eBay alert: TI 980B mini and a HUGE IBM drive

From: James B. DiGriz <jbdigriz_at_dragonsweb.org>
Date: Sat May 5 10:13:06 2001

Chad Fernandez wrote:
>
> I don't agree with any theoretical "worth" rhetoric. What people want
> to know when they ask, is normal street price, for a given condition and
> configuration. If I am interested in something on Ebay, but don't
> really know what I would expect to pay for it, it would be wise to ask
> before bidding too much money. Why would I "buy it now", or be the
> winning bid at twice it's normal value? If I pay $100 for a $50 item
> does that mean I magically doubled the value of all like items? No! I
> paid double, and the seller made out like a bandit! What make the item
> a $50 item is that the said item is sold for $50 quite often, when
> available. I say, when available, since many of the items concerning
> this list, aren't produced in regular production anymore, in many cases.
>
> Chad Fernandez
> Michigan, USA

I think we're agreement on this. If you really wanted that $50 item
though, you might well pay $100 for it and not consider yourself robbed.
Especially if it was in good shape, operational, with docs and software.

Speaking of availability, a TI-88 came up on Ebay a couple of years ago.
This calc was never produced, only prototypes were made. It was heavily
hyped by TI to the existing TI58/59 user base, though. I predicted to
the seller that it would go for $600-$800. It ended up just shy of $600.
It might have hit my target if I had been able to afford a bid at the
time.

Unfortunately, I'm not in a position to say "cost be damned." I have to
rely on shrewd bidding, sniping (except against other serious collectors
who are likely to trade with me.), trading, dumpster-diving, dumb luck,
etc., and I'm thinking of going into the salvage business myself, just
to get my hands on stuff. And I think these will be just about my last
words on the subject at present.

regards,
jbdigriz
Received on Sat May 05 2001 - 10:13:06 BST

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