4k easy.

Good to know, I suppose. Not that I plan to ever sell it!

That guy, on sahibinden.com (the Turkish eBay) wants $4.500 for the second revision Macintosh Plus.
http://www.sahibinden.com/ilan/alisveris-bilgisayar-masaustu-steve-jobs-in-ilk-adimlari.apple-macintosh-plus-1986-model-160927317/detay

And that's what this thread is all about right there!

EDIT: we are almost at 1000 posts lol.

I can't say it enough, vintage computers is getting like car collecting.

If you want a pristine just out of the factory unit, it will cost and people will pay because they want the nostalgia of the unit looking like they remember. Perfect, original and running is always a big plus...

Restored to factory could actually cost more depending on the system because all the parts that might have gone bad have been replaced and the unit looks factory fresh. Apple II not as much as say a system like an early Altair with 100's of brittle wires. Replacing them correctly could increase the value if it was done the same way as back in the day.

There will always be barn finds... Cheap ones you find, but they will require work to minimally get them running and clean them up. And in some cases as a basis for restoration (which BTW real restoration isn't cheap, I'm talking more than a bit of Retr0brite. I'm talking back to out the door specs including date codes and case refinishing)

Cheers,
Corey

With shipping, the going rate on a //c+ is $230. That's tested, with a power cord, and nothing else.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/321413320616?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

This is why I do most of my retro shopping over at AmiBay.com. It is a site dedicated to buying and selling retro stuff, from hobbyists to hobbyists. Discussion of the prices is forbidden in site rules to avoid price driving. Seller must do his/her own reseach of the value of the item he is selling and state a price based on that. No auctions or offers. If the item doesn't sell on the given price, the seller must draw his/her own conclusions of the price.

I swear...You all are going to love this!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Apple-ii-C-computer-and-software-/151317070019?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item233b3340c3

Wow!

Hey Now!!!

It comes with Oregon Trail, and Ultima V, plus other assorted sundries...

MarkO

Hi all,
Guess it is time for my once or twice a year post I do check in to read this thread quite often...it never stops amazing me. Last year I was going through my software collection and found one of my "complete in the box" programs was missing its disk...god knows where it disappeared to. After searching ebay for a few weeks I found it and got it for 2.95 and cheap shipping. It seems to me that the prices for just a disk (or two)in the last six months or so have now followed the greed pattern everything else has.

For the most part prices are running from $12.95 up to has high as $80.00 just for a disk that the seller does not even know if it works. Here my favorite current example http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Apple-II-ULTIMA-IV-QUEST-OF-THE-AVATAR-Origin-Disk-Only-Vintage-Game-/261495028750?pt=Video_Games_Games&hash=item3ce2517c0e...yep, you can own a beat up, untested Ultima 4 disk 1 (sorry the second half of the game on disk two not included) for a mere $25.00 or if your in a hurry buy it now for $75.00! Surely sooner or later the insane prices for anything related to the Apple will die down
I can not see it all selling for what these guys are asking...or am I just hoping in vain

Jim

Hi all,
Guess it is time for my once or twice a year post I do check in to read this thread quite often...it never stops amazing me. Last year I was going through my software collection and found one of my "complete in the box" programs was missing its disk...god knows where it disappeared to. After searching ebay for a few weeks I found it and got it for 2.95 and cheap shipping. It seems to me that the prices for just a disk (or two)in the last six months or so have now followed the greed pattern everything else has.

It's very depressing....

For the most part prices are running from $12.95 up to has high as $80.00 just for a disk that the seller does not even know if it works. Here my favorite current example http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Apple-II-ULTIMA-IV-QUEST-OF-THE-AVATAR-Origin-Disk-Only-Vintage-Game-/261495028750?pt=Video_Games_Games&hash=item3ce2517c0e...yep, you can own a beat up, untested Ultima 4 disk 1 (sorry the second half of the game on disk two not included) for a mere $25.00 or if your in a hurry buy it now for $75.00! Surely sooner or later the insane prices for anything related to the Apple will die down
I can not see it all selling for what these guys are asking...or am I just hoping in vain

Jim

So I might be able to start the Bidding for my Copy of Ultima IV at $50.00 ( USD )??? IF I decided to Sell it?? ( Larger Picture, Ultima IV )

Hello all together,
it´s rather long time ago that i posted here in this thread....:
http://www.ebay.de/itm/Apple-II-c-IIc-Modified-Duo-Drive-Floppy-Emulator-VGA-Monitor-/151318851118?pt=Klassische_Computer&hash=item233b4e6e2e

oh yes ! the Mary Jane in Bulgaria must be very effective and strong....
or they must have extraordinary psychopharmalogical solutions there .... "fly me to the moon, take me to the stars..."
if you view the other items of that seller you will find some other "Saturn V rockets"...
just sitting in "Sofia Canaveral" partially waiting for launching since several months....
is there somebody "ready for take off"... ?

it´s at least worth considering a vacation there - it must be a paradise for drug consumtion...
speedyG

My questions are: What is the Duo Drive Floppy Emulator, Who manufactures it, and why have I never heard of it?

Same here...got me curious ... tried a quick net search with the product name and the developers name but that answered nothing.

Jim

The seller seems to be the same, who is selling this doohicky with a 3,5" drive here: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HDDD-A2-3-5-Floppy-Drive-Disk-II-5-25-replacement-for-Apple-II-IIe-IIc-IIgs-/161316911084?pt=US_Vintage_Computing_Parts_Accessories&hash=item258f3cb7ec

yes he is....
the curious point is, that some parts are offered at reasonable prices...
others not...
it seems to depend to reasons not dependent to normal calculation...
some of his own developments seem to have been made in large amount of units
and he wants to get at least the money for development - so this items are
sold at fairly normal price..... others ( of which he believes to be
"the ultimate collectors device" ) are offered at "moon rocketing" prices....

speedyG

it reminds me of a company out of Bulgaria called "BootZero"

Yes, that's the bootZero adapter. It reads/writes 140K out to 3.5 drives - essentially, it's a 5.25 replacement. I guess 5.25 disks are hard to find in some parts of the world.

I may be wrong about this, but it reminds me of a company out of Bulgaria called "BootZero",
or something to that effect.
I believe they came out with some accessories concerning 5.25 and 3.5 inch disk drive adapters.

Does anyone else recall this?

Steven :)

The Bootzero seller masks the logo on the packages of the cables they sell so that you won't find out who actually manufactured them:

IEC

http://www.iec-usa.com/

Hello Steven,
not nit.....
if you view the other items up for sale by them ...
they don´t have even a basic knowledge about the stuff they put up for sale.....
just another absolute "drunk till stupidness takes over the remaining functions of the brain" reseller.....
lol
speedyG

I wonder what the price would be if anyone found an "Apple Super Duper Serial card".

These people can't be serious!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-APPLE-II-SUPER-SERIAL-CARD-NEW-OLD-STOCK-SEALED-/221464640263?pt=US_Vintage_Computing_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3390523b07

Super Serial Cards, even sealed in the box, have been going for about $30.00
and this nit thinks they can get over $200.00 for two?

This IS laughable!

Steven :)

Did they read this thread? (just kidding, I doubt it!)

Have you seen all the expensive Apple II original brown leather carry bags? I had no idea people were asking that much for those!!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/IBM-PC-5150-Personal-Computer-Original-Plastic-Promo-1983-RARE-/291073392714?pt=US_Vintage_Computers_Mainframes&hash=item43c553804a

Have you seen all the expensive Apple II original brown leather carry bags? I had no idea people were asking that much for those!!

Zan

Boy, these people like to rant about their stuff don't they.