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Key Lime iBook

CooperBox

CooperBox

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Nov 28, 2010
1,925
2,205
France - between Ricard & Absinthe......!
Just for the interest factor (plus I really love 'em), since Sept I've been following a local ad for a key-lime iBook G3, which as most of us here know is the 'Holy Grail' for iBook collectors.
It started out at 500€ (US$572) and at the weekend was reduced to a less eye-watering 390€ (US$446) which given their rarity and apparent good condition of that example, I guess may be somewhere in the correct ballpark. Fom what I'm observing most models of clamshell iBooks seem to be on the decline in general.
I have no doubt that a certain Eb*y seller would snap up this key-lime at the current price, and shamelessly transform it into a psychedelic/polka-dot abomination and add a few zeros to the asking price.
I'm now wondering what price these key-lime models are fetching in your part of the world????????????? ?‍☠️etc....

iBook G3.jpg?
 
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CooperBox said:
Just for the interest factor (plus I really love 'em), since Sept I've been following a local ad for a key-lime iBook G3, which as most of us here know is the 'Holy Grail' for iBook collectors.
It started out at 500€ (US$572) and at the weekend was reduced to a less eye-watering 390€ (US$446) which given their rarity and apparent good condition of that example, I guess may be somewhere in the correct ballpark. Fom what I'm observing most models of clamshell iBooks seem to be on the decline in general.
I have no doubt that a certain Eb*y seller would snap up this key-lime at the current price, and shamelessly transform it into a psychedelic/polka-dot abomination and add a few zeros to the asking price.
I'm now wondering what price these key-lime models are fetching in your part of the world????????????? ?‍☠️etc....

View attachment 1910673?
Click to expand...

It’s been a long minute since I’ve seen one show up in Canada. The last was about two years ago, and there was virtually no information about it (no telling whether it was a 366 or 466), and the seller, in Québec, showed a single picture of it not running and not connected to a power adapter. They wanted $150 for it (which was more than a fair deal, even for non-working), but despite my asking whether I could arrange to pick it up, I never heard back. The item remained “on sale” (kijiji) for several more months. Other than that, they haven’t really come up for sale here (or if they have, then they’re on places like FB Marketplace, where I’ve never been).

The 466 I bought, back in 2007, came without a working FireWire port (which I’ve since remedied), and I paid about CAD$400 for it. $400–450 now, if in clean, working shape (especially without the sheen of a lot of use, such as on the keys and trackpad), doesn’t seem beyond the pale. Since ’07, they’ve gone from being “used laptops” to outright “collectible” pieces which probably will be used more for showing off and not for actual daily use. Or, they get snagged by an old guy in Florida who thinks he’s an artist, then get destroyed by him, and then get put on sale in their ruined, maligned form for laundered cash prices.

So that’s sort of the market these days.

On a cursory glance, this unit looks remarkably clean and possibly well cared for. The other thing to bear in mind is the hard plastics (not the rubberized parts) — such as the clutch cover pieces and the optical drive tray mounts: with time, even in well cared-for condition, these become brittle. This is especially the case with the green plastics (and oddly doesn’t show up as much with the graphite and indigo counterparts). So that’s another thing to factor into buying one.
 
I haven't seen one for good price in a lot of years. I got my 366 one for $140 in about 2009 from eBay, the seller sent it from US to UK, that was the total price. It came with no power cord, but I have got one. I would describe it as great condition. I wish I could get another just in case.

I wonder how many of lime were made in total? I read that only 700.000 iBooks were sold in total, so lime must be far fewer. It was only sold at Apple online store too I think. Maybe even as low as 50.000 or less?
 
Not that I want one for myself, but I have been looking at Clamshells in Australia for about a year on ebay and other services, and have never seen a Key Lime.

For reference, there have been about a dozen or so Clamshells of other colors. Probably 1-2 sell per month.
 
589655abbad30d2d5ac07c9c4e8da3dc.jpg

I used to have this one. I don’t anymore but it was a fun collectible. Below is a picture of the collection I once had…

1c9397ed8ba3a2dad8d62f69dc0fb393.jpg
 
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mortlocli said:
current bid NZ$51

www.trademe.co.nz

iBook G3 clamshell Key Lime | Trade Me Marketplace

Here is my working example of the vintage iBook Clamshell model in Key Lime Powers on and some functions have been tested but the battery has seen better day...
www.trademe.co.nz www.trademe.co.nz
Click to expand...

That appears to be a 366MHz model.

The tell is the indigo CD-ROM drive door: the bezel attachments for the DVD-ROM on the 466 SE lime/graphite models differ physically from the bezel attachments on the 366 indigo/lime models and are not interchangeable between the two. Possible, but less likely: the OEM DVD-ROM, with bezel, was swapped out with an OEM CD-ROM from an indigo unit.
 
I really regret to have sold mine a couple of years ago. It wasn‘t in mint condition by any means, but in full working order. And it was the 466 MHz model
 
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Damn! My favorite ever Mac I've owned. It's so incredibly ostentatious, but has an iconic design and color. It really was such a fun computer to use at the time. I had the SE version. I think I sold it for about 800 bucks after about 3 years. Sweet memories!
 
B S Magnet said:
I can only hope you actually use these Macs and iPods and don’t solely keep them around as trophies!
Click to expand...
I just rented this space and am setting it up so I’ll be able to play around with everything.
99% of the iPods / iPhones are sealed so I’m not touching those.
By the way I’m in Montreal and seems like you might be as well?
 
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