Js wrote... -------------- Ok, you just gave a bunch of reasons why they're even more worthless than I originally thought, and why people bidding on them have clearly lost their marbles. :) --------
I think it's called supply and demand :) Both ebb and flow over time, so from time to time the stars align and prices reflect that. Some machines that used to be worth a lot I've seen drop radically in price. Often the price gets back up. I remember almost a decade ago HP 200LX devices consistently going for $300. Nowadays you're lucky to get $100, if it sells at all. I also remember HP 2100A/S boxes going for about $200, and lately it's more like $1500-$2000. I don't understand getting worried about the prices, they will always change. If the prices are such a concern, not sure why I haven't gotten a single query about (likely) free gear in NH. Ya can't give stuff away :P The trick is - before you list a machine on ebay, get a good technical conversation started here on the list about them. Then post your ebay ad for one ;) I remember getting my first real system - a PDP-8E with TU56, PC04, and TU10. Not only did a fellow collector give it to me for free, he drove halfway to ensure it got a good home. I have repeated that type of gift often and recently. That's not to say that one or two of my machines won't end up on ebay some day - but the vast majority will be given/traded away to fellow collectors. Besides, I have a new theory. No new machines are ever found, we all just keep trading ownership of them amongst ourselves, sometimes with the same machine coming back years later! J