[rescue] Some thoughts on our hobby..

[Steve Hatle]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [rescue] Some thoughts on our hobby..
From: Christopher Purdy
Date: Fri, November 08, 2013 12:42 pm
To: The Rescue List <rescue at sunhelp.org>

Have you folks been watching over the last year or two in regards to
prices
on the major sites for retro gear? I'm absoultely shocked! Things that
sold for pennies on the dollar a few years ago are multiple hundreds of
dollars now.

<snip>
Y es - I think eBay has seismically altered the collecting hobby across
the board, not just for retro gear.
Good or bad, it makes it so your collectible items are available to a
global audience (instead of you hoping some guy comes to the swap meet
wanting to buy what you are selling and vice versa) and there's almost
always someone willing to pay more than you for a certain item. Add in
"faddishness" such as what happened to early Apple gear after Steve Jobs
died, and prices can get pretty out of control. As a post also said
upthread, old gear isn't getting more plentiful, so every machine that
goes to a scrapper makes the rest that much more scarce, and therefore
pricier.
Secondary effect is that eBay is now the unofficial price guide for
anything anyone wants to sell, so price inflation there bubbles down into
the secondary markets like Craigslist or swap meets. Ironically, though,
when I sell at swap meets I almost always hear "I can get that cheaper on
eBay" as the opening line in the haggling. "So go buy it there" is my
usual response :-)
Like Mike L upthread, I now generally find my scores on Craigslist and
through word of mouth. Also, our area has a local Freecycle list, and I
periodically post a wanted request for old computer gear. This has turned
up some real gems for me, and the chaff I usually can get into good hands
or bring to our local FreeGeek where it gets re-homed or recycled for a
good cause. Being known as the "likes old computers guy" at a tech
company can pay off as well. It starts the day off right when you walk
into your office and find a Mac Plus or an Indy on your desk with a note
that says "Have fun!"
So - we do the best we can, but I believe for our certain slice of the
computer gear continuum, the golden age of collecting has passed. Now I'm
just going to enjoy my hoard :-)