what is an original Macintosh Portable worth

[heron stone]

the HD is dead as well as the battery, but it worked fine until the drive
failed

it’s been sitting in my closet for 33 years and it looks good

what’s it worth?

heron

[nospam]

Post by heron stone
the HD is dead as well as the battery, but it worked fine until the drive
failed
it¹s been sitting in my closet for 33 years and it looks good
what¹s it worth?

it's only of value to a collector.

[heron stone]

Post by nospam

Post by heron stone
the HD is dead as well as the battery, but it worked fine until the drive
failed
it¹s been sitting in my closet for 33 years and it looks good
what¹s it worth?

it's only of value to a collector.

oh thanks...

i thought someone might want it for video production

[nospam]

Post by heron stone

Post by nospam

Post by heron stone
the HD is dead as well as the battery, but it worked fine until the drive
failed
it1s been sitting in my closet for 33 years and it looks good
what1s it worth?

it's only of value to a collector.

oh thanks...
i thought someone might want it for video production

hah. no.

[Ant]

Post by nospam

Post by heron stone

Post by nospam

Post by heron stone
the HD is dead as well as the battery, but it worked fine until the drive
failed
it1s been sitting in my closet for 33 years and it looks good
what1s it worth?

it's only of value to a collector.

oh thanks...
i thought someone might want it for video production

hah. no.

Which model was that did video productions?

[nospam]

Post by Ant

Post by nospam

Post by heron stone
i thought someone might want it for video production

hah. no.

Which model was that did video productions?

anything that supported quicktime, which needed a 68020 or later,
except that any any mac of that era would be limited to long outdated
codecs, small frame sizes and not particularly fast, and that's
assuming you could find old video production software to run on it.

[Your Name]

Post by heron stone
the HD is dead as well as the battery, but it worked fine until the drive
failed
it's been sitting in my closet for 33 years and it looks good
what's it worth?
heron

What it's worth is very different to what some fool is wiling to pay.
It's worth basically nothing, even as scrap value, but in the right
markeplace at the right time, you could probably find some fool with
more money than sense who will pay a huge pile of money for it.

applepriceguide.com values them at US$30 - US$600 depending on condition.
<https://applepriceguide.com/product/macintosh-portable/>

liveauctioneers.com had one, with a bag and accessories, for auction
with an estimated price of US$650-US$700. (To see the sale price you
have to sign-up though.)
<https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/88749000_vintage-and-collectible-macintosh-portable-computer>


One auctioned on rrauction.com sold for US$723.
<https://www.rrauction.com/auctions/lot-detail/342172705796004>

Another idiotic website is trying to claim they are "extremely rare"
and is attempting to sell one for US$12,799!
<https://cinemaantiques.com/product/first-macintosh-portable-computer-as-new-vintage-super-iconic-rare-steve-jobs-design/>

[nospam]

Post by Your Name
What it's worth is very different to what some fool is wiling to pay.

like everything, it's worth exactly what someone is willing to pay.

they *do* have value to collectors.

if it's one of the clear plastic ones, then it's definitely worth a lot.

Post by Your Name
It's worth basically nothing, even as scrap value,

that's false.

[Martin Τrautmann]

Post by nospam
if it's one of the clear plastic ones, then it's definitely worth a lot.

A portable with clear plastics?

I don't know what the thread starter names as "portable". But if it's 33
years old, it would be a Mac SE/30 or the actual Apple Macintosh
Portable, with a 9,8" 640x480 monochrome LCD, 1 MB of RAM and a 40 MB
hard drive, which was introduced at USD 6500.

Yeah, this might be a real collectors' item.

The Portable also came without HD - but there still might be replacement
around for this drive, since it was SCSI.

The Lead Acid Battery might still be ok after all those years.

Personally, I still keep my first Mac, a Classic.

Oh, and a "clear plastic" might have been the iMacs from 1998, although
they where translucent only - or do you refer to the Mac 512k with
clear sides?
<http://vintagemacmuseum.com/collection/rare-items/>

This one would be really rare.

[nospam]

Post by Martin Τrautmann

Post by nospam
if it's one of the clear plastic ones, then it's definitely worth a lot.

A portable with clear plastics?

yes.

Post by Martin Τrautmann
I don't know what the thread starter names as "portable". But if it's 33
years old, it would be a Mac SE/30 or the actual Apple Macintosh
Portable, with a 9,8" 640x480 monochrome LCD, 1 MB of RAM and a 40 MB
hard drive, which was introduced at USD 6500.

it's the mac portable, with a dead battery and dead hard drive.

Post by Martin Τrautmann
Yeah, this might be a real collectors' item.

not really. some collectors might be interested but it's not *that*
valuable, unless it's clear plastic.

Post by Martin Τrautmann
The Portable also came without HD - but there still might be replacement
around for this drive, since it was SCSI.

it was scsi with an embedded cable, not an off-the-shelf scsi drive.
replacing it is going to be very difficult.

Post by Martin Τrautmann
The Lead Acid Battery might still be ok after all those years.

he said it was dead.

Post by Martin Τrautmann
Personally, I still keep my first Mac, a Classic.
Oh, and a "clear plastic" might have been the iMacs from 1998, although
they where translucent only - or do you refer to the Mac 512k with
clear sides?

no to both.

<https://www.macrumors.com/2019/09/17/vintage-macintosh-portable-prototy
pe-photos/>

[Martin Τrautmann]

Post by nospam

Post by Martin Τrautmann

Post by nospam
if it's one of the clear plastic ones, then it's definitely worth a lot.

A portable with clear plastics?

yes.
<https://www.macrumors.com/2019/09/17/vintage-macintosh-portable-prototy
pe-photos/>

Cool - "one of six known". That's actually rare.

I loved my PB190, even more than several successors. Current MBP are nice,
too (glad that the touchbar is gone again), but the keyboards always
wear out here. All is nice and thin, but sometimes too thin.

[Your Name]

Post by Martin Τrautmann

Post by nospam

Post by Martin Τrautmann

Post by nospam
if it's one of the clear plastic ones, then it's definitely worth a lot.

A portable with clear plastics?

yes.
<https://www.macrumors.com/2019/09/17/vintage-macintosh-portable-prototy
pe-photos/>

Cool - "one of six known". That's actually rare.

It's far too easy these days for a modder or scammer to simply
re-create clear plastic parts to replace the normal beige coloured ones.

Post by Martin Τrautmann
I loved my PB190, even more than several successors. Current MBP are nice,
too (glad that the touchbar is gone again), but the keyboards always
wear out here. All is nice and thin, but sometimes too thin.

[nospam]

Post by Your Name
It's far too easy these days for a modder or scammer to simply
re-create clear plastic parts to replace the normal beige coloured ones.

not without looking like a fake, it isn't.