'Most of us have older technology in our garage or basement, but very few have anything that's very valuable,' says Hatton. If all of this - not to mention the hours you'd spend digging through dusty belongings - sounds like more work than it's worth, you're not entirely wrong. For truly valuable products, such as an Apple-1 or Lisa 1, he suggests contacting an auction house. 'If you can't find one at all, that's the best case scenario,' says Mimms. The fewer listings there are of your item, the rarer, and hence more valuable, it probably is. Keep in mind, however, that just because a seller has a high asking price, it doesn't mean that there are buyers willing to pay it.

Next, research online (eBay is a good place to start) to see what prices they're selling or have been sold for. Components should only be replaced with its original parts, and experts suggest you're better off leaving that decision to whoever ends up buying the device. And if it doesn't work, don't try to fix it yourself or send it to a repair shop. The computer base contained two original disk drives and the motherboard fully intact underneath, according to the Los Angeles-based auction house.įirst, check to see if it works a running device will be worth much more. In 2015, an Apple II in 'fine condition' fetched $4,687 at a Nate D.

While an Apple II is worth dramatically less than its predecessor, some have sold for a few thousand dollars. It was a commercial success and went on to sell between five and six million units by the time it was discontinued in 1993. Introduced in 1977, the Apple II is best known for making Apple a driving force in a new industry. 'There are a lot of counterfeits out there, so be wary of such claims.'Īlthough an Apple-1 could conceivably come with a Jobs-signed receipt, the Apple co-founder was not much involved with the actual building of the machines, and therefore was unlikely to have signed one, according to Dan Kottke, a computer engineer and one of Apple's first employees.Īs Kottke, who tells CNBC Make It that he assembled many of the Apple-1 computers himself, recalls: 'Steve was mostly in the kitchen making phone calls,' while Wozniak, who designed the Apple-1, 'oversaw assembly,' but did not always build the devices. 'Some sellers will tell you that their machines were signed by Jobs himself,' he adds. Whether you're looking to sell or buy, keep in mind that many aficionados have created Apple-1 replicas (or kits for building one), which are worth closer to $1,000, Jonathan Zufi, a hardware expert and author of 'Iconic: A Photographic Tribute to Apple Innovation,' tells CNBC Make It.

Apple computer for sale