EMDarrow
New member
Hi! I'm in sunny southern California (south Riverside/north San Diego county, specifically), and have been interested in computers since my father first started teaching me about them in the early 90s. He and I built (386/33) and upgraded (Cyrix 386/486) my first computer together, and since then I've been hooked. When all the other kids my age were mowing lawns, raking leaves or delivering papers to make some extra money, I was helping people choose their first computer, setting it up, and teaching them about the online world: first with BBSes and AOL, then the internet.
For the past couple years, I've been heavily into thrifting in my local area, buying things either for my own personal use or to sell for a couple extra bucks. That all shifted a bit when I found a couple places in my area that sell e-waste, and I started finding computers among the discarded VCRs and microwaves. My first purchase was a lot of seven machines, mostly 386s and 486s, though among the pile was an original IBM 5150.
While yes, what I do ultimately is resell, all of what I buy has been turned in for scrap. Conditions usually vary from acceptable to downright beaten to heck, so my challenge is to find whats still useful, and find some use for what isn't. Recently, I've started dabbling in refurbishing cases, as the ones I get even in the best of situations are in less than good shape. Often they're missing pieces, and what is there has damage that can't simply be rubbed off with a magic eraser. Usually, what money I make isn't worth the time I put into it if we're talking in purely business terms, but my reasons are twofold. One, I love vintage hardware and learning new things about it, and two, I love taking machines that have been thrown in the trash and giving them a new life.
Honestly, I'm not sure what account type I would fall under on this site. I probably won't be much of a buyer, as my desire to keep what I buy usually ends after I've cleaned it up and made it work again. Since anything I bought here would ultimately end up in something else and sold, that would be a rules violation near as I can tell, so... yea, no buying. But what that means for my selling on here, I'd appreciate some clarification on that. Am I safe selling so long as I'm not selling anything I've bought on here? Do I have to be declared a Commercial Vendor?
Anyway, I think I've rambled long enough. I look forward to getting to know this site and its users, and I hope to be a positive addition to the Amibay community.
For the past couple years, I've been heavily into thrifting in my local area, buying things either for my own personal use or to sell for a couple extra bucks. That all shifted a bit when I found a couple places in my area that sell e-waste, and I started finding computers among the discarded VCRs and microwaves. My first purchase was a lot of seven machines, mostly 386s and 486s, though among the pile was an original IBM 5150.
While yes, what I do ultimately is resell, all of what I buy has been turned in for scrap. Conditions usually vary from acceptable to downright beaten to heck, so my challenge is to find whats still useful, and find some use for what isn't. Recently, I've started dabbling in refurbishing cases, as the ones I get even in the best of situations are in less than good shape. Often they're missing pieces, and what is there has damage that can't simply be rubbed off with a magic eraser. Usually, what money I make isn't worth the time I put into it if we're talking in purely business terms, but my reasons are twofold. One, I love vintage hardware and learning new things about it, and two, I love taking machines that have been thrown in the trash and giving them a new life.
Honestly, I'm not sure what account type I would fall under on this site. I probably won't be much of a buyer, as my desire to keep what I buy usually ends after I've cleaned it up and made it work again. Since anything I bought here would ultimately end up in something else and sold, that would be a rules violation near as I can tell, so... yea, no buying. But what that means for my selling on here, I'd appreciate some clarification on that. Am I safe selling so long as I'm not selling anything I've bought on here? Do I have to be declared a Commercial Vendor?
Anyway, I think I've rambled long enough. I look forward to getting to know this site and its users, and I hope to be a positive addition to the Amibay community.
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