> > I think the key would be to have a searchable database
> online. Someone
> > collects X computers and someone who has one can instantly
> find them.
To elaborate on what Sellam said about the Vintage Computer Marketplace,
even the current version can do this, and although the current incarnation
of that process is a bit more manual than we'd ultimately like it to be,
it's far less manual than sending email to a bunch of lists or webmasters of
various sites and waiting for replies.
Specifically, on the current version of the site, you will find in the left
navigation a "Wanted" link... This page presents a list of what all current
VCM members have in their wish lists, and who is looking for them. You can
contact them by clicking on their name. If you, for example, have a PDP-11
you wish to sell, you can readily find who would be interested in buying.
If there is recent history for that item, it also displays the high, low,
and average price for it over the last 12 months, so you can get some
datapoints on value. If you happen have one of those items in your
collection, it will alert you to that fact (so you don't have to remember).
Also, wherever you see someone's user name (handle as we call it), you can
click to see their profile, and you'll see the listing of what's in their
collection. If an item is for sale, there's a link to the listing. Check
out mine (incomplete, but most of the important stuff is there, and yes,
it's extremely modest by most of your standards, I'm sure)...
http://marketplace.vintage.org/showuser.cfm?handle=patrick
You'll also see my personal wish list there, if you're interested. :-)
We chose not to put a site-wide search of people's collections in the first
revision because of privacy/abuse concerns. We were concerned that VCM
members would get sheafs of email offering to take that
<insert-system-name-here> off their hands for <insert-stupidly-low-price>.
Ironically, even without that search capability, this is happening anyway.
People email sellers based on listings they post for sale/auction. But in
the last few months, what we've heard so far is that (1) people really want
to search collections across the entire membership base, and (2) some people
want their collections to be private. The former is coming, and we already
support the latter.
So, we're getting there, and we're listening. A lot of people have had
great feedback, and a lot of that feedback has been incorporated into the
site already. Please keep it coming, but here's a hint: feedback (politely
worded) from registered members who have actually used the site (beyond just
registering and skimming a few pages), carries more weight.
Ashley: Try us out. It's free. It's painless. It's run by fellow collectors.
Patrick :-)
Received on Wed May 12 2004 - 22:17:43 BST