[Info-vax] Disposition of DEC Collection - Questions

[Don North]

On 5/12/2015 9:02 AM, Jeff Shirley wrote:
> Greetings.
>
> After over a decade of not having time to enjoy it, I realize I need to pass
> on my collection of DEC hardware to those who can.  It consists mostly of
> Q-bus systems and parts, but also includes VAXStations, terminals, tapes,
> manuals, catalogs, DECUS literature, a couple of DEC 3000/500s---tons of stuff
> (literally), more than I can remember.
>
> I paid good money for this stuff at swap meets and auctions back in the day,
> and would like to get at least what the precious metal recycler will give me
> for the boards.  When I parted with the UNIBUS stuff a few years back, I
> listed it on Ebay and posted pointers on Usenet.
>
> Back then there was a fair amount of anti-Ebay sentiment.  Is that still the
> case?  Is Usenet still the center for this type of activity, or has another
> medium taken over?  Any suggestions (other than "Give it all to me!")?  ;^)
>
> Thanks,
>
> Jeff.
>

There is nothing inherently wrong with EBAY; it mostly depends on what the goal
of the seller is. Some are in it purely to see how much they can get for some
piece of antique gear (witness the recent non-working $10,000 PDP-8e that went
unsold). Also depends whether the seller is in business or a private party.

There is also this site:

http://www.vintage-computer.com/vcforum/forumdisplay.php?28-Vintage-Computer-Items-For-Sale-or-Trade

which is kind of like Craigslist for antique computer geeks. Just a matching
site, any financial transaction is on your own.

My experience with a few recyclers is they will not pay anything near what the
intellectual value of an object is. They only will pay so many $ per pound,
expecting to extract any amount of recycled metal/gold they can.