I had thought about that as well. A similar thing happened to my father years ago with a VCR he had gotten off the back of a truck (literally!). My mother and I couldn't believe that he actually fell for this. All that was in the box were planks of wood, and he got taken for the money he spent on it (don't remember how much it was, but it was enough to get my mother and I pissed).
Well that was silly. If he just wanted to relive his old Apple II days he could have gotten the whole setup for a lot less money by not getting it in the original boxes. Now he has spent all that money on a collectors item, opened it, and suffered a huge loss in value if he decides to resell in the future.
If you read what he says...
I did read what he said and it still makes no sense. He could have gotten a complete IIc setup for a couple of hundred dollars and tinkered around with it to his hearts content. He would have had money in the bank and a rare collectors item would have gone to someone who would have taken proper care of it and left it unopened. It is like someone buying a mint restored 1970 Plymouth Hemi Barracuda for $150,000 and then entering it in a demolition derby. He could have bough any old junker for that but now he is out a lot more than the cost of a junker and a rare car is no longer available to the collectors market.If you read what he says...
"I wrestled with whether I should open the box, or store it and let it accrue collector's value. In the end, I decided that the reason for my purchase wasn't financial. My very first computer was an Apple //c, and I can't see wanting to part with this computer, ever."
I can see opening it if he has the money and it's really special to him to open it up. I'd prolly do the same thing if I had money out the wazoo
