I dropped out at $5000

[towmater]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Commodore-65-Computer-The-Holy-Grail-of-Commodore-Collecting-/222630201237?hash=item33d5cb4795:g:Qt0AAOSwFqVZqDKX

 

[Omega-TI]

Damn, that's a pretty spendy paperweight!

[R.Cade]

It'll go way higher than $5k- you were dreaming.

 

Even non-working. Makes no sense to me either, but people are crazy and have money apparently.

[Bill Loguidice]

I can't wait for the modern C65 recreation to be released. It's the only way us mere mortals will be able to afford to play with something like it outside of software emulation.

[Keatah]

Dropping out at 5K? No big loss, it's missing parts on the motherboard anyways.. If some flunky wantsa buy it then it's their loss.

 

When deciding to bid on things like this I ask myself two simple questions. What will be the benefit to me directly? How will this improve my classic gaming and computing experiences?

[JamesD]

I can't wait for the modern C65 recreation to be released. It's the only way us mere mortals will be able to afford to play with something like it outside of software emulation.

Yeah, I hope they get it finished soon.

http://mega65.org/

[Keatah]

Ohh how cool. Another project..

 

I bet it'll be more versatile and reliable and have modern connectivity options for convenience and ease-of-use. I'd much rather have the remake than the original, even if there's a 1% loss in compatibility somehow.

[JamesD]

Ohh how cool. Another project..

 

I bet it'll be more versatile and reliable and have modern connectivity options for convenience and ease-of-use. I'd much rather have the remake than the original, even if there's a 1% loss in compatibility somehow.

I'd rather have a finished product than a prototype any day.

[Keatah]

I'll second that.

 

Protos are kinda "rare" and "cool" and "full of history" though they always lack some important feature. This even applies to first-runs of a new product line. And with computers, software is usually written for the machine that has most market penetration. And protos don't fall into that category.

 

I swear, theoretically, I could talk to 500 people and tell them I have a C65DX and none of them are going to know what it is. They're gonna frown when I say it's 40 year old computer, and go completely aghast when I tell them I spent $10,000 on something that's completely useless. They'll walk away from me when I tell them it's like a Commodore-64, but has missing parts and doesn't work.

 

They're going to view me as genuinely stupid, because that's money that could have been spent on useful things like furniture or lawn equipment or power tools.. Something that's useful and does something other than sit on a shelf rotting away.

 

---

 

On the other hand.. I could talk to the same 500 people. Tell them that I spent $1000 and assembled my own "custom" computer that can play most every arcade game, computer game, and most every console game ever made. And still have $9,000 left over. They're going to be rather impressed and want to know more about it. I bet they'd even be interested in knowing there are new versions and spin-offs of the old C64.

[JamesD]

No, nobody will be interested that you assembled your own computer other than to say "oh, so you can fix my computer."

[towmater]

There's this big-chinned idiot on TV who pays millions for worthless old cars, some even missing mufflers. If he told 500 people he owned a "Cord", 499 would have no idea what he was talking about.

[Keatah]

No, nobody will be interested that you assembled your own computer other than to say "oh, so you can fix my computer."

 

I get asked that frequently, still, in this day and age of disposable information appliances. I simply tell them that it would not be cost effective. All computers are disposable. And that's the truth.

 

Years ago I used to be the go-to IT guy in the area but I'm glad I got out of that. No time for tracking down obscure viruses and educating incompetent users that should not have a computer in the first place. Take a class at the community college - yup, they offer facebook, snapperchatter, and twittering social media courses. And learn the file system. If I can do it anybody can.

 

Still having trouble? Hire a personal IT assistant $150 per hour. That shuts 'em up pretty quick. And pisses them off, too. They stop asking me. I couldn't be happier.

 

---

 

Sometimes they counter back, desperately, saying it's only a few clicks.. how long could it take? I tell them I don't know. Shit we knew last week is now different for no good reason and they'd have to pay me again to figure it all out.

 

Fuck I don't know. Call customer service. Gets rid of them even faster.

Edited September 6, 2017 by Keatah

[carlsson]

At least you tried. Most of us wouldn't have $5K to spend on a single vintage computer in the first place.

 

A friend of mine came across a Commodore 65 in the mid 90's when the stock was liquidated. A few years later he sold it with a small profit. Numerous times he has mentioned that in hindsight he should've kept it much longer until the bids started to go high. After all it was a rare prototype from the start so it had been worth taking a chance that it would be very desired in the future.

[danny_galaga]

For investments, I prefer shares. You don't have to lug crap around wherever you go and as spectacular as all the 'found it in a shed' type things are when sold, most of us aren't going to see that kind of return. And if it's a car, well, how much did you spend keeping it going, storing it etc? Computers and consoles I buy for fun. Sure they have gone up in value, but I probably won't part with any of it soon anyway. By the time I want to, maybe the values have gone down again...

[Keatah]

It topped out at $18,350. Not a bad run. It's interesting to see Commodore material being traded at near-Apple valuations. And that's a good thing. Hopefully these trends continue.

Edited September 7, 2017 by Keatah

[carlsson]

Excuse my ignorance, but which vintage Apple branded devices beyond the Apple 1 sell in the range of $15,000 and upwards? As for Commodore, basically it is only the C65 that does.

[R.Cade]

That's it, just the Apple 1. Even early Apple II's don't fetch quite that much, I don't think.

[Keatah]

Several early Apple II's have exceeded $15,000. I think they are with the ventless case. There may be record of it on ebay, I'm too lazy to look.

 

When an Apple I sells, they go for anywhere from $30,000 to $360,000.

[carlsson]

Ok, I honestly didn't know there were early A2's in that price range.

[Keatah]

I think the Bob Bishop Apple sold in that range, too. Bob Bishop was an early EARLY developer for Apple II machines.