Subject: Apple Collecting Concepts (LONG!!!!) From: Bryan Villados Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2 Message-ID: <250720001345571870%news001@nospam_macgeek.org> References: <8lagt3$2eo$1@nnrp1.deja.com> <8lcb0p$ne3$1@news.sdf> <3979cfc7$1@news1.svn.net> <8lclu1$fih$1@nnrp1.deja.com> <4zme5.42445$FQ.4648976@news0.telusplanet.net> <8ld6sn$qga$1@nnrp1.deja.com> <8lhruh$iaj$1@eskinews.eskimo.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-transfer-encoding: 8bit Mail-Copies-To: nobody User-Agent: YA-NewsWatcher/5.0.1 NNTP-Posting-host: onlyNews customer X-Trace: onlyNews customer NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2000 16:44:50 PDT Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2000 23:44:50 GMT I'm finding the thread "Last HS SCSI Card sold for $260.00 on Ebay" to be very interesting. One of the things I'm finding is that the majority of people who replied are more Apple II users than they are collectors. There's a clear distinction between users and collectors... "Users" use the equipment as mere appliances/tools. These are the people who regularly comment about "I can get a much much better piece of equipment for the same price." They have no interest in the spirit of the collecting aspect. And this is quite common among people who have been into the Apple II since the late 70's and/or early 80's. Users will also upgrade their Apple IIs to the maximum through the use of accelerators, IDE cards, and VGA displays. "Collectors" are a totally different breed... And users have a difficult time understanding collectors, sometimes to the point of users bashing their own heads on desks. Most collectors do use the equipment they own, but they're more interested in filling the gaps in their collections than just using the equipment. They'll research about the pieces that completed a unit, then they'll go out and get them. If you can't reason with this practice in the computer realm, then think about the other forms of collecting... Van Gogh... Picasso... Edsels... Beanie Babies... Baseball cards... Speaking of baseball cards, look at the baseball card that went for over $600,000 on eBay. Only collectors can comprehend the logic behind putting up that kind of dough on a piece of cardboard. The profile of a collector is quite intesting... Very driven to completeing collections... Makes a good living that brings in the income to afford such items... And researches very heavily on the historical significance of the collection. Collectors know quite a bit of information users would find completely useless. And they use these collections to educate others. Collectors also have a goal of achievement... Many CEOs that head the world's largest companies are collectors themselves, where they collect paintings, coins, cars, stamps, etc. Again, completing a collection is a sign of achievement. Geographically, Japan has more possessive collectors, especially in the Apple collecting realm. Many of the world's most impressive collections are based in Japan, which is the home of the largest Beatles collection. Two collectors I know in Japan have Apple collections I'm so envious by. I'm not impressed by their hardware... I'm more impressed in the documentation they own. I'm the curator of the Apple Museum-for-a-Day, which I started in 1996. I'm currently residing in Hawaii... And that makes it challenging when collecting Apple equipment and memorabilia. Very little of it ever crossed the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii. I had very little in the first two years of the Museum's existence. But in April 1998, I joined eBay and started shopping for the items to fill the gaps in the collection. I think this explains Japan's dillemma as well. The concept behind my Museum is to display Apple's legacy in terms of functionality, spirit, and contribution. Each of the 58+ units are functional and prepared not only for display purposes, but also for hands-on purposes. That means each machine has its own software and hardware. And it's very important that I keep each unit in the same configuration as you would have seen it the first year of its existence. In otherwords, I couldn't put an Iomega Zip drive on an Apple IIgs because it would throw off the historical accuracy of the unit. And that's also why I own an Apple IIe that is unenhanced. The concept I use is engined by my personal belief that the users, who have been using computers for less than 10 years, are spoiled with the great advances in technology they take for granted. So the Museum is really more about concepts and preaching than anything else. With this in mind, I collect items that build on the concept. I concentrate on items that document the history of Apple, such as what the Apple CEO's and Presidents were thinking, or what contributions Apple technologies have made that we appreciate today. That's why I own almost every book written about Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs, and many other players. Now, the collectors that pay $260 for a SCSI card are in a league I don't take part in. However, as a collector, I fully understand the logic behind making such bold purchases. I've made some what most people here would consider ridiculous purchases. But these were MUST HAVE items. For example, I paid over $200 on a 20-page b/w book Apple distributed to executives in January 1984 to commemorate the Apple IIc and Macintosh 128k. And I paid $150 for a 1998 b/w book that contains all the images Apple used during their "Think different" campaign. There is a huge difference between price and the "value" of an item. Value cannot be measured or predicted. The only way you can find the value of an item is to put the item on auction, then let the highest bidder take the item. People who are pissed off at the idea of spending $260 for a SCSI card have a set price in their head, but they're not concerned about the value of the card. Again, the people who think along the line of price are merely users and not collectors. I can only guess that the reason why the person paid $260 for a SCSI card is that he saw the importance of the card on some level. He may see the card as being the item that fills the gap in his collection. He may also already be using this card and needs another as a backup. I'm also guessing that other cards, such as a RAMFast SCSI card, could not be a replacement, not based on functionality, but based on the idea that it is NOT an Apple-logo component. Believe me guys... Third-party components have NO room in an Apple collection. It would ruin the integrity of the collection. It's like putting a fiberglass frame around a Picasso work of art. It serves its purpose functionally, but it's just not the same! I learned about the concept of historical accuracy, or the context of an item, in 1989. Sergio Aragones (MAD Magazine, Groo the Wanderer, etc.) made a public appearance in my town. I brought with me issue #1 of Groo, and a blank piece of glossy white cardboard. Sergio signed the comic book, then asked what I wanted him to draw on the cardboard. I wanted him to draw Groo, a 12th Century figure, bashing a computer with his sword. He had a hard time grasping the concept and he said that the concept would be out of context. Out of context... Never thought about that! People like Sergio want to keep their characters within context. And that's how collectors like myself want to keep our Apple collections. About a year ago, I was angry at the idea that an Apple II system (not the II+) was sold at a very high price (I think it was $690). I was angry because I wanted the unit so badly, but I couldn't afford it. I was also upset because the person who won the unit was from Japan. And they're known to pay very high prices on these units and memorabilia. And therefore they're the ones who are throwing off the value curve out of whack. Without much thought, I whined about it on comp.sys.apple2. But after posting, I thought about it more. And I came to understand the definition of value a lot more. If I want to keep collecting, then I must accept the value of these items, and to go with the flow. From that point on, I started bidding a lot more aggressively. And I have to in order to win these items. I don't have the benefit of taking advantage of garage sales, flea markets, and Goodwill stores like others in the continental US because these items never made it to Hawaii to begin with. Unlike the rest of the US, Hawaii residents are not considered pack rats. We have no cellars or basements to store unused items. We throw away what we don't use to save space (homes here are also smaller than those in the US). Therefore, many unused items, including Apple equipment, are thrown away. These items never had a chance to be re-sold. Again, it's the same in Japan. That's what makes my Apple collection even more impressive than those in the mainland. I've put more dollars and time into it. And that's why we pay the huge amount of dollars for an item a mainland person could get by paying just a few dollars. I hope that this explains the concept of collecting. And I hope users have a better grasp at the definition of "value", and not to mistake value for price. --- Bryan G Villados Curator, Apple Museum-for-a-Day Pearl City, Hawaii For replies via e-mail, please remove the "nospam_" from my e-mail address.