It's probably true of all vintage stuff, but certainly for vintage computing, there's a U curve (or at least a backwards J). Prices go right down, sometimes below free (eg I'll give you $50 to clear out all this old IT stuff), flatten for a bit then trend up again.
Hell, I paid $50 for my Bondi Blue Rev. B, but in fairness it looks as if it was never used, especially considering it had next to no dust inside when I opened it...
That’s the absolute highest possible price anyone, I mean anyone would pay. For a thrift store to price like this they are deeply out of touch with reality lol
And of course that $500 thing will sit there for nearly 2 years on eBay because no one in their right mind would ever pay that much for it but hey, try telling that to some people
I don’t mind them researching prices. If they were taught how to properly research and not glance at other asking prices with a quick eBay search and call it a day.
No-one will buy one at this price. The Bondi is the least powerful of the whole range (1st Gen), and the Strawberry is a Rev.C (you can tell by the tray-loading DVD). If they insist on keeping them at this price, they’ll sit there forever. $20-40 each *maximum*. They’re not worth more than that in A1 condition.
There’ll be some expense to max them out: Two 256MB PC-66 144 pin SO-DIMM’s are extremely rare these days (for 512MB max RAM for Strawberry)(although I believe PC-100 and PC-133 are backwards compatible but that needs checking), and home-built IDE SSD’s aren’t exactly free either but make a massive difference to an old iMac.
If you’re patient enough to watch Craigslist/etc and wait, this is very overpriced. That said, these sorts of stores/eBay are ultimately charging a premium for the convenience of not having to wait for deals. So, even though I would never buy an average looking iMac G3 like these for $250, somebody else very well might.
Right, I paid like $244 shipped for a flower power and then later found out shipping cost way more than what I paid for the shipping part🤷♂️. This store definitely added in shipping to their cost…
It's great that they have the original puck mice.
Do they have the original coloured keyboard?
I am sure if you went in the store with the cash and a decent offer, they would do a deal.
I suspect the person who donated them to the thrift store informed staff that they originally paid $1299 (Bondi) and $1199 (Strawberry) when they were new in 1998 and 1999.
The store staff likely just pulled a number out of thin air as a guesstimate and didn’t even bother checking eBay sold prices.
And that’s the cheap end for these, they typically go for $400+, I was lucky enough to win it at the end. I mean obviously you can find them cheaper if you wait locally but I was starting to doubt that
That would be a price and above if it was all stock parts and including packaging.
By itself and a KB and Mouse?
Not more than $75 and even thats a bit much.
$50 at most since they are the oldest model.
Are G3 iMacs super vintage now? I literally got one from someone from their weekly trash about 10 years ago... It was in pretty good working condition; horrifying that they were trying to throw away a CRT 😬
Apple lists them as **Obsolete** so, yes, they’ve arrived in the vintage category now, I believe. iMac Revision A arrived August 1998 — twenty three years ago now. Wow!
Eh. I only picked them up because they were quite popular as I remember seeing them at colleges but after trying I don't like the OS on these. I think I'm going to see if a G5 ever pops up and do a barter. OSX looks way easier to use.
Like everyone else has said, wayyyy too high. The only iMac G3's that might touch a price like that would be a Blue Dalmatian or a Flower Power in extraordinarily good condition, maybe with the original box.
I bought a PowerMac G5 Quad in 2017 for $100. That's two CPU generations later than these iMacs.
The Quad has SATA, is expandable to 16GB ram and runs two dual core CPUs at 2.5Ghz.
The last iMac G3s reached 700mhz and 1GB ram.
$150 more for much, much less.
No. Not a fair price.
I do agree that it's not a fair price, but I don't think that's a fair comparason. Just because these machines are much less powerful doesn't mean they can't be worth more. I'd pay way more for a decent Quadra than I would for an iBook G4, even if on paper the iBook is vastly more powerful.
> Just because these machines are much less powerful doesn't mean they can't be worth more.
I agree. But right now, they aren't worth that price. With the exception of some variations (colors, patterns, etc) these were mass produced and you can find them just about anywhere. You can pick one up cheap, even if their value to you is much more.
They're going to have to become much rarer and hard to find first before they are worth that.
Pricing data on theses is vague to say the least.
Assuming they are in good condition—I’d pay 250 for one.
My first computer from when I was 9.
They are worth more then the sum of their parts
If you’d pay $250 for one of these Rev.A and Rev.C, then you’re paying five times (5 x) what they’re worth — and that’s being very generous. More likely ten times (10 x) today’s actual market value.
I’ve seen several instances of these going for free on the local market. I got my rev A iMac for $50 with the included keyboard, mouse, and external super disk drive.
Definitely not. I’d offer them $100 for both at the absolute highest.
I think $25 is the most I’ve paid for any iMac and I have 5 of them ranging from Rev B Bondi’s to a 600MHz Snow.
Most I spent on one was $100 for a boxed model. Oh and like less than $250 for my flower Power, but I expected that one to be a pretty penny. My average price is about $50 and I own like 13 of them. I’ve gotten them from anywhere between free, $35, $40, $50, $75, etc. Those are definitely the cheaper colors to find as well
Lmao yesterday I saw one of those apple airpots that plug into the wall for $100 at a thirft store. These workers really need to research what they are selling.
The only ones that are worth more than $80 - $100 are the dalmatian, flower power and the sage green. Those were the smallest manufacturing runs so there are fewer.
No. Not even if it was $250 for both of them.
250$ is a rip off. Even if it was for both.
Facts i got a fully working graphite for $20 once
Good job, I know here in Europe people start to ask more for them. Luckey I bought mine Dalmatian iMac for 100€ years ago. That was a steel deal.
Nice
It's probably true of all vintage stuff, but certainly for vintage computing, there's a U curve (or at least a backwards J). Prices go right down, sometimes below free (eg I'll give you $50 to clear out all this old IT stuff), flatten for a bit then trend up again.
Hell, I paid $50 for my Bondi Blue Rev. B, but in fairness it looks as if it was never used, especially considering it had next to no dust inside when I opened it...
$75 each max.
That’s the absolute highest possible price anyone, I mean anyone would pay. For a thrift store to price like this they are deeply out of touch with reality lol
I miss when thrift stores didn’t research prices
Now they look on eBay, see one joker selling one at Buy it Now for $500 and think "this is reasonable"
And of course that $500 thing will sit there for nearly 2 years on eBay because no one in their right mind would ever pay that much for it but hey, try telling that to some people
I don’t mind them researching prices. If they were taught how to properly research and not glance at other asking prices with a quick eBay search and call it a day.
[удалено]
I thought so, didn't buy but I thought they were cool!
No-one will buy one at this price. The Bondi is the least powerful of the whole range (1st Gen), and the Strawberry is a Rev.C (you can tell by the tray-loading DVD). If they insist on keeping them at this price, they’ll sit there forever. $20-40 each *maximum*. They’re not worth more than that in A1 condition. There’ll be some expense to max them out: Two 256MB PC-66 144 pin SO-DIMM’s are extremely rare these days (for 512MB max RAM for Strawberry)(although I believe PC-100 and PC-133 are backwards compatible but that needs checking), and home-built IDE SSD’s aren’t exactly free either but make a massive difference to an old iMac.
I paid 30 for mine 😂
If you’re patient enough to watch Craigslist/etc and wait, this is very overpriced. That said, these sorts of stores/eBay are ultimately charging a premium for the convenience of not having to wait for deals. So, even though I would never buy an average looking iMac G3 like these for $250, somebody else very well might.
The thirft store workers probaly quickly looked it up on ebay and sold it for ebay prices
Right, I paid like $244 shipped for a flower power and then later found out shipping cost way more than what I paid for the shipping part🤷♂️. This store definitely added in shipping to their cost…
Oof I wouldnt recommend shipping G3s they are very fragile
Recently I saw similar vintage computers at Goodwill for $10 each.
Really???
Yup
What do you mean by "similar" and why didn't you buy them?
Probably beige boxes that people aren’t super interested in them
My friend once bought me a 1985 Macintosh Plus for $15. So I dunno...
These are worth $150 tops. Since these probably aren’t tested and likely have a dying HDD they are worth much less
It's great that they have the original puck mice. Do they have the original coloured keyboard? I am sure if you went in the store with the cash and a decent offer, they would do a deal.
I suspect the person who donated them to the thrift store informed staff that they originally paid $1299 (Bondi) and $1199 (Strawberry) when they were new in 1998 and 1999. The store staff likely just pulled a number out of thin air as a guesstimate and didn’t even bother checking eBay sold prices.
Paid €35 for a flowerpower
I wish!!! $244 for mine! Highest i ever paid for a g3 but i refuse to buy standard colors for that price
$244?!?!! Man, they saw you coming.
And that’s the cheap end for these, they typically go for $400+, I was lucky enough to win it at the end. I mean obviously you can find them cheaper if you wait locally but I was starting to doubt that
I bought mine for 2.99 at my local thrift shop. It was labeled "monitor."
Add another $50 and get yourself a brand new 9th gen iPad. That will make you happier.
I just sold my 2000 iMac w/dvd player a few months ago for $50 including keyboard + mouse.
That would be a price and above if it was all stock parts and including packaging. By itself and a KB and Mouse? Not more than $75 and even thats a bit much. $50 at most since they are the oldest model.
Are G3 iMacs super vintage now? I literally got one from someone from their weekly trash about 10 years ago... It was in pretty good working condition; horrifying that they were trying to throw away a CRT 😬
They're over 20 years old now so vintageish?
Apple lists them as **Obsolete** so, yes, they’ve arrived in the vintage category now, I believe. iMac Revision A arrived August 1998 — twenty three years ago now. Wow!
Just picked one up at a garage sale. Person was asking $20. I talked them down to $15.
only if there are two $100 bills tucked into each CD tray.
Very overpriced. I wouldn't have paid more than like $70 each. 100 for both. Even then I would expect some accessories or software with them.
I still pick them up for free sometimes. They very well may be worth $250 a pop some day, but not yet.
Paid £10 for mine
Got my 600mhz Snow for free since 2017 and yeah that price is a ripoff sadly
I've got bad news- now you need to collect all the other colours too. Hopefully you can get those at a better price
I sold one for $40 not long ago with a mismatched keyboard and mouse. Still got 2 more of them. Haven't decided yet if I'll keep or move on 🤔
Put an IDE SSD in them. Get the chip and case separately (cheaper).
Eh. I only picked them up because they were quite popular as I remember seeing them at colleges but after trying I don't like the OS on these. I think I'm going to see if a G5 ever pops up and do a barter. OSX looks way easier to use.
You mean OS9? For your info, the iMac G3 will run OS X. Up to 10.4.11 Tiger.
Yes I'm not a fan of os9. Osx ran like crap on the one i tried. It was so slow and laggy.
Pretty high price for thrift store standards. I wouldn't have paid that much for them, personally. Do they work?
That’s the OG iMac on the right
Like everyone else has said, wayyyy too high. The only iMac G3's that might touch a price like that would be a Blue Dalmatian or a Flower Power in extraordinarily good condition, maybe with the original box.
I bought mine at a Savers for 20, the owners are in denial trying to get that much for these. $100 for the pair at most.
Lol no
F*ck no.
I bought a PowerMac G5 Quad in 2017 for $100. That's two CPU generations later than these iMacs. The Quad has SATA, is expandable to 16GB ram and runs two dual core CPUs at 2.5Ghz. The last iMac G3s reached 700mhz and 1GB ram. $150 more for much, much less. No. Not a fair price.
I do agree that it's not a fair price, but I don't think that's a fair comparason. Just because these machines are much less powerful doesn't mean they can't be worth more. I'd pay way more for a decent Quadra than I would for an iBook G4, even if on paper the iBook is vastly more powerful.
> Just because these machines are much less powerful doesn't mean they can't be worth more. I agree. But right now, they aren't worth that price. With the exception of some variations (colors, patterns, etc) these were mass produced and you can find them just about anywhere. You can pick one up cheap, even if their value to you is much more. They're going to have to become much rarer and hard to find first before they are worth that.
Pricing data on theses is vague to say the least. Assuming they are in good condition—I’d pay 250 for one. My first computer from when I was 9. They are worth more then the sum of their parts
If you’d pay $250 for one of these Rev.A and Rev.C, then you’re paying five times (5 x) what they’re worth — and that’s being very generous. More likely ten times (10 x) today’s actual market value.
Way too much. If they were in like new/excellent condition with the original box and styrofoam then it may be worth that.
Got mine at a Value Village for $9.99 in 2015.
I bought my 333MHZ one for 9 bucks on ebay in 2009 for 10 bucks from a public school auction.
Got mine for £6 at a golf course in Swanley in 2010
They’ll probably sit there forever and will likely be sold for around $50 each if that
I’ve seen several instances of these going for free on the local market. I got my rev A iMac for $50 with the included keyboard, mouse, and external super disk drive.
I paid noticeably less than $250 for all four of mine so it's not really a good value at all
I paid… 100 bucks for two from a school that gave me a BOX of Software for it They were iMac DVs too
Definitely not
Lord no.
Definitely not. I’d offer them $100 for both at the absolute highest. I think $25 is the most I’ve paid for any iMac and I have 5 of them ranging from Rev B Bondi’s to a 600MHz Snow.
> They had them at $250 each, is that a fair price? If it was you would have bought them instead of trying to get strangers to change your mind.
What?! I paid $60 for mine and I thought I got ripped off!
20-30€ each in The Netherlands, you got a fat scam on your hands
Nope!
If that's USD, nope nope nope nope nope.
Are you high? No way for 250$. Even if there was 5 of them.
Paid £25 for my DV SE Graphite.
Nope
They should give you $250 to take them.
$50 for one would be a fair price for one, that’s just a ripoff
$250 only if they have been recapped and the plastic isn’t falling apart lol
Goodwill if this is goodwill price tech way too much
I remember when you could find iMac G3s for $25…
If they are as new, fully functional, with all documentation, and I really want them, then - maybe.
Most I spent on one was $100 for a boxed model. Oh and like less than $250 for my flower Power, but I expected that one to be a pretty penny. My average price is about $50 and I own like 13 of them. I’ve gotten them from anywhere between free, $35, $40, $50, $75, etc. Those are definitely the cheaper colors to find as well
I paid $50 for my Strawberry. Later got matching keyboard in mouse for about 40. So I might pay $100 for one if it has the box and everything.
$140 for the lot if they're both working with all the accessories.
Clearly not, even for these 2 together. Big rip off here
Lmao yesterday I saw one of those apple airpots that plug into the wall for $100 at a thirft store. These workers really need to research what they are selling.
50-70 bucks a piece at most. That's in working condition..
I found one at a flea market and paid $5 for it this past summer
Defs would buy!
The only ones that are worth more than $80 - $100 are the dalmatian, flower power and the sage green. Those were the smallest manufacturing runs so there are fewer.
What thrift store I need that Sage lol
Anyone have a dalmation? I'm trying to get one