New Zealand Vintage Computer Forums

Genuine 1978 Apple II - Ebay

They want US$2495... I may indulge myself.

Looks like it's in good condition. $US405 and counting.

Re: Integer BASIC. On my Apple II+, my DOS 3.3 copy loads Integer BASIC into spare memory if it discovers a 16K "language" (i.e. memory) card is present. Just in case I want to use that version of BASIC for some reason I guess? I'm not sure if this was a standard function in the DOS 3.3 boot (I suspect not) or whether someone customised the boot routine.

tezza wrote:Looks like it's in good condition. $US405 and counting.

I suspect the reserve is somewhere up around the "buy now". I'm the current leader, and I've got the max bid set to $1000 and that's still not reserve. Can't decide what exactly the beastie is worth to me... as much as it's a classic, US$2.5k is a fair chunk of change.

tezza wrote:Re: Integer BASIC. On my Apple II+, my DOS 3.3 copy loads Integer BASIC into spare memory if it discovers a 16K "language" (i.e. memory) card is present. Just in case I want to use that version of BASIC for some reason I guess? I'm not sure if this was a standard function in the DOS 3.3 boot (I suspect not) or whether someone customised the boot routine.

Yep. Normal behaviour. The combination of the language card / system master combo was apple's (second) nod to backwards (and forwards) compatibility when they made the transition to the MS "Applesoft" basic with the II+. If I was to load your system master on this Apple II (with a language card) it would load Applesoft into the language card.

(Apple's first nod to compatibility being the short lived switchable firmware card.)

Hmm. Thanks for clearing that up. Nice to know it is normal behaviour.

Yes, the Apple II is a real classic. It's up there with the Pet 2001 and TRS-80 Model 1. As I've already got an Apple II+ it's not such a drawcard but I would like one. Not at the price the standard IIs are likely to go at these days though.

Good luck with the auction!

Well, I got it... US$1691.

I certainly understand your perspective on the II+. A 1980 II+ is really just a fully spec'd 1980 Apple II with Applesoft in ROM, and the inclination to pay a premium for that would certainly have been diminished if it was a late II like this 1980 one, which I passed on.

The transition period II and a II+ really are the same machine with different lids. This lovely machine is a different kettle of fish.

It's a lot to pay for a bloody 16k machine (hilarious really), but they're getting pretty rare and a pristine '78 "rev1" is about as close to a "rev0" as I can afford without a second mortgage or a vastly outrageous "dusty garage sale" piece of luck.

Well, I suppose congratulations are in order!

Didn't a 1979 Apple II sell on TradeMe for $300 (IIRC) late last year?

Yes, well done on the win. From the pictures it certainly looked in showcase condition.

lizardb0y wrote:Well, I suppose congratulations are in order!

Thank you. I was wondering to myself whether I was being a bit obnoxious, but it's a nice example and at least they do come up occasionally.. Some machines have truly become unobtainium.

lizardb0y wrote:Didn't a 1979 Apple II sell on TradeMe for $300 (IIRC) late last year?

Yep... but (a) There's a bit of a price difference between a '78 and a '79. To be honest I was HUGELY surprised someone paid US$1291 for the 1980 a few months back, and I wish I'd seen that '79.

I would have been happy with the '79, especially at NZ$300. Doesn't matter now though. The '78 is really tidy and will hold it's price if I can keep it in that condition.

Gibsaw wrote:

lizardb0y wrote:Didn't a 1979 Apple II sell on TradeMe for $300 (IIRC) late last year?

Yep... but (a) There's a bit of a price difference between a '78 and a '79. To be honest I was HUGELY surprised someone paid US$1291 for the 1980 a few months back, and I wish I'd seen that '79.

Yeah, I wish I'd seen that '79 on time as well. I did wonder if the '79 was representative of the original Apple II; it sounds as though it is not.

Gibsaw wrote:I would have been happy with the '79, especially at NZ$300. Doesn't matter now though. The '78 is really tidy and will hold it's price if I can keep it in that condition.

Your '78 certainly looks to be in excellent condition from what's shown in the listing. I'll be sticking with my Apple II+ (A2S-1016) I think - it would be hard to justify spending that much to my beloved (and tolerant and accommodating) wife! I'll save up brownie points for a Kenback-1, Altair 8800, IMSAI 8080 or Jupiter Ace

Final Price in US $1,691.00 + $45.00 shipping - ouch! and to think I gave my one away (a long time ago) in-between shifting.... ooops!
Just to add insult to injury my old beast had the older style raised keyboard lamp like the photo on Wikipedia which might have put it in the 77 camp.

I would think the previous owner (seller) should be pretty happy with that.

Belated Congrats on the successful purchase, I don't think you could find a better example!

lizardb0y wrote: it would be hard to justify spending that much to my beloved (and tolerant and accommodating) wife!

Believe me, I'm only getting away with it on the basis of it being a 40th birthday present to myself. I think she's just relieved I don't feel the urge to go buy a harley.

coogie wrote:Final Price in US $1,691.00 + $45.00 shipping - ouch! and to think I gave my one away (a long time ago) in between shifting.... ooops!
Just to add insult to injury my old beast had the older style raised keyboard lamp like the photo on Wikipedia which might have put it in the 77 camp.

I would think the owner should be pretty happy with that.

HAHAHAHAHAHA... the $45 shipping's only domestic... That'll get it as far as "shipito.com"... from there it'll be somewhere between US$100-200 by fedex, depending on how it's packed.

You had a '77? Here? In NZ? God... here's hoping it stayed in appreciative hands.

Gibsaw wrote:

lizardb0y wrote: it would be hard to justify spending that much to my beloved (and tolerant and accommodating) wife!

Believe me, I'm only getting away with it on the basis of it being a 40th birthday present to myself. I think she's just relieved I don't feel the urge to go buy a harley.

I already have a Ducati, so I've opted for the Briel Altair 8800micro kitset for my 40th. I'm planning to build it with my eldest son (13 in November). More on that later when I have some time to take "unboxing" photos

Gibsaw wrote:

coogie wrote:Final Price in US $1,691.00 + $45.00 shipping - ouch

HAHAHAHAHAHA... the $45 shipping's only domestic... That'll get it as far as "shipito.com"... from there it'll be somewhere between US$100-200 by fedex, depending on how it's packed.

..aaaaaand it got worse.. wouldn't ship via a freight forwarder, even if I was willing to absolve him of his responsibility at that point... and in the end wouldn't even go through with the transaction unless I was willing to ship via USPS Express (fedex) despite the fact that he offered a cheaper USPS option earlier. Kept trying to equate my earlier offer (which was higher than the final closing price) as a good reason to pay more for freight / tax.

I ended up giving up and paying the freight charge and resigning myself to paying over $300 in GST when it gets here.. All in all, the price is ending up being around US$500 higher than I could have gotten it here for if he was willing to work with me a little.

Make sure any anything you buy off this guy is small, cheap and easy to ship or that you REALLY REALLY REALLY want it. (and I did) ... It's like dealing with a blimming autistic person.

First, let me congratulate you on your purchase, then thank you for it.

It's people like you who validate and help make me feel better about how much I've spent on my computers

I wonder if you've set a NZ record on price of a vintage computer purchased? It might be worthy of a newspaper article? Can anyone top it?