--- Eric Chomko <chomko_at_greenbelt.com> wrote:
> Ethan Dicks wrote:
> >You gotta remember the 1% rule (although it applies
> > more to systems than peripherals) - ten years later, you can get a computer
> > for 1% of its original purchase price. There are exceptions...
> > due to scarcity and eBay fever.
>
> Wait now, my Mac II fx, was $10,000 when it came out, that means its worth
> $100 today?
I have purchased $10,000 systems ten years later for $100. I have also
purchased $3,000 systems for $30. Personally, I would not pay as much
as $100 for a IIfx. I might pay that much for a Quadra 950, but it had
better have a bunch of RAM in it. I have been buying MacIIsi's for $5-$10
(to get the ethernet cards for SE/30's) and Quadra-600-series machines for
<$20 lately. I got a working IBM Thinkpad (486) at Dayton, with case and
modem for $20 and a docking station for $5. A few years ago, I passed up a
Lisa at a Hamfest, complete with docs, software and printer - it sold later
that day for $25.
So about that 1%...
I'll say this, though... it's not strictly linear. It's hard to find a
computer at 1% that originally sold for $100. It's much easier at the
$10,000 level. Something about price inelasticity at the low end...
> What's eBay fever? How can I get others to catch it?
eBay fever is what the guy at the hamfest had when I attempted to haggle
over copies of David Ahl's books that he wanted $50 each for. When I
made a counter-offer, he said, "I can get _at least_ $50 on eBay!" I
asked him why he bothered to come to Dayton then, and wouldn't he just be
happier somewhere else? I also left without even looking at anything else
he had to buy.
-ethan
=====
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Received on Tue Jun 26 2001 - 14:04:33 BST