I've owned my Blue Dalmatian G3 for most of my life, and if I can tell you one thing, it is not to bother with less than a slot-loading 400MHz machine if you want something at least semi-usable under Tiger. Mine is a 500MHz version, and it runs Tiger just fine. As a standard procedure I use IceClean to kill Dashboard (it can be relaunched through IceClean), which seems to have a pronounced effect on speeds in general. Also, watch out for shipping. The shipping tends to amount to two or three times (or more) the cost of the unit. It may help to watch Craigslist a bit more, but I know you mentioned most people are too high on prices or don't know what they're selling. I honestly saw someone here in San Antonio ask (if I remember correctly) $500 for a Bondi tray-loader (the original). I think it had the box and disks, but that is no reason for that kind of price.