Looking to buy/trade for Apple IIe in South Carolina

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Looking to buy/trade for Apple IIe in South Carolina

I'd like to get as close as possible to the one I had as a kid which was the following setup: original painted case/white keys, Enhanced kit, Monitor II, Extended 80 Column, Super Serial, two individual standard Apple 5.25 floppy drives.

 

Can make compromises but that's just what the perfect example would be.

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You can easily find what you

You can easily find what you are looking for on eBay.  None of those things are rare or difficult to find or particularly expensive (albiet it seems like a lot of people expect Apple II gear to still be free or nearly so like it was in the late 1990s to early 2000s).  Shipping will be your worst concern probably.

 

 

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The cards perhaps, but eBay
softwarejanitor wrote:

You can easily find what you are looking for on eBay.  None of those things are rare or difficult to find or particularly expensive (albiet it seems like a lot of people expect Apple II gear to still be free or nearly so like it was in the late 1990s to early 2000s).  Shipping will be your worst concern probably.

 

 

The cards perhaps, but eBay is not the best source (No one is paying $800 for your computer with several keys missing and no power cord or disk drives). I'd prefer to find something IRL to save cost, allow for possible trades, and to feel safer rather than risk shipping damage.

The computer itself, monitor, and drives I imagine would be the most difficult to get. Could probably order repro cards and the enhancement kit, though I wouldn't feel confident in my ability installing the enhancement kit.

 

I wish I knew the guy I sold mine to in 2020, I'd love to just buy it back.

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pipboy344 wrote
pipboy344 wrote:
softwarejanitor wrote:

You can easily find what you are looking for on eBay.  None of those things are rare or difficult to find or particularly expensive (albiet it seems like a lot of people expect Apple II gear to still be free or nearly so like it was in the late 1990s to early 2000s).  Shipping will be your worst concern probably.

 

 

 Broken keys to me are no big deal, I have 3rd printed keyswitch stems and a couple donor keyboards with good key switches in them.  As long as the keycaps aren't lost it is no big deal.  I have a few extras, but of course not every key, and some are getting fairly hard to find.  Power cord even less of an issue, you can buy them for around $2 each.  That said, $800 a //e needs to either be pristine with the original boxes and manuals or include extras or both.  I have a bunch of //e units to sell, but I am currently sitting on them because I haven't been able to get a reasonable price what I've got in them.  The ones I have to sell aren't necessarily cosmetically perfect, they've got scratches and patina.  They do however already have the RIFA caps switched out if not the entire power supply board and all the keys are there and working.  Disk drives sell separately.  I know how to pack these things (and it isn't cheap, it takes $10-$15 in packing materials) but you're right that not everyone does.  I was hoping to get $300-$350 net out of them after shipping and eBay fees, but that's proven to be difficult.  Shipping cost so much on the last one I sold I got quite a bit less than I wanted meaning I basically lost money on the deal.

 

 

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The monitor is really the

The monitor is really the biggest problem as far as shipping goes.  They are heavy and fragile.  Frankly I really don't use CRT monitors anymore, I use either a composite NTSC -> HDMI adapter or an A2VGA card which can do VGA out and usually then a VGA->HDMI adapter.  Most //e you find already have the enhancement in them, although a lot of the early white letter keyboard ones you describe didn't come that way.  Installing the kit is no big deal and those are readily available.  Most //e come with the extended 80 column card and it isn't uncommon to include a Disk ][ Controller card (dual IDC20) or an Apple 5.25 Controller (single DB19) as well.  Those cards are easily available as Apple made literally millions of them and clones were common back then as well as still made.  Super Serial Card likewise, Apple made millions of them, they're common and fairly cheap (under $100 generally) on eBay, although often they are missing the piggy cable but that's easy to make.  I've got a bunch of SSC cards, they often came with //e when I bought them.  Floppy drives are easy to find, you just need to get ones that work with the type of controller you have (or buy adapters), either DB19 that daisy chain for 2 drives or IDC20 that each plug into the card.

 

Anyway, nothing you are looking for is hard to find, but maybe not locally.  Watch you craigslist and Facebook Marketplace for local sellers, although if it is like here, mostly people looking to buy.  Albeit most of them essentially want you to give them stuff for free so they can flip it on eBay for a profit.

 

 

 

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softwarejanitor wrote:The
softwarejanitor wrote:

The monitor is really the biggest problem as far as shipping goes.  They are heavy and fragile.  Frankly I really don't use CRT monitors anymore, I use either a composite NTSC -> HDMI adapter or an A2VGA card which can do VGA out and usually then a VGA->HDMI adapter.  Most //e you find already have the enhancement in them, although a lot of the early white letter keyboard o

Fliping is the last thing on my mind. I just want to play games, light programing, some typing like I did as a kid. A monochrome green Monitor II is definitely what I want, I would despise using it on a modern television. I wouldn't do that for my game consoles and I wouldn't do that for an Apple II. 

I only sold what I had out of desperation for food back then, and I'll always regret it. I was thinking somewhere around $500 for what I was looking for. And I would want to trade any number of things I have in place or on top of that. Video Games, books, firearms, etc

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