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Very strange, IMO.

http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=220054236590

Of course, a tremendous number of bids by a 0 feedback bidder, but ...

That buyer has been behaving like a drunken sailor on leave for common HP's. Seems to really like 19Bii's and a few other select models. He's my 2006 poster boy for overpayment. Haven't seen the likes of one like him since the days of "JoeOil".

Bizzare indeed. Maybe he'll sober up soon, it's going to be quite the hangover though ;^)

Hi Randy,

I agree - I've been watching some of his "madness". There were several items that I was thinking of bidding on and passed when I saw he was the current high bidder. I probally did him a favor since I didn't run the bid up on him. But I think someone else did.

Just checked his history of purchases and he now is the proud owner of several HP-20S (one for $113???) and also several HP-28S.

Either he has lots of money and doesn't care or - like you say - one of these days he's going to have a heck of a hangover.

Bill

I have been a bit of drunken sailor myself:

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=003&sspagename=STRK%3AMEBI%3AIT&viewitem=&item=130051291627&rd=1&rd=1

I already own a much more powerful 15C for which I paid much less, but for some reason the collector bug and the thrill of the auction is getting the best of me!

But we have pretty well topped out my max, and it looks like the other bidder wants it a lot more than I do. It seems that European bidders are willing to spend much more for these things than North Americans. Maybe in his market the present bid is still a bargain!

Les

More newbies do their christmas shopping!

And BigTony didn't get enough earlier today:
Another $200 19Bii


Edited: 28 Nov 2006, 5:20 p.m.

Quote:
I have been a bit of drunken sailor myself
Same for me:

HP 10

HP 27

When you want it, you pay for it...

(yes: I did pay for those 2!...)

Well, those were bargains. Check out this 11C auction: Nice but VERY expensive 11C And no box! Waaahhhh!

'Tis the season to be stupid :^)

With this being the ultimate in absolute ignorance:

A $266 12C posing as a 15C


Edited: 29 Nov 2006, 6:31 p.m.

At the same moment, nobody wants this one.

Incredible.

$13 for 24 lbs. A bargain ! :O)

Quote:
'Tis the season to be stupid :^)

Well, like with Oliver and his purchases, I did really want it and set a generous high bid. It got sniped of course--I figured it would--and I certainly don't begrudge the seller getting a great price and I was quite glad in my own way to help.

Your insulting me makes me regret being such a big champion in this Forum of your repair work.

Les, aka shrinkie1964

Ouch!

And ouch, again!

I looked at your buying record--you got some real bargains too. It all works out. My experience has been similar--I have paid a lot for some items (42S and 15C, the latter in impeccable shape), but have been pleased to get a 41CX with Advantage Pac plus several newer models (12cp, 49G+, 33S) at prices well under the going rate, or the MSRP in the case of the new items. I paid a bit more for my 28S than you did, but what really bugged me is the outrageous importation charges UPS levied over and above the usual customs. The seller was really great about splitting the difference--he was as annoyed as I was--and that softened the blow.

Les

Hello!

Quote:
When you want it, you pay for it...

(yes: I did pay for those 2!...)


... and you did the right thing on this hp 10! Like always, when two rare items come up on eBay during the same week, people tend to be a bit reserved on the first one, and after it's gone, go crazy about the second one for fear of missing it this time.
The second hp 10 fetched far more than you had to pay for yours! Unfortunately, my limited budget was insufficient for any of the two :-( But I was more lucky with a hp 46 a few days ago, two more have come up since then and both are over 100 Euros already and still rising.

But I gave up trying to understand my fellow eBayers long ago :-)

Greetings, Max

Les,

If you think my "stupid" comment was aimed at you or anybody else that posts here, you're quite mistaken. Please look at the two eBay examples I posted, A $370 HP11C without a box or manual? A $266 HP12C?

I don't think you bought either one ;^)

I was in the running for the HP11C, and bid quite high, I know, fully aware of what I was doing. I am not finding it as easy to find bargain priced Voyageurs in great shape as some folks in the forum seem to, so since I don't have many other costly vices I thought I would blow the wad (to a point), justifying it with the awareness that I would get so many years out enjoyment that it would average out. I plan to live another 40 years. If I won the auction with my high bid, that would've been 10 bucks a year. Maybe its a bizarre sort of calculus for some, but considering many middle aged men have much pricier hobbies (do you know what green fees are up to these days at a good course?!?), $300-400 for another Voyageur didn't seem crazy to me, and it certainly didn't seem dumb. Extravagant maybe, but not stupid. I don't need the box and have the manual already thanks to Dave Hick's excellent work.

Somebody here once said that if someone wants something badly enough for $X, then maybe he should want it for $(X+5). This was given in defense of sniping, which, ironically, I deplore. I prefer just to set my maximum early on, forget about the auction, and hope for the best. Sometimes I get pleasantly surprised!

That said, the misleading auction on the faux-15C, actually a 12C, is an outrage. That is going to be one disappointed buyer.

I am bidding on another 11C, but this one looks a little less pristine than the one I loss, so I willing to wager less, though probably more than some say I should.

Les

Les,

I am very sorry, no insult intended, I didn't realize you had been bidding on the the 11C. IMO, you shouldn't have to pay more than $200 or so for a nice 11C. Patience does have its virtues, especially when it comes to HP's on eBay. It's just a very bad time of the year, prices always jump up for a few months then come back down.

My crack was meant as non-specific and was directed at all of absolutely silly behavior that goes in general on eBay, toy stores and other places where money exchanges hands for the "must-have" goods this time of the year.

HpCalcMan has been selling very nice 11C's for some time at $250, 15C's at $350. Those prices, until very recently, where far more than the going rate on ebay. Perhaps he still has some in stock?

Edited: 30 Nov 2006, 5:11 p.m.

I actually owe you an apology too. I sobered up a bit in my bidding after learning of HpCalcMan. In one auction I have just bit the bullet and retracted my original generous bid, since the seller agreed to send me some close ups of so-called scratching from normal wear, and it looks actually quite heavy to me. I know I should have done this research before bidding and my eBay rep is now besmirched, but once I saw the pics I just had to reduce my max bid. I claimed "entered wrong amount" which really isn't a lie--my original bid was grossly disproportionate to the true cosmetic quality of the unit. I overpaid on a 42S (my first purchase) that was in less than perfect shape, but at least there were close-ups and I knew what to expect. Still very happy with that one, and try to forget that if I were patient I could've saved $100. But in this case, I really wish the seller had posted close-ups rather than just the typical far off fuzzy shots we often see. This is the digital age for goodness' sake.

I have a couple of conservative bids in on auctions now. One actually includes a manual. If neither pans out (I really need to learn more about sniping), I will likely deal with HpCalcMan. Seems reputable and offers a bit of a warranty too if a bit pricey.

Les

Ebay has gone completely nuts this last week!
I thought this calculator collecting would be a nice little inexpensive hobby. After all, who want old calculators?
Well it seems lots of people do!

Everything I've been interested in and watching for the last week or two has gone absolutely nuts:

Examples:(Seaching on completed items)

HP 15C's : $150-$450

TI 68 : $117 (Its not even really programmable)

HP 65 : $285

Casio FX-880 $168

Sharp PC 1270 $158

Sharp EL-5150 $170

Casio FX-602P $250

I stopped bidding on a Procalc at $32 because it was getting high - well that's starting to look like a bargain!

My goal is to gather a sampling of older calculators to demonstrate 70's and 80's technology to students.

Unfortunately, it seems I cant afford it!


REPLACE THIS TEXT WITH YOUR LISTING

I am afraid that these extremely high bids are coming from our dear santa trying to get us some calcs for christmas.

Instead of complaining, do something about it!

1.

Quote:
I stopped bidding on a Procalc at $32 [...]
Why getting into a bid war? Place your bid right before the end of the auction

2.
Watch out for hidden pearls. I got a Heathkit OC-1401 in perfect condition for 10 or 20 EU-bucks, don't remeber exactly, a HP-45 for about 25 EUR, a Sharp PC-1403H for 11 EUR (sold it for 72 because I prefer my PC-1500+16kB expansion), a 19B+manual mint for 5 EUR on a flea market, 18C w/ printed labels and manual for 18 EUR, TI-5000 for 5 EUR mint, boxed with thermal role, some special calculators and so on.

Bonjour Olivier Treger.

Avez-vous reçu mon email par eBay ? Sinon, je vous remercie de me contacter par mail.

Sincères salutations.

Patrick

Olivier,

Vous avez dû remarquer que le déroulement des enchères de la 33E a été perturbé par un petit plaisantin qui s'est rétracté 2 fois, dont une à la dernière minute, pour des motifs douteux.

J'ai demandé à eBay d'enquêter sur le déroulement des enchères.

Bien cordialement,

Patrick