eBay (aka: ePay, eVay, oyVay, etc...)

From: Chuck McManis <cmcmanis_at_freegate.com>
Date: Mon Oct 26 11:27:33 1998

At 07:47 AM 10/26/98 -0500, Alan wrote:
>What really is amazing is that there are people out there who are either
>uninformed about the true value of these computers or are just plain
>ignorant. Let us not forget the economic principle of supply and demand.
>As long as there are people willing to shell out the bucks for the item
>they "demand" there will be someone else there to "supply." Have a nice
>day. :)

Correct, in the USA the 'worth' of something is what some buyer somewhere
will pay for it, assuming you can notify said buyer that it is available
for sale. What's it worth to me to buy a poorly made bean bag animal? Not
even a dollar, but said animals sell at auction regularly for over $50 each.

Hans made some comments on 'rare' versus 'desirable' too. The fact is that
'desirable' often translates to those items that were perceived as being
significant in the history of the discipline in question. The Intellec
isn't percieved as being as historically significant as the Altair, hence
the price difference. The Apple 1 is seen as being the birth of a company
that is still significant today, VIC20's are seen less so. TRS-80's are
often seen as the first 'computer for the masses' (even though I would
argue the Apple ][ fit that role as well).

The education process will happen, and probably several people on this list
are in a position to write the books that appraisers and future shoppers
will live by. Consider the person who is born today, and will be in their
30's in 2033. They get the urge to collect 'historical pre-millenium
computers.' and they will need help. They didn't "live the revolution" as
many of us have, so we have yet another chance to influence things in a
positive way.

--Chuck
Received on Mon Oct 26 1998 - 11:27:33 GMT

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