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Prices of older HP calculators



#4

I am continually amazed at the going prices of calculators recently. Are calculators an investment? With more and more collectors going after a limited supply of older calculators, can we expect to see an HP-65 selling for over $1000 dollars in five years?


#5

Gee, Nick, I was going to *wait* five years before getting myself a HP-65, but now that you've pointed this out... ;-)

Actually, one of the things about collecting is: you can never really predict the future. If you see a trend, you can more or less assume it will continue to hold... but there is always the possibility that whatever is behind the trend will change.

Maybe lots of old engineering types have a 65 hidden in a sock drawer-- and as they achieve horizontal status, will the market be flooded with calcs their progeny don't value or hold as keepsakes? Or maybe the high value of the 65 and other calcs is possibly in reaction to the low quality and production values of current models-- and HP (or someone) may decide to again make a "Cadillac" calc. Certainly eBay's monolithic market (a boon to the sellers) has contributed to the price inflation of calcs in recent times; if eBay were to significantly change their auction or pricing policies, the market could become more scattershot and fractured in a matter of weeks. So maybe five years is a bit optimistic.

On the other hand, perhaps the novelty of "ancient" numeric-based handhelds will attract new enthusiasts born into the Palm generation. Certainly I never thought some old Heathkit, Imsai, Altair computer stuff would ever sell for what it does now! So whatever you call "nostalgia" for what you never had--- an interest in earlier days--- may drive the prices of all QUALITY pieces up, especially ground-breakers and "firsts". Maybe the supply is actually almost "maxed" out (all sock-drawers emptied), in which case a dwindling supply, as you suggested, is in the near future. This WOULD drive prices higher. Or maybe one of you will start the "deBeers" of HP calcs, cornering the market on 65s and eBaying with >$1K reserve prices. Good luck.

I think most collectors assume an upward trend, and they are quite likely right; but if anyone is looking at the calendar and suggesting a timetable for the achievement of certain prices, I would counsel a bit of caution. In the somewhat perverse world of collecting, you may see cases of overvaluation in one generation, and then all of a sudden, the stuff that nobody valued and everyone threw out becomes the "rage".

IMHO: I collect for my own enjoyment. Technology in general is a damn poor investment. If by some fortunate circumstance, others want what you have and are willing to pay a premium, it is usually due to a "cachet" of an era or product people wonder about or admire for qualities absent in the modern day. As long as there is some admiration for the build, feel and sophistication of the HPs in their "professional" heyday, and as long as people are curious about the moment in time during which they thrived, I think you will continue to see prices rise.

But gambling on an exponential rise might be overoptimistic. My older friends completely understand my calculator and old computer fetish; younger ones simply think I am strange, for now. Will that turn around? Will I eBay my collection if a "tulip mania" on '70's electronics sweeps in? Only tomorrow will tell....

#6

It has already happened. I sold an HP65 brand new, in box, full accessories, etc for $1000. Buyer named his price, I said yes. We are both very happy campers.


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