[GreenKeys] eBay prices for 8-bit machines lately

Mon Dec 16 16:43:02 EST 2013

I have an Altair I built from a kit in late '75.  It runs Processor Technology S-100 boards so works like the Sol-20.

Also have an IMSAI with Cromemco Z-80A and enough memory to run a 3 user Cromix system.  It actually works, the Altair needs some attention on the front panel to get it ticking again.

Also have just an IMSAI chassis with original 8080 CPU card.  It needs a couple of front panel switches replaced to be function.

Maybe I should share my "wealth" with eBay.  Hihi...

Oh, and to Paul's comment on age, I was 29 in 1975.

Steve G./N4TTY
Sent from my iPhone

> On Dec 16, 2013, at 12:36, Paul Heller <paul0926 at comcast.net> wrote:
> 
> I used to collect older computers, including 8 bit machines, and stopped about five years ago. I had amassed quite a collection, although most of it is gone now. I gave away most of my collection because I did not want to bother trying to sell and ship it. And even giving it away was difficult to do. 
> 
> I'm from the old school (and dying) way of thinking where things are shared.... 
> 
> Anyhow, I watched prices closely on ebay from 1995 through 2010. I watched them skyrocket and fall with the economy between 2000 and 2009. Now they are headed way back up again. 
> 
> Back then it was baby boomers, and a lot of people from Asia, who drove the prices for old computers up as they amassed their various fortunes in technology companies. I recall one ebay buyer in the mid 2000s who purchased just about everything with very high bids. I tracked him up to more than $100,000 dollars of auctions that he won before I stopped calculating. Basically nobody could buy anything. Everyone in various forums was complaining about that guy. He bought everything, even useless parts and junk which had a brand name attached to it. It drove me out of the hobby.
> 
> Silly prices now again. I'm glad I moved out of the computer hobby and into thee teletype hobby where things are still reasonable. Except now it seems for the 33s and 35s, although I do believe we are currently seeing an anomaly.
> 
> But your link on the Altairs is interesting. Look at the price of the clones. I have a clone. It is a fantastic computer and does everything the original 8800 did. I have it because I am interested in what it does, not what it is. But clearly people don't want the clones. They want the originals, and are paying silly prices for them.
> 
> Now here is the thing: These things were bought by people who were alive in the 70s/80s/90s and can relate to them. Attend any vintage computer festival and calculate the average age of who is interested in vintage computing. By my informal study, 8 bit and older technology are bought by 40+ year olds who have the money to spend and have that personal connection in some way to the original equipment. The younger generation, who were not even born in the 8-bit era, don't care at all about 8 bit computers. So those vast collections will probably be worth very little in 20-30 years.
> 
> Apple I computers sell for six figures. Will they be worth so much 50 or 100 years from now?  i don't think this stuff is like fine art where it will be worth millions some day. I guess I could be wrong....
> 
> Paul
> 
> 
> 
> 
>> On Dec 15, 2013, at 8:05 PM, David Burns <dvdbrns at rcn.com> wrote:
>> 
>> It seems as though eBay prices for M33 machines (and 8-bit ilk) have jumped rather markedly since summertime.  It was only 'yesterday' when a $199 asking bid for a 33 machine didn't get any takers, regardless of condition.
>> 
>> This evening I sent the following link to my buddy Pete with whom I     visited The Black Hole in Los Alamos (shortly before it closed forever) where he picked up an operational 33ASR (sitting out in the parking lot!!!) for $20.  Now:
>> 
>> http://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-Teletype-Model-33-Vintage-typewriter-and-punch-tape-reader-with-stand-/321230326766?nma=true&si=l21KhQ67dVr6zzgKwTqBcKvNPrQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
>> 
>> After I wondered why 8-bit machines seemed suddenly in demand, he checked out what his $200 Altair microcomputer would be worth on eBay:
>> http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_sacat=0&_from=R40&LH_Complete=1&LH_Sold=1&_nkw=altair+8800&_sop=16
>> 
>> I think he's solved the mystery of why 8-bit Teletypes are suddenly in demand:  All those Altairs need 33ASRs to go with them!
>> 
>> -Dave in Boston
>> 
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