ThinkPad T25 on ebay UK

[ThinkDan]

Nothing to do with me, but looks clean and boxed, with UK keyboard fitted. £2250. Clicky.

[solidpro]

I liked the look of these but I've never seen a cheap one. By that, I mean less than four figures. Is it really worth that much? The seem pretty rare. It's all a bit outside of my scope but then again I do like the fact they 'remember' the old days.

[dr_st]

They've started popping up a lot on eBay in the past year, and never for less than 4 figures, that's true. The system is going to be 6 years old next month, and it was based on hardware ready to be phased out at the time of its release. It is no longer cutting for someone who uses his laptop for computationally intensive tasks.

The "anniversary" collector's vibe, plus the fact that there are not so many of them around, plus the fact they are the only semi-modern laptop with a 7-row keyboard makes people believe they can sell for considerably more than the parallel T470, and probably some of them do.

[ThinkDan]

I'm browsing / typing on a T460s at the moment, so not a million miles from the T470/T25 package. Lovely competent machine, let down by the poor keyboard.

I think this T460s was about £180 a year ago in very clean used condition, so less than 10% of this T25. There was a 10th anniversary X30 popping up on eBay US for a while at around $800 IIRC, even I couldn't see the value in that despite having a soft spot for the X30 series!

It's telling that the key differentiator of the T25 is the classic style keyboard. IMHO the keyboard change was a watershed in quality and tactility, even given that the Tx20 keyboards were a step down from the T40/T60 keyboards, which were a step down from ... I write a lot, so it matters to me. I've recently been stripping and rebuilding 360 and 750/755 models, and typing on those is like therapy for your fingertips.

The T25 values are clearly driven by collectors, and I think it is impressive that they have held up so well. As dr_st says, they're now at that change-over from current(ish) to previous generation for mainstream users; as they become increasingly obsolete prices will steadily erode until they best are maybe a $300-$500 collectible shelf ornament, in line with something like a 701C or TransNote for those who "get them".

[TPFanatic]

I like that T470/T25 has Thunderbolt 3. It's not a full-speed Thunderbolt 3, like what the P-series have, but I feel like I could still get some artwork or gaming going with my Akitio Node, connected to a T25. There's a somewhat worn T25 for sale on US domestic ebay for $1200 or so that I've been eying, I love the 14" form factor and the classic keyboard, but I also don't want to collect anymore laptops.

[dr_st]

It's telling that the key differentiator of the T25 is the classic style keyboard. IMHO the keyboard change was a watershed in quality and tactility, even given that the Tx20 keyboards were a step down from the T40/T60 keyboards, which were a step down from ...

Despite the shallower travel, I really enjoy the TP25 keyboard. It is firmer and feels better to me than **20/*60 series, and on par with T4x. The older keyboards with desktop-like key travel are a different experience, better in some ways, but mostly different. They are unrealistic for modern laptops.

as they become increasingly obsolete prices will steadily erode until they best are maybe a $300-$500 collectible shelf ornament, in line with something like a 701C or TransNote for those who "get them".

Probably. The question is how many of them will remain fully working back then. Fortunately, the motherboard is identical to a T470, so there should not be supply shortage for years to come. Not sure about the keyboards, though.

I like that T470/T25 has Thunderbolt 3. It's not a full-speed Thunderbolt 3, like what the P-series have, but I feel like I could still get some artwork or gaming going with my Akitio Node, connected to a T25.

I like how the T470/TP25 have the flexibility of being charged via Thunderbolt/USB-C, or the dedicated charging port, or the docking port. Plus the battery bridge - makes them very versatile in terms of power.