I'm considering buying a Macintosh SE/30, the seller said it has some defects. Is it worth it?

[Shymon184]

The Mac is being sold for 300€. The physical condition seems decent. But it has probably some analog board problems.

 

Here's what the translated description says (original language is italian):

The conditions can be seen from the images, working with small defects: at startup, a "recovery volume" disk image appears over its HD but the computer works normally; if it is turned on again immediately after switching off it does not work and the last active image is displayed ("Now you can turn off Macintosh"); if it is turned on again after a few minutes and for the next 10 minutes, a striped image appears on the monitor, when it is turned on again it resumes working regularly (see the last three photos). Even if I tried to highlight the defects in the photos when noticed, there may be some small signs of use or scratches, the backup battery is missing. Included: keyboard and mouse. Insured shipping.

 

Here's a pic from the seller:

Edited December 1, 2020 by Shymon184

[techknight]

Kind of pricey for something in 100% unknown condition. 

 

Dont know how bad the capacitors have leaked, don't know if there is any battery damage, 

 

Too many unknowns for that kind of price. But that is my opinion. 

[cheesestraws]

At least over here in the UK, that's more than I'd expect for a machine in that condition.

[Byrd]

As with others: for 300 EUR you'd be expecting a completely working machine with good motherboard and analogue board - for which this has neither.  Also factor in you'll probably need a new HD, more RAM.

[aeberbach]

Being in Australia I can understand the higher prices, but that seems like an awful lot for a Mac that isn't working perfectly. Are you able to get pictures of the inside? That could at least tell you if you have an exploded battery or perhaps just old caps that need replacing.

[Crutch]

For $300 I’d expect a generally working SE/30. Sure it might need a recap or floppy drive cleaning/lube. But it should work. 

[Daniël Oosterhuis]

Just now, Crutch said:

For $300 I’d expect a generally working SE/30. Sure it might need a recap or floppy drive cleaning/lube. But it should work. 

 

Well, it's in Euros, so it'd be the equivalent of about $360 US. Frankly, a bloody rip off, though I might be a bit biased as I paid far less for my SE/30s, which were non-functional too (one still needs to be fixed, the other is fixed). I'd still balk at €150 for a non-functional one.

[Shymon184]

Hmm, I can't get pics of the insides, unfortunately, because the seller probably doesn't have a long torx screwdriver. I'll try to dispute the price with the seller, what price do you suggest?

[Byrd]

Don't bother asking the seller to crack it open - they'll probably damage it.  I'd say sight unseen, with power and motherboard issues 100 - 150 EUR

[Shymon184]

oh, well, I asked the seller if I can see some pics of insides anyways... I'm gonna send him another message on how to open a Mac.

[bibilit]

For that money i will expect a fully working unit, including new caps in the Logic board side, a working HD and lubed floppy drive, keyboard and mouse.

 

 

[Shymon184]

Alright, I'll try to dispute with the seller to lower the price to 100 - 150€.

[Pushpull76]

1 hour ago, Shymon184 said:

Alright, I'll try to dispute with the seller to lower the price to 100 - 150€.

Recently bought 2 SE/30 here in Italy, completely unknown conditions inside but good cosmetics for about 180 euros both.

Remember that if the flyback transformer is gone, you have to run to find one or wait a lot, they are pretty rare.

Yours looking good for sure but 300 Euros is too much; 100 is the right price.

 

[Shymon184]

I asked the seller for some pics and he sent me some:

[maceffects]

As far as I can tell it looks like the logic board is in good shape with minimal leakage/corrosion.  It’s also a socketed CPU which is nice. Every SE/30 needs recapped regardless. I’d say around €200 would be fair. 

 

[Shymon184]

hmm, alright, I'm in kind of a dilemma, on one hand I can try getting this Mac SE/30 (Which I won't be able to repair immediately due to the current events) on the other hand I've also found a working iMac G3 indigo for 300€ in Germany and I can't quite decide which should I buy, other factor to consider is shipping, Germany seems a little bit closer to Slovakia than Italy, I'm mainly worried about this because I've ordered a Mac CC from France and the analog board and the diskette drive got slightly damaged during the shipment.

Edited December 2, 2020 by Shymon184

[ArmorAlley]

If you reckon an SE/30 is worth €300, then look around at the auction sites in Europe.

Here in Switzerland, there is a working SE/30 (1)with a current auction price of CHF61 (EUR 56). Now, this one is collection only but you get an idea of price.

There is another working one going for CHF91 (EUR84) in Winterthur.

For either of these macs, I can get them and ship them to you. Shipping won't be cheap but you will have change left over from your €300 (even from Switzerland).

There is also this great sale in Vienna(3) which is nearer you than me. You can have an SE for €350 or a IIfx for €100. This is what makes most sense to me for you.

 

I, personally, wouldn't get the SE/30 as offered by the seller above, but that is me. You can get a lot of decent Mac for €300.

 

(1) https://www.ricardo.ch/de/a/apple-mac-se-30-2mb-ram-40mb-harddisk-1146765374/

(2) https://www.ricardo.ch/de/a/apple-macintosh-se-30-1147314372/

(3) https://www.willhaben.at/iad/kaufen-und-verkaufen/d/apple-macintosh-423115452/

[maceffects]

The iMac would be more reliable (if it survives shipping - that's a big if).  Occasionally, they will require analog board work though.  That said, iMacs have a much lower value. 

[Shymon184]

3 minutes ago, maceffects said:

The iMac would be more reliable (if it survives shipping - that's a big if).  Occasionally, they will require analog board work though.  That said, iMacs have a much lower value. 

 

yeah, either way I choose, I'll have to dispute with the seller. You're right about the shipping, iMac G3's have a quite an unfit shape for shipping outside of original boxes, but I'm kind of willing to risk it. Either way again I'll have to message the seller to pack it carefully even with instructions if need be. That brings me to the question, do you have some packaging tips for packing up iMac G3 or a Compact Mac?

[maceffects]

1 minute ago, Shymon184 said:

 

yeah, either way I choose, I'll have to dispute with the seller. You're right about the shipping, iMac G3's have a quite an unfit shape for shipping outside of original boxes, but I'm kind of willing to risk it. Either way again I'll have to message the seller to pack it carefully even with instructions if need be. That brings me to the question, do you have some packaging tips for packing up iMac G3 or a Compact Mac?

Yeah, I love the iMac G3 Indigo as we had one years ago.  They can survive shipping though I'll say at this point its 50/50.  If they are able to understand english maybe share a video of how to pack a CRT which is effectively the same though slightly less brittle:

 

[Shymon184]

Thanks for the video 

[Shymon184]

So, the seller responded to my complaint about the price:

 

but I'm not ready to give up the SE/30 yet,

can you give me reasons why it's not worth the price? Because I don't have enough knowledge to definitely say why it's not worth the price, the best I can tell the seller is that I've bought a working Mac Plus with all the original peripherals + a SCSI hard disk and a box of diskettes for 280€...

[davidg5678]

15 minutes ago, Shymon184 said:

can you give me reasons why it's not worth the price?

The computer is nonfunctional, and in an unknown condition. It looks like it has had some work done to its motherboard, but the person performing the repair was unsuccessful. This means that there are lots of potential problems that you have no way of knowing about. Additionally, similar computers regularly sell for much less money. I think I have seen fully recapped and working SE/30s sell for $300 or less on eBay. This particular seller might not budge on the price, but I'm sure if you keep an eye out, a better deal will eventually come your way. In the end, a computer is worth as much as you are willing to pay. Personally, I would not pay close to that much money for that machine, though.

 

It took me almost two years of regularly browsing classified ads, but I purchased my SE/30 (with an Ethernet card) for only $30. The key is to find someone who cares more about getting rid of the computer than making lots of money off of it. There are always some listings to ignore -for example, someone locally is selling a 2007 MacBook that was cut in half with a saw. 

[Shymon184]

3 minutes ago, davidg5678 said:

The computer is nonfunctional, and in an unknown condition. It looks like it has had some work done to its motherboard, but the person performing the repair was unsuccessful. This means that there are lots of potential problems that you have no way of knowing about. Additionally, similar computers regularly sell for much less money. I think I have seen fully recapped and working SE/30s sell for $300 or less on eBay. This particular seller might not budge on the price, but I'm sure if you keep an eye out, a better deal will eventually come your way. In the end, a computer is worth as much as you are willing to pay. Personally, I would not pay close to that much money for that machine, though.

 

It took me almost two years of regularly browsing classified ads, but I purchased my SE/30 (with an Ethernet card) for only $30. The key is to find someone who cares more about getting rid of the computer than making lots of money off of it. There are always some listings to ignore -for example, someone locally is selling a 2007 MacBook that was cut in half with a saw. 

Thanks for help

I’ll try to dispute with the seller but if he doesn’t change his mind, I’m not gonna buy it. But yes, you’re right about waiting, I too browsed eBay for a while until I found my Mac Plus.

[Pushpull76]

1 hour ago, Shymon184 said:

So, the seller responded to my complaint about the price:

 

but I'm not ready to give up the SE/30 yet,

can you give me reasons why it's not worth the price? Because I don't have enough knowledge to definitely say why it's not worth the price, the best I can tell the seller is that I've bought a working Mac Plus with all the original peripherals + a SCSI hard disk and a box of diskettes for 280€...

You always have to keep in mind that, for "normal people", a not working computer must go to a technician to be repaired.

I don't know how are the prices in your countries, here in Italy a pro can ask you just 50-100 euros just to do a repair quote.

My advice : just leave it, no one will buy it in that condition for that price. Have a look around on ebay or other marketplaces and you will find one in good shape and better price for sure.