I think you and I were in a bit of a bidding war 😀

I bought some a couple of weeks ago, from 1989 and a couple from 93/94
Its amazing to look back and see how expensive things used to be...

Here's some prices from the June 89 issue... check out the motherboards 0_0
in 1989 the exchange rate was about $1.15 AUD to $1 USD

Looks like it 😀

That's insane, three thousand bucks for a 386 25Mhz! And that's just the MB.

Those ads bring back a lot of memories of skimming through the back pages of Computer Shopper. For anyone who doesn't know, Computer Shopper used to come out once a month here in the US and maybe Canada, and was about the size of the giant sized Life magazines from the 40's and 50's before they downsized and about as thick as a telephone directory. They were so big and heavy that it probably used to cost more to mail them than to print them.

It also makes me think of a place that used to be near me called Computer Barn. The owner had stacks of old systems lining the walls and bins full of parts on the floor. He kept all the best stuff behind the counter on shelves and in the back room, though, and you could only see that stuff if you were a serious buyer because it was usually pricey. He wouldn't waste his time pulling that stuff out for people who just came in to gawk at the uber-rare object of their dreams that they could never afford when it was new.

Ahh, 1994. The year I got my 32x and played Doom for the first time. (The worst version was that cartridge.)

wow them prices...!
in 1991 my IBM386sx costed ~1.100.000 drachmas, that is ~3.250eur by today's exchange rate, ofcourse back then 1.1mil was way more money than 3.2K eur...
I like the SB prices btw... 500+ $ for an awe32 or 103 for an ASP upgrade... 🤣

In 1994 a 286-12 motherboard and 1mb ram for $950? That doesn't seem right - I bought my 286-16 system in ~1993 and I seem to remember the entire thing, including 20mb hd and svga monitor costing about £500.

My post is from 1989 😉

<3 APC Mag...

When it started coming with a cover disk, one edition actually came with a free full version of Lotus Notes server. That was nifty.

I see the CMS Upgrade Kit for SB 1.0/2.0 in one of OP's photos. If only we had the foresight....

I still have a huge stack of Toronto Computes! Computer Currents, etc sitting in a large rubbermaid box in the attic..... along with old PC Magazines, etc