I've recently completed my second Mystic (after buying several trunk-loads of used Mac "stuff" including a CC and LC575 with a fritzed a/b).
While I thought it'd be cool to have two of the things (and it is) the reality is that I only really use my original Mystic, and this will become even more so once I ramp it up with a PowerMac logic board. I'm considering storing the second Mystic as insurance against me screwing up said PowerPC upgrade and ending up with a dead CC, some similar future disaster or just for the hell of it etc. etc. but I'm also toying with the idea of putting it on the auction block.
At this point I should point out that I'm *not* trying to sell anything on this forum. Not only have I not even made the decision to sell, but I (and my CCs) are way the hell away in Australia.
What I do want to know is how much I could resonably expect to get for one of these machines, since my decision rests largely on whether I'd get enough money to make losing it worthwhile. I know that any answers will be a rough guide at best given that Australia is a different market, but anything would help.
The system itself is a nice Colour Classic with the Mystic upgrade. Looking into my Box o' Crap I'd probably configure it with a full 68040 chip, 20Mb RAM and a 2Gb hard disk.
To be honest, I don't think I'd get enough to justify the sale. The last time I saw a (vanilla) CC go on eBay.com.au, it went for 'only' AU$120 (~US$95) or so. A few years ago you could basically name your price for the things, and prices over AU$300 were normal (once again for 'vanilla' machines), but the Australian 68K Mac market has taken a dive over the last few years and even 'collectable' 68Ks don't go for much.
Thanks.
I share your pessimism.
Prices for all beige Macs are at an all time low. Little, apart from beige G3s and compact Macs is sellable at all.
Three years ago I sold SE/30s for £80 - £100. Now they make a third of that. CCs in the UK don't reach £70 usually.
I'm holding my 'stocks'!
Stuart
Check out the price on this se/30:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=80075&item=5757623108&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
It's gotta be a joke - right?
I hope so. I remember when I sold my SE/30 either just before or in the earliest stages of the Beige Mac Price Crash I got no more than maybe US$75 for it. And that was for a much more impressive machine with 32Mb RAM and a 1Gb hard drive with both the MacOS and Linux installed, and a full set of manuals.
Now that I think about it, I think I got more for the Mac Plus (and external floppy plus manuals) I sold a year or two later when the crash was in full swing. Strange market.
Anyway, I probably will keep the Mystic, I see there's a plain CC 4/160 on Aus. eBay with three days to run at US$64.50 which isn't exactly promising. I do remember that at the peak of the vintage Mac hobby (around the turn of the century) a secondhand Mac place would actually make Mystics to order for (I think it was) AU$610 (~US$486 ). Whether they actually sold any I don't know, but today, that place won't even touch anything without at least a G3 in it. Their iMac prices start at around AU$175.