what is the value

[O. Sharp]

Quoth Dwight K. Elvey:
>  I know someone that has a 11/45. I've been thinking
> of making an offer on it but have no idea what people
> consider the going rate for such a machine. Does
> anyone have any idea? I don't want to insult him
> but then I don't want to pay way beyond what I could
> get one elsewhere.

I'm not sure there is an objective answer to that question; some people 
wouldn't let a vintage DEC machine go unless there are several thousand 
dollars involved, while others actually will give them away to good 
homes (or, in one horrible instance I was too late to prevent, actually 
just throw the machine into a dumpster because "it's so old nobody could 
_possibly_ have a use for it"... and this was an 11/45 in a pedestal-mount 
case, damn, damn, damn).

I suspect the best approach is to offer what you think the machine is 
worth to _you_. Some people may feel slighted, others may think you're 
being idiotically generous, but in the end if you're making an offer 
which seems reasonable and fair to you it's probably safe ground.

I think the value of these machines to various people is so subjective 
that it's hard to give any good answer without knowing everything about 
them... but you _can_ know what it's worth to you, so it's probably best 
to start there and hope for the best.

(...Listen! Is that the sweet whisper of the "someone-should-write-a-
-price-guide-for-vintage-computers" thread coming our way?...)

                    -O.-

(...If it is, run! _Run!_...)