eBay bargains - what's your latest conquest?

[maître]

I managed to buy a DLSD 17-inch PowerBook for 45$, which apparently turns on, no chime and it has no charger, but it's in great condition. Gonna arrive in a couple of days, hopefully it works.

A little update: logic board is dead. It would turn on, ring a chime, spin up the SuperDrive, and the external display would catch some kind of signal for a second, but then no dice. Caps won't turn on, tried all keyboard combinations, resetting PRAM, nothing. Now to the imposibble task of finding a working logic board...

Everything else is in great albeit used condition, keycaps are shining, but no major scuffs around the case. On disassembly, there were a lot of missing screws, and someone put the case screws into DVI screwholes... I was kinda scared to continue, but thankfully, heh?, no screws were holding the board so it was a little bit easier to take apart.
Well, at least this laptop's previous life was fun.

 

[weckart]

If it chimes, it isn't completely dead as it has passed POST. It might be faulty ribbon connectors Have you tried connecting an external display to see if anything pops up?

 

[maître]

Have you tried connecting an external display to see if anything pops up?

Yep, nothing. It seems to find some kind of signal for a little moment, but then the monitor goes to standby again.

 

[weckart]

That's annoying. I had that issue with a Mac Mini. Turned out that one of the RAM slots had died and putting anything in it would prevent the Mac from booting up but unlike yours it wouldn't chime either.

 

[DucMike]

Latest (in hand) would a Lime iMac DV 400 from eBay. No keyboard, mouse or hdd but a ludicrously low price since it wouldn't boot (or even turn on) for the seller. Price bonus was the fact that he lived about 3 mi from work so I didn't have to pay for, or worry about the outcome of, shipping it. Plugged it in once I got it home & got three beeps after the chime. Wiggled the RAM in it's socket & got the chime, followed by the unhappy mac due to the lack of a drive. Plopped one of my spares in & fired up like a charm.

Now I need to figure out how to get Strawberry DV picked up from 400 mi away. Just far enough to make it a looong trek, but I've heard too many horror stories on slot-loaders that've been shipped.

 

[itadampf]

For only 30€ I bought this PowerBook G4 TI 1 GHz, excellently preserved with the battery that still holds despite its age! Increased the ram and installed an ssd msata/ide.

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Do you have a link for the msata /ide adaptor? Tia

 

[za9ra22]

Perhaps not totally remarkable, but an untested 333MHz G3 Lombard PowerBook. It was listed as having no hard drive, base RAM and for parts only. Since I needed a keyboard, CD module, and could do with a lower casing, and possibly a display panel, I paid $60 for it.

When I unpacked it, I thought I'd see if it powered up, and was surprised that it did. Not only that, but the happy Mac, then it booted. It has a 10Gb HD, 192Mb RAM, a working CD drive, and the battery even holds a bit of a charge - enough to keep the settings for a few days at least. It works like a champ! It also outperforms the 400MHz Lombard for which the keyboard, lower casing, display panel and CD drive were required.

I guess the 400 is the newly designated parts machine!

 

[Amethyst1]

It also outperforms the 400MHz Lombard […]

Something to do with the 400’s L2 cache maybe?

 

[za9ra22]

Something to do with the 400’s L2 cache maybe?

It has had a really hard life, and in itself was quite surprising to still work. I was inclined to think the hard drive was a problem since the machine ran a little faster and a lot more smoothly when I cloned that to an SD-IDE adapter instead. But it had been somewhat glitchy anyway.

 

[Doq]

Got a Wings card for the Beige Restoration Project. It was $20 before shipping and was listed as untested but I took the risk because what could possibly die on it and sure enough it works great. Best deal I got on an old Apple thing since the $6 eMac.

 

[netsrot39]

I got myself another PowerMac G5 Late 2005 2 weeks ago (even though I had planned on not buying more Mac stuff but I just have a fable for that particular model). I saw it by coincidence on eBay and only few people bid. Eventually I got it for 55€ including shipping. Since I know how those machines usually turn out when not shipped in their original packaging, I messaged the seller prior to bidding if she still has the original packaging which she denied. She assured me however that she has a "special box" with inserts that will for sure protect the Mac. In hindsight I probably should not have bid because shipping G5s in anything other than the original box is asking for trouble.

As it turned out the box was not so special and the most important parts to protect (feet and handle) had just some paper around them. Needless to say the G5 arrived demolished and I kind of was shocked to see it in that state (since it ironically was advertised as free of dents – explicitly stated in the title of the auction 🙈). Well, evidently that is no more the case (no pun intended ) and what a waste I'd have to say Of course I reported the incident and thankfully got 25€ back. I really don't like opening cases since the seller seemed so nice and I really do believe that she didn't know better but obviously I cannot accept shipping damage at such a high level.

So in total I paid 30€ for a Late 2005 2.3 GHz Dual Core G5. Not too bad considering the machine still works great and the innards survived without any visible damages (the case was at least good for protecting the guts of the computer). Luckily I have another empty G5 case (long story) which I initially wanted to convert to a hackintosh but now I'm thinking about just moving everything inside the demolished case over to the good one (better to keep it original than to hackintosh anyways). If so this would be my third PowerMac G5 (probably overkill to have that many but I don't have to explain myself here 😅). I'm still not sure what to do with the damaged case but I think any repair attempts will be a lost cause so once it is cleared out I'll most likely trash it.

My takeaway: Never buy G5s/Mac Pros again online without the original packaging (no matter what the seller claims to provide as packaging instead), best option is to get them locally – also eBay really does protect buyers and I'm glad to have it bought on their platform (I would probably not have been refunded on other platforms where no buyer protection is in place or only at additional cost)

All in all, not a bad deal but with a sad twist. On a rainy day or when I feel like it I'll transplant the hardware over to my good case and restore this particular G5 back to its former glory.

 

[Dronecatcher]

@netsrot39 That's shocking! It's not rocket science - PMG5s can be shipped without original packaging if done properly.

Most people seem to think slapping a "Fragile" label on the box will ensure it is transported from A to B on a velvet cushion watched over by a SWAT team!

 

[Amethyst1]

PMG5s can be shipped without original packaging if done properly.

The Mac Pro 1,1 I bought off eBay came in a random cardboard package without pretty much any packaging material IIRC - but it still survived shipping. When I sold it on (I was running out of space...) I did collection only though.

 

[pc297]

Biggest surprise: PB 540c that I bought for parts for €50 on the german ebay two years ago (for its display, to upgrade my PB 540 B&W LCD), turned out to be not only functional but to have a fully functional NuPowr 167 603e PPC upgrade card with 32Mb RAM

Next up was this:

Apple Macintosh 6500/225 Performa 6500 820-0816-c Complete Motherboard

Apple Macintosh 6500/225 performa 6500 Motherboard 820-0816-C complete motherboard, no comm card

www.amazon.ca

Yep that "currently unavailable" was me. Clearly had an L2 G3 card, PCI USB+FW combo and PCI ethernet. For... $24.20

Third in line was a G5 Quad bought on the UK ebay for £75 that turned out to have a GT 7800, 8Gb RAM and an extra Apple-branded 1Gb SATA HDD

Also even though it doesn't count, an Amiga 1200 (Amiga Technologies) with HDD that clearly had a Blizzard IV 68030 50MHz CPU (not noticed/taken into account by the seller) for ... £200

 

[netsrot39]

The Mac Pro 1,1 I bought off eBay came in a random cardboard package without pretty much any packaging material IIRC - but it still survived shipping. When I sold it on (I was running out of space...) I did collection only though.

That's pretty impressive. I have to admit that I got my other 2 PowerMacs also online and shipped without the original packaging. Both were pretty much thrown into a cardboard box without any additional material whatsoever. Of course in 2019 I wasn't aware of this issue and I consider myself very lucky to this day that both of those arrived without damage. Kind of ironic when you think about it. I didn't even bother to ask the sellers of my first two PowerMacs about the packaging and with my last purchase I messaged the seller explicitly to package the item well and asked her what she would use as packing material (although the description of that was vague) only to have the PowerMac arrived with a smashed casing ... I actually have a fourth PowerMac G5 which I also bought in 2019 (locally) but it only serves as a spare (weaker parts, all of my assembled G5s are Dual Core +2.3 GHz). Now I'm glad to have it since I can repurpose its case for rebuilding the one I got recently on eBay.

Most people seem to think slapping a "Fragile" label on the box will ensure it is transported from A to B on a velvet cushion watched over by a SWAT team!

It is like russian roulette. As explained above, I already won twice and unfortunately lost the last time ... What really bothers me is that the case does not really have any scratches and the machine inside is very clean. The original owner either took very good care of the Mac or hardly ever used it. And now all that does not even matter. Another gorgeous case gone 😢. At least I've learnt my lesson and not all is lost (since I have said spare case)

For last some good news. The Mac came with its original drive which still works great and has no SMART errors. It came unformatted (like it should) and has a power on time of only 8 months and 26 days which kind of confirms my suspicion that the G5 was hardly in use. What I do find interesting is that the hard drive came with Molex and SATA Power (needless to say you only plug in either of them) but I didn't know they used to do that with SATA drives. Kind of neat to have both power interfaces for retro machines.

 

[m1maverick]

It is like russian roulette. As explained above, I already won twice and unfortunately lost the last time ... What really bothers me is that the case does not really have any scratches and the machine inside is very clean. The original owner either took very good care of the Mac or hardly ever used it. And now all that does not even matter. Another gorgeous case gone ?. At least I've learnt my lesson and not all is lost (since I have said spare case)

I am surprised at the damage on the backside of the case. The handles are understandable but the damage on the back? Odd.

As for shipping being Russian roulette I think we as buyers need to share some of the responsibility. You paid 55€ including shipping. We all know how much these things weigh and that even if the 55€ was all shipping that's too low in order to be properly packed and shipped. IMO anything under 100 is a signal the seller is going to throw it in a box, stuff some newspaper around it, and call it good.

 

[wicknix]

Agree to the above. When i bought my 2.3ghz G5 recently i actually shipped a box with inserts to the seller. Not original, but close enough in size. It arrived dent free. Yes, it cost me a bit more to ship a box, but worth it.

Cheers

 

[philgxxd]

I also have to agree there with @m1maverick.
I shipped once the empty box of my G5 dual 2.7Ghz to buy a G5 Quad to the seller and paid more in shipping as for the actual computer but don't regret it as it arrived immaculate.

 

[netsrot39]

I am surprised at the damage on the backside of the case. The handles are understandable but the damage on the back? Odd.

As for shipping being Russian roulette I think we as buyers need to share some of the responsibility. You paid 55€ including shipping. We all know how much these things weigh and that even if the 55€ was all shipping that's too low in order to be properly packed and shipped. IMO anything under 100 is a signal the seller is going to throw it in a box, stuff some newspaper around it, and call it good.

I have to disagree. Seller stated that shipping and packaging is no problem so I assumed it would come in one piece. I thought the Mac is 45€ worth to me and that is what my bid was. No one bid after that. I can't be held responsible for the outcome of the auction and if the seller is not happy with the end result of the auction she could have set a minimum price. Shipping was indeed very cheap but not cheaper than the shipping cost of my other 2 G5s which I got for around the same price (both survived shipping without damage). I don't think price is necessarily an indicator for good or bad shipping service / packaging. Sadly the seller is to blame in this instance since I was promised adequate packaging. I trusted her with that statement (but yeah I could have known better)

What I do agree with you on is the strange damage on the backside of the case ...

Agree to the above. When i bought my 2.3ghz G5 recently i actually shipped a box with inserts to the seller. Not original, but close enough in size. It arrived dent free. Yes, it cost me a bit more to ship a box, but worth it.

Cheers

That is actually a great idea but I do not have such a box. Best thing would be to get an original Apple box with the inserts. If I ever feel like picking up another G5 or CMP I'll only do it locally though. I've read about shipping damage with G5s in the original box too but it is uncommon. Still my take on shipping G5s remains, not worth it unless I'm the shipping carrier ?

 

[m1maverick]

I have to disagree. Seller stated that shipping and packaging is no problem so I assumed it would come in one piece. I thought the Mac is 45€ worth to me and that is what my bid was. No one bid after that. I can't be held responsible for the outcome of the auction and if the seller is not happy with the end result of the auction she could have set a minimum price. Shipping was indeed very cheap but not cheaper than the shipping cost of my other 2 G5s which I got for around the same price (both survived shipping without damage). I don't think price is necessarily an indicator for good or bad shipping service / packaging. Sadly the seller is to blame in this instance since I was promised adequate packaging. I trusted her with that statement (but yeah I could have known better)

The seller may have thought it wasn't going to be a problem but they were obviously wrong. I suspect many don't know these are easily damaged in shipping. Especially given how heavy they are. Yes, shipping was cheap...and you see the results. IMO the packaging alone to properly ship a G5 would exceed the total price you paid.

This is not to blame you for the sellers poor packing but rather say that low shipping costs on such a heavy item are a red flag that it's unlikely to be properly packaged.

 

[netsrot39]

The same week I got the G5 (see earlier post), I got myself a Radeon x1950XT for 20€ including shipping which I will flash to PowerPC shortly. I don't have a picture right now but I'm really curious about running an ATI card on a Late 2005 PowerMac G5.

Concerning my other purchase, I'm currently disassembling the demolished looking G5 and found something interesting. In the past I have already disassembled 3 of the Late 2005 PowerMac G5s and they always had AcBel power supplies (1 kilowatt for 2.3 GHz models and about 700 watts for the base model if I remember correctly). The one I recently got has a Liteon power supply and since it is the 2.3 GHz model it also can provide up to 1 kilowatt of power draw. When I first tested the Mac I noticed that the power supply does not "click" after plugging in the system into an outlet. Neither does it "click" when I unplug the system. This happens however with my other 2 assembled G5s which all have AcBel power supplies in them. The power supplies that Liteon manufactured probably behave differently in that aspect. Anyways I thought that could be interesting to share. I could also imagine Liteon power supplies are rarer for G5s but it could also be a coincidence that the other 3 G5s I own just happen to have AcBel ones.

 

[pc297]

The same week I got the G5 (see earlier post), I got myself a Radeon x1950XT for 20€ including shipping which I will flash to PowerPC shortly. I don't have a picture right now but I'm really curious about running an ATI card on a Late 2005 PowerMac G5.

Concerning my other purchase, I'm currently disassembling the demolished looking G5 and found something interesting. In the past I have already disassembled 3 of the Late 2005 PowerMac G5s and they always had AcBel power supplies (1 kilowatt for 2.3 GHz models and about 700 watts for the base model if I remember correctly). The one I recently got has a Liteon power supply and since it is the 2.3 GHz model it also can provide up to 1 kilowatt of power draw. When I first tested the Mac I noticed that the power supply does not "click" after plugging in the system into an outlet. Neither does it "click" when I unplug the system. This happens however with my other 2 assembled G5s which all have AcBel power supplies in them. The power supplies that Liteon manufactured probably behave differently in that aspect. Anyways I thought that could be interesting to share. I could also imagine Liteon power supplies are rarer for G5s but it could also be a coincidence that the other 3 G5s I own just happen to have AcBel ones.

If it saves you any time, I had found a way to take out the PSU by just taking the CPU out on the late G5 models:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/how-hard-is-it-to-replace-your-power-supply-unit.410935/post-21967772

 

[originaldotexe]

I got myself another PowerMac G5 Late 2005 2 weeks ago (even though I had planned on not buying more Mac stuff but I just have a fable for that particular model). I saw it by coincidence on eBay and only few people bid. Eventually I got it for 55€ including shipping. Since I know how those machines usually turn out when not shipped in their original packaging, I messaged the seller prior to bidding if she still has the original packaging which she denied. She assured me however that she has a "special box" with inserts that will for sure protect the Mac. In hindsight I probably should not have bid because shipping G5s in anything other than the original box is asking for trouble.

As it turned out the box was not so special and the most important parts to protect (feet and handle) had just some paper around them. Needless to say the G5 arrived demolished and I kind of was shocked to see it in that state (since it ironically was advertised as free of dents – explicitly stated in the title of the auction ?). Well, evidently that is no more the case (no pun intended ) and what a waste I'd have to say Of course I reported the incident and thankfully got 25€ back. I really don't like opening cases since the seller seemed so nice and I really do believe that she didn't know better but obviously I cannot accept shipping damage at such a high level.

So in total I paid 30€ for a Late 2005 2.3 GHz Dual Core G5. Not too bad considering the machine still works great and the innards survived without any visible damages (the case was at least good for protecting the guts of the computer). Luckily I have another empty G5 case (long story) which I initially wanted to convert to a hackintosh but now I'm thinking about just moving everything inside the demolished case over to the good one (better to keep it original than to hackintosh anyways). If so this would be my third PowerMac G5 (probably overkill to have that many but I don't have to explain myself here ?). I'm still not sure what to do with the damaged case but I think any repair attempts will be a lost cause so once it is cleared out I'll most likely trash it.

My takeaway: Never buy G5s/Mac Pros again online without the original packaging (no matter what the seller claims to provide as packaging instead), best option is to get them locally – also eBay really does protect buyers and I'm glad to have it bought on their platform (I would probably not have been refunded on other platforms where no buyer protection is in place or only at additional cost)

All in all, not a bad deal but with a sad twist. On a rainy day or when I feel like it I'll transplant the hardware over to my good case and restore this particular G5 back to its former glory.

i had a g5 shipped to me by a friend, just in a cardboard box with bubble wrap & foam and it arrived with slightly bent handles, but still totally find (not bent to the point where it wont sit flat)
i also bought a 2008 mac pro on ebay which was shipped just like the g5 and arrived perfectly.
so, i guess maybe i am just lucky as i have seen a lot of other people have them totally ruined by shipping

 

[DucMike]

I guess I've gotten lucky in that everything (save for a Strawberry DV I'm trying to procure) I've acquired has been local or semi-local to me so I've managed to avoid any shipping damage. I did have to drive 2hrs south to pick up my MP3,1 but the selling price made it way worth the trip. One more unicorn & I think (!) I'm done...

 

[ahurst]

It's not exactly a PowerPC-era device, but I finally bought myself an Apple Watch!

...for 20$ CAD, off Marketplace. It's a little rough (to put it mildly), but apart from the chipped/detached screen everything seems to work! Some replacement adhesive should get it functional enough to play around with (as long as I stay away from water), and if I end up really liking it I can buy a replacement screen for another $40 CAD.

Anyway, it's not a PowerPC-era device, but it is old and in need of repair, so I got the same feeling like I do when I save an old Mac from the trash.