Check ebay for sold items similar to yours.

Threads where people ask for the value of something are often just used to sell the stuff via private messages anyway, so no, there's no such section here and it's probably not wanted if any other section is flooded with such topics.

like I said in the other thread, it's worh it's weight in scrap value, until you find someone who wants to pay more for it.

same goes for personal value, only an individual can assign that for themselves... for example a voodoo 2 is worth more to me than a voodoo 5 because of the nostalgia attached to it because I used to own one back in the day.

unless it's something that is commonly needed for repairs of old equipment or has a definitive market like amigas or 3Dfx cards for example you can't just assign a value and be done with it.

also not to sound condescending, but you shouldn't expect other people to do the research for your own eventual monetary benefit, that's not how forums work, if it's a technical topic that everyone is interested in people enjoy spending time to solve issues to help others... but helping others make money off of old hardware is not the goal imho.

imi wrote on 2020-02-11, 18:05:

also not to sound condescending, but you shouldn't expect other people to do the research for your own eventual monetary benefit, that's not how forums work, if it's a technical topic that everyone is interested in people enjoy spending time to solve issues to help others... but helping others make money off of old hardware is not the goal imho.

I wholeheartedly agree.

Generally you should take good quality photos and then ask people if anything is rare or not that common and go from there. Ebay is a good place to see what things have sold for in the not too distant past (common stuff anyway).

if you ask 10 people what something computer related is worth you get 10 answers. If you ask the same people who gave you a value to buy it you will see them instantly revise their bids much lower. People who collect want a deal, as in pay less then what it sells for on ebay.

Planet-Dune wrote on 2020-02-11, 17:36:

Is there a place where you can just post some images and ask for a rough valuation of the content? I tried to ask this gently in the Vintage hardware FB group but no one seems to reply. Maybe there is some dedicated place for this? Not a place to actually sell anything, just get a rough idea on things for those "out of the loop".

Check any local on-line open sales websites like Ebay, alibaba, craigslist, etc to get an idea what it"could be worth". That is what other people are asking, not what it is worth to everyone. There is a big difference in what something is actually worth versus what some may want for it.

imi wrote on 2020-02-11, 18:05:

also not to sound condescending, but you shouldn't expect other people to do the research for your own eventual monetary benefit, that's not how forums work, if it's a technical topic that everyone is interested in people enjoy spending time to solve issues to help others... but helping others make money off of old hardware is not the goal imho.

I agree too ! This is a hardware/software tech support forum, not a help you sell your stuff forum.

Hey all

Thanks for the replies, I want to stress, I am NOT selling, not here, elsewhere, private messages... my problem is also a bit, this isn't about a 3DFX card or a Apple 2 or something that is easy to find online, I did already search but didn't find what I have and it is also the first time I ever owned such a thing so I truly am clueless.

I'll just post a picture of the item in question so it is clear what I mean. Now, I'm not going to ask for a price range as I do agree this is not the place to do so but I will ask the same question, how would I know if the item is not to be found online or is there a dedicated place (site, facebook group, ...) to ask such questions were selling is strictly forbidden for example.

Image:
https://ibb.co/cxCygP0

For more information on that era Wang machines, I'd head over to Vintage Computer Federation (http://www.vcfed.org/forum/forum.php).

JidaiGeki wrote on 2020-02-12, 09:01:

For more information on that era Wang machines, I'd head over to Vintage Computer Federation (http://www.vcfed.org/forum/forum.php).

Thank you for the link!

honest question though, why do you want to assign a monetary value to it in the first place if you don't plan to sell it?

just be happy to have that piece of history 😀
I don't really care for how much things sell that I have, what they are worth to me in no way reflects actual "market value"

the only way I do care is that I am sometimes really grateful to have gotten something that is otherwise prohibitively expensive to buy... for example I was really happy when I found a MT-32 for a reasonable price... I could sell it and make many times what I paid... but I won't, because owning it is worth so much more to me.

imi wrote on 2020-02-12, 12:59:

honest question though, why do you want to assign a monetary value to it in the first place if you don't plan to sell it? […]
Show full quote

honest question though, why do you want to assign a monetary value to it in the first place if you don't plan to sell it?

just be happy to have that piece of history 😀
I don't really care for how much things sell that I have, what they are worth to me in no way reflects actual "market value"

the only way I do care is that I am sometimes really grateful to have gotten something that is otherwise prohibitively expensive to buy... for example I was really happy when I found a MT-32 for a reasonable price... I could sell it and make many times what I paid... but I won't, because owning it is worth so much more to me.

Insurance companies will want to know the value of something before they will insure it. An older piece of hardware might be dismissed out of hand as “worthless” unless he owner can demonstrate a bona fide market for such retro hardware as collectibles.

schlomoe99 wrote on 2020-02-12, 13:36:

Insurance companies will want to know the value of something before they will insure it. An older piece of hardware might be dismissed out of hand as “worthless” unless he owner can demonstrate a bona fide market for such retro hardware as collectibles.

Some companies might do that, but most of them will insure anything you want at any value you say it's worth, you'll just need to pay the insurance. The insurance will be higher is the value of the insured item is higher, so they don't really care. Maybe they will want the item to be stored in a vault and or some room that's protected from fire/water, if the value is above a limit.

schlomoe99 wrote on 2020-02-12, 13:36:

Insurance companies will want to know the value of something before they will insure it. An older piece of hardware might be dismissed out of hand as “worthless” unless he owner can demonstrate a bona fide market for such retro hardware as collectibles.

I guess in this case an accredited expert's opinion or reference to recent auction prices would be more useful than a couple of people on a forum taking (educated) guesses. But realistically except for very few pieces of hardware there's hardly anything worth getting individually insured and those owning this sort of hardware will probably know the current market value. 😁
My own stuff is insured together with everything else in my flat via home contents insurance. I have pictures of all sort of valuables (be it hardware or other things) as proof of ownership so if specific pieces get stolen I can argue about value after the fact. If the whole place burns down I get the full policy limit anyway.

I think knowing the current market value of individual pieces is mostly handy when selling hardware. Openly discussing current market value also tends to generate greed. That's why I would generally advocate not to give people estimates for their retro hardware.

well said, also in case of insurance it wouldn't make sense anyways because you need valuation when you actually need to claim it, what it was or wasn't once worth isn't of much interest :p
and like I said, there isn't even a "market" for most of old hardware anyways, just because it sells on ebay here and there doesn't mean much, and especially there prices fluctuate immensly.

unless it's something so valuable that you want to get individual insurance for it... and as it was said, then you probably know.

Doornkaat wrote on 2020-02-12, 15:52:

I guess in this case an accredited expert's opinion or reference to recent auction prices would be more useful than a couple of […]
Show full quote

schlomoe99 wrote on 2020-02-12, 13:36:

Insurance companies will want to know the value of something before they will insure it. An older piece of hardware might be dismissed out of hand as “worthless” unless he owner can demonstrate a bona fide market for such retro hardware as collectibles.

I guess in this case an accredited expert's opinion or reference to recent auction prices would be more useful than a couple of people on a forum taking (educated) guesses. But realistically except for very few pieces of hardware there's hardly anything worth getting individually insured and those owning this sort of hardware will probably know the current market value. 😁
My own stuff is insured together with everything else in my flat via home contents insurance. I have pictures of all sort of valuables (be it hardware or other things) as proof of ownership so if specific pieces get stolen I can argue about value after the fact. If the whole place burns down I get the full policy limit anyway.

I think knowing the current market value of individual pieces is mostly handy when selling hardware. Openly discussing current market value also tends to generate greed. That's why I would generally advocate not to give people estimates for their retro hardware.

The thing with this is that if the OP would at any time decide to sell he might put it on ebay for a really high price just because no one told him the actual value and he is afraid of "missing out". While if he was told "it would probably sell for 200" then he would list it around that price. I'm not sure if I agree that holding back information is really the correct approach. I personally like to know what I own as well.

All that said. I do not know the realistic market value of this Wang so I personally cannot help. But I would guess around the 500? range if you find the right buyer. Dont take this as fact. It might be more or less depending on a whole lot of factors. Hope this helps.

FrankDM wrote on 2020-02-13, 15:26:

I do not know the realistic market value of this Wang so I personally cannot help. But I would guess around the 500? range if you find the right buyer. Dont take this as fact. It might be more or less depending on a whole lot of factors. Hope this helps.

It is also worth 1000$ if you find the right buyer and if you're particularly lucky you'll find two crazy collectors who will try to outbid each other because one once had an affair with the other's wife and now they try to sabotage each other so the value on that particular sale will increase to 6543.21$. 😉
No seriously, I don't mean to be a dick but simply guessing 500$ without any reference point has little to no value and promotes greed.

Doornkaat wrote on 2020-02-13, 16:49:

FrankDM wrote on 2020-02-13, 15:26:

I do not know the realistic market value of this Wang so I personally cannot help. But I would guess around the 500? range if you find the right buyer. Dont take this as fact. It might be more or less depending on a whole lot of factors. Hope this helps.

It is also worth 1000$ if you find the right buyer and if you're particularly lucky you'll find two crazy collectors who will try to outbid each other because one once had an affair with the other's wife and now they try to sabotage each other so the value on that particular sale will increase to 6543.21$. 😉
No seriously, I don't mean to be a dick but simply guessing 500$ without any reference point has little to no value and promotes greed.

Well I based that number on other machines of the era I seen being sold before. I do not know the going prices of Wang machines but at least it looks in good condition so I don't think 500 is that far fetched. I could be horribly wrong though. Your 6543.21 on the other hand sounds a tad much!

Planet-Dune wrote on 2020-02-13, 17:57:

Doornkaat wrote on 2020-02-13, 16:49:

FrankDM wrote on 2020-02-13, 15:26:

I do not know the realistic market value of this Wang so I personally cannot help. But I would guess around the 500? range if you find the right buyer. Dont take this as fact. It might be more or less depending on a whole lot of factors. Hope this helps.

It is also worth 1000$ if you find the right buyer and if you're particularly lucky you'll find two crazy collectors who will try to outbid each other because one once had an affair with the other's wife and now they try to sabotage each other so the value on that particular sale will increase to 6543.21$. 😉
No seriously, I don't mean to be a dick but simply guessing 500$ without any reference point has little to no value and promotes greed.

Well I based that number on other machines of the era I seen being sold before. I do not know the going prices of Wang machines but at least it looks in good condition so I don't think 500 is that far fetched. I could be horribly wrong though. Your 6543.21 on the other hand sounds a tad much!

Of course 6543.21$ is a bit much, it's a joke. 😉
On the other hand what I don't get is why you're saying you based that number on similar devices when it was FrankDM who came up with that number.🤔 Are you using two accounts and to reply to me logged in with the wrong one by accident?

After some digging around it is hard to tell which model Wang that is, appears to be an early industrial version which do not seem to have the same value of the Wang 286 and 386 models (most likely due to huge size, limited usefullness due to Wang using their own OS instead of IBM or MS DOS). The Wang PC240 and 280 are definately more of a collectable item from what I can find but who knows....

Doornkaat wrote on 2020-02-13, 20:10:

Are you using two accounts and to reply to me logged in with the wrong one by accident?

Good job! Busted, I was able to confirm the two posters have posted from the same IP6 address from the same ISP before. I think it's probably the same guy. Consider this reported.