Dont forget that there are lots of people to whom amounts >> $100K are
NOTHING. If somebody like that wants a Gorman painting or a THE Apple-][
that "Wierd Wozniak" used, he'll pay it, since he'll make another $100K next
week. The fact that this particular SOL went for that much doesn't mean YOU
have to pay it. I saw a board eBay-auction for $1300 one week, and, while I
was dusting mine off, preparing to list it, I saw another one, much more
complete, with doc's etc, end up at $10. I've still got mine.
The fact that people bid up the price simply suggests that they WANT these
items. That doesn't mean that someone will want them that badly the next
week, though.
BTW, a working computer from the "ALTAIR" era was a rare thing, since these
items seldom worked as shippped. They required fix upon fix in order to get
them to work at all, and if you wanted them to work correctly, you had not
only the PCB layout errors to fix, and the odd circuit design errors, but
the conceptual errors of the designer as well. It was not unusual for an
Altair to go through 1000+ hours of reengineering, reconfiguration, and
repair before it blinked its first light. That may not have been the case
with a SOL, but it's not unusual for a 25-year old computer to be sold
nowadays, never having computed a single byte.
Dick
----- Original Message -----
From: "Lawrence LeMay" <lemay_at_cs.umn.edu>
To: <classiccmp_at_classiccmp.org>
Sent: Tuesday, December 19, 2000 11:40 AM
Subject: Re: $3551 Sol???
> Well, 2 snide answers come to mind ;)
>
> 1) Because THIS Sol is from the "Altair Era" (the magic words that
increase
> the price somehow. I dont pretend to understand such magic, I only
> know its real by the process of scientific observation of the
phenomenon).
>
> 2) Because anyone willing to bid that much, and who doesnt have the
> Common Deciency to SNIPE, deserves to overpay by several thousand
> dollars.
>
> -Lawrence (P.T. Barnum) LeMay
> lemay_at_cs.umn.edu
>
> > Ok, I'm stumped. I bought a Sol on ebay back in September for
> > $385.16 including shipping and insurance. I think the one I
> > got is in better shape and it has a lower serial number. Why
> > did this one go for so much?
> >
> >
http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1201894666&ed=9771987
> > 70
> >
> > Bill
> >
>
>
Received on Tue Dec 19 2000 - 13:59:08 GMT