HP Forum Archive 13

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HP-91 How rare? Message #1 Posted by Michael Meyer on 4 Aug 2003, 7:20 p.m. Quick question: I don't remember reading or hearing that HP-91's are that rare, yet I don't remember ever seeing one for sale on eBay. A search doesn't show any either currently or in completed auctions. The Museum shows it as "somewhat difficult" to find, but I've seen far more of the others in that category.... Has it become more rare, or have I just not noticed the auctions? Michael

Re: HP-91 How rare? Message #2 Posted by Massimo Gnerucci (Italy) on 4 Aug 2003, 7:35 p.m., in response to message #1 by Michael Meyer No, they don't show up frequently, however, sometimes, they may be hidden in a lot: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3035907091 I asked for permission to bid on them but the seller replied - quite rudely - that they were for sale in the USA only. Given this, and since I don't like when links to eBay items are reported here, I thought that this seller did not deserve to see his items sold for an amount much higher than his dull auction title was worth. Massimo

Re: HP-91 How rare? Message #3 Posted by Massimo Gnerucci (Italy) on 4 Aug 2003, 7:39 p.m., in response to message #1 by Michael Meyer BTW: do you know who mlmeyermd is? ;-)

Re: HP-91 How rare? Message #4 Posted by Raymond Del Tondo on 4 Aug 2003, 8:42 p.m., in response to message #1 by Michael Meyer It depends. - on overall look; - on what comes with it; - on how/if it works; - on something I forgot here;-) The units in the eBay auction #3035907091 look very used from the picture, and the description says '..in unknown working condition..' which tells nearly all about the machines. From the user's view, they're just trash, because it's 99.9 percent sure they are *not* working properly. From the collector's view they're like a two blade knife: If you don't have an 91, maybe you want to get one regardless of it's condition. If you want them for display, these units seem to be hard work to look nice (and complete) again... Raymond

Re: HP-91 How rare? Message #5 Posted by Massimo Gnerucci (Italy) on 4 Aug 2003, 8:58 p.m., in response to message #4 by Raymond Del Tondo Hi Raymond, four Topcats for less than $90 is a fair price to me even though you'll have to work on them a little (?) to end up with 1 or 2 working units... and the 91 in the middle row doesn't look so ugly. Nevertheless I agree with your points. Massimo

Re: HP-91 How rare? Message #6 Posted by Michael Meyer on 4 Aug 2003, 11:34 p.m., in response to message #5 by Massimo Gnerucci (Italy) Yes, it's me, of course, that bought the lot. The guy was really pretty nice to me, on the phone anyway. And I really enjoy the restoration part. And I thought no one else spotted the auction. Silly me. Michael

Re: HP-91 How rare? Message #7 Posted by David Smith on 5 Aug 2003, 2:29 p.m., in response to message #1 by Michael Meyer My estimates are that HP91 and 97S machines show up 8-12 times a year on Ebay. HP-92 machines are mayby twice as scarce.

Re: HP-91 How rare? Message #8 Posted by Michael Meyer on 5 Aug 2003, 7:36 p.m., in response to message #7 by David Smith That's really pretty rare... given how many calculators sell on eBay. Thanks! Hopefully at least one will be restorable for my collection and maybe the other will sell and pay for the lot. I've never sold on eBay, but it's getting time, so my hobby might be a little more self-supporting. Besides, it's fair; it takes some time to restore these things! RTN2RPN, Michael

Re: HP-91 How rare? Message #9 Posted by David Smith on 6 Aug 2003, 3:13 p.m., in response to message #8 by Michael Meyer Some people like the bare simplicity of the HP-91, but the HP-97 is a LOT more capable of a machine... for usually a lot less money.

True, but this is more for collecting... Message #10 Posted by Michael Meyer on 6 Aug 2003, 9:19 p.m., in response to message #9 by David Smith No doubt!! I LOVE the 97!! Pictures just don't do it justice (like the 71B). I "pictured" a much bigger machine. The 97 is really a reasonable size, given the desktop concept. Like other HP's, a beauty to behold and use. And I really like working on them... the quality of the engineering shines through. As our friend Luiz has said, it's great to think about the human factor behind the design. Anyway, my interest in the 91 is just to add to the collection, frankly. Otherwise, I'd have only one spice, maybe one or two voyagers, etc. Michael

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