Rare and historic Mac Classic in clear shell...and other computer stuff for sale

[mabou2]

Hi all,
In addition to a variety of computer equipment that I have for sale, I own and want to sell an interesting piece of computer history. A pre-production Mac Classic in its clear plastics. Apple uses clear plastic before using production plastic. Note that it is the exact Mac Classic case, just clear. Kinda looks like a precursor to the imac.

Anyway, it appears to work perfectly, has a pre-release version of OS7 installed and something like "At Ease" taking over the desktop. I have no floppies so I really cant get beyond booting it and running Clarisworks and the few control panels that are available.

I have been told that this thing could be worth a lot of money due to its unique collectability, but I have no idea if this is true and I also have no idea how to price this for sale.

I have a small image posted to my website (I am in the process of selling a lot of my equipment off). Please take a look and give me your thoughts.

http://www.talkingboxdmg.com/sites/equipment_sale/pages/computer.html
When you get to my site, click on the "Computer Equipment" link.
[update: the above link is now working]

Thanks a bunch folks.
Matt

[slowtreme]

http://www.talkingboxdmg.com/sites/equipment_sale/pages/computer.html this link might work better

[question fear]

btw, your link isnt working...
out of curiosity, could you post a pic here? i've never seen a clear-shelled mac classic.

[aricher]

I've seen other early mac prototypes out there. Apparently they usually only make 10 or so of these before going into full production. You can read about it here;

http://www.regnirps.com/SEF/seitem.htm

Not sure of how to price it though. Maybe just put it on ebay with a very high reserve price.

[wowser]

that see-through mac looks so cool!

[mabou2]

Just wanted to let everyone know that I have posted the machine for sale on ebay...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4131577967

[nesuser2]

I notice you're new to ebay...which will definitly hurt the turn out. You should:

A. See if you can find somebody else to sell it for you, like somebody with a nice account with good feedback and a good amount of feedback(50+)

B. Never use 10 day auctions, It's around as bad as setting a reserve. When you set a reserve, some people think it may be too high or maybe you don't really want to sell it that bad. So, if you use a reserve...state what it is the auction. it's not going to hurt the auction to let people know...can't use it against you. 10 day auctions are way too long, give people too much time to think and lose interest.

C. Start the auction so it will end at 9PM EDT on a sunday so that it gives a majority of ebayers enough time to sit down and bid at the end. Most people have time on sunday and oddities/rarities always go for more on Sunday nights.(recommend 7 day auctions) As your auction is sitting, it will end on a Tuesday at noon...EDT anyways, 9am pacific.

Just some pointers to help you get what you truely deserve for this gem. Take from it what you may, as gold...or as a grain of salt.

[mabou2]

Thanks nesuser2,
darn. I have no idea about "tricks of the trade" in selling on ebay. I thought the 10 day thing was a good idea.... but apparently I was mistaken eh? I had not planned on selling the machine via ebay, i was hoping that I would get a good response in this forum from collectors....

I already have two bids on the machine so I guess I have no choice now but to stay the course. Thanks for your input.

Matt

[nesuser2]

Some people view it as taboo, however...I see nothing wrong with killing an auction for a good reason. Tell them you want somebody a little more trusted in the ebay community to handle your transaction and if they want, you can supply a link. And I would stick with a 7 day auction, start it around 7-9pm eastern time, that way the west coast is sure to be up. Like I said, it's where I had my best luck. And yes, it would be nice if somebody would pounce forward here but I would just yank it off ebay saying there was an error in the listing. If you need help doing any of that:

Cancel bids
edit auction to have a start of $.01 with NO BIN
then cancel the auction

changing the auction to $.01 will get a majority of your fees back. Also, I wouldn't put a reserve up, makes people turn away. If you want your reserve, have two friends come in and bid it to the amount you want.....but do it right away and don't play games with real bidders from beyond that point. Or you could just put the starting bid at your reserve. Most items like this are highly likely to meet your reserve unless you do indeed put a reserve on it or your selling price is too high. Sometimes you have to leave it up to the ebay community!

[mabou2]

Thanks for the reply nesuser2, Seems to me that the most moral thing to do is stay the course now that three people have placed bids.

[nsb3000]

Some people view it as taboo, however...I see nothing wrong with killing an auction for a good reason. Tell them you want somebody a little more trusted in the ebay community to handle your transaction and if they want, you can supply a link. And I would stick with a 7 day auction, start it around 7-9pm eastern time, that way the west coast is sure to be up. Like I said, it's where I had my best luck. And yes, it would be nice if somebody would pounce forward here but I would just yank it off ebay saying there was an error in the listing. If you need help doing any of that:

Cancel bids
edit auction to have a start of $.01 with NO BIN
then cancel the auction

changing the auction to $.01 will get a majority of your fees back. Also, I wouldn't put a reserve up, makes people turn away. If you want your reserve, have two friends come in and bid it to the amount you want.....but do it right away and don't play games with real bidders from beyond that point. Or you could just put the starting bid at your reserve. Most items like this are highly likely to meet your reserve unless you do indeed put a reserve on it or your selling price is too high. Sometimes you have to leave it up to the ebay community!

I agree..there is nothing wrong with killing an auction for a good reason. This is a good reason.

[aricher]

Sure, you can cancel and repost - and since Mabou2 is new to eBay and didn't know the ins on outs it's his perogative. Just be sure to NEVER and I repeat NEVER do as nesuser2 says and have a friend bid up your item - this is what eBay refers to as "shill bidding" and it is a violation of your service agreement - not to mention unethical.

Full disclosure here - I'm one of the 3 people who has placed a bid so far and would like to win this item but I'm not going to go bid-crazy in the process. If you want to cancel the auction and repost it as others suggest then by all means please do so, I would personally have no problem with that.

Now, about 10 day sales... having sold a ton of stuff on ebay (with 584 positive feedbacks and a pos. feedback percentage of 99.4%) I have a bit of experience with 7 or 10 day sales.

Usually, I will only do a 10 day sale on a big ticket item (I sold my old Hasselblad gear this way) I do agree with neuser2 about timing - start your auction so that it ends around 9PM on a Sunday - meaning that you post it on a Thursday evening.

Why do I do a 10 day on big ticket items - because it gives buyers 2 full weekends to bid and ask you any questions they may have - also, some bidders tend to be a bit, um, intoxicated on weekend nights and usually bid higher. Usually on smaller ticket items I'd agree with neuser2 - 7 day auction - here though, get 2 full weekends of eyes if you can.

just my 2 ¢

[mabou2]

There is a whole subculture here eh? I guess that makes sense. So, Aricher, since you are have bid on the machine I would be more inclined to use your suggestions if you think I am heading completely down the wrong track here. No insult at all to nesuser intended.

Am I really setting myself up to get screwed here or am I just not maximizing my options for getting the highest dollar. Sorry for being naive about this. I had not considered that there would be strategies for selling here.

Overall, I just want to make sure I am being moral about this, if I messed up a bit through inexperience, so be it, I don't want to be unfair to those who havce already bid, and since I plan on selling more equipment here, I don't want a bad rating right outta the gate.

thanks a bunch for your input guys.
Matt

[nesuser2]

Shill bidding is illegal but as far as unethical, i don't think so. If you're having your friends come in late in the auction and push the high bidders further, then that's unethical but if you have two friends bid $300 on something you want $300 minimum for and the price goes directly to $300 then I don't see anything wrong with it. I guess it's all in what you see as ethical, either that or you can pay for the reserve. It's easier to pay for the reserve but hey, whatever floats your boat. Also, alot of people like to pretend that legit things go down on ebay all the time.....when in fact they don't. And to make sure I'm clear, under no circumstances should anybody have friends bid beyond several minutes into the auction.

[nesuser2]

Just read a little more. Excellent point by aricher on the 10 day auctions. On some items it is better.

[aricher]

Matt (mabou2) I don't think you're setting yourself up to be screwed on ebay the way you have it set right now. The Mac community is pretty tight and word of rare prototypes flys around pretty quickly. I think You'll probably be surprised on the last day or two of yout auction as people worldwide start jumping in to buy. I could be wrong but more than likely you'll get a pretty high dollar for that machine.

As far as nesuser2's suggestion of closing early and reposting with the auction closing on a Sunday night you may want to consider doing so. if you're afraid of getting bad feedback - don't be - there is no way for you get bad feedback unless the auction has been completed. If you want to repost it go for it - you'd start it on Thursday night for a 10 day auction - that way you get the full 2 weekends of eyes and it will close on a Sunday night.

More than likely I'll be out of the auction as my wife and I are saving for a condo right now and she'd kill me if I spent big bucks on yet another Mac. Good luck though and if you have any other questions please don't hesitate to ask.

[mabou2]

A bit off-topic, but do any of you make your living by selling on eBay? I have noticed many people listed with 5 thousand or more sales....

[aricher]

I haven't made a living off of eBay - just enough to buy my PB 17 - mostly selling my old camera gear and getting rid of the clutter around the house. I ripped all my CDs to a hard drive and sold them all - good money there - only because I'm a music junkie. I do have a friend that lives in Brazil and makes his living selling rare vinyl records on eBay and to a few select stores in Chicago and NYC.

To make a living at eBay you really have to work hard - it took me a ton of extra hours on top of my full-time and freelance work to monitor and manage my sales - raised over $7K in 4 months though. I was selling enough at the time to qualify as a "PowerSeller," a distinction that allows you to get health insurance and extra sellers benefits through eBay. eBay revoked my PowerSeller status because you need to sell a certain amount each month to maintain it and I haven't sold anything after raising enough for my PB.

The people with 5 thousand or more sales usually are selling tons of small items or niche products. Some PowerSellers sell the strangest things - import bedsheets, hospital scrubs, electronic knick-knacks, etc. It's tough to make a living off of eBay but it's great for supplimentary income.

[nesuser2]

Much the same with the previous post, I just sell there when I want top dollar or when I need to mix up some fast cash. As far as making a living at it, wow...I wouldn't want to, but it is very possible. The only thing is, you lose the friendly atmosphere when you do sales in high numbers. I like to be personable when I sell and buy on ebay, makes me and the buyer feel better in my opinion. And I also was a powerseller, and it was great. The sales just rain in when you post BIN's as a powerseller. I've never actually paid much attention to power seller's and i've actually bought things from people with more reasonable feedback when I can. When you buy from a seller that looks like a corporation, they'll treat you just like a corporation might....Not for me. Anyways, I wish you much luck selling this item. It's a true gem!