How best to sell a couple of G3s?

[jruschme]

Since getting a Sawtooth G4 recently and seeing some spousal concern, I'm realizing that it's time to thin the herd a bit. Basically, I think I need to get rid of a B&W which has been upgraded to a G4/400 and a Beige G3/400 desktop.

I basically have two problems: 1) where to sell them and 2) how to estimate shipping costs (and ship) a big, heavy box.

As for where to ship, I see four main options:

- eBay

- LEMSwap

- Craigslist

- here

As for shipping, I confess that I'm more comfortable with selling something like a PowerBook where I can use USPS flat-rate shipping instead of having to do all the weighing and sourcing of big boxes, etc.

So, how do you all handle it?

Thanks...

John

P.S. In case anyone is interested in specs:

B&W G3, upgraded to G4/400, Radeon 7000 PCI (flashed PC card), 128mb RAM, 12GB HDD, 32x CD-ROM, Zip-250

Beige G3 DT, G3/400, Rage 128 PCI, 128mb RAM, 16GB HDD, 24x CD-ROM, Zip-100

 

[Hrududu]

Well I would probably just shoot for local selling. Start with something like Craigslist and and use eBay as a last resort. Basically a G3 with a 400MHz G4 processor is still worth less than the price of shipping it (appox $45) so people are much less likely to buy since it will drive their total bill up quite a bit. If you do have to ship it, find a large box, and wrap the thing it several layers of bubblewrap. Use the large bubbles and wrap it in about 4 layers. Then fill in the extra space with large chunks of foam or towels. The trick is to put as much solid padding between the computer and the walls of the box to avoid bouncing around. Many years ago I got my Performa 6400 off ebay and it came in a huge box that was filled with newspaper and some packing peanuts. Needless to say, all that stuff shifted during transit, and the Mac was kinda beat up.

 

[jruschme]

Basically a G3 with a 400MHz G4 processor is still worth less than the price of shipping it (appox $45) so people are much less likely to buy since it will drive their total bill up quite a bit.

That what I was thinking. It's actually the reason it took me so long to get the Sawtooth... I had been pricing cheap G4's on ebay for a while, but couldn't see the costs of even a $0.99 one after shipping.

Thanks... John

 

[Unknown_K]

For older machines this is what I would do IF I needed to sell/get rid of something:

1. Rare and valuable machines would go to ebay , if the value isn't a few times more then shipping it is not worth bothering.

2. Common machines with uncommon upgrades would get parted. The upgrades go to ebay while the machine itself would be sold locally or freecycled depending on the condition (return it to stock if you can). Non or partially working gear would be parted out if people showed interest and the rest would be recycled.

3. Trade. Somewhere somebody has some junk you would gladly trade for your junk and both would end up happy in the deal. If it is local even better. Some people live for this. A decade ago a guy I knew traded a crappy K6-2 machine for a crappy small boat. I was there when the trade was made and both people looked like they had screwed the other person on the deal, funny to see when you are not involved.

You can replace ebay with computer forum forsale sections depending which way you are leaning (to a good home.. or just want the most cash).