solidpro, thanks for that background. You definitely would have won it regardless, so I'm glad I didn't jump in to drive the price up any higher for you. Not to mention, how much less it actually cost you thanks to the current exchange rate with the robust British Pound!
And yes I agree I think these last few posts are particularly cogent. One of these days I will post a graph of the prices I have been monitoring so we can all get better picture of the price fluctuations and speculate further. But I am almost certain, that eBay is like Vegas, sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you don't depending who is in the market for a 128K Mac at any given time.
And to address JDW's cynicism (and I in no way deny you that JDW ... getting burned always leaves a bad taste in your mouth), eBay is not much different than going into a Persian Bazaar, you really don't know what you've bought until you get it home and appraised. I think by this time, any veteran of eBay must go in eyes-wide-open. In the case of solidpro's steal, I stand by that. Yes, the analogue board is non-funtional, but likely repairable. If not, there are several analogue boards available now on eBay for less than $100. So let's say it costs him $570, it's still a STEAL! Even without the Mac, if solidpro had acquired the box and each accessory separately, I suspect he would have paid well over half of what he paid for the complete system. Considering even non-working 128Ks are selling for almost $200, yeah, I'd say it's a good deal.
And that is the pact we collectors make with ourselves. We weigh the value of what we bought with how much we are willing to pay. Now, for someone else, say some of Danapplemacman's buyers, who arguably pay his premiums for the guarantee of a fully serviced and functional 128K, who expects a no hassle experience, akin to buying one new in 1984, would not tolerate receiving an item in that condition, for any amount of money. You know those people who have never even seen a soldering iron. Then again, for that price (depending on how much you had to spend on such a hobby), considering you have received an otherwise complete boxed system, I would consider selling the CPU "as-is" and looking for a working one. Otherwise I would force the seller to return the item and credit a full refund.
In the end, it's still up to the buyer to do the research. In solidpro's case, it seems like the seller was pretty upfront about what was going on, even if he actually decided to swap out the functional board for a non-working board because the auction didn't get the price he wanted. At least he let solidpro know before he shipped it, and then played dumb (which I know allegedly happens). So I maintain it was a good deal, and would suggest it was a good deal for anyone one who might have purchased it – and at the risk of overusing that hot-button word, good deals on eBay are RARE!
Again, solidpro, congrats on your win, and do let us know the condition of what you finally receive ... I'm sure we're all curious now.
And yes I agree I think these last few posts are particularly cogent. One of these days I will post a graph of the prices I have been monitoring so we can all get better picture of the price fluctuations and speculate further. But I am almost certain, that eBay is like Vegas, sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you don't depending who is in the market for a 128K Mac at any given time.
And to address JDW's cynicism (and I in no way deny you that JDW ... getting burned always leaves a bad taste in your mouth), eBay is not much different than going into a Persian Bazaar, you really don't know what you've bought until you get it home and appraised. I think by this time, any veteran of eBay must go in eyes-wide-open. In the case of solidpro's steal, I stand by that. Yes, the analogue board is non-funtional, but likely repairable. If not, there are several analogue boards available now on eBay for less than $100. So let's say it costs him $570, it's still a STEAL! Even without the Mac, if solidpro had acquired the box and each accessory separately, I suspect he would have paid well over half of what he paid for the complete system. Considering even non-working 128Ks are selling for almost $200, yeah, I'd say it's a good deal.
And that is the pact we collectors make with ourselves. We weigh the value of what we bought with how much we are willing to pay. Now, for someone else, say some of Danapplemacman's buyers, who arguably pay his premiums for the guarantee of a fully serviced and functional 128K, who expects a no hassle experience, akin to buying one new in 1984, would not tolerate receiving an item in that condition, for any amount of money. You know those people who have never even seen a soldering iron. Then again, for that price (depending on how much you had to spend on such a hobby), considering you have received an otherwise complete boxed system, I would consider selling the CPU "as-is" and looking for a working one. Otherwise I would force the seller to return the item and credit a full refund.
In the end, it's still up to the buyer to do the research. In solidpro's case, it seems like the seller was pretty upfront about what was going on, even if he actually decided to swap out the functional board for a non-working board because the auction didn't get the price he wanted. At least he let solidpro know before he shipped it, and then played dumb (which I know allegedly happens). So I maintain it was a good deal, and would suggest it was a good deal for anyone one who might have purchased it – and at the risk of overusing that hot-button word, good deals on eBay are RARE!
Again, solidpro, congrats on your win, and do let us know the condition of what you finally receive ... I'm sure we're all curious now.