ACT/Apricot - buying and selling machines etc

Introduction

ACT Apricot computers, hardware, software, manuals, cables, magazines, etc etc are fairly easy to give away to Apricot collectors.

Some items have a resale value but in general the demand is low so don't expect to get much for them.

Since the Apricot were sold around the world and Apricot collectors are also around the world, shipping often costs more than the agreed price of the collectible itself (if any).

Please have reasonable expectations when buying and selling.

Giving away Apricot stuff

I always accept donations! I can usually refund postage but please contact me first if you want that. My address is on this contacts page.

If you want to offer your Apricot stuff to a wider audience, please use the discussion list.

How I find Apricot stuff

Sometimes people contact me directly after finding this website. However I have found a lot of my Apricot stuff through eBay. I have found eBay to be a great way to find all sorts of vintage computer stuff from around the world. There are other auction sites but there is no forum as wide in scope and scale as eBay. Because of this, I have found I'm simply more likely to find something on eBay than anywhere else. In addition I use tools like the "saved searches" to email me for specific items I'm on the lookout for.

I use the feedback system to give me confidence in the sellers before bidding. And I am always careful to check the auction carefully for shipping costs. In some cases sellers will only ship to their home country but there is no harm in asking whether they would be prepared to ship outside (eg UK -> US). The worst they can do is say "no"! A lot of sellers already ship worldwide so you only need to ask when the auction doesn't list your country as a ship-to destination.

Buying Apricot stuff - eBay method

Join the discussion list. Apricots for sale should be posted on the list and if you join the list, you will get to know about them. The dicussion list instructions are on this contacts page.
Join eBay if you haven't already.
Search on eBay in Vintage Computing on eBay for "apricot".

Selling Apricot stuff - eBay method

Join eBay if you haven't already.
Submit your stuff for sale on eBay.
"Vintage" computers (which the Apricots are now) have their own subcategory on eBay - Computers & Networking / Vintage Computing Products. I recommend listing that you are willing to ship worldwide since Apricot collectors are distributed across the globe.
Include a picture if you can and as complete a description as you know.
Join the discussion list if you haven't already (see this contacts page).
Post the URL to your eBay auction to the discussion list.

PLEASE READ THIS! Shipping Apricot computers

Trust me, you will not regret reading this if you are going to be on the receiving end of of an old computer shipment.

This is a perfectly normal Apricot, right?:

Well, it would be if it hadn't been for the smash in the monitor casing and the end of the keyboard being broken:

You may be surprised to hear that this is one of the better packed machines I have received!! I haven't yet looked inside or powered it up to see whether there is any further damage.

What's my advice?

If you're receiving an Apricot, implore your shipper to read some relevant instructions and pack it well. It *will* cost more to pack it well but unfortunately I have never received a machine which has not sustained damage despite the sender's efforts to pack well. Most of them tried hard but just didn't know how to do it - it's not something we do often and we just don't get practice at doing it well. It will likely cost about $10-20 more to pack well and will take an extra hour to pack plus obtaining the shipping materials.

So, how to pack an Apricot? Absolute bare minimum instructions are as follows:

Completely encase each item (eg screen, keyboard, machine, external peripherals, etc) in bubble wrap. TWICE!! In other words, wrap it securely in bubble wrap once. Then wrap it again.
Never ever wrap two sizeable items (eg machine and monitor) together. Wrap them individually! This is why the above monitor got broken despite being encased in bubble wrap, cardboard then more bubble wrap.
For the SONY drives in Apricots it is absolutely essential to place some sort of protector in the floppy diskette drives before shipping. Without protection, the heads often fall off and the drive is permanently damaged. The machines originally came with small yellow disk protectors but usually these are lost. The next best alternative is to insert a 3.5" floppy disk into each drive. Do not use a valuable disk (eg the boot disk you are sending with the machine) - it should be any scrap disk in good condition you have lying around.

These are the basics, more complete instructions are available at Erik Klein's "How to pack old computer for transit"

If you think this is paranoid, imagine the box you have packed being rolled down a flight of stairs. Would everything inside survive? This may sound stupid but shipped packages go through a lot during transit.