Thinkpad CL57 SX: What should I do?

[anthropicreason]

Greetings,

I have an old IBM Thinkpad CL57 SX laptop, battery, charging cable, OEM case, OEM mouse, OEM number pad, and OEM diskettes. I acquired these items from my Uncle many years ago, and they have been sitting in the case in my closet. I am not longer interested in keeping it, and after reviewing my options I am not sure what to do.

I originally was planning on dropping it off at a recycling facility that specializes in properly disposing of electronics. However, in the back of my mind I feel like this could potentially be a collectible and bring joy to another person. I do want to at least try and sell it or give it to someone who is interested in it. I don't know what an appropriate asking price would be, if this piece of hardware is even worth any money. I would have posted in the buy/sell section but I do not have an asking price.

The machine boots into the OS and seems to run fine. Any input from people with more information on collectible items such as this would be greatly appreciated. If this is not the appropriate place for this topic, I apologize in advance and would appreciate constructive feedback on how to go about getting more information before I make a decision.

Regards,

[rkawakami]

Welcome to thinkpads.com!

I think you've posted in the right place but there's not too much traffic in this particular sub-forum so you might have to wait around for any response. I'm certain you won't get anything close to the original purchase price :

http://www-01.ibm.com/common/ssi/cgi-bi ... NUS192-073

Code: Select all

                     PART      MACHINE                   PURCHASE
DESCRIPTION          NUMBER      TYPE        MODEL       PRICE
PS/2 Model CL57 SX   8554045     8554         045        $5,995

My usual advice on this would be to consult eBay and craigslist for recent offers/sales, however given the rarity (?) of this system, that's probably not a option.

[RealBlackStuff]

A rare bird indeed, with a trackBALL rather than a trackPOINT: http://ummr.altervista.org/images/P1000164.JPG

Here's someone with rather an 'oldie' IBM portable/luggable collection: http://www.mcamafia.de/mycomp/mycomp03.htm

[ozzymud]

WOW... IBM's 1st color laptop.... March 24, 1992

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/IBM+ANNOU ... a011974304

IBM today broadened its family of portable products, introducing systems that offer dazzling colors, sizzling speed and attractive prices.
IBM introduced its first color laptop computer today, the Personal System/2(1) |PS/2(1)~ Model CL57 SX, featuring the industry's largest, brightest active matrix color display. The 10.4-inch state-of-the-art color display utilizes thin film transistor (TFT) technology, enabling it to display vibrant colors with exceptional brightness and clarity.

I wouldn't even know what to offer (and my eBay budget is gone for this year pretty much).

Using every keyword for ended auctions I can come up with, I can't find one that was auctioned/sold on eBay

Being a bootable machine, it is DEFINATELY worth something to someone... I wouldn't be surprised to see it sell for a decent price (just judging by other 386 laptops, this one not being SUPER special, i.e. the 701 butterfly, or 760XD that was used by NASA)... although it was IBM's 1st color laptop...

Quite frankly, 286/386/486 laptops in general that have no following/groupies sell anywhere from $5 to $100+, It really all depends on the buyer and their personal significance.

But PLEASE dont send it to the scrapheap! SOMEONE will give it a good home.

[anthropicreason]

Thank you to everyone who has responded. I found all the information and comments extremely helpful. I will definitely hang on to this until I have found it a home for someone else.