Help with pricing on vintage computers?

From: Marvin Johnston <marvin_at_rain.org>
Date: Mon Jan 13 17:24:00 2003

No, this is not a put on and was told to me by the person who bought it
(and it went to a VERY good home!!!) Because of its importance, the last
I heard (about a year or two ago) it was still being researched to
verify its authentity. What would make you think the person selling it
would have known what it was :) ??? The person who bought it just
happened to see a description that caught his eye; it is doubtful anyone
else (or at least VERY few people) would have recognized it for what it
was.

Lawrence Walker wrote:
>
> On 13 Jan 2003, , Marvin Johnston wrote:
>
> > Ebay is a retail venue; most people don't expect wholesale
> > prices at Sears :). And there *have* been some *incredible*
> > buys on Ebay. Someone I know bought an item on Ebay that
> > just happened to be one of the two known prototype motors
> > built by Tesla. I don't recall the pricing but I think it
> > was less than $100. And for someone who either doesn't have
> > or who doesn't want to take the time to do their own
> > treasure hunting, Ebay is an excellent choice. And the
> > prices are mostly reasonable.
>
> Now THAT is sick and only underlines the skewed
> bidding values that are EBay. That one of only 2
> prototype Tesla motors could have even appeared on
> public auction is at the very least disgraceful and sickens
> me. How on earth could a forerunner of all AC motors by
> IMHO the greatest engineer of the 20th century even be
> released into the public domain. Either a sad comment
> on the lack of depth of education, or the success of
> Edison and his supporters to erase from history the name
> of this remarkable man. I dearly hope he is going to hold
> it in trust and eventually turn it over to a caring museum.
>
> To hell with all the Apple 1s, PDP-12s, or Altairs.
> Compared to this they are insignificant. I'm just
> surprised it didn't make headlines.
>
> This isn't a put-on, is it Marvin ? The more I think
> about it, the less believable it becomes.
>
> Lawrence
> lgwalker_at_ mts.net
Received on Mon Jan 13 2003 - 17:24:00 GMT