• Please review our updated Terms and Rules here
  • From now on we will require that a prefix is set for any items in the sales area. We have created regions and locations for this. We also require that you select a delivery option before posting your listing. This will hopefully help us streamline the things that get listed for sales here and help local people better advertise their items, especially for local only sales. New sales rules are also coming, so stay tuned.

Selling my entire vintage computer collection

musicman50

New Member
Joined
Aug 4, 2006
Messages
8
Hello Everyone,
I am forced to sell my entire collection of vintage computers.
I have over 100 computers in the collection, and several hundred related devices, interfaces, cables, printers, monitors, modems, etc.. also about 300 vintage books and manuals, many very rare and hard to find, and many boxes full of software for these old computers. Most all of my collection is pre-DOS machines, Osborne, Kaypro, TRS-80 model 1's, and tons of Commodore computers, printers, drives, and hardware interfaces. about 20 unique portable computers in the collection. All clean and kept in boxes in my home, occupying 2 bedrooms. It all has to go in the next 2 months.

ANyway I was considering selling the entire lot on eBay with the promise the buyer would have to bring a large U-Haul cargo truck to pick it all up. Their bonus will be a large shed full of other electronic gadgets, and many very cool devices..
It will take me a couple of weeks to take photos of everything, and create the complete list. My question to the group is do you think this is the best way to dispose of the collection that has taken me about 20 years to collect.

No I'm not interested in donating any of it, and not interested is selling seperatly the rare pieces like the original commodore PET 8K, or the Osborne 1a, TRS-80 Model 1 complete, and tons of Kaypro and Osborne manuals and software. Also have a collection of very cool IBM PC manuals (Remember those days).
I have invested several thousand dollars over the last 20 years purchasing all of this stuff, but it all has to go in the next 60 days... So is anyone interested, and ideas apperciated.. I just don't have the time or energy to sell it all one at a time.

I also have a very large collection of vintage video games that I have to sell, maybe 50 or more, and hundreds of game carts, many very rare..

I can be contacted directly at musicman50@comcast.net

Thanks, Phil
 
Hello Phil and welcome to the forums!

Your location as well as a more complete manifest would help, but I think you're going to have trouble selling the whole thing as one big lot and finding a buyer.

Your best bet would probably be to cherry-pick some of the best (i.e. most likely to command reasonable prices) items and eBay those then put the rest on auction as a lot.

I've seen several large collections go out as complete lots (including the Freeman PC Museum) and fail to generate interest because of the sheer volume of material. If your only goal is to get rid of it that's one thing, but if you're trying to recoup any of your investment you'll have to break it up.
 
I've watched lots of large auctions on eBay. My view is that they never sell because the seller puts too high a reserve. But the bids seem to go pretty high (even if below what the stuff is really worth). If you want it to move fast, put it up with a low or no reserve. You'll probably get a decent price for it but no where near what it is worth.

I personally would prefer you peacemeal it. I'd probably try to buy one or two items but could never afford the entire collection. I bet there are lots of folks like me out there.
 
Selling entire computer collection

Selling entire computer collection

Thanks everyone for some ideas.
I live in Fort Myers, Florida (Southwest Florida) 150 miles south of Tampa.
I like the idea of selling the collection as a whole on eBay with no reserve or a resonable reserve. The thought of packing everything up piece by piece is overwhelming, and I don't have the time to devote to such a project, beside many of these items are very heavy, and would require special packing.
Many if the items I purchased in the days when thrift stores sold these old computers.. Example of a working Kaypro 16 purchased in 2002 for just $25. Maybe not worth much more than $65 on eBay, but to put 2 hours or more into packing it in a large box, and time spent in communication and time on the eBay auction, just not worth it.. Other things like my Commorode PET may go for over $1000 on eBay, these are very hard to come by.
Maybe sell the Commodore, and a few other more valuable items seperatly, and the rest as a huge lot, with buyer pickup. Thanks, Phil
 
Here is an old list I made in 1998, the collection is larger now, with tons of books, magazines, manuals, and software.

DESCRIPTION COND ACCESSORIES


Apple 2C Mint Monitor, Prtr,Manuals
Apple 2C Mint Monitor, No PS
Apple 2GS Mint Prtr,Monitor,Drive
Apple II Mint Assorted cards
Apple IIe Mint 80 col card
Apple IIe Mint DuoDisk,SCSI,Manuals
Apple Iie Platinum good Asst Cards
Apple II-plus dead Assorted Cards
Atari XE Mint Kybrd, lots games
Columbia XT Portable Mint 10 Meg Hard Drive
Columbia XT Portable Dead Dual Floppy drives
Columbia XT Portable Good
Columbia XT Portable Good
Commodore 128 Mint Mint, Floppy, Printer
Commodore 128 Good Missing 2 keys works
Commodore 128 Ukwn Not Tested
Commodore 16 Mint Box,Cassette,Manuals
Commodore 16 Mint Box, Manuals
Commodore 64 mint Box,Manuals
Commodore 64 Mint Box,Manuals
Commodore 64SX Exec Mint Runs great
Commodore 8032 vgood 32K Ram
Commodore Amiga 500 Mint Stock
Commodore C128D Mint W/Kybd
Commodore C128D Dead W/Kybd
Commodore Pet 8KB Very Good, w/Manuals
Commodore Plus/4 Mint Box, Manuals
Commodore Plus/4 Vgood Box, Manuals
Commodore Plus/4 Mint In Box w/Manual
Commodore Vic-20 M1 Mint Box, Manuals
Commodore Vic-20 M2 Mint Box, Manuals
Compaq Portable XT mint
Compaq Portable XT Good 10 MB Hard Drive
Compaq Portable XT Mint Dual Floppy Drives
Franklin Ace 1200 Mint Dual Drive, Manuals
IBM PC-Junior Mint Monitor, Expanded
IBM PC-Junior Mint Monitor
IBM PC-Junior Ukwn
IBM PC-Junior Ukwn
IBM Portable XT 5155 VGood Hard Drive, Floppy
IBM PX-XT VGood Dual Floppy,10MB HD
Kaypro 1 Vgood Works Perfectly
Kaypro 1 Vgood Manuals Software
Kaypro 10 Good Bad Hard Drive
Kaypro 10 Vgood Works Fine
Kaypro 10 Mint Perfect all Books/Sftwre
Kaypro 16 Vgood Work Fine
Kaypro 16 Mint Not working
Kaypro 2 Vgood Manuals, SOftware
Kaypro 2X Good Mint CP/M & Manuals
Kaypro 4-84 Mint Carrying Case
Kaypro II Mint Manuals, Carry Case
Kaypro II Good Works OK
Laser 128 Vgood Manual
Mattel Aquarius Mint Manuals, Cassette
Mattel Aquarius Good Manuals
Macintosh SE Good Floppy
Macintosh Classic II Mint Hard Drive, Floppy
Macintosh Plus vgood Hard Drive, Floppy
Osborne 01 Mint White Screen
Osborne 01 Mint Green screen
Osborne 01-A Dead Tech Manuals
Osborne 01-A Mint Working with lots of manuals
Osborne Executive Mint Manuals, Software
Osborne Executive Poor Manuals, Software
Radio Shack CoCo 1 Good 4K,Gray,Chicklet keys
Radio Shack CoCo 1 Mint 16K, Manuals
Radio Shack CoCo 1 Good 16K Ram
Radio Shack CoCo 2 Mint 32K Ram, manuals
Radio Shack CoCo 2 Good 32K Ram
Radio Shack CoCo 2 Mint 64K Ram, Newer Kybd
Radio Shack MC-10 Mint Box, Manuals,PS
Radio Shack MC-10 Mint PS
Radio Shack Model 1 Dead
Radio Shack Model 1 Mint Level II Basic 16K RAM
Radio Shack Model 1 Mint Level II Basic, expansion, drives, manuals
Radio Shack Model 100 Vgood Manuals, modem, books
Radio Shack Model 102 Vgood
Radio Shack Model 4 Good working
Radio Shack Model 4P Mint Manuals, Software
Radio Shack Model 4P Good
Tandy 1200FD Vgood
Texas Instruments 99/4A Mint Silver/Blk
Texas Instruments 99/4A Mint Beige/Tan
Texas Instruments 99/4A Mint Mint in Box, Manual
Texas Instruments TI99 Mint Silver/Blk
Texas Instruments TI99 Mint Box,Manuals Beige
Texas Instruments TI99/4A Good Beige/Tan
TI-Expansion Mudule good Expansion Box Loaded
Timex 1000 poor Works
Zenith Z170 Mint Manual, Very Clean
 
Wish I could say what I have added since 1999, I have not kept records since that last list, however (Hopefully) it will be all listed on eBay in a few weeks.

My health has not been so good these days and I am forced to make some serious lifestyle changes. I am selling my home and moving into an apartment. This is that main reason why I need to clear it all out very soon.

Hopefully I can fine the time and strength/energy to get this done if not the more common stuff will all end up in a local thrift store or disposed of, and the more valuable items will be sold seperatly.

My collection is very large, with tons of books, manuals, cable, interfaces, and many large boxes of original software, think I have 4 karge cases of just commodore software alone. Also have a large Video game console collection. WOuld take a U-haul truck to move it all...

Haven't even started to go through my PC computers and parts, used to have a computer repair shop and I still have tons of obsolite relics from that era..
 
Private Messages

Private Messages

A friendly note from the management ...

The whole point of a private message is, well, to send a private message. Seems pretty obvious, right? :D

So if you send a private message to somebody, there is no need to let everybody else know that you did it. That's even worse than just posting your message publicly.
 
Back
Top