Early Home Computers

me | today | me

[mamelukesabre]

I can't even find any for sale.

[posterchild]

Bookmark for when I dig up my TI-99/4a and Atari 800.

[BitWielder1]

[Eyes Unclouded]

John Titor goes to great lengths to collect 1960-70s era computers.

[babygene]

check ebay

[mamelukesabre]

Ok, but does he actually pay good sums of money for them?

[Eyes Unclouded]

Not that I know of. You should try eBay or craigslist.

[Yardstick]

I know someone who’s got about twenty Commodore 64s.

Raid Over Moscow ftw!

[K-oneTexas]

Collectors or museums ... maybe.

[mamelukesabre]

well, it seems a C-64 isn’t worth much:

http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-COMMODORE-64-COMPUTER-ACCESSORIES-/220595224509?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item335c7fffbd

LOL!

[arthurus]

I have a Sinclair. Dose that count?

[GeronL]

We had Commode 64’s in elementary school. Those discs really were floppy back then, 5 and a half inches wide or such.

I remember some of the lame games. Some typing wizard, fish game and lemonade stand. yay.

Oh and the Oregon trail game... heh

[Yardstick]

Yeah, floppy and slow. There were some good games for C64 though — Raid Over Moscow, Summer Games, Winter Games, World Games, and a bunch of others that I’m blanking on (it’s been so long!).

[the_daug]

Osborne II Executive Weighed about 30 lbs. could use it for added weight in the trunk of your car.

[bigbob]

Jon Titus, perhaps?

[surfer]

Had the Osborne...BDOS errors...LOL...had to drill holes into the case for more cooling.

One of the very first programming languages I used on it...JRT Pascal...don’t even ask how the heck I remember that!!!

LOL

[Aggie Mama]

They actually have an application on the iPhone of Lemonade Stand with the original graphics.

[colinhester]

WOW! You had a 99/4A? You were stylin’. I had the 99/4 as my first.....C

[apillar]

It really depends on the system. There doesn't seem to be a huge collectors market for old computers, though some of the more popular ones like the Commodore 64 have started jumping in price. Ten years ago you could pick up a C-64 with a ton of software for $50, now the system alone is going for $100-$200 depending on condition.

I recently sold an RCA Studio II on ebay, it was a really obscure game system that was only manufactured in 1977 and quickly discontinued. I got $75 dollars, it was actually purchased by a tech museum in Spain. I was a little disappointed that I didn't get more out of it, but the old computer / game system market is really hit or miss.

As some have mentioned, the Atari 2600 market has started to take off, although there are still a TON of them out there (do a search for the 2600 on ebay sometime). Until recently the 2600 was virtually worthless, you could easily pick up a working system for $10 and games for a quarter.

[Gun142]

Tried to sell my Apple IIc a few years ago. Unless you have all the paperwork, software, and possibly even the boxes (everything in near mint condition); you’re better off pitching it.
You’ll just end up wasting your time trying to give it away.