Re: Apple II Clones. How many sold?

[Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca>]

On Sun, 27 Dec 2009, sfahey wrote:

>  To: Jeff Blakeney
>  Re: Re: Apple II Clones.  How many sold?
>  By: Jeff Blakeney to datajerk on Sun Dec 27 2009 02:46 pm
>
> > datajerk wrote:
> > > So, was the C64 the best-selling computer "model" of all time?  Can
> > > the ~200 different Apple II clones significantly increase the the
> > > overall volume of the A2 family.  I speculate no.  Simply because my
> > > clone was still 3x the cost of the C64.  But I'd still like to know.
> >
> > Keep in mind that the 5 million number I've heard for Apple II sales is
> > the total of Apple II, II+, IIe, and IIc computers.  The IIc+ may even
> > be included in that number.  That is 4 or 5 different "models".  You
> > would have to classify a clone as one of those models and come up with
> > totals for each of them separately.  I don't think the total for any
> > other these models will come close to the Commodore 64's numbers.
> >
> > The Commodore 64 is said to have sold 17 million but that is only one
> > model.  It may include the 64C but that wasn't a different model, it was
> > just manufactured differently if I remember correctly.  They aren't
> > including the Vic 20, 16, Plus 4 or any other model in that total.
>
> There seems to be more working Apple II gear on eBay than Commodore gear.
I was going to say that.  They've all pretty much disappeared from garage
and rummages sales at this point, but ten to fifteen years ago, I saw a 
lot more Apple II computers, real and cloned, than I did Commodore 64s 
(and Radio Shack Color Computers for that matter).

That does seem indicative of an edge, but it's variable since it may
reflect what sold locally or at least here in Canada, and it may reflect
some other variable such as people keeping their other computers (or
something).

It was far more likely in that time period to see Apple IIs being sold
with peripherals (specifically floppy drives) than it was to see C64s
and CoCos being sold with peripherals.

     Michael

> Anecdotal evidence may indicate that Commodore's race to undercut their
> competitors may have resulted in a machine that doesn't hold up as well. Or
> maybe because it was cheaper, it was more expendable to some -- and more
> likely to go in the dumpster.
>
> <shrug>
>
> Sean Fahey
> www.a2central.com
> bbs.a2central.com