Where do you guys find your vintage keyboards?

Headshot221 · 19 Mar 2020, 20:01

I was checking out this store: "https://www.redmarket.store/" and was amazed by how many keyboards were for sale there. I have always tried to find and collect old boards but always came short. How and where do you guys find these boards?

this is not the first post made about this subject, as I've seen posts on Reddit about this, but since you guys are most focused on vintage boards, Id thought I'd come here. If you could give me any tips or tricks on where to find anything good Id very much obliged. Thanks.

snacksthecat · 19 Mar 2020, 20:06

A lot of people just call around to electronics recycling centers to see if they can come pick through boards.

But I've heard that fewer and fewer of these places are even accepting keyboards any longer (something about China, plastic, and teriffs I think). Whatever the reason, it's a bit sad to think about.

Headshot221 · 19 Mar 2020, 20:09

I have a HUGE recycling center near me, but they don't allow scavenging because they have a "Data destruction guarantee" policy. Like what?? what keyboard can store data larger than a few kilobytes.

snacksthecat · 19 Mar 2020, 20:27

Yeah I've gotten that line myself a few times. I work in IT so I can understand the concern. Companies won't want to contract with the center for destruction services if they have any reason to believe that the security of their data (talking about hard drives, phones, etc.) could be picked through by the public. So recycling centers make it a policy to wholesale not allow it.

The other line I've gotten is that they're willing to sell me a pallet of keyboards, but not let me pick. Now a pallet of boards in a recycling center is composed 99% of cheapo rubber domes (think the black dell keyboards you see all the time). So I'd basically be buying hundreds of pounds of keyboards to maybe get a couple of cool things? Bummer that this is what we've come to.

The world is turning into a bureaucratic buzz kill!

zippolupan · 19 Mar 2020, 21:46

I have started visiting recycling centres for keyboards. I can take boards individually, but the gentleman there won't let me test them on site "or the price goes up significantly". So I take the risk, bring some home at a time, clean and test them thoroughly and put them for sale in case I already have something similar for my personal use.

I think it's a good way of getting more keyboards back into circulation. God knows what would have happened to them otherwise. Eventually I'll either find something I really like or have enough money to buy from someone else

Blaise170 · 19 Mar 2020, 22:56

I've found a good chunk of my stuff on eBay, but this was back before the community was as large as it is now. I'd say a good 25% of my collection came from Japan since I have the ability to access Yahoo! Auctions. The best deals I've gotten have come from thrift stores or small "mom and pop" type shops that have online sites with stuff for sale.

JP! · 19 Mar 2020, 23:18

Blaise170 wrote: 19 Mar 2020, 22:56 I've found a good chunk of my stuff on eBay, but this was back before the community was as large as it is now. I'd say a good 25% of my collection came from Japan since I have the ability to access Yahoo! Auctions. The best deals I've gotten have come from thrift stores or small "mom and pop" type shops that have online sites with stuff for sale.

AHH!!! There is a reason I limit my access to Yahoo! Auctions. Not only do I have interest in keyboards but also bicycles and parts and Japan has a lot of neat stuff not found anywhere else. Nope, not going to go there anymore...

eBay is also bad for the wallet so I limit my time there these days.

These days I have enough but I used to hunt local online marketplaces for old computers and keyboards. I would find one person who had something neat who then knew another person who had some things. Next thing you know I'm going through barns and warehouses filled with computer equipment. Basically I built up a large number of connections but even though this helps considerably, the leg work can be very time consuming. For quite a while an even to this day I have people reach out to me with what they have even though I'm not really actively looking. So quite often the keyboards find me. Be careful what you ask for as you may end up with more than you bargained for (aka a massive horde of stuff).

Blaise170 · 19 Mar 2020, 23:24

Yeah I think a lot of us have ended up in that same position at some point, ending up with a massive collection and not knowing what to do with it all. I used to spend hours just browsing eBay and finding stuff listed incorrectly.

Findecanor · 19 Mar 2020, 23:48

I built my small collection years ago. Too many people to compete with at local auction sites, so prices are high now compared to when I started. Thrift stores I found stuff in the past haven't had anything remotely interesting for years either.

Nasanieru · 01 Apr 2020, 22:01

I have always loved Goodwill as a source of parts for my small-time desktop refurbishing business. One day I happen to find a Chicony KB-7601 with ALPS SKCM White out of sheer luck. It wasn't my first mech (I had an MX Blue board for years before this) but I had wanted an ALPS for a long time until that point, and all that's stopping me from using it is the lack of a cable. I have also found a Microsoft Sidewinder X6 there, which made for a decent TKL considering it was $5.