Vintage computers

[capricorn_life305]

DISCLAIMER:

THIS POSTING IS MEANT TO OFFER SOME GUIDANCE AND TO PASS ON SOME KNOWLEDGE ABOUT VINTAGE COMPUTER SALES. I AM IN NO WAY TELLING ANYONE HOW MUCH YOU SHOULD SELL YOUR STUFF FOR, OR CRITICIZING ANYONE FOR NOT KNOWING MUCH ABOUT THESE SYSTEMS. I AM ONLY DOING THIS BECAUSE I SEE PEOPLE RELISTING THEIR ITEMS MANY MANY TIMES BECAUSE IT DOESN'T SELL AND SO I AM OFFERING SOME INSIGHT THAT MIGHT HELP IN THAT PROCESS.

When selling or browsing through the the vitange computer listings I am often amazed at some of the prices people put on these items. As a retrocomputer enthusiast, I often sell and also buy equipment from sellers on Ebay. I also often see sellers relisting the same items 4, 5, or more times because they could not sell it. I am going to offer some of my expertise on vintage computers like Commodore 64, 64C, 128 and Amiga to help sellers with posting a more realistic ad and therefore selling their systems quicker.

Dispelling some myths about retrocompuing

1. retrocomputer ethusiasts DO NOT collect the computers

    . I often see ads stating " COLLECTIBLE COMPUTERS"

    . Retrocomputer enthusiasts actually use, and rebuild and take these systems apart.

2. there are no FACTORY ERRORS. 

     . I have seen some folks selling a regular commodore computer for for hundreds and also for      THOUSANDS of dollars because they feel its a "factory error" since the serial number is different from the typical serial numbers. There is no such thing. There are many factors that go into an atypical serial number, but it is certainly not an error and it certainly does not make the computer more valuable. My uncle worked for commodore back in the early 80s and he clarified this for me.

3. People often post listings saying" selling Commodore Keyboard"

     It is not a keyboard, it is the whole computer.

4. Testing the computer before selling is important.

      . Often people post a listing that states "POWERS ON" This says nothing to commodore users. The fact that the diode lights up says nothing about the functionality of the computer, so testing it using a regular TV LCD/LED or CRT, will increase your chances of selling it.

5. Pricing

     I AM NOT TELLING ANYONE HOW MUCH TO SELL YOUR STUFF FOR, so please don't have a cow. 

     A commodore 64 is a 35 year old machine, it has NO HARD drive, and it only has 64 K of ram, that's NOTHING. So realistically a fair price for a WORKING Commodore 64 or 64C with the SID chip working excluding shipping should be about $100 dollars, some of my colleagues argue its less, of course the more accessories in your listing the more you would charge. By far the most expensive accessory is the commodore monitors, becaus ethey are scarce. So when we see C64s selling for $300, $400, or more we find it kind of funny and those are the listings we see relisted over and over. Not long ago someone was selling a c64 for $9000 

So i hope I have been able to offer some insight into the world of retrocomputing for those of you that find some of these systems and don't really know much about them. While there are many vintage systems out there, Commodores are by far the most popular and often the most used.

If you have any more questions about these systems feel free to message me.

[repairelectronics · Accepted solution]

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@capricorn_life305 wrote:

DISCLAIMER:

 A commodore 64 excluding shipping should be about $100 dollars, . Not long ago someone was selling a c64 for $9000 

Hey man, supply and demand drives the capitalist free market. If you want to pay $9000 for a placeholder then do so. The fetching price of a Commador 64 is not what you think it is worth but rather what someone is willing to pay for it.

btw, nobody comes here to read warnings but more so to complain and never come back to read the sage advice given.

[capricorn_life305]

As expected, you took my posting exactly as it wasnt meant to be taken, i undertstand the nature of ebay and again, my point was to offer advice but obviously its useless. I will keep seeing peoe re-list things 5 or more times. And while things are worth what  people are willi g to pay, when you list an item for a thousand dollars and the next listing for the same item is for 150 anyone whith common sense will buy the one that correctly priced. But whatever. I wont waste my time anymore

[capricorn_life305]

As expected, you took my posting exactly as it wasnt meant to be taken, i undertstand the nature of ebay and again, my point was to offer advice but obviously its useless. I will keep seeing people re-list things 5 or more times. And while things are worth what people are willing to pay, when you list an item for a thousand dollars and the next listing for the same item is for 150 anyone whith common sense will buy the one that correctly priced. But whatever. I wont waste my time anymore

[repairelectronics]

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@capricorn_life305 wrote:
As expected, you took my posting exactly as it wasnt meant to be taken, 

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Didn't mean to make light of your post as it was comprehensive but we read similar content daily warning people of what not to do, unfortunately, those people never come here first or even last. As said before a $9000 C64 is either just a ruse or a listings placeholder, most looking will already know that.

I still have my original C64 from the early 80's that I learned spirit animation on using the peek and poke command, also my Timex Sinclair 1000 along with an Amstrad 6400 I bought in the late 80's that had the 8086 16 bit processor - I used a 2400 baud modem to get online with the pre-internet BBS back then.

They are not worth enough to sell and I will most likely burn them along with both my CoCo 2&3 as it is much more enjoyable to watch the flames rather than pay return shipping from a fraudulent buyer which eBay backs 100%.

[atikovi]

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@capricorn_life305 wrote:

I will keep seeing peoe re-list things 5 or more times. 

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That's the nature of Ebay and low demand items. I relisted my '80's Televideo computer countless times here and probably for 2 years or more before it sold for the $400 I was looking for. I was in no hurry to sell and it takes time for the right person to show up at the right time when you have an item for sale.

[nc-daydreamer]

@capricorn_life305

I for one want to say thank you and let you know I appreciate you and your insight.

I too was/am a C= fan. I have an original 64 C with a drive and monitor. I also have a D system with a CRT monitor. I also have a VIC. All work. I have the books, the CPM programming manuals. I have a dial-up modem and a tape back up drive and lots of software, including WP and games with 2 controllers/joysticks. I even have a box of unused 8-inch floppys that have never been formatted (they have been opened though). We still play Pong, Bezerk, and Frogger to name a few.

The good old ,8,1 has never failed me - it has never crashed. It is a solid of a machine that can't catch a virus as it was the day it came out of the box. In fact, unless the family tossed it last time we cleaned the shed - I might even have the box.

I once did the BBS thing too with Q-Link and paid the 2$ an hour to be on the "internet - ran up some hefty bills - lol). And the Q-Link magazines that came with it - along with some early Yahoo magazines.

So, just wanted to let you know you are not alone in your Commodore quest. Thanks again for the post, glad I found it. LONG LIVE COMMODORE! 🙂