3 ms·

I always look for them in thrift stores expecting the shopkeeper to say "someone just dropped off a box of stuff cleaning out their grandparent's place. I have

I always look for them in thrift stores expecting the shopkeeper to say "someone just dropped off a box of stuff cleaning out their grandparent's place. I have no idea what it is. Looks like a spice grinder. It's probably broken, doesn't seem to want to open. Take it for $3"

pluijzer 4y ago
Not in the same order of magnitude but this is how I bought my IBM Model M keyboard for 50 cents from a pile of those crappy "multimedia keyboards".
- yellowapple 4y ago
  I keep hoping I'll find a Space Cadet keyboard this way, though I'm probably on the wrong side of the US for that to ever happen.
Frenchgeek 4y ago
You can always make your own: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1943171 https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1943171
- remram 4y ago
  The assembly video for that is worth a skim: https://youtu.be/zh2Z11miQ0w https://youtu.be/zh2Z11miQ0w
  - lisper 4y ago
    Heh, the end product strongly resembles a trash-can Mac Pro.
jhallenworld 4y ago
I have two stories like this: One thrift store had a DEC TU-58 tape drive. I bought for $20 and immediately sold on eBay for $400 (I would have kept it, but have no DEC stuff to use with it at all). Another thrift store had a late 60s / early 70s electronic calculator that used acoustic delay line memory and a CRT for display. I think I paid $100, played with it for a while, then sold it for $600. Unfortunately, it was damaged in shipping (it was well packed), and UPS had to pay up. I bought a Curta recently, but is was not a good deal. Prices just keep going up on them.. I wish I had bought one in the early 2000s when they were still below $500. Other mechanical calculators are reasonable. Aside from the Curta, only the really early ones are expensive.
- kristopolous 4y ago
  Before I knew they were valuable, I saw a couple for sale somewhere for like $5 each. I was like "oh God there's one of those mechanical computer thingies. I've got enough going on in my life. Figuring that thing out is not how I wish to spend my time" Similarly I passed on the old model m keyboards: "the ergonomics on these things are wretched. They're heavy, noisy, and missing modern keys I use in my window manager" Now I check, I always check

pluijzer 4y ago

Not in the same order of magnitude but this is how I bought my IBM Model M keyboard for 50 cents from a pile of those crappy "multimedia keyboards".

yellowapple 4y ago
I keep hoping I'll find a Space Cadet keyboard this way, though I'm probably on the wrong side of the US for that to ever happen.

Frenchgeek 4y ago

You can always make your own: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1943171 https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1943171

remram 4y ago
The assembly video for that is worth a skim: https://youtu.be/zh2Z11miQ0w https://youtu.be/zh2Z11miQ0w
- lisper 4y ago
  Heh, the end product strongly resembles a trash-can Mac Pro.

jhallenworld 4y ago

I have two stories like this: One thrift store had a DEC TU-58 tape drive. I bought for $20 and immediately sold on eBay for $400 (I would have kept it, but have no DEC stuff to use with it at all). Another thrift store had a late 60s / early 70s electronic calculator that used acoustic delay line memory and a CRT for display. I think I paid $100, played with it for a while, then sold it for $600. Unfortunately, it was damaged in shipping (it was well packed), and UPS had to pay up. I bought a Curta recently, but is was not a good deal. Prices just keep going up on them.. I wish I had bought one in the early 2000s when they were still below $500. Other mechanical calculators are reasonable. Aside from the Curta, only the really early ones are expensive.

kristopolous 4y ago
Before I knew they were valuable, I saw a couple for sale somewhere for like $5 each. I was like "oh God there's one of those mechanical computer thingies. I've got enough going on in my life. Figuring that thing out is not how I wish to spend my time" Similarly I passed on the old model m keyboards: "the ergonomics on these things are wretched. They're heavy, noisy, and missing modern keys I use in my window manager" Now I check, I always check