twolazy
Veteran Member
Still see this thread as kinda silly unless someone was ripped off by a repro, say a fake apple I. I would like to think most all us are in it for the love of the hobby, not money...
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Your best and worst vintage computer investments?
- Thread starter TH2002
- Start date
VERAULT
Veteran Member
Best investment I take it?He hee
A PET 8032SK with keyboard, just a 400 mile round trip to pickup
A Pet usually is.
My first being a 2001-8 in rough shape with a blue bezel was not cheap even in non-working condition. But I dont regret it one bit considering the prices now and its fully working.
twolazy
Veteran Member
Best investment.. hrmm... I have an IBM 5100 that I got free and put maybe 20 bux into to get running? Tape drive is still a mess but it works otherwise. One these days I'll get to it and get the tape drive working. Have a bunch of software and manuals whatnot. Just watched that last machine get almost 10k. Thats nuts. Really want a Mini Computer atm so perhaps its time to let go I dunno. 
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VERAULT
Veteran Member
Get that tape drive working, rebuild a couple tapes, and sell it! You could buy a car with the profit as the last auction showed!
twolazy
Veteran Member
Too soon imo. Everytime something goes for crazy prices, some guy comes in next and gets maybe half if that. I'm not into it for the money, tbh I wanna keep it and eventually open a museum. Maybe one day... But watching the Centurion build and the Data General Nova builds im very jelly.
VERAULT
Veteran Member
That would explain why my original bagged copy of Ultima didnt get as high as the last one sold. Still. If I had something like that, Id rather have the money in savings. Plenty other machines to tinker on.
twolazy
Veteran Member
Always have that one person thats willing to pay way more then normal cuz has to have it now, and money is no object or hysteria set in. Why I never try to sell on ebay and to others for a fair price not ebay prices.
twolazy
Veteran Member
Just wish the selfish greedy peeps get out of this hobby, not gonna lie. This isn't console crap. We dont want graded PC games by Wawa or w/e. Here's a 9.8 AST Six Pack Plus for eleventeen hundred dollars. Really upsets me. In my eyes my IBM 5100 is worth maybe 2-300 bux. 10 grand is insane.
Example to my madness.. So a reg XT on eBay is 4-5-600 bux. Just seen one sell on here in marketplace for 100 +shipping. Imo thats the true price. I didn't get ripped off on my working, booting, Compaq Portable @ 100 bux + ship, and very happy for that. Shoutout to person who is on same level that sold it to me.
So many are coming in now , trying to treat our hobby like crypto nfts or whatever. Everythings mad overpriced. I don't get it. The real people are ones that if tomorrow this is all worthless, they don't care and carry on like nothing happened.
Prob time to step off my soapbox lol. Get off my lawn you young whippersnappers!
Example to my madness.. So a reg XT on eBay is 4-5-600 bux. Just seen one sell on here in marketplace for 100 +shipping. Imo thats the true price. I didn't get ripped off on my working, booting, Compaq Portable @ 100 bux + ship, and very happy for that. Shoutout to person who is on same level that sold it to me.
So many are coming in now , trying to treat our hobby like crypto nfts or whatever. Everythings mad overpriced. I don't get it. The real people are ones that if tomorrow this is all worthless, they don't care and carry on like nothing happened.
Prob time to step off my soapbox lol. Get off my lawn you young whippersnappers!
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VERAULT
Veteran Member
Well things have changed. I used to get a 5150 or 5160 complete setup for just over a hundred dollars. Same with the compaq portable. They seem to be in the $300 to $400 range mostly now. I cant get an apple II base unit for under $100 anymore lately either.. regardless of the condition.
twolazy
Veteran Member
Crap an Apple IIc is like 300-400 working condition now. Crazy,,, CoCo2's on fleabay for 200. Ti-99a's for 300. I dont understand the prices anymore. I was looking at dual slot 1 motherboards, over 200 for one now.
VERAULT
Veteran Member
Yeah I dont know why the TI's went up so much in price you are right. They still dont do much. I have one complete in box I got at a junk shop years back, and it seems until they make new software or I can find a disk unit its just going to live in the box.
Coco2? Really I cant find a coco3, Id sell my coco2 at that price to buy a 3.
Coco2? Really I cant find a coco3, Id sell my coco2 at that price to buy a 3.
twolazy
Veteran Member
TI-99A w/o a peb is useless most part unless you got money for paks. Look at the prices for just Basic now...
What paks do you need for the TI? I'd say a FinalGROM cart will solve most issues. There's also the NanoPEB or its replacement.
I do have to say that I don't look at vintage equipment in terms of "investment." To me, its pure history, preservation, and nostalgia.
- Alex
I do have to say that I don't look at vintage equipment in terms of "investment." To me, its pure history, preservation, and nostalgia.
- Alex
Gary C
Veteran Member
One of them.
Probably the free MicroVax 3300's, 3100, Vax 4000/90 and PDP11/73 were the best 'investments'
But certainly, I thought a 8032-SK was well out of my reach. Will look good in the Museum.
Trixter
Veteran Member
Best acquisition (I'm not going to call it an investment) was the Olivetti M24 I finally found USA stateside after a 30-year search. Immaculate condition, both operationally and cosmetically, in original shipping boxes and inserts (which is the only way I would trust it to get to me unhamed).
As for the worst? I think I paid $50 for a Tandy 1000 TX "still in the box" only to find that it was placed back in the box after rusting on the bottom of a basement floor for 2 decades. Well, at least I have something to test rust dissolving products on.
As for the worst? I think I paid $50 for a Tandy 1000 TX "still in the box" only to find that it was placed back in the box after rusting on the bottom of a basement floor for 2 decades. Well, at least I have something to test rust dissolving products on.
VERAULT
Veteran Member
Did not know this existed. I will look into it. Thanks!
twolazy
Veteran Member
I was looking at getting a NanoPEB, but at 100 bux I have other things I rather get upgraded/repaired first. Its just a shame I have a boxed ti-99 4/a thats mint and never use it. Been watching a really cool small channel devoted to the Ti-99 4/a
VERAULT
Veteran Member
$100 is not ideal but its doable. If I can load disk images I can play Realms of antiquity and actually see what a TI-99 4a can actually do.
twolazy
Veteran Member
And that doesnt even do the speech synth If I remember right. So theres another 50-100 bux.