Are Your Old Computers Valuable?

Computer users often become sentimental about their early computer experiences. Enthusiasts also become interested in certain lines of products and seek to own their most special examples. For instance, the value of an original Macintosh 128k computer is high and continues to rise. Even the instruction manual for that computer has a significant value for Macintosh collectors. Someone lucky enough to find an Apple Lisa or a Macintosh XL, early high-performance Apple computers, has something very valuable indeed.

This applies to software, also. The original Ultima computer game, in the box with all of the manuals and in good condition can fetch over five hundred dollars, while the first Zork game can sell for almost one hundred. Software for the Apple Lisa computer system, obsolete for almost 25 years, can now be sold for several hundred dollars per package.

For particularly sought after computer products, collectors will pay big for any ephemera related to the product. Sales manuals, posters, even bumper stickers and magazine ads for old computer systems can be sold easily to eager enthusiasts

Many computer enthusiasts get excited at the prospect of buying even older computers. Anything that's considered a part of computer history has a large value on the market and that value is only growing. Even a non-functional system that's considered historically significant will be eagerly snatched up by computer collectors. A MITS Altair can now be sold for several thousands of dollars; even the manual for one has a market value of about one hundred dollars, while some of the computer chips cost fifty dollars or more. A PDP-11, once a common minicomputer in the business world, can fetch the same prices.

Video game console systems are also sought after by collectors. Many people seek to own the system that they first played as a child, such as an Atari, Nintendo Entertainment System, or Super Nintendo Entertainment System. As with all things, rarity enters into the value that old video game systems have.

There's a collector for almost everything, and the fan base of vintage and collectible computers is surprisingly large. Before you throw away that old computer system in the attic, look into its value in auctions and specialty retailers. You might be pleasantly surprised.