15C LE - What the heck is a fair price?

[Mark Hardman]

Bob,

This is incredibly cool!

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/11-17-1...st-1693076

The President, First Lady and Shelby Foote are somber because they are visiting a memorial site. Unlike some, they understand how to act appropriately.

[rprosperi]

(05-09-2018 03:09 AM)Mark Hardman Wrote:  Bob,

This is incredibly cool!

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/11-17-1...st-1693076

The President, First Lady and Shelby Foote are somber because they are visiting a memorial site. Unlike some, they understand how to act appropriately.

Not the same Bob Prosperi I'm afraid Mark, though I occasionally receive email apparently intended for him, typically on topics related to the Gettysburg Battlefield.

[Mark Hardman]

(05-09-2018 03:31 AM)rprosperi Wrote:  Not the same Bob Prosperi I'm afraid Mark, though I occasionally receive email apparently intended for him, typically on topics related to the Gettysburg Battlefield.

Ahhh, what a let-down. Likely the Bob that worked for the NPS gets emails about HP calculators.

[Michael de Estrada]

I never liked the whole concept of a limited edition collectors’ issue of the HP 15c with more attention paid to the fancy presentation box than to the quality of the calculator itself. All that happened was that greedy profiteers like Samson Cables bought huge lots of them and then resold them at obscene prices. If it been simply reintroduced as a standard unlimited model like the HP 12c, then no doubt it would sell for no more than a HP 35s. I bought seven of the HP 15c LE, all for less than $100, gave three away as gifts to friends, and kept the remaining four. They have all been opened, so none are NIB, which is the really important factor when determining the price of this sort of thing. My best guess is that you will not get more than $250 for the calculators with cases alone, and the low numbered complete one will have some added value, but probably no more than $500. From my standpoint, the DM 15L has completely trumped the HP 15c LE, and if I feel an urge to use a calculator with a really good keyboard, then I’ll break out my old beat up but perfectly working Made in USA HP 15c, yeeeehaaaaa !

Now, if you have any HP 50g that are NIP, then you can make a fortune !

[rprosperi]

(05-10-2018 01:09 AM)Michael de Estrada Wrote:  I never liked the whole concept of a limited edition collectors’ issue of the HP 15c with more attention paid to the fancy presentation box than to the quality of the calculator itself.... [and] I bought seven of the HP 15c LE... gave three away as gifts to friends, and kept the remaining four.

It's a strange hobby isn't it?

[badaze]

(05-10-2018 01:09 AM)Michael de Estrada Wrote:  I never liked the whole concept of a limited edition collectors’ issue of the HP 15c with more attention paid to the fancy presentation box than to the quality of the calculator itself. All that happened was that greedy profiteers like Samson Cables bought huge lots of them and then resold them at obscene prices. If it been simply reintroduced as a standard unlimited model like the HP 12c, then no doubt it would sell for no more than a HP 35s. I bought seven of the HP 15c LE, all for less than $100, gave three away as gifts to friends, and kept the remaining four. They have all been opened, so none are NIB, which is the really important factor when determining the price of this sort of thing. My best guess is that you will not get more than $250 for the calculators with cases alone, and the low numbered complete one will have some added value, but probably no more than $500. From my standpoint, the DM 15L has completely trumped the HP 15c LE, and if I feel an urge to use a calculator with a really good keyboard, then I’ll break out my old beat up but perfectly working Made in USA HP 15c, yeeeehaaaaa !

Now, if you have any HP 50g that are NIP, then you can make a fortune !

Just one question. In case you will sell the remaining items. Will you sell them the price you paid or market price ?

[Michael de Estrada]

(05-10-2018 05:44 AM)badaze Wrote:  

(05-10-2018 01:09 AM)Michael de Estrada Wrote:  I never liked the whole concept of a limited edition collectors’ issue of the HP 15c with more attention paid to the fancy presentation box than to the quality of the calculator itself. All that happened was that greedy profiteers like Samson Cables bought huge lots of them and then resold them at obscene prices. If it been simply reintroduced as a standard unlimited model like the HP 12c, then no doubt it would sell for no more than a HP 35s. I bought seven of the HP 15c LE, all for less than $100, gave three away as gifts to friends, and kept the remaining four. They have all been opened, so none are NIB, which is the really important factor when determining the price of this sort of thing. My best guess is that you will not get more than $250 for the calculators with cases alone, and the low numbered complete one will have some added value, but probably no more than $500. From my standpoint, the DM 15L has completely trumped the HP 15c LE, and if I feel an urge to use a calculator with a really good keyboard, then I’ll break out my old beat up but perfectly working Made in USA HP 15c, yeeeehaaaaa !

Now, if you have any HP 50g that are NIP, then you can make a fortune !

Just one question. In case you will sell the remaining items. Will you sell them the price you paid or market price ?

I’m a firm advocate of the free capitalist marketplace. <G>

[rprosperi]

(05-10-2018 12:54 PM)Michael de Estrada Wrote:  

(05-10-2018 05:44 AM)badaze Wrote:  Just one question. In case you will sell the remaining items. Will you sell them the price you paid or market price ?

I’m a firm advocate of the free capitalist marketplace. <G>

As is, it would seem, HP.

[Michael de Estrada]

(05-10-2018 01:09 PM)rprosperi Wrote:  

(05-10-2018 12:54 PM)Michael de Estrada Wrote:  I’m a firm advocate of the free capitalist marketplace. <G>

As is, it would seem, HP.

Er, HP did exactly the opposite IMO. They certainly did not profit by selling the HP 15c LE at a modest fixed price, while restricting the total production quantity. All they did was enable profiteers like Samson cables to scalp them on the secondary market. When I bought mine, I fully intended to use them around the house or on the road in place of my precious vintage HP 15c, until I realized how unusable the keyboards are with the constant repeating. So, now they mostly sit unused in their fancy presentation boxes in a closet, while my DM 15L takes their place. So, if I decide to sell any of them, I will just list them in an eBay auction and get whatever the market decides to pay.

[rprosperi]

(05-10-2018 01:32 PM)Michael de Estrada Wrote:  

(05-10-2018 01:09 PM)rprosperi Wrote:  As is, it would seem, HP.

Er, HP did exactly the opposite IMO. They certainly did not profit by selling the HP 15c LE at a modest fixed price, while restricting the total production quantity. All they did was enable profiteers like Samson cables to scalp them on the secondary market. When I bought mine, I fully intended to use them around the house or on the road in place of my precious vintage HP 15c, until I realized how unusable the keyboards are with the constant repeating. So, now they mostly sit unused in their fancy presentation boxes in a closet, while my DM 15L takes their place. So, if I decide to sell any of them, I will just list them in an eBay auction and get whatever the market decides to pay.

I'm fairly sure HP made some profit selling these, it's unlikely they did it solely to please a few aficionados and enable profiteers. While they could have built them with top-quality keyboards, they instead opted for lower-cost production, giving them higher margin. And by positioning them as 'Limited Edition' they ensured rapid sales of the complete lot, without the normal high advertising and channel sell-through costs.

In sum, it seems pretty capitalist to me... but ymmv....

[Michael de Estrada]

(05-10-2018 02:25 PM)rprosperi Wrote:  

(05-10-2018 01:32 PM)Michael de Estrada Wrote:  Er, HP did exactly the opposite IMO. They certainly did not profit by selling the HP 15c LE at a modest fixed price, while restricting the total production quantity. All they did was enable profiteers like Samson cables to scalp them on the secondary market. When I bought mine, I fully intended to use them around the house or on the road in place of my precious vintage HP 15c, until I realized how unusable the keyboards are with the constant repeating. So, now they mostly sit unused in their fancy presentation boxes in a closet, while my DM 15L takes their place. So, if I decide to sell any of them, I will just list them in an eBay auction and get whatever the market decides to pay.

I'm fairly sure HP made some profit selling these, it's unlikely they did it solely to please a few aficionados and enable profiteers. While they could have built them with top-quality keyboards, they instead opted for lower-cost production, giving them higher margin. And by positioning them as 'Limited Edition' they ensured rapid sales of the complete lot, without the normal high advertising and channel sell-through costs.

In sum, it seems pretty capitalist to me... but ymmv....

Any profit that HP may have made was probably insignificant relative to overall sales. My guess is that they make more money daily on the sale of printer ink. I don’t think they even thought about profiteering, and just did this to satisfy a few aficionados within the company and the tifosi who signed the petition to bring back the HP 15c. The same lame marketting types within HP that came up with the unreadable keyboard color scheme on the Prime were probably also responsible for the whole presentation box and collector concept for the HP 15c LE.

[Eddie W. Shore]

(05-07-2018 09:57 PM)Tim Wessman Wrote:  So apparently the 15C LE units are also now ridiculously priced and I don't have a CLUE what fair is anymore...

I have 5 - 15C LE units, out of boxes with a case. What would be a fair price to ask for each one?



I also have one, very special unit still in box. This is the unit I had them pull specifically for me from the first assembly batch and has the answer to everything contained within it - 00042 was the limited edition number I wanted. (I also have the same on the 12C anniversary if anyone is interested in that one)



Should I just ask for offers? Or how should I go about doing that?

$80 to $100?

[brickviking]

(05-07-2018 09:57 PM)Tim Wessman Wrote:  So apparently the 15C LE units are also now ridiculously priced and I don't have a CLUE what fair is anymore...

I also have one, very special unit still in box. This is the unit I had them pull specifically for me from the first assembly batch and has the answer to everything contained within it - 00042 was the limited edition number I wanted. (I also have the same on the 12C anniversary if anyone is interested in that one)



Should I just ask for offers? Or how should I go about doing that?

That's really asking the question to life, the universe and everything.

(Post 216)