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.