Great/Interesting Finds

[JP!]

As the old saying goes it takes money to make money. Take the rich who buy expensive alcohol. Ex: Buy a large batch of 40 year old whiskey, sit on it for years and years and then make a killing on it. Of course not all expensive buys are smart buys. Also look at people that collect antiques. Some people like to diversify and have something tangible rather than something like stocks.

[wobbled]

Well not really...I mean you do realize some people making thousands a day. Like I said, this is small potatoes.

They don't even feel it, hell their gourmet dinner that night was around that much, I would know because I have many millionaires on my moms side of the family... They spend $400 eating out at high end steak houses and that's food for one meal one night!

Billionaire buys a painting for $100+ million...

https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-05-19/ ... 05-million

People that are born rich tend to take it for granted more, they'll burn money easily because it's all they've ever known. Depending on their level of wealth they could lose all their money pretty darn quickly - plenty of stories of this happening.

Those who build themselves up from nothing are far more conservative, and I've seen this first hand. I've got friends and family that must be worth a few million and never have to work and yet I see them shopping at Aldi and Lidl as opposed to somewhere like John Lewis. Point is, some things just aren't worth spending a ridiculous amount of money on and that doesn't always change with an increase of wealth. IMO even a millionaire would be an idiot to pay $800 for a beamspring when there's opportunities to spend much less. You don't stay rich for long by making poor decisions.

Apologies for any ramblings, I'm half asleep.

[seebart]

What all you seem to forget is how much god damn ebay plays a role in this. ebay likes the highest sales since it makes for the highest provision which in turn is their goal to maximise profits nothing more they could give a hoot what the items are being sold. $1000 for any keyboard is not "normal" !! What it is worth to collectors is relative of course. I salute all the users that picked up blue Alps and Beamsprings out of dumpsters and from recyclers etc. Damn.

keyboards-f2/found-a-few-keyboards-in-t ... 14856.html

Unrelated:

Spoiler:

DdtKvDR.jpg (904.03 KiB) Viewed 6897 times

[JP!]

Beamspring?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-Vintage-IB ... 2481677067

[seebart]

Beamspring?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-Vintage-IB ... 2481677067

Those are not Beamsprings, it's called the "The IBM 29 Card Punch":

(also called the 029 or Type 029 Key Punch or Keypunch), introduced about 1964 to coincide with the introduction of the IBM 360. Available in nine models with various combinations of keyboard (12-key numeric or 64-key alphanumeric), zero insertion, printing, and interpreting, and also as the IBM 59 Card Verifier (for verifying that cards punched on the 29 were correct).

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/computinghistory/029.html

photos-f62/ibm-3277-beam-spring-keyboar ... rd%20punch

[Stabilized]

Should we just rename this thread to great/interesting beamsprings?

[seebart]

Should we just rename this thread to great/interesting beamsprings?

No, I think we need a seperate thread for that!

[JP!]

These look interesting. Not sure if historically significant or not. I see seller has a variety of these

TESLA HERCON KEYBOARD №2 with MAGNETIC buttons

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-TESLA-H ... SwlY1ZIpjW

[j0d1]

The seller also has similar items. I personally bought that model to restore it and build an acrylic case for it because, why not.

[orihalcon]

To add to the great and interesting Beamspring thread:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/192194351305

It's the 5251 with monitor. I think this still requires the mainframe computer to work if you were planning on actually using it as intended. I saw a mainframe for this in person once, and they are huge, maybe 6ft x 5ft x 4ft. Basically you are getting a monitor and a keyboard, though the experts here can probably comment if I am correct about needing the mainframe to use it.

[j0d1]

It looks like a keyboard and a microwave

[MrDuul]

Someone will buy the beamspring with microwave.

[alienman82]

removed.

[JP!]

Just imagine how many of these boat anchors are sitting in some dusty attic or even in landfills.

[Techno Trousers]

Damn. Anyone willing to spend $1,500 on an old terminal would certainly be able to buy an old mainframe to go with it. And the industrial electrical wiring installation for their house. And the massive air conditioning unit.

[JP!]

Here is what happens when an 18 year old buys a mainframe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45X4VP8CGtk

[Chyros]

UK square-badge Model M. Like many older UK Ms it's midding the label, but it has the black SDL cable so it's damn old. 50 pounds ATM, these tend to go for noticeably more usually.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VINTAGE-IBM-M ... Sw8HBZHDgs

[MrDuul]

Probably not worth the price, does come in original packaging.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-1983-IB ... Swn-tZI8Ar

[JP!]

Probably not worth the price, does come in original packaging.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-1983-IB ... Swn-tZI8Ar

They are going to have a hard time getting that kind of money on this. This keyboard is used and the box has condition issues. Having seen several examples in box in good to excellent condition for half this price you would be better off just buying an AT when they come up. If you find one new in box or unopened I imagine that would fetch some decent money though.

[Chyros]

I've seen a NIB XT on eBay a while ago that went for less than half of that IIRC. And that'd been on there for a while, too.

[seebart]

Wow...(in a bad way):

http://www.ebay.com/itm/G-alte-IBM-meta ... 2513450280

[ohaimark]

MEME springs.

[seebart]

MEME springs.

You want a meme for that crazy high end-price?

1pkw6p.jpg (103.67 KiB) Viewed 6366 times

[JP!]

Ouch. So are Beamsprings like the new Bitcoin of the keyboard world? I wonder if I were to a buy one of these for $8-900 and ask $2000 for it on eBay would someone buy it?

[seebart]

Ouch. So are Beamsprings like the new Bitcoin of the keyboard world? I wonder if I were to a buy one of these for $8-900 and ask $2000 for it on eBay would someone buy it?

Not sure let's wait for the next auctions...

[Stabilized]

I'm trying to judge the point where it becomes a worthwhile profession to become a beamspring trader.

[Slom]

I'm trying to judge the point where it becomes a worthwhile profession to become a beamspring trader.

That would be wrong, of course.
Now is the time to stock blue alps while nobody is looking

---

This might be interesting for switch collectors ... George Risk
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-of-6-Vintag ... 2125829166

Black space invaders ... most underrated switch in my opinion
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NMB-RT8255C-Spa ... 2124755200

NEC blue ovals for 50 ... a bit pricey but some people really like them
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEC-APC-H412-Vi ... 2122006788

green alps anti lisp ("REPL SUCK") board
http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-ZENITH- ... 2998752233

[seebart]

I'm trying to judge the point where it becomes a worthwhile profession to become a beamspring trader.

If these prices persist and if can or did buy for less, much less...

Just on a fun sidenote our DT member jou bought a 3278 for like 20 Euros last year. Of course there are those that have found Beamsprings in dumpsters...

[Slom]

I'm trying to judge the point where it becomes a worthwhile profession to become a beamspring trader.

If these prices persist and if can or did buy for less, much less...

Just on a fun sidenote our DT member jou bought a 3278 for like 20 Euros last year. Of course there are those that have found Beamsprings in dumpsters...

That 3277 would have traded for 30€ but for the "Want beam spring have $$$" threads; mind you it was still a good deal nonetheless.

[Techno Trousers]

I think a good parallel might be the IBM M15 craze. Those were being bid up into the thousands of dollars range years ago, but now they're in the hundreds. Who knows when hype bubbles will be formed and burst?

My one and only attempt at a beamspring auction was three years ago when two nice examples were up for auction by the same seller. I thought I had generous snipe and contingency bids on for both, but they both ended up near $300. I just can't justify paying those kinds of prices for a keyboard I know won't become my daily driver due to layout issues, and I'm okay with that.

In the meantime I'm loving capacitive buckling spring and ergo clears. Maybe if a modern beamspring revival project gets off the ground I'll finally get to try it.