Have you seen the classic ThinkPad prices these days?

[dcfbf]

I can't be the only one who notices that classic ThinkPad prices have been on the rise for the past few years.

When I started this hobby back around covid, I could regularly see all kinds of ThinkPads for around 30-40 dollars on Ebay like the T61, T430, X201, and R52.
Now those prices have been inflated to something around 50-70.

ThinkPads like the X61 and T60 that used to cost 50-70 now cost upwards of 150.

I've witnessed the end of Windows 7 and more recently, Windows 10 (The last operating system the classic ThinkPads can run comfortably).

I've seen the absolute dominance of windows fade with the mess that is windows 11, the resurgence of MacOS with Apple Silicon, and the rise of Linux in the recent years.

This year, I'm witnessing the ThinkPad brand get trampled on even more than it has with the abominable X9.

I feel like I sound like an old man talking about how good we had it back in my day.
But things were definitely better back then right? Prices were cheaper, the last classics were still recent, and it still felt like Lenovo had some shred of respect for the brand.
I've gotten almost everything I wanted when I started (bar the ultra rare ones: 701C, W701DS, Transnote) and I just feel like there's nothing left to discover.

I know it's pretentious and I'm not even that old, but I'm feeling a sense of letting the younger generation succeed me.

Honestly I don't know how this turned into a reflection on the state of ThinkPads and the world in general.... I just kept writing

[RealBlackStuff]

The "newest" Thinkpad I have is a T480 from 2018, that I bought for $125 in 2023.
IF I ever need another laptop, I'll probably look for a System76 or a Framework.

[Medessec]

I know it's pretentious and I'm not even that old, but I'm feeling a sense of letting the younger generation succeed me.

Not sure how old you are matey, but ya best believe having been on and off this forum through high school, college, and now the working world, I would've said the same thing... but there's quite a few gentlemen on here who still have me bested by decades of experience. They were (and still are) a wealth of knowledge when I was getting into Thinkpads back then but it's up to us now, we gotta snag the torch for sure and carry on the classic tinkering spirit. Lord knows the laptop world needs it, I'm not a fan of these paper-thin ultrabooks that dent or crack at the slightest drop or bit of abuse, and just a little spindly heatpipe for cooling despite rocking a 50W+ chip.

There's Thinkpads that have long since attracted a higher price, like the Transnote and the W700/W701. But I've definitely been seeing that too, more basic Thinkpads like the X6x, X2xx, T4x, T6x are getting tougher to find for cheap. Of course there's all the scalpy ads on ebay of people trying to sell a Thinkpad for some ridiculous price, like a T43p, or... sorry, "T43p" which if you actually look at just evidence in the pictures... turns out to be either a T43 that was lid swapped, or a T43p that previously suffered from a dead motherboard (very common) and had a T43 dGPU board swapped in. And he's trying to sell it for $600 or something crazy. Ignoring ads like that, you've got those who are charging what would still be an expensive rate, but with the idea of not needing to sell it right away... and being cheap enough that most who don't want to wait will eventually buy it. If you want one for cheaper, you need to be patient and scan ebay listings, and other classifieds as well. Sometimes it can take weeks for a good one to show, and when it does you need to be quick on the trigger. But it is understandable for most that it's not so easy to find one for a decent price because not everyone has the time or the desire to do that.

At least in California and the US, inflation I think is mainly what it is with most other Thinkpads like X30, A21m, T30, even T40/T41 and older R-series which I remembered were $20-30 shipped on ebay, are now nearly double that. Thinkpads that aren't super desirable or have any unique quality that draws people to it, they'd all have some ads that pop up for $20 or so... but those are all gone. Don't blame them, the way things are now- if I'm not making any more than $20 on a laptop, I'd rather just chuck the thing straight in the trash and not waste the time. X60/X61 laptops would be similar, except they're the last 4:3 ultraportable Thinkpad and still quite usable as a thin-client. There's even a steady selection of aftermarket batteries for them, unlike the Tablets. Gotta remember things like that definitely affect their value. T480s are proper junk, but their value was inflated just because of some Youtube videos. Nowadays T14G1 are nearly as cheap, and much better laptops overall (if you go for that sort of thing).

[dcfbf]

I'm not a fan of these paper-thin ultrabooks that dent or crack at the slightest drop or bit of abuse, and just a little spindly heatpipe for cooling despite rocking a 50W+ chip.

I know what you mean here and I'm willing to bet, it's 90% Apple's fault. If they didn't make aluminum such a "desirable" material for laptops to have and thinness be the only qualifier for a good laptop, we wouldn't be in such a mess.
Sure we used to deal with cheap plastics which were terrible. But at least we knew they were terrible and we would avoid the laptops with cheap plastic.
Nowadays, even with laptops that feel, cost, and look premium, we've got to deal with hinges glued to aluminum lids that are guaranteed to fail, chassis that can burn you if you even think of maxxing out the CPU, and construction so flimsy that picking it up with one hand will cause the motherboard to flex and eventually fail.

Sorry, rant over.

Of course there's all the scalpy ads on ebay of people trying to sell a Thinkpad for some ridiculous price, like a T43p, or... sorry, "T43p" which if you actually look at just evidence in the pictures... turns out to be either a T43 that was lid swapped, or a T43p that previously suffered from a dead motherboard (very common) and had a T43 dGPU board swapped in. And he's trying to sell it for $600 or something crazy. Ignoring ads like that, you've got those who are charging what would still be an expensive rate, but with the idea of not needing to sell it right away... and being cheap enough that most who don't want to wait will eventually buy it. If you want one for cheaper, you need to be patient and scan ebay listings, and other classifieds as well. Sometimes it can take weeks for a good one to show, and when it does you need to be quick on the trigger. But it is understandable for most that it's not so easy to find one for a decent price because not everyone has the time or the desire to do that.

Ah yeah I've seen those listings with absurd prices. It's always sad when I see "3 sold" or something next to the amount in stock because they got completely scammed. It's particularly sad because I know a few of this of people who think that the most expensive option is always the best option.
I also dislike these listings because when they do sell, other sellers see it and see it as the standard market price when they're not.

At least in California and the US, inflation I think is mainly what it is with most other Thinkpads like X30, A21m, T30, even T40/T41 and older R-series which I remembered were $20-30 shipped on ebay, are now nearly double that. Thinkpads that aren't super desirable or have any unique quality that draws people to it, they'd all have some ads that pop up for $20 or so... but those are all gone. Don't blame them, the way things are now- if I'm not making any more than $20 on a laptop, I'd rather just chuck the thing straight in the trash and not waste the time. X60/X61 laptops would be similar, except they're the last 4:3 ultraportable Thinkpad and still quite usable as a thin-client. There's even a steady selection of aftermarket batteries for them, unlike the Tablets. Gotta remember things like that definitely affect their value. T480s are proper junk, but their value was inflated just because of some Youtube videos. Nowadays T14G1 are nearly as cheap, and much better laptops overall (if you go for that sort of thing).

I wasn't in the hobby then, but I'm honestly drooling at such low prices.
I've mostly resigned myself to the current prices though.

I mostly avoid the newer ThinkPads. I really dislike 1.5mm keyboards and 1.8mm is the minimum for what I'm willing to accept.
I am curious though, why do you dislike the T480 and like the T14G1 more? I've used both and overall, I prefer the T480 (though the screens on it are garbage)

[28CarsLater]

IF I ever need another laptop, I'll probably look for a System76 or a Framework.

Big spender

[RealBlackStuff]

Gotcha!
Notice the big IF and probably and look for...

[Medessec]

Got no idea what I would get if I was getting a newer machine. I recently got an X210Ai and pretty sure that's the only ultraportable I'll ever need for several years if it lasts that long. My current "main" computer is a Clevo X170KM, and when I'm travelling I'll either use my work laptop or some smaller random laptop from my collection, like the X301 or a 14" T61. I did use a T480 for some time, I didn't really like it. My work laptop right now is an HP Elitebook 840 G10. I don't like it. But it's slick and pretty mobile.

[28CarsLater]

Got no idea what I would get if I was getting a newer machine. I recently got an X210Ai and pretty sure that's the only ultraportable I'll ever need for several years if it lasts that long. My current "main" computer is a Clevo X170KM, and when I'm travelling I'll either use my work laptop or some smaller random laptop from my collection, like the X301 or a 14" T61. I did use a T480 for some time, I didn't really like it. My work laptop right now is an HP Elitebook 840 G10. I don't like it. But it's slick and pretty mobile.

I used an X300 on half a dozen long trips but its battery life was never great and I haven't been able to source batteries for it for many years so I picked up a used X395 in 2021 which replaced it. The X395 performed well for me this past spring in Europe and for travel I'd recommend to anyone an intel based X13 Gen 1 (or X390 if you can find one that's had low use because those have the firmware issue with USB-C charging from the factory) as the X395's GPU is hungrier on battery. In OpenSUSE with TLP I can reliably squeeze at least five hours out of my X395 which is enough for most flights or working somewhere without a charger.

[Medessec]

I used an X300 on half a dozen long trips but its battery life was never great and I haven't been able to source batteries for it for many years so I picked up a used X395 in 2021 which replaced it. The X395 performed well for me this past spring in Europe and for travel I'd recommend to anyone an intel based X13 Gen 1 (or X390 if you can find one that's had low use because those have the firmware issue with USB-C charging from the factory) as the X395's GPU is hungrier on battery. In OpenSUSE with TLP I can reliably squeeze at least five hours out of my X395 which is enough for most flights or working somewhere without a charger.

A couple of the guys on the TP Discord live and die by the X13, I haven't tried one myself but it does seem to be a solid choice for anyone who likes the Thinkpad aesthetic but needs something much newer and solid on battery life.

Battery life is the bane of all older Thinkpads, especially ones made in 2006-2013 as they're still semi-usable and even able to be dailied, and have fantastic keyboards and screens that some people just can't let go of. But no available batteries for some (particularly the old Tablet computers) makes it super annoying to try to use them. Thankfully I've been able to get into rebuilding batteries, a fellow member on here gave me some pointers and I have been able to figure out how to rebuild many different batteries for the T60/T61/X60/X61, the X60/X61 Tablets, and even the X300. Had to source the new versions of the prismatic cells Lenovo used, which is quite hard to find. But it's amazing to have a 4-cell prismatic battery in my X61 Tablet that actually lasts for a good couple of hours now.

[28CarsLater]

A couple of the guys on the TP Discord live and die by the X13

I also have an X390 which I mostly use around the house and for reading PDFs while reclined, with TLP and Cpupower I get pretty decent battery life in OpenSuse vs the X395, anecdotally I'd say at least 1 hour longer. I imagine it gets slightly better as one goes up to the X13 generations.