Seller unloading a lot of Model M's on ebay

[nowsharing]

Ebay seller Ikebdog is unloading a lot of early 90's Model M's right now. They are mostly 1397661's, which are identical to 1391401's according to clickykeyboards. The auctions start at either 9.99 with a cable, or 7.99 without. I bought this one with no bidding competition. It seems to be the third time he's listed most of them, for whatever reason people aren't buying them. The shipping is a steep 17.65, which could be the culprit. Although I feel that 27.64 for a nice looking M with the original cable is a decent price.

[nowsharing]

Nice buy. I'd love to see the expression on a seller's face when the keyboard they were expecting $5 for goes for almost $200. I sold the fugliest shoes I've ever owned and had the same thing happen. I bought reissue reebok pumps in '01 for $20 online, and never used them because they look like giant space boots. I got $265 for them on ebay...we should have all invested in keyboards and pumps.

[wheel83]

the space savers are going for ridiculous prices.  i recently got a nice condition one with wordstar keys for only $85 bucks, i'm gonna slap on some other keys and call it a day.  i almost posted the link here, but i remembered i wanted to win it

[masonkbgeek]

Just placed a little bid on three of them.  Two for gifts and one for me.  And I got brown Filco today, so today has been a day of keyboards.  (First post )

[FKSSR]

Nice!  GL!  And come by and post more often.

[masonkbgeek]

Hi, maybe I will.  I afraid I don't have too much to contribute, though.  Others here are much more knowledgeable about keyboards and handy modders.  The only think I'm working on right now is a way to flash third party keyboards so that they look like Apple keyboards and can use OS X's special keys.  (That, or a way to tap the keyboard input at a low level and redirect keycodes to emulate a Mac keyboard).  If I ever get that working, I'll post it up.

By the way, I just won two of the three bids for $9.99, + $14 shipping total.  So I just got two Model M's with PS/2 cords for $17/ea, S&H included.  Thanks for the great tip; I think I got a good deal here (depending on the keyboard's condition).  It looks like Mike is going to get a nice gift and Amir is going to miss out.  (We won't tell him .  

Also, the Model M is the very first keyboard I ever typed on, in my 5th grade typing class, on (I believe), a Tandy.  I'm excited to use the very first keyboard that I ever typed with again.

[andb]

the space savers are going for ridiculous prices.  i recently got a nice condition one with wordstar keys for only $85 bucks, i'm gonna slap on some other keys and call it a day.  i almost posted the link here, but i remembered i wanted to win it

Is your wordstar keyed mini pn 1392464? I picked up one of these not to long ago and have never heard of anyone else who has one. I've wondered how rare it is. I'm planning to get the all black keys from Unicomp for it, partially because I dont want to wear down these unusual keys.

[wheel83]

im too lazy to look but its got wordstar lettering in green i believe.  i have no need for them.  but its a very new condition board.

[nowsharing]

I have a theory that there's a slashdot effect going on right now that has boosted the price of M's across the board, which is also probably fueling the fight for the cream of the crop models such as the space-saver. I always enjoyed using my father's M at his veterinary practice, but didn't realize exactly why until I read an article on slashdot.org a few weeks ago. That article could account for the recent boost in membership & lurkers (it's why I'm here), the peak prices, and maybe even the unicomp supply shortage, as they were the american-dream heroes in the article.

[masonkbgeek]

They came today.  They're exactly as I remember.  Beautiful keyboards.  They have a softer and less snappy feel than the Unicomp that I'm using now, probably from use.  They're also quieter and have less lateral play in the keycaps than this Customizer 104.  They were both manufactured on 17 August 1992.  I actually prefer the feel to the Uni here, but, unfortunately, the want of an option key prevents me from using one as a daily driver (I use Mac, and the Option/Alt key gets constant use).

[andb]

im too lazy to look but its got wordstar lettering in green i believe.  i have no need for them.  but its a very new condition board.

Funny  You have one of the rarest spacesavers around as far as I know. I managed to get one a few months back, and there has been one sold on clickykeyboards.com. Other than that I've never seen another wordstar spacesaver online. Any one else seen or have one of these?

as per: http://www.clickykeyboards.com/index.cfm/fa/items.main/parentcat/9242/subcatid/0/id/120575

[ozar]

Of course, Ebay always surprises me.  Where do people find this stuff??

Sometimes, it seems like certain sellers must have an endless supply of "new in box" Model M keyboards.  Not sure how they keep producing them.

[rnak92a]

A little off topic but has anyone noticed that Clickykeyboards seems to be getting down to the bottom of the barrel for their boards?  A few new Lexmark boards and the only cables they have are with a snapped off plastic connector!

I appreciate the "museum" service but I wonder if people have finally emptied their warehouses during this recession.

Of course, Ebay always surprises me.  Where do people find this stuff??

- Ripster

Brandon is quite low on his supply.  He did have a couple 1987 1391401 the other day, but that's it--no space savers, M5-1, or anything else of the kind.  His prices are high, but you always get an A-grade keyboard that he fully stands behind, unlike the schmoes on eBay.  Plus, he's a hell of a nice guy.  

Cheers,
~rn.

[Mercen_505]

I bought one of the M-2 keyboards that was up for auction, and got it for 3.50 USD (sweet!). It's a rubber dome board, but it's not noisy and stiff like the quiet touch model M boards. It cleaned up well, and I'm typing on it right now  

I'm thinking of swapping the guts out for some BSs if they'll fit so I'll finally have a fully functional M2.

[clickclack]

I bought my first mechanical keyboard from this ebay seller (ikebdog) for $9.99 and it was so great I went back to buy the other ones that were still up, but by the time I did they were all gone.
It arrived in a narrow rectangular box and had padding only on the top and bottom of the board, not the left and right sides. It was in great shape though and was pretty damn clean! I did email them and said they might want to protect the edges, so if it takes a hit from the side the internal rivets wont pop. And they thanked me for the tip, but I think ripster more or less proved that they are a bit more durable than previously thought.

Just as a word of caution though, this seller puts very minimal information down regarding the boards they sell and it looks like they just copy and paste the listing info. As I saw two space saver "similar" keyboards that were being called clicky but when I did some research they were not! But I was unable to get back to him before the auction closed. Oh well I hope whoever recieved them knew that...sorry I couldn't respond sooner.