I can't find the link anymore (not even in my history!), but someone who is an eBay search expert might be able to find it. A Quantum3D Mercury Brick (green version), which looked to be fully completed and in immaculate condition, came up for sale on eBay yesterday. It was listed for $10,000. It ended quickly. The seller also changed the subject to "old video card" before the listing ended. I'm guessing the buyer wanted this blackholed, and it looks like it worked. I wonder for how much the brick actually sold?

More about the ASRock Alive Dual SATA2:
https://www.ebay.de/itm/354293434009
https://www.ebay.de/itm/134284806037
https://www.ebay.de/itm/125548454454
2.10.2022: 218€ bid
17.10.2022: 49€ buy now
17.10.2022: 161€ bid

The buy now was gone quickly. Too quick for us.
For those who haven't read the previous discussion:
It's the very last board to feature an AGP slot. That's what makes it so valuable.

RaiderOfLostVoodoo wrote on 2022-10-17, 22:12:

It's the very last board to feature an AGP slot. That's what makes it so valuable.

I realise its just collectors collecting for their own various reasons but i would ask :

is it better than all the other agp options and can something be done in terms of software that cannot be done on a slightly earlier or later (or non agp) system?

the answers to that would make it less valuable to me, though i admit its a utilitarian view not a 'collecting' view

I am following this Adlib Gold on ebay with great interest , I wanna see how stupid high it goes 😆
*had to remove the link my bad*

AppleSauce wrote on 2022-10-18, 09:48:

I am following this Adlib Gold on ebay with great interest , I wanna see how stupid high it goes 😆

*snip*

8 days left with 47 bids ..already at $575 AUD..yeaaaa that sumbitch is gonna break some ones bank.

Active eBay listings are not allowed. Could you please remove the links and re-post them when the listing has finished. Thanks a lot.

feipoa wrote on 2022-10-18, 10:37:

Active eBay listings are not allowed. Could you please remove the links and re-post them when the listing has finished. Thanks a lot.

Yeah sorry I forgot , I've removed it.

gerry wrote on 2022-10-18, 07:45:

is it better than all the other agp options and can something be done in terms of software that cannot be done on a slightly earlier or later (or non agp) system?

Well, for a Radeon 3850 or Geforce 7950 you'll need every bit of CPU power you can get. But those don't do anything which the PCIe variants can't do better. Personally I don't see the point in these bridged AGP cards, but I know there are a lot of people who collect them.
For a FX5950 (which is the last true AGP Geforce) you don't need such a powerful system.

Another bonus for these weird abominations:
You can use the PCIe slot to get SATA 6GB/s speed.

RaiderOfLostVoodoo wrote on 2022-10-19, 02:11:

Another bonus for these weird abominations:
You can use the PCIe slot to get SATA 6GB/s speed.

That's what I do, however I needed to use the PCIe x16 port with RAID to reach those speeds; PCIe x1 for USB 3.1; AGP 8x for GeForce 7 series (AMD 3000/4000 series drivers in modern Linux are junk); conventional PCI for Intel gigabit LAN; and the other AGP looking port for the AM2 upgrade card with 8 GB DDRII. Upgraded to the extreme. I use that system 24/7 for modern internet, however given the increasing rarity, I'm wondering if I should park it in the closet and replace it.

TrashPanda wrote on 2022-10-18, 09:50:

8 days left with 47 bids ..already at $575 AUD..yeaaaa that sumbitch is gonna break some ones bank.

Now that's some broken bank. Never really understood the desire for these when other cards such as the audiotrix pro are both better and rarer.

amusing note: if the image is named "adlib.png" it triggers some warning that reaction images are off topic and won't display inline.

libby wrote on 2022-10-26, 18:47:

TrashPanda wrote on 2022-10-18, 09:50:

8 days left with 47 bids ..already at $575 AUD..yeaaaa that sumbitch is gonna break some ones bank.

adlib_gold.png

*gasp*
Retro hardware seems like a better investment than the stock market right now. It would be fun, I think, to create a massive excel sheet for every single item you own and include your purchase price in one column, current market value in another, and have a appreciation column. Chart it over the years. Make another excel sheet for your common securities, then compare the % gain of each modality of investing. Apparently, if you are a US citizen, this is what you should be doing anyway and reporting any gains on your 1040. If you have no proof of purchase, then your cost value is $0.

Didn't an Adlib Gold go for like, 3 grand, a year or two back? Based upon that highly robust database, the retro hardware scene is depreciating fast! 🤣

But in all seriousness. Going "omg, look how massively expensive things are! - it's time to invest, for the future!" are famous last words, in some circumstances.

libby wrote on 2022-10-26, 18:47:

adlib_gold.png […]
Show full quote

TrashPanda wrote on 2022-10-18, 09:50:

8 days left with 47 bids ..already at $575 AUD..yeaaaa that sumbitch is gonna break some ones bank.

adlib_gold.png

Now that's some broken bank. Never really understood the desire for these when other cards such as the audiotrix pro are both better and rarer.

amusing note: if the image is named "adlib.png" it triggers some warning that reaction images are off topic and won't display inline.

1800, I was expecting more.

I wouldn't use ebay as a pricing guideline anymore. It is no longer a transparent marketplace. ebay hides "best offer" selling prices and bidder lists making it impossible to actually figure out what stuff sold for. They also completely shut off any ability to detect fraud and/or shill bidding on items.

NJRoadfan wrote on 2022-10-27, 02:32:

I wouldn't use ebay as a pricing guideline anymore. It is no longer a transparent marketplace. ebay hides "best offer" selling prices and bidder lists making it impossible to actually figure out what stuff sold for. They also completely shut off any ability to detect fraud and/or shill bidding on items.

finding shill bids is still easy enough .. I mean that one bidder with 6 bids on a auction and 100% activity on this seller with 0 bids on any other auction and less than 30 rating ..yeah that isn't at all suspicious.

Shit I have retracted what would have been a winning bid on an auction before because of the shill bidding .. I mean fuck it let the shill bidder win after I drive the price up .. let that fucker handle the fees and shit to relist. It was just me and the shill bidder bidding on this auction, I don't like retracting bids and eBay is very strict on when you can do this .. but if worst came to worst I would simply not pay if I had any kind of proof of bullshittery by the seller.

And yup the very same seller did in fact relist the auction a week later, this time with a BIN option at the price they actually wanted to sell the item for.

Does this make me terrible ?

Well, I think there is no need to overcomplicate the eBay auctions thing. Shill seller... shit seller ... Does it really matter at all? I personally make it simple - if the price is good for me and the item is good for me, I buy it, if not, I move on. And I have no regrets if someone else buys it paying only $1 more than the maximum price I was ready to pay.

ThinkpadIL wrote on 2022-10-27, 06:44:

Well, I think there is no need to overcomplicate the eBay auctions thing. Shill seller... shit seller ... Does it really matter at all? I personally make it simple - if the price is good for me and the item is good for me, I buy it, if not, I move on. And I have no regrets if someone else buys it paying only $1 more than the maximum price I was ready to pay.

I don't have an issue with that, may the best bidder win, blatant shill bidding just pisses me off. If you want a specific amount for an item then just list it with a BIN price and start your auction at a lower price than the BIN.

Shit sellers are one thing, usually they are just ignorant, Shill sellers know exactly what they are doing is wrong and do it anyway, one is considerably worse than the other. Shit sellers can learn and become great sellers, Shill sellers will always be scum.

feipoa wrote on 2022-10-26, 19:23:

*gasp*
Retro hardware seems like a better investment than the stock market right now. It would be fun, I think, to create a massive excel sheet for every single item you own and include your purchase price in one column, current market value in another, and have a appreciation column. Chart it over the years. Make another excel sheet for your common securities, then compare the % gain of each modality of investing. Apparently, if you are a US citizen, this is what you should be doing anyway and reporting any gains on your 1040. If you have no proof of purchase, then your cost value is $0.

that would be interesting, probably there would be a few people with a few items that do very well and a lot of people with a lot of items that don't really appreciate at all

on the whole it wouldn't be all that much growth, it's only a few items that seem to rocket up in price and even then it feels speculative - i doubt many of the most expensive items are even used

TrashPanda wrote on 2022-10-27, 06:57:

I don't have an issue with that, may the best bidder win, blatant shill bidding just pisses me off. If you want a specific amount for an item then just list it with a BIN price and start your auction at a lower price than the BIN.

Shit sellers are one thing, usually they are just ignorant, Shill sellers know exactly what they are doing is wrong and do it anyway, one is considerably worse than the other. Shit sellers can learn and become great sellers, Shill sellers will always be scum.

Sellers may use many different ways to sell their stock, the only three things that really matter (at least for me) are if the item is good for me, if the final price is good for me and if a seller manages to package the purchase good enough. The only thing that really pisses me off is the last one - when a seller even after a detailed instructions still fails to package my purchase in an appropriate way.

ThinkpadIL wrote on 2022-10-27, 07:58:

TrashPanda wrote on 2022-10-27, 06:57:

I don't have an issue with that, may the best bidder win, blatant shill bidding just pisses me off. If you want a specific amount for an item then just list it with a BIN price and start your auction at a lower price than the BIN.

Shit sellers are one thing, usually they are just ignorant, Shill sellers know exactly what they are doing is wrong and do it anyway, one is considerably worse than the other. Shit sellers can learn and become great sellers, Shill sellers will always be scum.

Sellers may use many different ways to sell their stock, the only three things that really matter (at least for me) are if the item is good for me, if the final price is good for me and if a seller manages to package the purchase good enough. The only thing that really pisses me off is the last one - when a seller even after a detailed instructions still fails to package my purchase in an appropriate way.

Yup ..shit packaging even after being asked for a bit of extra care sucks, had a few motherboards get damaged by terrible packaging.

As for the rest .. im just venting a little, I don't usually vent much on Vogons as its just bad form.