Anyone got a Panasonic Exec Partner lying around?

[YetiSeti]

RARE COMPUTER - 1985 Panasonic Exec Partner
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing ... =279833589

Current bid : $1310.00

Maybe I'm missing something here but is the secret to getting a good price for something simply listing at a high price to begin with? I'm prepared to go shooting my mouth off without looking up this computer to see what it's worth, BUT $1000+ !!!

Start bid was $500. Someone with an unused account of a few years old has led with an open bid of $1000 which I'd take to be a little suspect if it were my auction but I've been off with pricing a bit lately and it maybe just want someone's looking for.

[gavo]

RARE COMPUTER - 1985 Panasonic Exec Partner
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing ... =279833589

Current bid : $1310.00

Maybe I'm missing something here but is the secret to getting a good price for something simply listing at a high price to begin with?

Yeah. I've never heard of that PC, but of course its also not really my thing. I have to say I was surprised at the bidding - now if it were an Apple 1 or something, well, I could see that going for a packet - still, I suppose its all in the eye of the beholder (or something like that)

On this topic, I see there is a Vic 20 that has a $200 bid at the moment - now is it just me, or is the seller on a winner for that one (more power to him if he can get it tho).

[tezza]

One trick I know that is played on auction sites sometimes is to set a high reserve price, then have a couple of mates come in and bid at JUST BELOW the reserve price. It makes the goods look sought after and the hope is that a genuine bidder will take the bait. Of course the genine bidder's bid WILL hit the reserve price. If no one bites there is no harm done, as the bogus bids haven't reached reserve anyway so no one has to do anything.

Now I'm not for one minute saying that something like this happened here. I'm just saying I have heard of that happening.

Terry (Tez)

[tezza]

On this topic, I see there is a Vic 20 that has a $200 bid at the moment - now is it just me, or is the seller on a winner for that one (more power to him if he can get it tho).

Yes, I'm not against people getting as much as the market is prepared to pay. Let's face it, higher prices just makes our own collections more valuable.

Notwithstanding the Panasonic Exec Partner (which I think is an abberation), I do get the feeling that vintage computer prices have been rising in the last few months though. Is that your feeling?

Terry (Tez)

[gavo]

Notwithstanding the Panasonic Exec Partner (which I think is an abberation), I do get the feeling that vintage computer prices have been rising in the last few months though. Is that your feeling?

Well, if that Mac Classic II without a keyboard or mouse went for $350 (I think it was closing tonight, but I wasnt watching it), then yes

Seriously tho, I'm not sure. I think prices ebb and flow and there are so many variables involved its hard to tell. You know, things like is the seller a collector, or just someone clearing out the garage - combine that with is there more than one person watching at that time that wants/needs it. I suppose on the whole there are more collectors about and so that is likely to push prices up on "rare" items.

Take that IIgs the other week than went for $130ish, they are few and far between on trademe usually, but then two more pop up the very next week. I'd be surprised if those two reached $130 (I wasnt actually watching them, so I guess I could be proved wrong on that count!) just because the demand would have been less (maybe).

Still, I probably would have paid that if it had been local ($100 for shipping just pushed it way out of consideration) - but only because I'm generally an Apple nut.

[YetiSeti]

On this topic, I see there is a Vic 20 that has a $200 bid at the moment - now is it just me, or is the seller on a winner for that one (more power to him if he can get it tho).

certainly is. How about $300 for the C16! If I got $500 for a Vic 20 and a C16, I'd be heading out to buy a lotto ticket too

Having said that, how many mint boxed C16s have you ever seen on trademe? None by me (that my short memory can remember) in a few years watching. Plus having the condition described precisely and knowledgeable sellers can be a rarity in the vintage category. And let us not forget the C64 described as brand new did sell for a tad over $500 some time back.

An astute sellers studies the market and knows when there are motivated buyers as there are at the moment, however some don't seem to want to consider that sometimes a fair price could be determined by the buyers also.

The Spectrum with all the games (which I'm sure I and everyone would love) will eventually sell to someone who doesn't know market prices. It's not always about what people are willing to pay, but that sometimes some people trust the market and take the price a seller asks to be a reflection of the market value and the worth of an item. I see it all the time in charity stores here with some ridiculous prices on things, yet all these things sell. Best I not devolve the discussion into a rant on the free market.

[YetiSeti]

Notwithstanding the Panasonic Exec Partner (which I think is an abberation), I do get the feeling that vintage computer prices have been rising in the last few months though. Is that your feeling?
Terry (Tez)

psffssft: Everyone,I found a Panasonic Executive Partner 270 286 notebook lying around at home. Will sell at a fraction of the price of the older Panasonic selling on trademe. Do you a good deal. Not sure if it goes, but don't let that sully your opinion of it

The seller did well promoting the auction by taking the current value of it in dollar terms, if only he'd used some asset depreciation schedule also to adjust.

I've seen prices go up quite a bit in a few years as a whole, whereas I think the last few months are but local maxima prices. Business computers which never use to get a sniff at $30 now are around the $100+ mark and when I first started buying a rare computer was around the $60-$70 mark but is now $100+. But I do believe that as most collectors get to the point where they have the items they want of the common/uncommon variety it's only the rarer items that are fiercely contested.

Some calculators have gone for what seem like incredible prices (without knowing what they might be on the international scene), Milton Bradley Simon games never seem to sell for less than $50 a pop. The only thing I haven't seen appreciate in value are the pong and older cartridge consoles. One of my first auction buys was for a Tempest which I paid $45+postage for. Since then I have commonly only paid between $10-$20 (excl postage) for one.

What is inflationary is not factoring in postage. It's a luxury I don't have with the little supply of items where I am and if I factored post into the price I wouldn't have anything. Profits in the postage industry must be huge on the back on the trademe phenomenon and God forbid the day trademe bring in a buyer premium as another way to monetize their site.

The last minute bidding sniper strategy I find as being quite inflationary as that's where the emotion comes into play. As a personal code of ethic I will only bid at the end against someone else who bids at the end, or sometimes against an a handle I don't recognise, but not against a collector who bids early. Though I must say that sometimes it takes till the end of an auction to finally convince yourself that you want something.

I think the market mechanism may be a bit like free will - the moment you mess with it, you break it. I just paid too much for some C64 games where I thought I'd make an offer to buy just a few for what was the total worth of the lot so they seller could stand to make more, but my offer seemed to have been interpreted as 'if a few are worth that much, the lot must be worth more'. Well, I at least now have Little Computer People, an item I had always listed on this site in my wanted list, but alas on a bit of reading I found out the tape is a crippled version rather than the disc version (which I now see is fairly sort after on ebay) which actually brought the game to life.

[scamp3]

You got to be quick, I just got this:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing ... =281610152

doesn't look too bad

[tezza]

Considering everything that comes with it, that's a good price.

I thought you already had all the Commodores you need scamp?

Terry (Tez)

[scamp3]

I know but the one in this auction looks so shiny and new.

[YetiSeti]

You got to be quick, I just got this:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing ... =281610152

doesn't look too bad

aww, and it was in Dunedin. I don't see many of them auctions. Just don't be too shocked when you find out what the postage sting will be. Vagabond's C64s were boxed and pretty mint, and confirmed working for that price, but had none of the extras like this one. It's possible you could save 50% on postage, but you'd have to be able to get to a depot in Wellington to pick up

[matsondawson]

I see the Exec Partner is back on trademe.

re: c64... how the heck did you get that??
I've looked at vintage like 10 times daily in the past week and never saw that.

[scamp3]

Pure luck, I got it only a few minutes after it was listed.

[gavo]

You got to be quick, I just got this:
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing ... =281610152
doesn't look too bad

Nice.

[YetiSeti]

If anyone looks in the Antiques category you'll find a Panasonic Senior Partner for a reasonable price (and I imagine an offer price may be even more so if you watch when it closes without bids):

PANASONIC [url]RL-H7000W http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing ... =300927829[/url]

It's an as-is auction which scared me off, especially since it was all set up for photographing, how much harder could it have been to plug it in and turn it on? The seller won't test and i have suggested to list in Computers/Vintage but I guess Art Deco is where this is at which is fair enough.