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Crazy Prices...
- Thread starter Dronecatcher
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Last year someone near to me was trying to offload two working B&Ws on eBay. The price started at £15 for both and dropped to £5. The listing repeated for several months with no takers before he scrapped them. Now I see listings asking for £100 and upwards.
Inevitable of course. The seller here must be doing somersaults - the Powerbook was at £2.20 two days ago.
0007776
Suspended
Probably enough are scrapped now that the number available is starting to get low enough for collectors to have to pay more to get them.
eyoungren
macrumors Nehalem
I would just mention the fact that other factors might also be in play here.
It's been 11 years since the Intel transition and for a lot of people all they know about are newer Macs (Intel). Assumptions are made, people think they are getting some rare find and the price it accordingly thinking it's going to run the latest. They have no clue.
The other side of it is the seller WHO is aware of what they have buy are banking on the fact that the BUYER will have no idea. The know they have a PowerBook or PowerMac (or whatever) but highly imply or outright lie that it's a modern Mac capable of running the latest OS and software. They get a premium price, a steal for the buyer if it truly was an Intel Mac, and then they disappear.
I see more of those two types of things then I see of the market flipping to a collector status. However, I do not deny that it has done so. I just haven't seen as much being advertised for sale from the collector's aspect.
It's been 11 years since the Intel transition and for a lot of people all they know about are newer Macs (Intel). Assumptions are made, people think they are getting some rare find and the price it accordingly thinking it's going to run the latest. They have no clue.
The other side of it is the seller WHO is aware of what they have buy are banking on the fact that the BUYER will have no idea. The know they have a PowerBook or PowerMac (or whatever) but highly imply or outright lie that it's a modern Mac capable of running the latest OS and software. They get a premium price, a steal for the buyer if it truly was an Intel Mac, and then they disappear.
I see more of those two types of things then I see of the market flipping to a collector status. However, I do not deny that it has done so. I just haven't seen as much being advertised for sale from the collector's aspect.
eyoungren
macrumors Nehalem
I am not saying anyone is wrong that the market has flipped. I am just saying that I don't see it very strongly yet. Most of what I see are as I mentioned.
Gamer9430
macrumors 68020
Man, I used to think I got into collecting at the wrong time, back in 2015... I thought the prices were high then and I missed out on the give-away PowerBooks and PowerMacs (although I still had many given to me 😛), and while yes, they weren't free, these current prices are incredibly higher than just a couple years ago. I couldn't imagine spending $200 on a PowerBook. The highest amount I paid for any PPC was $90, for my 15in SLSD, which in my opinion was a bit pricey, but it was in brand new condition.
Sigh, thats just the way of life... always goes back to the money!
Sigh, thats just the way of life... always goes back to the money!
AphoticD
macrumors 68020
I didn’t notice initially. So this price is purely buyer driven? I wonder what makes this PB so special that people are clambering with 23 bids to get to it?
Well the photos and description gave away nothing - maybe someone gleaned more information after messaging the seller. What would justify £200?
High capacity SSD fitted, original box and packing, full life battery.....or maybe the seller was a celebrity 😉
AphoticD
macrumors 68020
It could be one of the rare prototypes which carried the Cyberdyne Systems Model 101 AI circuitry.
amagichnich
macrumors 6502a
I've noticed they go for a lot more money if the listing allows delivery, all my bargains have been collection only items that people must not have wanted to drive for, my only exception was my PowerBook which was delivered but it had a faulty screen which put people off.
1042686
Cancelled
Deals certainly can be had still. As in all things business, Buyer beware. I picked up my latest - a clean PB17 M9689LL/A for $59 bucks with a $30 rebate due to wonky HDD & incorrect 45w adapter. I had a replacement hdd and picked up an appropriate apple charger for $6.99 on ebay leaving my $59 PB a $36.00 PB.
So while I see alotta folks with their heads in the cloud about prices, there are still a bunch of motivated sellers who really want to sell their stuff & are willing to wheel n deal leaving great opportunity for us. My PMG5 was another - found it on craigslist listed for 50 bucks OBO & I picked it up for $20.
Savvy, patient buyers who are willing to walk away (from a bad deal) win almost every time. 🙂
So while I see alotta folks with their heads in the cloud about prices, there are still a bunch of motivated sellers who really want to sell their stuff & are willing to wheel n deal leaving great opportunity for us. My PMG5 was another - found it on craigslist listed for 50 bucks OBO & I picked it up for $20.
Savvy, patient buyers who are willing to walk away (from a bad deal) win almost every time. 🙂
AphoticD
macrumors 68020
I agree. Every Mac I've bought 2nd hand has been on a best deal basis. The only one I didn't push a bargain price for was the Pismo, just because I always wanted one and rarely saw quality units show up on eBay. What I got was fully working, in good condition and it had the original power supply. On a $/Mhz basis, it was my most uneconomic purchase 🙂
This has been my modus operandi and generally has worked well for me.
A day or so after LBF put in a £50+ bid on a 6500 and still lost I snagged a better specced one for a tenner because: collect only.
Keeping an eye on this listing. It’s not for me but I am curious whether this picks up a single bid. A ton for 8 iMacs in different liveries is not a bad start to a collection.
LightBulbFun
macrumors 68030
was that the one that had the option of shipping for £40? (very yellowed 275Mhz unit with the AV stuff?) I almost slapped a bid on that before i spotted the G5 Quad. if thats the case im glad i did not bid on that 6500 then, I would not want to bid against someone here. (BTW if you have 2 6500s now would you be open to trading/selling one to me? 😀 )
I have noticed when it comes to ebay pricing in the UK for vintage macs, it varies wildly at times sometimes they go for stupid expensive or they go for stupid cheap, really depending on what way the wind is blowing so to speak.
for example to contrast that crazy £200 PowerBook
I got a fully working PowerBook G3 Kanga for £20 i was the only bidder and it was not like collection only I had to pay shipping LOL (the Kanga it self was £13). another one where i got 2 1.42Ghz MDDs for silly cheap as well (again had them shipped it was not collection only, I actually have a post on those macs 🙂 https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/diy-windtunnel-powermac-g4-mdd-build-log.2059543/ I should update it LOL I went to do some benchmarking then Geekbench's browser broke and you can no longer rename GB2 results ),
then theres my more or less NOS clamshell that I got for £38! https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...at-turned-into-something-interesting.2055518/ it really just depends on who is online at the time i guess! LOL, also i have seen people who will drive up the price win and then fail to pay the seller
so yes while the odd PowerBook might go for £200 i dont think we are at the point there the majority of them are going for that much, just keep an eye out for the deals 🙂
I agree, there are good deals still to be had, I just thought the £200 one was note worthy as it's the most inflated price I've seen lately. Like @weckart I tend to go for local collection deals - there's usually a lot more leverage when you can turn up quick and hand over cash.
It was indeed. I happened to be in the area and noted not a single bid so I put one in at the starting price and got it. I only did it because mine had suddenly died. No power whatsoever. Mind you, this one is no better. Worked for 20 seconds and then click. Couldn't get it to start. Left it for a couple of days and then it decided to play nice. Rebooted a few times on various Mac OS CDs while I readied a hard drive to put in it then I heard a pop from the power socket and silence again. Checked the fuse, changed the power cable, stripped the 6500. No bulging/leaking capacitors, no signs of any damage on the LB or anywhere else. Opened the PSU, checked the fuse inside. Same story. Resetting the CUDA does nothing.
It has the Avid TV card inside and an ethernet and is maxed out with RAM. The unit has been kept in a garage and there is considerable water ingress in the front. The front panel and SCSI panel have plenty of rust on the inside, which is also present on the left panel where it slots into the case frame. One of the screws was perished and had to be Dremelled out. Fortunately, all of the rust appears to be on the surface and hidden behind the plastic cladding with no sign of internal damage. The LB was clean, if somewhat dusty. I have put both 6500s away in the loft until I am in a better mood. I have also managed to mislay the hard drive caddy. I genuinely only want the one. If I can get both working, I will be happy to get rid of one.
I accidentally bought a G4 PB this afternoon after vowing not to add to my hardware collection. It went at the opening bid of £2.40 and I got a phone call from the seller afterwards. She was delighted that I had bought it so that she didn't have to scrap it. It seems the PRAM battery is dead and so it keeps prompting for a date reset, otherwise it seems fully functional and in good repair. It also comes with a charger and a boxed retail copy of Leopard, which itself goes for approx £25 on its own. I was glad she called. It appears she was going to ship it in a jiffy bag. 😱 I have been there before.
LightBulbFun
macrumors 68030
ohh damn sorry to hear they died, theres a dead 6400 thats been on ebay for a long while i wonder if it died the same way yours did, does sound like the PSU let go, I had a G3 beige Desktop sh*t its power-supply quite spectacularly in a shower of sparks as the main switching transistor let go, was quite annoyed as while one can drop in an ATX PSU you lose the Cooling fan the stock PSU provides. (if you you go to my thread about leopard on a G3 beige you can see the cooling i had to rig up to run the 7400 since the original PSU had blown up)
do keep me updated on the 6500s 🙂
nice score on the PowerBook G4, what spec is it? I managed to nab a 15 inch DLSD for about £25 that was listed as is but had a picture of it at the tiger setup prompt and ended up working perfectly fine 🙂
a Jiffy bag! that would not of ended well, she must of been watching too many MacBook air commercials!
speaking of bad packing, sadly the seller i won the Quad from could not pack it properly and the Quad arrived with the feet all crushed and bent out of shape, he shipped the G5 in a box for a PC Tower case with no bubble wrap at all which was not designed for the weight of a G5 and all the Styrofoam inserts meant for an empty PC case just shattered when it got dropped in the post evidently.
to add insult to injury the (British) lead had been packed under the Quad, and once the feet on the Quad collapsed, it rammed right into the british Plug and put a few nice dents into the bottom of the of the G5! it explained why one of the pins on the plug where slightly bent (only noticed it was bent when i went to plug it in and it would not fit) had to grab a pair of vice grips and wrench it straight... UK plugs are built like Tanks 🙂 thankfully the internal hardware of the machine survived, (VERY dusty however), so im on the prowl for a (dead) PCIe G5 with a good case that i can swap all the Quads guts into. tis a shame, as the case WAS in really nice shape
That’s just it. Neither of the PSUs gave any sign of failure. My original 6500 worked well and shut down normally. Came to it the next day and...dead. The new one didn’t go pop - that seemed to come from the power strip but that is working normally. Dunno what to try next. They may just resurrect themselves after some time off.
As for the G5 - never bid on one you cannot collect. There is zero point having one shipped. I learnt the hard way. Actually, that goes for all desktops. My 8600 arrived DOA, probably having taken one knock too many en route.
As for the G5 - never bid on one you cannot collect. There is zero point having one shipped. I learnt the hard way. Actually, that goes for all desktops. My 8600 arrived DOA, probably having taken one knock too many en route.
LightBulbFun
macrumors 68030
have you tried probing the PSUs voltage rails with a DMM to see if your getting any voltages from it? that would help rule out if its a PSU issue or not, I have never actually looked at what sort of PSU the 6400-6500 uses, wonder if you could hack up an ATX PSU and get it to power the machine...
almost every Mac I own has been shipped to me, sadly due to various reasons i cant collect anything from ebay, unless the seller happens to be my next door neighbour or something LOL. (otherwise I would of picked up the Quad as the seller was based in London) a G5/Mac Pro can survive the post, the sellers just have to pack them properly which sadly the Quad seller did not. My 2009 Mac Pro 4,1 arrived in its original Apple Box which was a nice surprise, I kept that box of course 🙂
