Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
I cannot imagine spending 4 hours packaging a computer no matter how hard I tried. 1 hour MAX unless he was counting the time to go get the supplies or something.
 
I do not need 2 quad core G5s I really don't. In fact, most people would say I don't even need 1.

but..... I am not a smart man, and I now have 2 en-route to me from the west coast :D
 
  • Like
Reactions: eyoungren
I do not need 2 quad core G5s I really don't. In fact, most people would say I don't even need 1.

but..... I am not a smart man, and I now have 2 en-route to me from the west coast :D
Sounds like the opinion of a lot of people who hang out in the iPhone forum. :)

Need has never factored into any of my purchasing decisions except as a minimum requirement for those things I really do need from time to time. I get what I want and if it means I have to delay a purchase for a significant amount of time until I can that is what I do. I get what I want - even if there is no need for it. I am not greedy, but I am unwilling to settle for what I want. Too often those who ascribe to this 'get only what you need' policy settle. Settling leads to disappointment, regret, resentment and sometimes hatred. I don't care to go down that path since many of the things I buy are bought to use for a very long time. I don't have the income to continually purchase something over and over.

This has led to a lot of derision in the iPhone forums because I always buy the max capacity of a device. People come down on me for buying more than I need. Yet these people will limp along on the 16 or 32GB models.

Buy what you like. If it means you have more (or way more) than you need than you can gift others when and where you can or find a purpose for a thing. This is what I do. Don't settle.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: macmee
Sounds like the opinion of a lot of people who hang out in the iPhone forum. :)

Need has never factored into any of my purchasing decisions except as a minimum requirement for those things I really do need from time to time. I get what I want and if it means I have to delay a purchase for a significant amount of time until I can that is what I do. I get what I want - even if there is no need for it. I am not greedy, but I am unwilling to settle for what I want. Too often those who ascribe to this 'get only what you need' policy settle. Settling leads to disappointment, regret, resentment and sometimes hatred. I don't care to go down that path since many of the things I buy are bought to use for a very long time. I don't have the income to continually purchase something over and over.

This has led to a lot of derision in the iPhone forums because I always buy the max capacity of a device. People come down on me for buying more than I need. Yet these people will limp along on the 16 or 32GB models.

Buy what you like. If it means you have more (or way more) than you need than you can gift others when and where you can or find a purpose for a thing. This is what I do. Don't settle.
32GB isn't bad, I only got it since I didn't fill my 64GB phone up after two years. I did get the + which was amazing
 
Don't scare me guys! I just won an eBay auction for a 20" iMac G4 for $31, free shipping. While I did message the seller who stated the free shipping was an accident, he said he will honor it. I asked him to package it well and if it arrives safely, I would send him some cash to help out on the shipping. He is only 3h25m away, but that's a bit of a drive, and he wouldn't meet half way.

Time will tell if it arrives safe or not...

What? $31 for a 20" iMac G4, that's an absolute steal! I'll give you $35 for it.........(;-))
These are really dream-machines! imho one of the most underestimated PPC's around. Please give us your opinion of it when it arrives - hopefully intact.
 
Having had 2-3 arrive as though they had spent an hour inside an industrial tumble dryer on full speed...always insist that your Power Mac G5's are packaged super super super well.

And I mean dedicate the largest paragraph of your message to the seller tackling only this topic.

In general I've acquired pretty much my entire collection to date over the last 6 years over eBay and I have to say I would recommend the experience. PayPal proctecion is always there if you end up being screeed over, but thankfully I never have been (at least relating to these types of purchases).

I've bought 512Ke from the USA and my Apple II plus with Monitor 3 from the UK both via eBay and both arrived promptly and in top condition as they were pa packaged well.

Happy hunting!
 
  • Like
Reactions: macmee
Yep, I was ecstatic to get it for that price. Honestly, I have one already but couldn't pass this up. Also, I do want one, preferably not working, for a monitor conversion project. I really want to use one of these as a monitor for a Mac Mini. Was thinking to have an internal HDD, Optical, and USB hub too. That way its really like using a G4 iMac, but with the power of a much newer machine. I know others have stuffed the internals inside the dome, but I like the idea of being able to use it with any computer.
 
I have not bought any towers on eBay, but I'm curious if anyone has purchased one from this seller? (Beaconsfield Elec.)
And if so, what the packing was like, condition of machine received, etc.
 
Yep, I was ecstatic to get it for that price. Honestly, I have one already but couldn't pass this up. Also, I do want one, preferably not working, for a monitor conversion project. I really want to use one of these as a monitor for a Mac Mini. Was thinking to have an internal HDD, Optical, and USB hub too. That way its really like using a G4 iMac, but with the power of a much newer machine. I know others have stuffed the internals inside the dome, but I like the idea of being able to use it with any computer.
Yep, I'm actually planning to do this, I picked up a dead 17" iMac G4 just for that. Waiting for some more funds for an Intel NUC, but I'd love to use it as a daily driver when all is said and done!
 
By the way, I'll add in that I've bought bunches of G3 B&W and G4 towers on Ebay. I get an occasional broken handle, but that's unusual in my experience.

A lot of my collecting focus lately has been on PowerBooks, which of course also tend to survive transit fairly well. The last shipping damage I had was a PowerBook 520c that arrive with the hinge covers broken but those will break if you look at them cross-eyed. Just yesterday, I had a Duo 210 and DuoDock arrive, and both came completely undamaged.

The DuoDock in particular is relatively heavy and bulky(it's meant to turn a Duo into a desktop, so can support a monitor on top and has things like expansion bays and hard drive bays in it) and is made of the same brittle beige plastic as the desktops of the era.
 
By the way, I'll add in that I've bought bunches of G3 B&W and G4 towers on Ebay. I get an occasional broken handle, but that's unusual in my experience.

A lot of my collecting focus lately has been on PowerBooks, which of course also tend to survive transit fairly well. The last shipping damage I had was a PowerBook 520c that arrive with the hinge covers broken but those will break if you look at them cross-eyed. Just yesterday, I had a Duo 210 and DuoDock arrive, and both came completely undamaged.

The DuoDock in particular is relatively heavy and bulky(it's meant to turn a Duo into a desktop, so can support a monitor on top and has things like expansion bays and hard drive bays in it) and is made of the same brittle beige plastic as the desktops of the era.
Wha!! DuoDock!!
 
Wha!! DuoDock!!
Indeed-not just a DuoDock but also a Duo 210 to go with it(although I already have a 230).

It has a dead PSU, but supposedly the fix involves replacing one or two caps.

The Duo really is a special product. In a lot of ways it was the precursor to the current MacBook especially when you consider that the only ports on the bare laptop are the power, a single serial port, and the proprietary PDS slot. Unlike the MB, though, you can tack on a portable dock to get a full complement of ports or make it into a full blown desktop computer with the DuoDock.

I do need to track down the FPU for the DuoDock, as it doesn't have one. Fortunately, they are either still made or there's a huge stash of new old stock ones on Ebay for a little of nothing-I just need to figure out the correct specs.

Bonus on the G4 towers is you can ask the seller to remove the handles for their safety.

With acrylic cinemas, it's also good to ask the seller to remove the back leg. This is a win-win since it makes the screen easier to ship(a lot thinner) and it stands no chance of getting broken in shipping. By contrast, shipping with the leg fitted doubles the width of the display and requires a massive amount of overpack along with some creative styrofoam use to keep from breaking the leg. I'm about 2 for 6 on on getting displays with an intact leg when it was shipped attached, while I've never had a damaged one that was removed.
 
I do not need 2 quad core G5s I really don't. In fact, most people would say I don't even need 1.

but..... I am not a smart man, and I now have 2 en-route to me from the west coast :D

I need another PowerPC Mac like Custer needs more Indians. I have a pallet of eMacs and a pallet of G3 iMacs that I keep swearing I will get around to doing something with, not to mention a few G5's lying around.
 
I do not need 2 quad core G5s I really don't. In fact, most people would say I don't even need 1.

but..... I am not a smart man, and I now have 2 en-route to me from the west coast :D

I bought a 2009 MBP tonight as a throw around laptop to carry with me in a backpack to save my 2016 from getting broken. As the 2016 is more or less my home away from home computer.
 
  • Like
Reactions: macmee
Abit of an update on one of the quads.... it's not looking good unfortunately :(

So the item got from California to Kentucky (still has to go to Canada where I am atm) however the order status changed to this today:

"Delay at Global Shipping Center - Order Exceeds Size Limit"

I googled that ^ and found this thread

http://www.allposterforum.com/index.php?topic=11159.0

Now, in their case they had a status of "Undeliverable - Order Exceeds Size Limit" not delay, so I'm hoping I'm not in the same boat, however this thread says the following:

I've checked the global tracking number on this item and I can confirmed that it has 'Undeliverable - Order exceeds size limit'. I can see that the items are generally liquidated if they are oversized, overweight, or a system restriction has occurred (i.e. item won’t clear customs). At which point the item is owned by Pitney Bowes (logistics company) and will not be return to you

So, according to this thread at least, it's quite possible that I wont receive the powermac I ordered and that ebay & their shipping partner are going to liquidate it......
 
Abit of an update on one of the quads.... it's not looking good unfortunately :(

So the item got from California to Kentucky (still has to go to Canada where I am atm) however the order status changed to this today:

"Delay at Global Shipping Center - Order Exceeds Size Limit"

I googled that ^ and found this thread

http://www.allposterforum.com/index.php?topic=11159.0

Now, in their case they had a status of "Undeliverable - Order Exceeds Size Limit" not delay, so I'm hoping I'm not in the same boat, however this thread says the following:



So, according to this thread at least, it's quite possible that I wont receive the powermac I ordered and that ebay & their shipping partner are going to liquidate it......

What does that mean liquidate it?
They've got a size limit?

Oh goodness. Will you at least get your money back from this fiasco?
 
What does that mean liquidate it?
They've got a size limit?

Oh goodness. Will you at least get your money back from this fiasco?

I think it just means the warehouse with possession of the item will just keep it and resell it and pocket the money. Their Terms of Service says:

eBay and Pitney Bowes shall have no liability and shall have, in their discretion and in any manner that they prefer, the right to dispose of or liquidate GSP Items that eBay or Pitney Bowes conclude are undeliverable, for whatever reason
eBay shall not be responsible under either the eBay Money Back Guarantee or PayPal Purchase Protection policies if eBay concludes that a GSP Item is not deliverable to your designated delivery address or to the collection center near you that is designated by the shipping carrier, for any reason

So if this is true and if it is indeed undeliverable then I very well might lose my money. This really doesn't seem very fair to me because their system allowed me to buy it, and the seller is the one that packaged it and chose to use GSP :(
 
I think it just means the warehouse with possession of the item will just keep it and resell it and pocket the money. Their Terms of Service says:




So if this is true and if it is indeed undeliverable then I very well might lose my money. This really doesn't seem very fair to me because their system allowed me to buy it, and the seller is the one that packaged it and chose to use GSP :(

How much was it? Can they send it to another address instead?

I'm wondering if you know anyone here in the US who could send it to you? It would just need to be sent via a different shipping company?

Edit: I apologize, I don't know much about their procedures.
 
Last edited:
I'm in NW Ohio and would be willing to receive it and ship it up north to you using USPS if you are willing to cover the costs. That said, not even sure if it is possible to switch shipping addresses, but you would think that if they are going to otherwise sell and take your device/money that they must be somehow required to allow you to arrange for alternate pickup/delivery.

Otherwise what would be to stop them from saying any package they want is "undeliverable"?
 
My iMac from eBay arrived today. The one I got for $31 shipped. I thought by the photo that it was a 20" model. Was wrong, it is 17". First let down. Then the packaging. He put this iMac G4 in a loose box and only wrapped it with scraps of "WALLPAPER"!. The bottom was coming off (probably needs screws tightened, the screen bezel was busted off (clips broken too, no going back on). Not sure what to do. Return shipping would be more than the "refund" amount. I have eMailed seller to see what he wants to do.

iMac damage 1.jpg iMac Damage 2.jpg iMac Damage 3.jpg iMac wrapping.jpg
 
My iMac from eBay arrived today. The one I got for $31 shipped. I thought by the photo that it was a 20" model. Was wrong, it is 17". First let down. Then the packaging. He put this iMac G4 in a loose box and only wrapped it with scraps of "WALLPAPER"!. The bottom was coming off (probably needs screws tightened, the screen bezel was busted off (clips broken too, no going back on). Not sure what to do. Return shipping would be more than the "refund" amount. I have eMailed seller to see what he wants to do.

View attachment 685844 View attachment 685845 View attachment 685846 View attachment 685847

Question, does it work or were you buying it to build on it? Just curious.
 
I bought it under the impression that it was able to be powered on (as seen in the photos on the ad) and that I thought it was a 20" (again, based on photos in the ad). I wanted to gut it honestly as I already have a 20" G4, and was going to do the monitor conversion mod to have an iMac G4 20" as a monitor with built in USB Optical Drive/HDD, and DVI-In port.

None of that will happen now. I will likely try to re-attach the bezel and move the neck and screen over to a slightly faster "dome" that I have from an iMac 17" that had a bad screen.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Septembersrain
I get those for about $30 or so locally. But this one is not local to you, and INCLUDES shipping. Not terrible. No keyboard or mouse is a bummer.

I just got rid of this exact model 3 days ago. Would not even play 720P YouTube smoothly anymore. Almost to the point where we will need a different way to watch YT on these too, just like the PowerPC Macs, lol. That said, it is much snappier one EVERYTHING else than any of my PowerPC Macs.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Septembersrain
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.