IBM 3278 Beam Spring

[kelvinhall05]

A member contacted me and heavily suggested putting the item up on Ebay with the price being 2999.99$. He said if I was not going to do that, he would buy the board from me with 2000$ and continue from there. So we made a deal. I'm trying to sell the product through Ebay (maybe Reddit aswell) with the price being 2999 for few weeks, if the board will not sell with those prices, he can buy the board from me, unless some crazy maniac in here is willing to offers more than 2000$. The price of this machine went out of the roof if compared to what I was originally hoping to get. Hope people can understand my point of view in this regard.

Is $1500 not enough? I mean you got it for 30 Euro. Sorry but it seems like you are actively contributing to the price inflation that makes it so hard for people(especially newer members such as yourself) to obtain these boards. Most people don't have the money to put out a car payment on a beamspring.

I guess what I'm saying is make your money but don't get lost in trying to get as much as you can.
Probably not a popular argument I'm making but these kinds of prices basically ensure that no beamspring will belong to any user that isn't a longtime member or has very deep pockets.

Hey no offense buddy, but didn't you get A LOT of rare and valuable keyboards from the Dallas computer reset sale and sold them for a massive profit ?

reminder that everyone who complains about redmaus getting stuff from computer reset is just salty they weren't able to go and do the same thing lmao

[cKype]

I'm expecting final buyer wanting the board, and not think how much gap it could still have if he wanted to resell it. And yes, stuff that's vintage usually moves up in price every day. Otherwise we would be selling beamsprings for reasonable prices still in 2050 just so newer people can afford one for themselves.

[Jacobalbertus1]

Is dam thing at the absolute least usb modded and restored a bit

[Redmaus]

I'm expecting final buyer wanting the board, and not think how much gap it could still have if he wanted to resell it. And yes, stuff that's vintage usually moves up in price every day. Otherwise we would be selling beamsprings for reasonable prices still in 2050 just so newer people can still afford one for themselves.

I'm not talking about 2050 I'm talking about now. You are still making a huge profit regardless of whether you sell it for $1500, $2000, or $3000. I was just saying possibly look out a bit for people that aren't as fortunate to find one at an erecycler for very cheap.

You clearly want to instead make as much money as possible which is your choice.

[cKype]

Is dam thing at the absolute least usb modded and restored a bit

Not USB converted, I know nothing about that stuff.
I have only cleaned key caps and the front metal cover since that's the limit my amateur skills were able to do.

Yes, I came here to sell and not for some red cross charity. I'm still interested in keyboards but not vintage so anything related to them are not for me, including their market.

[Jacobalbertus1]

Then you need to check that 3k price as we dont know if the pcb works 100% it's super easy buy an xwhatsit slide it on screw the ground and calibrate it in a GUI interface there is basically a guide for this given by chyros in his video on a 5251

[Dingster]

Is $1500 not enough? I mean you got it for 30 Euro. Sorry but it seems like you are actively contributing to the price inflation that makes it so hard for people(especially newer members such as yourself) to obtain these boards. Most people don't have the money to put out a car payment on a beamspring.

I guess what I'm saying is make your money but don't get lost in trying to get as much as you can.
Probably not a popular argument I'm making but these kinds of prices basically ensure that no beamspring will belong to any user that isn't a longtime member or has very deep pockets.

Hey no offense buddy, but didn't you get A LOT of rare and valuable keyboards from the Dallas computer reset sale and sold them for a massive profit ?

reminder that everyone who complains about redmaus getting stuff from computer reset is just salty they weren't able to go and do the same thing lmao

If you seriously think anyone would be petty enough to be "salty" over someone elses find be my guest. Besides my post wasn't meant to ridicule redmouses pricing but merely just to point out the irony in him telling a guy how much profit he should be making out of a keyboard that he found

I'm not exactly sure why we are even having this discussion in someone elses sale thread. Last time I checked people were free to price their own stuff and sell it at what the buyer was willing to pay.

[cKype]

Then you need to check that 3k price as we dont know if the pcb works 100% it's super easy buy an xwhatsit slide it on screw the ground and calibrate it in a GUI interface there is basically a guide for this given by chyros in his video on a 5251

Thank you for the information, I'm still doing what the highest bidder suggested and try to sell it as it is and if I cannot find new buyer I will sell it to him when he clearly knows it has no USB conversion and its not tested, but is still willing to buy it.

[Fkazim]

A member contacted me and heavily suggested putting the item up on Ebay with the price being 2999.99$. He said if I was not going to do that, he would buy the board from me with 2000$ and continue from there. So we made a deal. I'm trying to sell the product through Ebay (maybe Reddit aswell) with the price being 2999 for few weeks, if the board will not sell with those prices, he can buy the board from me, unless some crazy maniac in here is willing to offers more than 2000$. The price of this machine went out of the roof if compared to what I was originally hoping to get. Hope people can understand my point of view in this regard.

Is $1500 not enough? I mean you got it for 30 Euro. Sorry but it seems like you are actively contributing to the price inflation that makes it so hard for people(especially newer members such as yourself) to obtain these boards. Most people don't have the money to put out a car payment on a beamspring.

I guess what I'm saying is make your money but don't get lost in trying to get as much as you can.
Probably not a popular argument I'm making but these kinds of prices basically ensure that no beamspring will belong to any user that isn't a longtime member or has very deep pockets.

I can't agree more. What you are doing is raising the prices even more sky high than they already are.

Just sell it for a reasonable price if you truly want to give to the community. Or the future for beamsprings are just going to belong to collecters and as Redmaus said people with very deep pockets.

This means that very few beamsprings will belong to enthusiasts and that's a very sad truth.

[cKype]

A member contacted me and heavily suggested putting the item up on Ebay with the price being 2999.99$. He said if I was not going to do that, he would buy the board from me with 2000$ and continue from there. So we made a deal. I'm trying to sell the product through Ebay (maybe Reddit aswell) with the price being 2999 for few weeks, if the board will not sell with those prices, he can buy the board from me, unless some crazy maniac in here is willing to offers more than 2000$. The price of this machine went out of the roof if compared to what I was originally hoping to get. Hope people can understand my point of view in this regard.

Is $1500 not enough? I mean you got it for 30 Euro. Sorry but it seems like you are actively contributing to the price inflation that makes it so hard for people(especially newer members such as yourself) to obtain these boards. Most people don't have the money to put out a car payment on a beamspring.

I guess what I'm saying is make your money but don't get lost in trying to get as much as you can.
Probably not a popular argument I'm making but these kinds of prices basically ensure that no beamspring will belong to any user that isn't a longtime member or has very deep pockets.

I can't agree more. What you are doing is raising the prices even more sky high than they already are.

Just sell it for a reasonable price if you truly want to give to the community. Or the future for beamsprings are just going to belong to collecters and as Redmaus said people with very deep pockets.

This means that very few beamsprings will belong to enthusiasts and that's a very sad truth.

Does this mean if I sell it, under the possible maximum amount, someone in here who cares about the market flow with vintage boards is willing to pay the remaining amount I could have made? You would donate to the community and get nothing. This is the way I see it right now.

[//gainsborough]

Let the man sell his board in peace, IMO. He's not doing anything shady - in fact it was wise for him to come here and get a price estimate.

Having said that, I would just take the 2k that was offered to him if I were in his shoes. No need to let it sit on eBay for a few weeks.

[cKype]

I'm gonna leave this here, hope you get my point of view. Lets not continue this argument anymore it's starting to get rather silly from both ends.
I'll leave a discord chat with ZyBer, few people are asking whats going on and I need new key caps if this keeps going further. Too much typing included.


10:24 PM] ZyBeR: I just read the Deskthority thread and I'm a bit confused now. What's the highest bid at right now?
[10:25 PM] cKy: 2000usd
[10:25 PM] cKy: inc. shipping that I will pay
[10:28 PM] cKy: The whole conversation started him saying I should try Ebay with price 2999. I was against it at first, since I have never used it. He said I'll pay 2000usd for it right now and sell if for profit, or then you put it for sale for one or two weeks and see if you get "lucky", if not I'll take it for 2000usd if I'm ok with the price
[10:28 PM] cKy: I said 2000usd is fine unless someone is willing to pay more. So basically thats where i'm standing now
[10:31 PM] cKy: So in short: The price is 2000$, i'm allowed to try get more for a week or two
[10:33 PM] cKy: And some people got upset that I'm not taking that 2000usd deal when the buyer itself suggested this

I'm really sorry if I'm doing terrible things community wise, you have to remember I have been here for 2 days and joined mainly to sell keyboard that has no value for me personally.

-Peace!

[Dingster]

I'm gonna leave this here, hope you get my point of view. Lets not continue this argument anymore it's starting to get rather silly from both ends.
I'll leave a discord chat with ZyBer, few people are asking whats going on and I need new key caps if this keeps going further. Too much typing included.


10:24 PM] ZyBeR: I just read the Deskthority thread and I'm a bit confused now. What's the highest bid at right now?
[10:25 PM] cKy: 2000usd
[10:25 PM] cKy: inc. shipping that I will pay
[10:28 PM] cKy: The whole conversation started him saying I should try Ebay with price 2999. I was against it at first, since I have never used it. He said I'll pay 2000usd for it right now and sell if for profit, or then you put it for sale for one or two weeks and see if you get "lucky", if not I'll take it for 2000usd if I'm ok with the price
[10:28 PM] cKy: I said 2000usd is fine unless someone is willing to pay more. So basically thats where i'm standing now
[10:31 PM] cKy: So in short: The price is 2000$, i'm allowed to try get more for a week or two
[10:33 PM] cKy: And some people got upset that I'm not taking that 2000usd deal when the buyer itself suggested this

I'm really sorry if I'm doing terrible things community wise, you have to remember I have been here for 2 days and joined mainly to sell keyboard that has no value for me personally.

-Peace!

Not doing anything terrible, you're free to sell your keyboard at the price someone is willing to pay. Best of luck with the transaction

[//gainsborough]

Indeed. You're fine, dude. GLWS!

[Bass]

You are certainly not doing "terrible things community wise", getting flac for selling anything with a high price tag is just par for the course. It's something I know all too well as I ended up finding over a dozen 3278's a few years ago and sold most of them for $700-800 each, depending on the condition. Although many people would consider that to be a huge bargain for one of these nowadays (and even back then, paying $1000+ for one was common), the abuse I received was honestly far worse than what you are getting right now. There will always be entitled people out there who think that rare collector's items should be obtainable at scrap prices without them having to put any effort in hunting for them, and will accuse you of "destroying the hobby" if you don't.

I also think grasping at straws in regards to selling it for $1500 vs $2000 or even $3000 is a huge waste of time. In my own experience with my haul, I learned that you will not satisfy everyone no matter how generously you might think you are pricing something. One of the people who got a 3278 from me in a trade (for a $550 keyboard) immediately attempted to flip it on ebay shortly afterwards. I have nothing against the guy for trying (they told me up front that they would, albeit their asking price of $2200 was much higher than even I was expecting). The only people I was angry at were the ones who previously called me a greedy bastard for selling them at a considerably lower price than that. Hell, the buyer offering you $2k is admitting that they are still going to attempt to flip it anyway, so there's no point in agonizing over your actions.

And no, OP is not responsible for making beamspring prices inflate even higher like some are insinuating, it's the people who are making those apparently ridiculous offers that are. The demand for beamsprings surprises even me sometimes, and I still get messages from a few people every month asking if I have any left for sale even though I already sold most of them ages ago (and I will clarify here again that the remaining beamsprings in my collection are definitely not for sale, on the off chance someone who might ask me later is reading this).

[photekq]

I'm really sorry if I'm doing terrible things community wise, you have to remember I have been here for 2 days and joined mainly to sell keyboard that has no value for me personally.

Don't be sorry cKype. In fact, we're the ones that should be apologising. You've just witnessed the ugly side of the community.

You found an incredible example of a keyboard, which otherwise may never have been recovered by anyone. It may have ended up being scrapped at some point. That in itself is a great thing, which I genuinely think you deserve a reward for. Really, thank you!

I'm sure you won't, but just to reiterate: don't let anyone guilt you into accepting their lowballs. Selling a keyboard for a lower, "fairer" price to someone who can't afford it but will provide it a good home is a really commendable thing to do within this community. But, you're a newcomer who happened to find a single keyboard. You don't have a connection to the community, so it'd be completely unfair for anyone to expect you to do the "commendable thing". And, for what it's worth, plenty of people have done the "commendable thing", only to have the buyer turn around and flip it within a month or two. Being commendable is a dangerous game

I say all of this as someone who:

a) Can't afford $2000+
b) Would love to have this beautiful Finnish keyboard sitting next to my American one.

By the way, I'm amazed nobody here's stressed just how incredible that keyboard is. Really, seeing a 3278 in Finnish layout is something special in itself. That layout suits the keyboard so perfectly.

GLWS! And to the new owner: if you want to do a trade, send me a message

[zrrion]

if you sell for below market prices, regardless of what you got it for, the person buying will just flip it for market. Better to sell at market unless you trust the buyer a lot.

[cKype]

Thank you for positive feedback guys, means a lot. Thought I started a fire hazard already after second day in here.
Let's say.. after finding this board, I'm still not interested in vintage, which might sound weird for some of you. But from now on I'm definitely going keeping my eyes open in case I manage to find something similar.
And many of you who I have spoken with in discord in these past two days have given me even tips what to look for when checking if there is anything worth picking just laying around stores.
Who knows, maybe this starts to grow on me slowly and I find myself keeping some of the boards in the future, instead of thinking about the price it could go for.