I bought one of the earliest Apple 2 machines when they first came out. Couldn't convince extended family members to be interested in it. A sister-in-law said she would never buy an Apple 2. She was right; she bought a Franklin clone which became worthless. All those extended family members later bought Apple products, most have multiple products and have dumped Microsoft Window offerings as well as dumping non-Apple phones. Everywhere I look, I see Apple earbuds on people with iPhones, in the subway, in restaurants and coffee shops. My early Apple 2 machines are now worth thousands to collectors. So when I hear of people saying the majority of people they see don't have Apple products, I call it BS. The Apple products are everywhere.
“My early Apple 2 machines are now worth thousands to collectors.”
This depends :-). If it’s from ‘78 (i.e. and Apple II, not II+ or IIe which came out later), has early serial numbers, original parts, and looks like new, you’ll get around $2000 from the right buyer. One on eBay sold for $1800 in that condition recently. If you have anything original that came with the computer(box, manual, receipts), the price gets crazier.
The value drops off from the 78 model ... Machines built in 79 are worth in the 1k region ... II+ around $500 ... IIe around $250-$350 ... Again, the prices vary depending on condition, peripherals, etc. Some rare peripherals can fetch you serious cash.
Retro-electronics has been a habit of mine since the 90s :-). Computer wise, I’m mainly into Atari stuff, but I have a II+ I modified to look like the computer on Lost :-).
Its kind of insane right now ... prices are in the stratosphere across the board. I got silly money for a few boxed Commodore 64s. The only one I’ll keep in the long run is the Atari 800 I have (it was the best computer of the era in my opinion in terms of price and features ... Ironically, Apple had a generic system and allowed the user to customize it with all sorts of 3rd party hardware ... Total 180 from what they did from the mid 80s onward)