R. D. Davis declared on Sunday 18 April 2004 09:52 pm:
> Quothe Patrick Finnegan, from writings of Sun, Apr 18, 2004 at
> > 08:27:35PM -0500:
> > And, I'd disagree that these things don't have any value. The have
> > value, if not for any better reason than for insurance purposes.
> > Also, saying they aren't worth any more than it costs to transport
> > them hurts
>
> See, this is what happens when collectors start poking their noses
> into hobbies that were once inexpensive. Prices start to go up and
> then only the collectors with deep pockets filled with money that
> comes loose from them too easily, who are more interested in long-term
> profits than fun, can afford the toys. If I was earning several
> billion dollars a year, I'd still refuse to pay high prices for old
> computer systems, since that would take the fun out of the hobby.
I agree with William Donzelli's asessment of this. You're being a bit
too pessimistic I think. While some people might see the price guide, a
lot of people won't have a clue it exists, or that this stuff might be
worth something. Talk to to anyone who's had their baseball card
collection thrown out by their mom while at college.
No matter what, there'll still be items thrown out, due to time or
"ignorance" on the part of the person getting rid of it. There'll
always be a supply of machines that go to scrappers or dumpsters and can
be intercepted for free. I've told the people at Purdue Salvage time
and time again, "Don't throw anything out made by DEC/digital, I'll pay
you money for it," yet I still pull the stuff out of dumpsters there.
It's a good thing I go there 1-2x per week. I typically don't find
much, but when I do, it's well worth the 10 times I went before and
didn't find anything.
Again, as Sellam has said, the way to find things is to leave no stone
unturned. I've found being excessively persistant can net you some
great stuff for cheap to free. In fact, a recent find has netted me
some schematics which are now next to my bed, to appease Tony Duell. : )
> > in the long run. There's people that send this stuff to scrappers
> > because they think it's worthless. If I can keep one more
> > functional
>
> Convincing people that this equipment might be _wanted_ by some
> people, and convincing them to let hobbyists preserve it for good
> reason, would be the better solution than making them think it has
> some ridiculously high value. That eliminate the little variable
> called greed that's bound to creep into the equation.
I'd agree. I never said a "high value," just *some value*. Another
point this would be useful for is trying to keep people from trying to
sell, say, a "common-as-dirt" VAXstation 3100m38 for $1000 and getting
fed up when no one wants it.
There'll still be people to trade stuff with, who give it away for free,
etc.
> > saved that one. I don't care that I don't have it as much as *no
> > one* has it. I'd rather see this stuff get preserved than get far
> > enough down the train to end up in a dumpster or in a scrap yard.
> > Sure, it
>
> Surely most of us feel that way...
>
> > might be a little more expensive, but it seems worth it to me.
>
> ...but I, for one, don't feel that needless inflation has to come into
> play in order for equipment to be preserved.
I think while it might cause some inflation, it a) wouldn't be
significant b) might keep people from getting conned into paying
$way_too_much for something, and c) would increase the supply as well.
If the demand doesn't go up a whole lot, that means that the price might
actually go down.
Also, some publicity like a price guide might make someone realize that a
machine is worth money, and donate it to a museum - like SMECC, RCS/RI,
VCF, etc - for a tax rebate.
Cheap is good, but preservation, IMHO, is more important. No amount of
thriftiness can save the machine that got crushed in the refuse truck.
Well, it's time for me to go to bed. If anyone has any suggestions on
where I might start with a price guide, feel free to email me off list.
Pat
--
Purdue University ITAP/RCS --- http://www.itap.purdue.edu/rcs/
The Computer Refuge --- http://computer-refuge.org
Received on Mon Apr 19 2004 - 01:55:50 BST