I keep all my stuff in a cool and dry basement to help minimize moisture/rust issues. If you fire up a machine a few times a year you can tell when it needs work done (before tracks are destroyed).
As far as prices going up, it depends on the hobby being a long term thing or just a beany baby bubble. Some people collect items before their time while others want to have what they used when they were a kid. I collect old games I used to play, but most of the hardware outside of x86 in my collection I never used new (including macs) so they are all new to me.
The only way people will professionaly rework boards (like they do for older laptops) is if there is a steady market for that work. I reworked my stuff because its not too hard, I like to tinker, and I don't like paying ebay prices for working stuff. I did rework somebodies Classic 2 here (those boards are a pain because of spacing) and only because I wanted to help out (no real profit in it). Maybe is a 840av is worth $300+ somebody might pay $60 to rework a dead one.
Time will tell.
As far as prices going up, it depends on the hobby being a long term thing or just a beany baby bubble. Some people collect items before their time while others want to have what they used when they were a kid. I collect old games I used to play, but most of the hardware outside of x86 in my collection I never used new (including macs) so they are all new to me.
The only way people will professionaly rework boards (like they do for older laptops) is if there is a steady market for that work. I reworked my stuff because its not too hard, I like to tinker, and I don't like paying ebay prices for working stuff. I did rework somebodies Classic 2 here (those boards are a pain because of spacing) and only because I wanted to help out (no real profit in it). Maybe is a 840av is worth $300+ somebody might pay $60 to rework a dead one.
Time will tell.