On Wed, Jun 26, 2024 at 9:17 PM Doc Shipley via cctalk < cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:
> Much, much more important than the money, though, is the impact leaving > a large collection would have on my descendants. News Flash: > > THESE TREASURES ARE THEIR TRASH. > > It would be unconscionable for me to put any expectation on them to > "properly" dispose of my computers. To do so would require a silly > amount of self-education for them to know even what these things ARE, > much less what they're worth and where to sell them. > > Not necessarily. It depends on the trash in question. The second-hand market is huge, and the computer collecting hobby is currently a thriving part of it. As long as there's time and worth (there is) to list everything on eBay, doing so at the very least will ensure that the stuff ends up in appreciative hands. I don't subscribe to this idea that just because stuff gets sold on eBay means it'll never again see the light of day. First of all, it's better than going into a dumpster. And second, it takes money to buy stuff on eBay. The trend is up, and this stuff ain't cheap anymore. And third, the people buying stuff on eBay are people like me, people who work at computer museums, or run their own, etc. The stuff on eBay is probably going to a collector that's probably going to make use of it or appreciate it. LGR and Brad Hodges (YouTubers) are two people that regularly feature stuff they buy off eBay on their channels. Bottom line is that vintage computer stuff now has a lot of value, and there's a generation of younger people coming up behind my generation that has a definite interest in this stuff, from the 1990s PCs all the way back to 1940s mainframes. So even if they were to hire one of those companies that comes and hauls everything away and sells it all on eBay and gives a cut back to the owner, it will still result in much of your effort to preserve historical computer stuff not at all being in vain. Bonus if you leave behind a detailed inventory with historical notes. My longer term plan is to die with one Uhaul load or less of Stuff, and > a detailed inventory of what's there, including current value and > current best venue for sales. > A good plan. > My daughter also has contact info for a friend who will post here and a > couple of other places if she wants somebody to just come take it off > her hands. > You're way ahead of the game. Sellam
