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The current resale prices of some 8 bit micros from the 1980s sometimes match or exceed the original sale price. Not a good investment if you bought new but I i

The current resale prices of some 8 bit micros from the 1980s sometimes match or exceed the original sale price. Not a good investment if you bought new but I imagine that many HN readers might be kicking themselves about things they threw in the trash.

pvg 9y ago
Which ones, if you remember? Same price as in the 80s is still discounted, inflation-adjusted.
- jburgess777 9y ago
  This Amazon listing wants £295 for a ZX81 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Original-Sinclair-ZX81-Spectrum-Programming/dp/B00D8ZNBMI https://www.amazon.co.uk/Original-Sinclair-ZX81-Spectrum-Pro... Or this TRS80 for £500 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Radio-Shack-TRS-80-MODEL-100-PORTABLE-Vintage-Computer/323074805250?hash=item4b38c24e02:g:rWkAAOSwGyFZ4kCr https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Radio-Shack-TRS-80-MODEL-100-PORT... Of course they might not sell for the listed price, there are other listing with lower bids. I don’t know a good way to get an accurate figure for what things typically sell for on ebay etc.
  - pvg 9y ago
    Ah yeah, those are quite pricey, especially the ZX81, which is pretty barebones even for a Sinclair. I think I have a couple of ZX81 kits sitting around somewhere that I picked up in the late 90s. They cost about $30 a pop at the time.
    - orionblastar 9y ago
      My father picked up a Timex Sinclair 1000 at a grocery store for $30 it had the 16k expansion but was not built correctly so he bought a Commodore 64 later to replace it.
  - sparkpeasy 9y ago
    To get accurate prices on ebay, check the filtering options in search results for your query and tick "Sold Listings." It will then show only recently sold listings along with what they sold for. Completed listings that didn't sell because they were listed with unreasonable prices will not show up.
- lokedhs 9y ago
  The Jupiter Ace is particularly valuable. There's one on Ebay right now at 1400 dollars.
quickthrower2 9y ago
They are probably useful machines for the paranoid, if you want to do basic spreadsheets etc. without being backdoored. These babies are as air-gapped as you can get.
- caf 9y ago
  You can probably TEMPEST hack them with a crystal set, though.

pvg 9y ago

Which ones, if you remember? Same price as in the 80s is still discounted, inflation-adjusted.

jburgess777 9y ago
This Amazon listing wants £295 for a ZX81 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Original-Sinclair-ZX81-Spectrum-Programming/dp/B00D8ZNBMI https://www.amazon.co.uk/Original-Sinclair-ZX81-Spectrum-Pro... Or this TRS80 for £500 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Radio-Shack-TRS-80-MODEL-100-PORTABLE-Vintage-Computer/323074805250?hash=item4b38c24e02:g:rWkAAOSwGyFZ4kCr https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Radio-Shack-TRS-80-MODEL-100-PORT... Of course they might not sell for the listed price, there are other listing with lower bids. I don’t know a good way to get an accurate figure for what things typically sell for on ebay etc.
- pvg 9y ago
  Ah yeah, those are quite pricey, especially the ZX81, which is pretty barebones even for a Sinclair. I think I have a couple of ZX81 kits sitting around somewhere that I picked up in the late 90s. They cost about $30 a pop at the time.
  - orionblastar 9y ago
    My father picked up a Timex Sinclair 1000 at a grocery store for $30 it had the 16k expansion but was not built correctly so he bought a Commodore 64 later to replace it.
- sparkpeasy 9y ago
  To get accurate prices on ebay, check the filtering options in search results for your query and tick "Sold Listings." It will then show only recently sold listings along with what they sold for. Completed listings that didn't sell because they were listed with unreasonable prices will not show up.
lokedhs 9y ago
The Jupiter Ace is particularly valuable. There's one on Ebay right now at 1400 dollars.

quickthrower2 9y ago

They are probably useful machines for the paranoid, if you want to do basic spreadsheets etc. without being backdoored. These babies are as air-gapped as you can get.

caf 9y ago
You can probably TEMPEST hack them with a crystal set, though.