On Tue, 2 Oct 2001, Sam Ewalt wrote: > On Mon, 1 Oct 2001 21:36:52 -0400 (EDT), Steve <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > Don't forget ebay. I got a Pentium 90 w/16MB RAM, > > 1 GB SCSI drive, built-in ethernet, and 4x CDROM for > > $16.50, also a 486DX-66 w/4MB RAM, 500 MB IDE, and 2x > > CDROM for $10. > > Great deals. But you have to pay shipping and what if the > computer is defective? If you're not adept at hardware it might be > better to find the used computer warehouse. They usually give you > at least a thirty day guarantee and are happy to exchange something > that doesn't work. > > How much was shipping? Of course for ten bucks you can'te go wrong.
Shipping on both was $20... so, yes, they were really $36.50 and $30 computers respectively. When people are talking about spending $20 or $30 just for a few MB of RAM, I think it makes a lot more sense to spend the same money on a whole computer. Either pull the memory you need, or migrate to the "newer" computer. Many machines on ebay have guarantees. Some don't. Many charge $35 for shipping, some charge $20. The keys to shopping ebay are knowing what you want, carefully reading the product description, and making sure the seller has been around for a while. (look at his rating). Even if you get a defective machine. You still end up ahead in parts. Where else are you going to get all those goodies for $30? Hard drive, floppy drive, memory, CDROM, case w/power supply, video card... all for 30 bucks? Yes, you take something of a chance. The $36.50 Pentium 90 I bought seems to have a problem with the SCSI adapter (one of these days when I have unlimited spare time, I might try to figure out what's wrong with it... it DID work the first time I plugged it in). <shrug> I stuck a 1 GB IDE drive in. Works great. My whole point was that $150 seems excessive for a 5-year-old computer, and that ebay can often offer much better deals... even if you have to take a whole computer just to get that 8MB of 30 pin RAM you need. ;-) - Steve
