The Massive Mac Hoard in Illinois! I can get it

[Dog Cow]

For people living beyond the central Illinois area...

If one person is interested in obtaining this, or if a group of people are interested in pooling the money for this, I live close enough to Decatur that I could probably arrange to pick up this equipment and distribute it via parcel post. There will have to be a definite, suitable arrangement with me.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-COMPUTER-PARTS-LOT-Apple-Macintosh-HP-85-IBM-TRS-80-Texas-Instruments-/112585520055

Contact me by email, dog_cow@macgui.com if you're interested.

Again, contact me by email if you'd like to arrange something.

 

[luckybob]

I want that one lonely IBM in the corner (not the JR).  but $5000, thats a big chunk of change.  

 

[Macdrone]

im not a pc kinda guy, mac wise not sure if anything there is worth that.

 

[luckybob]

The major problem is the auction is a huge lot.  VERY few people are going to want all of that stuff.  Not to even mention it's overpriced.  I also didn't see anything particularly valuable.  I'd like to get that IBM eduquest, they are not common, but also not very popular.  So if someone bought this (hopefully less than $5k) I'd want to buy the eduquest.

just a rough guess, I'd say this was a $3000 lot.  

 

[ScutBoy]

I sent a note on to Dog Cow.

There's some non-Mac stuff there that I would like, such as the TRS-80 Model II and the 4P, and a few other things.

We'll see if this can come together...

 

[Dog Cow]

The major problem is the auction is a huge lot.  VERY few people are going to want all of that stuff.  Not to even mention it's overpriced.

So that's why I was thinking that maybe we could get a group of people to pool some money together, and they split it how they want. We could probably also talk with the owner and work out a deal.

I may also possibly know the owner of these Macs, or at least have met the guy who owned a big part of this collection, because there was a guy named Tampasis who ran a business of that name in Decatur, who had a big pile of Macs around 6-8 years ago. His business closed (or maybe just moved locations?) maybe 2-3 years ago, so I have no idea what's happened, but he was looking to sell back when I was in his shop. We even switched on some of the old Macs and tried to boot them with a disk. Some of them worked, others did not.

 

[luckybob]

I'd have to donate some blood or something, but I'd like to call dibs on that eduquest and its accessories.  If that is helpful to anyone willing to take on this task.

 

[EvieSigma]

Wow, multiple Kaypros AND multiple Osbornes. That's more interesting than the Macs...

 

[Dog Cow]

Just sent the seller a message asking him to come to this site and work with us. We'll see what happens...

(Maybe eBay censors these types of messages???? I have no idea)

 

[Juror22]

Be sure to factor in the warning from the eBay ad about the smoke smell.  If you are a smoker, I suppose there is no issue, but for those of us who are not, it can be overwhelming.  I got my first SE from my Father-in-law (a smoker) and it took years to remove the smoke smell.  Since then and the advent of Febreze, I have gotten better at addressing that particular issue, whether it be on cables, books or the computers themselves, but there is no overnight fix.

I really like the Osbornes too!

 

[CC_333]

I got an Osbourne at the VCF West this summer, and it needs some work.

Smoke or no smoke, it'd be nice to have a working example to go off of.

Alas, an Osbourne might be too big and heavy to ship affordably. I suppose I could try though.

Therefore, as a compromise, I submit a request for the Apple CD SC, if that's what it's called (the thing that looks sorta like an HD20, but with a slot for a CD caddy), and the cut-sheet paper feeder on the IWII (I don't want the printer itself).

Better stop there, or else I'll want the whole lot :lol:

c

 

[EvilCapitalist]

 I'd like to get that IBM eduquest, they are not common, but also not very popular.  So if someone bought this (hopefully less than $5k) I'd want to buy the eduquest.

If it had the original logo (red and blue, "EduQuest, an IBM Company") plus the sound card and CD-ROM I'd be right there with you.  For as many tens of thousands of these machines were around in the early 90s it doesn't look like too many have survived, which is a shame because they were built like tanks and were great 386/486 era all-in-ones.

 

[reallyrandy]

I'd be interested in the 128k, the Color Classic, the MacProject boxed software, a IIgs style keyboard. Maybe the Platinum Plus as well

 

[Rick Dangerous]

Epic find!!  Hard to sell a collection like that in one lot...but also very time consuming to break it all up and sell.  

Anything rare looking in there?

 

[trag]

The Imagewriter II is not rare, but the cut-sheet feeder mounted on it, complete with wire paper supports is not at all common.   That's kind of tempting.

 

[Dog Cow]

No response yet from the seller. Not sure if that's because eBay blocked my message, he hasn't read his emails yet, or he's decided to ignore me....

*** UPDATE:

Just got an email from him. Let's see if we can work something out between him and the community here.

***

 

[Dog Cow]

Here's how I imagine this working:

Picture a restaurant and you're at a table with a big group of colleagues or friends. Everyone is eating together, but you're all paying separately. The waiter brings all the food from the kitchen, and at the end he collects all the separate bills and tips from each person.

Now in this scenario, the seller is the waiter with all the food (computers). We'll each put in our separate orders, and will pay him separately. Then I'll travel to Decatur and take custody of the computers that have been paid for.

It will then be the responsibility of each person to pay me for shipping costs to get these Macs to their final destination.

Any comments on this plan? This is just one of a couple ideas that I had for payment and distribution.

 

[luckybob]

I would wager, the ebay seller will want to get rid of everything in one shot, otherwise he would just sell it all individually himself and potentially make more money, at the cost of his time.

That would mean, the interested people would need to come together, pay one person X dollars to secure the lot.  That person would then obviously have first dibs.  Everything after would then be split, sold, and shipped.  I doubt there are enough of us here to group up and fully pay for this lot.  So person X will need to cover the rest and then resell the lot (or keep at their discretion).  This person X is taking all the risk here, so he would definitely need to come out of this 'in the black' if at all possible.  That said, the cigarette odor is an issue for a large number of people.  That will greatly affect price imho.

Sadly my funds are tied up for the next few weeks.  I broke down literally 2 days ago and got myself a chinese smd re-work station and accessories.  But if I can scare up some extra hours at work this weekend, I hope to have some cash ready.

I'd say we need a volunteer...

 

[Gorgonops]

There's some non-Mac stuff there that I would like, such as the TRS-80 Model II and the 4P, and a few other things.

Just randomly chiming in to note that I adore my Model 4P, it's close to my favorite retrobeast.

I got an Osbourne at the VCF West this summer, and it needs some work.

Alas, an Osbourne might be too big and heavy to ship affordably. I suppose I could try though.

I don't know why an Osborne would cost any more to ship than, say, a Compact mac. It's very much in the same size ballpark. And it's easier to box up.

That said, the cigarette odor is an issue for a large number of people.  That will greatly affect price imho.

Yeah, the shipping prices to where I am and the fact that I have examples of most of the machines of offer would be strong disincentive going in, but cigarette smell is the nail in the coffin for me. There are some "interesting" things in this pile, but there's nothing that's particularly rare.

(The Seequa Chameleon is cool, maybe? I'd pay $50-$100 for that if it were local and didn't stink, but it fits neither qualification.)

That said, I wish those interested luck putting something together.