Ummm... what?

[82-T/A]

Did this guy pressure-wash this computer before putting it up on eBay?

 

It's still wet all over, in every one of the pictures, and he has it plugged in.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/254689148465

 

[Albert]

I'm guessing the seller wiped the front and back off with something, but really hard to tell what's going on there.  The interior of the machine certainly was not cleaned in any meaningful way, so I think just the exterior was wiped down.  Also, he shows a cable plugged into the back, but doesn't show it plugged into power.  Nor does he show it actually booting up properly, which I think would be amazing given the very poor condition of the machine.  The "Power on and runs" in the description probably means the fan spins in the power supply when he turns it on. 

 

Also, he's charging over $85 shipping for this.  Is there a market for very old PC-compatible machines that are in terrible condition, where someone would pay over $200 (shipped) for one?? 

 

 ..Al

[+frankodragon]

His negative feedback shows he ships poorly/doesn't ship.

 

[82-T/A]

42 minutes ago, Albert said:

Also, he's charging over $85 shipping for this.  Is there a market for very old PC-compatible machines that are in terrible condition, where someone would pay over $200 (shipped) for one?? 

 

 ..Al

 

Hahaha! I don't know, but I definitely don't think there's any huge rush for old stuff that's totally beat up. I mean, that thing looks like it fell off the back of a truck, there's almost nothing worth salvaging on it unless you needed / wanted a couple of DRAM chips off of it. Every corner of the case is totally beat up.

 

 

24 minutes ago, frankodragon said:

His negative feedback shows he ships poorly/doesn't ship.

 

 

Oh man, that is really bad. You have to really screw up to get negatives. I haven't sold anything in a while, and it doesn't take much effort to just ensure you're being honest with the auction. "Here's what you're getting..." and take some decent pictures, and be honest about the description.

 

Only once in the past two years have I gotten anything but spectacular, and that's because I had to ship to an APO address, and the guy managed to get around where I don't ship to APOs because I couldn't click-print a shipping label. I had to go to the post office and it ended up coming over 4 days later than normal. But the guy loved the watch, and I even threw in an extra battery, plus I changed the battery that was in there before shipping it, along with the extra battery. He was very pleased... but the ding on shipping was out of his control because it was automated, and not my fault anyway. But this guy... man...

[Keatah]

6 hours ago, Albert said:

Also, he's charging over $85 shipping for this.  Is there a market for very old PC-compatible machines that are in terrible condition, where someone would pay over $200 (shipped) for one?? 

 

Could be a source of date-code and period-correct parts, small ones, but obviously not cosmetic flair. That sort of thing is obsessive in some Apple I and II restorers. Much less so in PC sphere. The price is to high for me to buy into that.

[eightbit]

I wouldn't pay 15 cents for that...let alone $150!

[Keatah]

Mmm..yes.. You'd actually have to pay me for all the work it would need. Including cleaning the parts stripped for spares. The audacity of some sellers, expecting good hard-working netizens of ebay to buy their garbage!

[wierd_w]

I could maybe see getting the 150, *IF* they disassembled that roadkill carcass, cleaned the parts, tested them, then sold them separately and at reasonable prices.

 

For instance:
 

20$ each for cleaned diskette drives.

20$ + shipping for the cleaned, stripped down enclosure.

20$ for the motherboard, assuming it works

20$ for the MFM drive and controller

20$ for tested XT class PSU

 

Etc...

 

The issue is with the gall to offer something clearly dumpster picked, at 'tested and works' prices.

 

If it was actually cleaned and tested, and parted out proper, I think he could get that.

 

He's just a lazy sob, and wants money for nothing though. Which is galling.

[Keatah]

Well some flunky will buy it sooner or later, and the sold listing will encourage others to list similar junk at even higher prices. If he can get 150, maybe I can get 155..

[82-T/A]

6 hours ago, Keatah said:

Well some flunky will buy it sooner or later, and the sold listing will encourage others to list similar junk at even higher prices. If he can get 150, maybe I can get 155..

If someone fixes up... whatever that is... I suppose it's better than the landfill. A fool parts with his money, and another fool can pay his/her rent for another month. Haha...

[Keatah]

I try not to worry about landfills. The amount of "damage" I could do in 5 years is routinely exceeded by companies in 1 day.

 

Furthermore as us hobbyists grow within the hobby itself, we're not interested in being bogged down with such tedium. Unless your hobby is cleaning old computers. We'll do a few of them as "rites of passage" then never want to do it again. We move on to bigger and better things like conducting mods or making new peripherals or doing BIOS modifications.

 

Initially I keep thinking "parts bin & spares". But must remember my supply is well-stocked for Apple II and healthy enough in PC.

 

So like I say, let some other sucker have at it!

Edited July 18, 2022 by Keatah