Re: eBay auction

["Michael J. Mahon" <mjmahon@aol.com>]

Charlie Springer wrote:
> On Sun, 13 Jan 2008 18:13:54 -0800, Michael J. Mahon wrote
> (in article <LdCdnU-PWM0BWBfanZ2dnUVZ_qbinZ2d@comcast.com>):
>
>
> > > Remember I said that someone 'might' get a bit lucky.
> > >
> > > On the other hand, there are a fair amount of NIB motherboards, etc.
> > >
> > > These,also, wouldn't be sold by someone's Grandma...
> >
> > And aren't worth much more than a board installed in a case.
> >
> > The electronics don't "wear out", so NIB has no incremental
> > value to me.  I'd prefer "thoroughly burned in".  ;-)
>
>
> In the last few years I have been getting more "burned out" than "burned in" 
> units. I have a case of NIB keyboards from Sun Remarketing and someday those 
> NIB motherboards are going to be worth plenty. I think they are already a 
> desirable item. Somebody got a great deal. I suspect that wise auctioning 
> will bring dollars on the penny.

As the market thins, more defective units will find their way to
others, but this is pretty easily filtered by avoiding machines
that don't "beep".

I think there is little reason to suppose that a board sitting idle in
a box is "ageing" much slower than a board powered up and running.  Of
course, the probability of *damage* is lower in the boxed case (assuming
good storage conditions), but I submit that two boards that each "beep"
when powered have essentially the same expected life, regardless of any
prior use or disuse.

Electromigration is hardly an issue for 1980's ICs.  I would expect
passivation failure to be a more likely issue.  As for the boards
themselves, exposure to humidity and corrosive atmospheres integrated
over their life would be the biggest ageing factor.

I suppose hairline solder cracks could be an issue, which would be
dependent on the number and extent of temperature cycles, but Apple
boards don't heat much, and a board in a box experiences temperature
cycles, too.  ;-)

> I watched the last minute of the auction and someone had a very high max bid 
> that blocked the snipers who didn't have time to rebid. This is the main flaw 
> (for sellers) with eBay. No automatic time extension after each bid.

While I agree that "typical" bidders might be tempted to bid more if
they found that their bid or snipe did not win, this is not the case
for a rational bidder, who bids the highest amount that would leave
him a happy winner and a satisfied loser.

-michael

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