28 May, 2003 ...
and then one day you wake up, and things are just not the same anymore...
And so it is with the 'Computer Garage'...
As of today, I am with great regret announcing the dissolution of the major
part of the Computer Garage collection of classic computers and related
materials.
First; I will detail the method in which this will be done, and then I will
detail the reasons and events that have lead up to this decision.
If you are seeking the usual "e;Computer Garage"e; collection pages: Enter the Computer Garage virtual museum
If you are seeking the catalog page of items being offered: View the Computer Garage catalog pages
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The dissollution and redistribution:
With the exception of between six and ten units that have particular 'history' with me, all items in the collection will be disbursed. These items will be specified shortly.
Beginning now, and proceeding over the next few months as needed a 'catalog' page will be maintained on the 'Computer Garage' site.
For each item there will be a description, a thumbnail picture when practical, an estimated shipping weight, and a date. From the date shown, offers will be taken on the item for seven days. At the end of that time, the highest offer of reasonable value will be awarded the item. If no offers are received on an item, or the offers are insufficient, a new date may be established.
Since the intent is not to start 'eBay' like bidding wars, the quantity of or amounts of offers received will not be disclosed either on the page or through direct communication.
Once an item has been awarded, payment for the item and shipping must be received within seven days of notification of award or the item will be offered to the next closest offer. Optionally, COD shipment can be requested on a Money Order/Certified Funds basis, but any COD items will be shipped via 2-3 day method with the accompaning increase in shipping/handling rate. Of course, if you are within driving distance of S.E. Kansas, you can save some $$ by coming by and picking the items up.
Offers should be made by email to: jimw@agora.rdrop.com
Payments for accepted offers can be sent to:
James Willing
The Computer Garage
P.O. Box 242
Yates Center, KS.66783-0242
Payment may be via check, money order, or similar method. No forms of electronic payment are being accepted at this time.
There will be one exception in the method of awarding of items with regard to determination of 'winning' offer. A year or so back, Sellam spearheaded a fund raising drive when a major part of the collection was in imminent threat of being lost to a storage auction. Were it within my pervue at the present time to allow it, I would offer any of the people who donated funds at the time free choice of some number of items that they wished in return for their past support.
However, since my current situation does not allow this I offer the following: Any person who had donated funds toward the collections past storage fees who makes an offer on any item or items will be awarded the item if their offer is within 25% of the highest offer received for that item during the offering period.
Hardware and peripheral items will be listed first. Over the next few weeks/months printed materials will be getting scanned for archiving and then added to the offering. Many of the printed items had not been listed on the 'Garage' site so there may be some interesting appearances.
For any given item, if it remains unclaimed for an extended period it will become subject to disposal by whatever means necessary. Unpleasant on many levels, but this is what has become necessary.
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What has lead to this action:
The collection as it currenty exists is the end result of nearly thirty years of working in the computer industry and represents both machines that I had personally worked with or had a significant interest in, and machines that I was merely trying to save from the scrap heap.
The sad part about history is that while important, it also tends to be large and fairly heavy. This is true regardless of if you are speaking about books, media, or hardware.
And while books and media can be preserved in more 'compact' forms, this is not true for the hardware of which I have a fair amount. As one accumulates more, unless they are particularly fortunate or adept at things financial, they also accumulate ever increasing costs for the continuing storage and preservation of the materials. After a while, these costs can become overwhelming.
At one point, I was paying over $400.00 a month in storage fees for the parts of the collection that did not actually reside in the Garage (when still located in Oregon). And while I have been able to significantly reduce the storage fees since the move to Kansas, they are still nearly $100.00 a month.
While this may seem a somewhat minimal (if not insignificant to some) amount to deal with, it is actually a larger percentage of my monthly income with the career change to accompanied the move. So in fact, the burden has actually increased.
To put this in perspective, when still in Oregon I had personal debts (mortgage, recurring storage charges, and such things) of over $200,000 which I just never seemed to gain any ground on. Since the move, I have been able to reduce the remaining debts to right around $40,000, but have again found myself in the position of just not being able to gain any ground on them, and more disturbingly as things slow in the summer season I find myself actually losing ground.
This adversely impacts both the business and family, as we have twice had to move when unable to keep up with little things like rent, utilities, etc... And I've had it with schlepping boxes!
I want to oversee the redistribution of the items in the collection before I lose control of it.
Establishing and building up the new business/career has taken more time, investment, and effort than originally expected. And while in general terms we are not as far off 'plan' as it could have been considering the current state of the local and national economy, I just can not continue to ask my family to make additional sacrifices for another two to three years in order to continue to maintain the collection and have to struggle by week by week.
Were it just me, it might not be an issue but that is not the situation. I have maintained the collection as well as financed (when needed) new acqusitions almost completely out-of-pocket over the years, and long ago stopped trying to figure how much had been spent in the efforts. It was just getting too depressing...
Even when something is given/donated it still comes with an attached cost: transport, shipping, storage, repairs/restoration, etc... There is still 'no free lunch'...
So... barring the arrival of some unforeseen benefactor or a sudden 'lucky streak' in PowerBall, (of course, hard to win when you can't really afford to play, eh) the sad reality is that it is time to let it go...
Aside to Mr. Gates: remember a few years back when I loaned you an original Altair 8800 for your Smithsonian interview? Then rebuilt the (largely demolished) 8800B that your associates had found? Heck, for $100k I could eliminate all of my debts and buy a building here to establish a permanent home for the collection. Feeling generous?
Some may ask, 'if things are that dire, why not a major eBay effort?' Well; two reasons. I suppose the 'self-serving' one first - I would prefer that the items went to someone who has some true appreciation for them rather than just someone who has some money to drop and a big 'bidding jones' on at the moment. And then, the 'real world' reason - I can't. In part because I owe eBay money from past auctions and in part because of complaints filed due to excessive delays in getting items shipped. (Truth sucks some days, eh?)
To get back to some level of 'stability', I need to raise just shy of $10,000 by mid-August at the latest. Should that effort fail, well... Unpleasentness at the very least... And to salvage the latest house deal I need to come up with $2500 in the next couple of weeks.
Life just keeps getting better, eh? (major ironic flag here)
Over the past few months, I've already sacrificed some (non-computer
related) items that had more meaning to me than a large part of the items in
the collection.
What an unpleasent realization that was one recent morning...
It just has to stop one way or the other...
All items that have previously been offered recently will continue to be shipped as quickly as time and finances permit. Much of the time it is a matter of getting payments in fast enough to stay ahead of the bills so the bank does not take the money before I can get to it...
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My warmest regards and thanks to all who have supported my efforts over the
years.
My primary regret is that I did not have the skills necessary to accomplish the
greater goals.
-jim
Last update: 11-Jul-2003