Horun wrote on 2020-09-21, 00:08:

I started collecting certain items about 2002 when I noticed a lot of older hardware I grew up with in the late 80's and early 90's was just going to garbage (pre-recycle electronics era here). More than 2/3 of my old stuff was picked up free or very cheap for about a dozen years. When upgrading friends computers I always got to keep any working old parts as my labor fee, some gave me more old stuff just because they did not need it. Due to all this: by the time 2012 rolled around had obtained dozens of boards, cards, cases, full computers, etc.

Same here, I started in 2002, got most items for free or very cheap. I worked in a store that imported second hand computers from 2003 to 2006, that helped a lot 😀 Flea market was full of good stuff, cheap 3dfx cards, Pentium, Pentium II cpus and motherboards, etc. Most people are shocked if I tell them that I own hundreds of V3 2000 and V3 3000 cards. But I got them for a few dollars (or even free), so...

I started in September 2014, being 17 at the time, not knowing the difference between PCI and PCIe, quite a bit late, I know, but I was also lucky to have a wacky, but friendly neighbour who likes to collect old junk of all kinds, that decided the computer stuff would be better off in my hands. I got my first P2 and P3 hardware thanks to him. Then I discovered the magic of flea markets where I got my first Socket 7 hardware for cheap, found out a few friends of mine also had old stuff they wanted to get rid of and ended up having plenty of SB Live!, 3 Voodoo cards, and even a Socket 423 motherboard for free, and then some!

I'm not anywhere close to wealthy, just lucky, I know that. Not everyone is that lucky, obviously, and not everyone can afford the stuff I've found/been given for free. Honestly, if I had just started now, I probably wouldn't have found jack, or all I would see would be prohibitively priced crap that probably wouldn't work to begin with, which could have completely discouraged me from this hobby. And then I see gatekeeping (of course, not everywhere), which could totally kill it, or make it even more inaccessible in the long run, considering it keeps people out of something that they could potentially enjoy, and naturally, the people in said hobby could die one day (life is short, and especially now, it can be even shorter), without anyone to pass the torch to, and all that stuff would end up either in the landfill, or being sold at extreme prices that could probably cover the cost of an entire house + a car.

vetz wrote on 2020-09-20, 17:35:

Thread has been cleaned by the mod team and alot of posts deleted.

Absolute last warning. Any other snarky replies to other people calling them troll or newbie will be met with a temp ban and closure of this thread. We set the line here now

Now, get back on topic. Further off-topic posts regarding this derailment will be deleted.

I asked "What about not calling people trolls just because their opinion happens to be unpopular?" and all I got was my post edited censored. Talk about lousy, which brings me to the final part of my rant: Hypocrisy! You let things escalate just so you could come and present yourselves as "The Great White Knights In Shining Armor, Come To Purge The Great Forums From The Evil Trolls", delete posts, threaten members and then pat yourselves in the back like you're heroes or something. You didn't even bother to say something like "Hey Tetrium, maybe don't accuse Miphee of being a troll please". You also did something similar to "Eco-Warriors To The Rescue!" You didn't bother to tell people to keep it civil, you just let that thread devolve into a shit-flinging contest, so you could once again stroke your egos... Seriously, talk about overinflated ego, coupled with unwillingness to actually moderate, rather than just lock/censor topics and threaten/ban people! I expected better, instead all I saw was you guys acting like American cops have been rather notorious to act like lately. Truly disgusting, I'll be too busy vomiting to even notice you banned me by the time you read this...

1. There were a previous warning to keep it civil, but nobody paid any attention to it: Re: Collecting rants
2. I said not to continue the de-railment as a last ditch effort to keep the thread open and you still went ahead with it. I edited your post to avoid people going further off-topic (as stated) and said take it on PM if you had further comments.
3. Instead of sending a PM with constructive feedback you go ahead in this thread ruining it for everyone.

Thread locked.

I've decided to re-open the thread.

After careful consideration in the moderator section we'll re-open since we'll rather deal with one individual making a fuzz, than let him force our hands to close the thread for everyone.

I don't think re-opening of a thread has happened before, so lets call this an experiment. Again, if you have feedback on the moderation, send it in constructive form as a PM to one in the modteam. Thanks.

TechieDude wrote on 2020-09-21, 14:55:

I started in September 2014, being 17 at the time, not knowing the difference between PCI and PCIe, quite a bit late, I know, but I was also lucky to have a wacky, but friendly neighbour who likes to collect old junk of all kinds, that decided the computer stuff would be better off in my hands. I got my first P2 and P3 hardware thanks to him.

That's interesting. These are machines you probably didn't have much (or any) contact with when they were new, and people I know that are into this hobby are usually older and had these machines growing up, so what's it like looking at these machines that are older than you?

TechieDude wrote on 2020-09-21, 14:55:

Honestly, if I had just started now, I probably wouldn't have found jack, or all I would see would be prohibitively priced crap that probably wouldn't work to begin with, which could have completely discouraged me from this hobby.

I'm not so sure about that. At least over here it's still possible to find good deals if you search and are patient. You just need to talk to people when you see they are selling some computer parts. Some times they have more and it can be older stuff they thing is not worth mentioning in an ad. Other times there is nothing more. The "hunt" is part of the fun.

Thanks to the mod team for reopening the thread 👍

yawetaG wrote on 2020-09-21, 11:25:

Nah, it doesn't work that way - at least, not all the time. I've actually been in the collecting game for a lot longer than this […]
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MMaximus wrote on 2020-09-20, 21:08:

On a brighter note, the fact that we're all collecting old hardware (and physical games) that retains its residual value or even increases it over time, means that this hobby is actually a lot less costly than most! The day you're done with it, you sell your stuff and recoup the costs... let's not forget that 😀

Contrast this with the folks who are into modern games, sinking money into the latest graphic card every year, only to watch it depreciate over time 😉

Nah, it doesn't work that way - at least, not all the time. I've actually been in the collecting game for a lot longer than this (not computer hardware, actual collectibles), and what you describe happens to select items that are really rare and special to a lot of people (multiple generations of people...).
Most other items are popular at a certain point in time, the subject gets really popular, items reach crazy prices, and after that attention wanes. If the subject in question only existed for a short while and didn't have something special that attracts attention from different groups of people, it tends to be forgotten faster. Subjects need exposure to be remembered, and they need to be interesting to multiple generations of people to attract fresh meat (so to say).
Furthermore, for certain subjects, where wear and tear happens, or where the materials used degrade over time, it becomes harder and harder to find intact or functioning items, sometimes to the point that items are considered worthless because of that.
For example, some plastic age really badly and get to the point that merely manipulating them makes them auto-destruct, even if the item is boxed. There are also plastics that will auto-destruct just by sitting on a shelf, because the composition of the plastic degrades into something chemically unstable and stress fractures appear anywhere any form of stress occurs (screw holes, molding lines, swirls in the plastic). Major offenders of the latter: brown* and gold plastics, anything with metallic powder in it.

* Better watch those VLB slots. 😉

That is the reality of it.

What you write is the fantasy of a lot of collectors. 😀 But it will likely be like the difference between a vintage Ferrari and a vintage Trabant - one keeps its value quite well, the other...eh...

I get what you're saying about wear and tear. Rest assured I don't have any fantasy of getting rich through this hobby 😆

I was merely comparing a hobby where enthusiasts want to catch up with the latest tech or trend (e.g. buying the latest DSLR, the latest Graphics card, the latest synthesizer) with a hobby like ours where 99% of the purchases are used items which already have gone through peak depreciation.

When it's time to sell your GTX2080, you'll have lost a good chunk of change... but you probably won't when you decide to part with your 486 mobo or your SC-55 😀

MMaximus wrote on 2020-09-22, 14:25:

Thanks to the mod team for reopening the thread :thumbup: […]
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Thanks to the mod team for reopening the thread 👍

yawetaG wrote on 2020-09-21, 11:25:

Nah, it doesn't work that way - at least, not all the time. I've actually been in the collecting game for a lot longer than this […]
Show full quote

MMaximus wrote on 2020-09-20, 21:08:

On a brighter note, the fact that we're all collecting old hardware (and physical games) that retains its residual value or even increases it over time, means that this hobby is actually a lot less costly than most! The day you're done with it, you sell your stuff and recoup the costs... let's not forget that 😀

Contrast this with the folks who are into modern games, sinking money into the latest graphic card every year, only to watch it depreciate over time 😉kaaba

Nah, it doesn't work that way - at least, not all the time. I've actually been in the collecting game for a lot longer than this (not computer hardware, actual collectibles), and what you describe happens to select items that are really rare and special to a lot of people (multiple generations of people...).
Most other items are popular at a certain point in time, the subject gets really popular, items reach crazy prices, and after that attention wanes. If the subject in question only existed for a short while and didn't have something special that attracts attention from different groups of people, it tends to be forgotten faster. Subjects need exposure to be remembered, and they need to be interesting to multiple generations of people to attract fresh meat (so to say).
Furthermore, for certain subjects, where wear and tear happens, or where the materials used degrade over time, it becomes harder and harder to find intact or functioning items, sometimes to the point that items are considered worthless because of that.
For example, some plastic age really badly and get to the point that merely manipulating them makes them auto-destruct, even if the item is boxed. There are also plastics that will auto-destruct just by sitting on a shelf, because the composition of the plastic degrades into something chemically unstable and stress fractures appear anywhere any form of stress occurs (screw holes, molding lines, swirls in the plastic). Major offenders of the latter: brown* and gold plastics, anything with metallic powder in it.

* Better watch those VLB slots. 😉

That is the reality of it.

What you write is the fantasy of a lot of collectors. 😀 But it will likely be like the difference between a vintage Ferrari and a vintage Trabant - one keeps its value quite well, the other...eh...

I get what you're saying about wear and tear. Rest assured I don't have any fantasy of getting rich through this hobby 😆

I was merely comparing a hobby where enthusiasts want to catch up with the latest tech or trend (e.g. buying the latest DSLR, the latest Graphics card, the latest synthesizer) with a hobby like ours where 99% of the purchases are used items which already have gone through peak depreciation.

When it's time to sell your GTX2080, you'll have lost a good chunk of change... but you probably won't when you decide to part with your 486 mobo or your SC-55 😀

I don't think enthusiasts, particularly with modern hardware, necessarily care about cost-to-practicality ratio.

I would know. I went from a 1070 to a 1080 to a 1080TI within a year back when they where fresh. Selling off the previous to cover the next. All due to the desire for "the best".

Wallet is none to proud of that in retrospect... 🙁

...But the gaming was good! Curse you power lust!

vetz wrote on 2020-09-22, 09:43:

I've decided to re-open the thread.

After careful consideration in the moderator section we'll re-open since we'll rather deal with one individual making a fuzz, than let him force our hands to close the thread for everyone.

I don't think re-opening of a thread has happened before, so lets call this an experiment. Again, if you have feedback on the moderation, send it in constructive form as a PM to one in the modteam. Thanks.

Thank you ! Hopefully, the mostly peaceful ranting will continue without intervention by you guys unless someone tries to burn someones credibility or vandalize someones personal ego. Here is hoping it will continue as peaceful.
Sorry if that is too sarcastic of a simile but fully understand when things get out of line you guys have to stop it.

Ok RANT:
Had sent an email to someone a few days ago with a new post of small lot of goodies, never got a reply but 8 hours later the item was removed from sale and never got any responses.
Am keeping my eye open on the site and seller because me thinks seller realized the parts separated would be worth more 🙁

Horun wrote on 2020-09-23, 01:11:

Thank you ! Hopefully, the mostly peaceful ranting will continue without intervention by you guys unless someone tries to burn s […]
Show full quote

vetz wrote on 2020-09-22, 09:43:

I've decided to re-open the thread.

After careful consideration in the moderator section we'll re-open since we'll rather deal with one individual making a fuzz, than let him force our hands to close the thread for everyone.

I don't think re-opening of a thread has happened before, so lets call this an experiment. Again, if you have feedback on the moderation, send it in constructive form as a PM to one in the modteam. Thanks.

Thank you ! Hopefully, the mostly peaceful ranting will continue without intervention by you guys unless someone tries to burn someones credibility or vandalize someones personal ego. Here is hoping it will continue as peaceful.
Sorry if that is too sarcastic of a simile but fully understand when things get out of line you guys have to stop it.

Ok RANT:
Had sent an email to someone a few days ago with a new post of small lot of goodies, never got a reply but 8 hours later the item was removed from sale and never got any responses.
Am keeping my eye open on the site and seller because me thinks seller realized the parts separated would be worth more 🙁

I am guessing that someone inquired about a specific item, which got the seller thinking and made him do some research .

We can only hope that he/she does not start parting out his lot to try to sell untested individual items at prices more in line with tested known working ones .
[SARCASM] Everybody loves paying top dollar for untested possibly broken stuff . [/SARCASM]

Which brings me to my rants :

a) sellers who expect to sell items for high prices, but are unable or unwilling to test them (or have them tested). If a seller is too lazy or not competent enough to test items, he or she should not expect to sell them for the same price as fully tested working ones, but some sellers do not seem to get it .

b) sellers who advertise non working items for "parts or repair" for practically the same price as a known working/tested item . If the seller thinks it's that easy to fix, he/she should do it him/herself or have it done. Otherwise, why insult potential buyers' intelligence by expecting them to take on a repair risk with hardly any financial incentive to do so ?

My rant... people who don't pack stuff properly for shipping... at least I got a super quick refund and don't have to send it back.
Still 😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢

Really wanted a second Thermaltake Big Typhoon for another build.

But NOOOOOO... they had to wrap it in about 2 layers of the small-type bubble wrap and then put that inside a padded envelope and send it to me. Why, just why?

Going to try to straighten it out and see if it still works.

darry wrote on 2020-09-23, 02:32:

b) sellers who advertise non working items for "parts or repair" for practically the same price as a known working/tested item . If the seller thinks it's that easy to fix, he/she should do it him/herself or have it done. Otherwise, why insult potential buyers' intelligence by expecting them to take on a repair risk with hardly any financial incentive to do so ?

I've noticed this in face to face settings too, used shops, flea markets etc

it's an attempt to sell something at the price it would be if some necessary action had already been taken: broken things sold as if they had been fixed ("it's an easy fix!"), untested things sold as if tested ("It's an easy test!") and in flea markets priced as if on ebay ("they go for x on ebay!"), to each the correct response is "you do it then"

But if someone buys them so be it!

cyclone3d wrote on 2020-09-23, 05:03:

But NOOOOOO... they had to wrap it in about 2 layers of the small-type bubble wrap and then put that inside a padded envelope and send it to me. Why, just why?

Wow, this is the worst I've seen. I once had a large Rubik's cube shipped in a oversized bag with a single layer of the small bubble wrap. Sure enough, it got a direct hit on the corner which broke a corner piece, but this... takes the crown.

dr_st wrote on 2020-09-23, 09:52:

Wow, this is the worst I've seen.

Too bad I didn't take any pictures but I once bought a lot of SCSI stuff that included some 12 HDDs, a couple of controller cards and cables... all thrown in a flimsy run down cardboard box much bigger than needed with 0 (zero, nothing, zilch, nil) padding material.

That is nothing:

I received an ISA ethernet card snapped in half through the post. The seller refunded it and sent me another one free of charge as way of apology for that one.

Bought a "Boxed" G200 AGP card brand new on yahoo auctions cheap. Box was shown, looked mint.

By the time it reached me.. it was a GF2 MX and just the G200 manual/CD 🤣

Hanamichi wrote on 2020-09-23, 13:19:

Bought a "Boxed" G200 AGP card brand new on yahoo auctions cheap. Box was shown, looked mint.

By the time it reached me.. it was a GF2 MX and just the G200 manual/CD 🤣

Both have a "G" and a "2". Easy mistake to make 😆

🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣

I would of been happy with the box intact and a "G(f) 200"! Still, didn't pay much. Win some, loose some.

devius wrote on 2020-09-23, 13:24:

Hanamichi wrote on 2020-09-23, 13:19:

Bought a "Boxed" G200 AGP card brand new on yahoo auctions cheap. Box was shown, looked mint.

By the time it reached me.. it was a GF2 MX and just the G200 manual/CD 🤣

Both have a "G" and a "2". Easy mistake to make 😆

I would never buy a box whose contents was not photographed from a someone selling a one-off . I might make an exception if the box is factory sealed and the seller has a stellar rating, but I do not usually buy new in box retro gear because of high prices anyway .

I know what you mean, it was shown as the box, manual, cd and padded ESD bag. Could not identify the gpu through the bag.

It was 15 quid shipped internationally, guess the seller threw away the box.

Agree with you, overseas classifieds are the only places I can get decent priced boxed stuff, eBay is insane for prices.

However, I understand if you sell your kit someday, and you want to buy it back or another retro part of equal rarity it will cost the same crazy 'going rate' so there are few winners.

Hanamichi wrote on 2020-09-23, 13:47:

It was 15 quid shipped internationally, guess the seller threw away the box.

uff, that's harsh not even the box 🙁
I had that happen to me once, bought a boxed Hercules Kyro 4000XT... well for the box, since I already had the card.

what did I get? just the card... seller threw away the box because it was "damaged" 😦