Re: Hello and thanks!

[mjmahon@aol.com (Michael J. Mahon)]

Roy Miller wrote:

>Brad wrote:
>
>> Two things: one, a quick thank you note on all the help I received regarding
>> discerning between an original Apple II and an Apple II+.  I was really
>> unsure with the one I was considering buying, and opted against it because I
>> felt it was just too easy to mask a II+ as a II.
>>
>> That being said, what is the 'proper' value for an 'original' Apple II?
>
>"Things" do not have an intrinsic value, the only value they have is in the
>mind
>of someone wanting it, and the person willing to part with it... that's why
>places like eBay work, there's always someone willing to pay more than what
>others think the item is worth.

Amen to that.

I don't know what the actual "scarcity" of the various models is, even
allowing for regional differences.  You would have to consider the number
of each model manufactured, minus the number disposed of since they
were acquired.  Then you have to subtract the number which have found
a good home and those simply squirreled away and forgotten.  What's
left is available for purchase if buyers and sellers can get it together.

A goodly number of Apple ]['s, ][+'s, //e's, and //c's were made, and even
a few (!) //c+'s.  When I bought mine in 1980, my dealer (ComputerLand)
offered me the choice of a 16KB ][+ or a 16K ][, each for $1195.  He said
it was just a matter of whether I wanted to use Integer BASIC or Applesoft,
and, with minor exceptions, he was exactly right.  I opted for the ][+.

In passing, I must admit that as an avid Apple II user, I am more than a
little amused by what it is about a system that makes for "collectible
value".  A system that has been upgraded is worth (much) less than a
system that is in its original, unupgraded, condition.  Often a box (!) is
worth more than the system that came inside it!  As a user of the
technology, this seems perverse.

I often have the same reaction when I see "Antiques Roadshow" and
hear that a nice old chest of drawers that has been cleaned and polished
is worth one-fourth of what it would bring in dirty, ramshackle condition.
And what craftsman would ever allow his tools to rust away without
cleaning and restoring them?  So collectors are looking for stuff that
has aged from neglect, without (too much) care or improvement!

Clearly, collectors have some perverse sense of "value" which has
nothing whatever to do with either asthetics or utility.

-michael

 Email:  mjmahon@aol.com
 Home page:  http://members.aol.com/MJMahon/