From: Bill Morrow (penzance_at_gate.net)
Date: Fri Sep 20 2002 - 18:19:56 EDT
ross dove is ok.. an honest outfir composed of millard dove, ross dove and
his brother kirk dove..
they were auctioneers in the bay area for years..
then with a HUGE investment from backers took their show on the internet
road..
i strongly advise against buying thinkpads (or most other similar equipment)
at bid, online, because:
1. you can't touch, feel and inspect, read machine type and model numbers or
serial numbers..
2. often there will be no ac adapter or external floppy..
3. packing and shipping will add too much..
4. online bidders must pay 13%.. a 3% premium over the regular onsite bidder
premium of 10%..
5. condition is VERY questionable..
how do i know all this..?
i used to go to ALL the high tech auctions in the bay area in the early
1980's..
gavilan computer, chucky cheese, imsai, processor technology and many more..
even being there, it was tough..
at the gavilan computer sale a buyer switched numbers on a lseveral arge
unix based zilog computer systems.. it took the los gatos cops to get it
back..!
flat panel displays are even worse..
pixels, operation, warranty?, etc..
packing and shipping..?
AND they are a hot item..
things to buy:
some big boxes of misc. stuff IF you can guess at whats in there..
stuff no one else wants..
obscure stuff no one but you knows what the hell it is..
a pallet of most anything that you can either use or sell, fast.. at a
profit..
i have watched 100 desktops by sun, dell, h/p and ibm go really cheap..
because they are there with a truck, and have a need..
and i have witnessed the opposite.. a load of obsolete crap go for way more
than any sane person would pay..
remember, that h/p color laserjet has an unknown number of copies printed on
it, is in unknown condition, will cost, usually 50% to 70% of its street
value on bid, add 13% add packing and shipping and VIOLA! you get something
for street price with no warranty or real history..
been there, done that, made $$ when i was on site, paid too much for other
stuff..
and if you think there will be any big bargains on thinkpads, think again,
watch the bidding and calculat the risk and expenses and add it to the bid
price..
several months ago i watched as a bunch of 6oo, 600E and 600X's sold for as
much as you would pay on ebay from some of the more reputable sellers..
beware the too good to be true bargain, usually it IS.. i.e. NOT true..
sorry for the rambling nature of this epistle.. :-)
i have been on the ross dove list for many years..
so, gentlemen, stop drooling, read the fine print, grab a fistfull of
cashiers checks, jump on a plane and go dance with the big boys..
<------------------------------->
Cordially, :-)
Bill Morrow
WEB page http://thinkpads.com
thinkpads.com Open Forum
http://www.afaonline.com:8080/webboard/$webb.exe/~2/login?
or go to thinkpads.com and link from there
E-Mail: bill at thinkpads dot com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Julian Thomas" <jt_at_jt-mj.net>
To: <os2hardware_at_yahoogroups.com>
Cc: <THINKPAD_at_cs.utk.edu>
Sent: Friday, September 20, 2002 5:07 PM
Subject: Equipment to drool for!
> http://www.dovebid.com/Auctions/AuctionDetail.asp?auctionID=1480
>
> Lots of flat screen monitors, lots of Thinkpads, and a bunch of other
> stuff.
>
> Of course, the T'pads may be password protected with an unknown PW.
>
> Shipping is an unknown so far, but might dampen any bargains.
>
>
> --
> Julian Thomas: jt_at_jt-mj.net http://jt-mj.net
> In the beautiful Finger Lakes Wine Country of New York State!
> Boardmember of POSSI.org - Phoenix OS/2 Society, Inc
> http://www.possi.org
> -- --
> Ignorance killed the cat. Curiosity was framed.
>
>
>
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