WANTED IBM S30 any idea of market value ??

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sakkara · #1 Post by **sakkara** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 2:33 am

hi im looking for an IBM S30 in good working and cosmetic condition

pref with the original external cd player
can anyone advise a market price thanks

synchromesh · #2 Post by **synchromesh** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 7:54 am

Those are going to be mucho dinero.

I sold mine a bit over 1 year ago for $500 without CDROM but in excellent working condition. So figure around $400 at least, with accessories possibly a tad more.

pianowizard · #3 Post by **pianowizard** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 8:17 am

For the same price, you can get a very nice X40 with much better specs. The X40 is slightly bigger than the S series, but is actually a little lighter. I just sold an excellent X40 with IBM warranty for $320US plus postage last month.

The S30 and S31 are really only for collectors who are looking for rare Thinkpads. If you want a laptop that you use frequently, it's better to get something newer and more common because they're much cheaper and it's easier to find replacement parts.

obpsym · #4 Post by **obpsym** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 11:20 am

There have been quite a few on Taobao recently.

I've no idea how you could purchase or even if you would contemplate purchasing from here. I've never spent more than US$50 on this site.

Just checked, http://auction1.taobao.com/auction/item ... html?pm=37

cmarti · #5 Post by **cmarti** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 12:28 pm

Paying 411.555 USD is too much for a 600mhz lappy.

My opinion.

synchromesh · #6 Post by **synchromesh** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 1:58 pm

pianowizard wrote:For the same price, you can get a very nice X40 with much better specs. The X40 is slightly bigger than the S series, but is actually a little lighter. I just sold an excellent X40 with IBM warranty for $320US plus postage last month.

The S30 and S31 are really only for collectors who are looking for rare Thinkpads. If you want a laptop that you use frequently, it's better to get something newer and more common because they're much cheaper and it's easier to find replacement parts.

I agree with this statement completely. They're very nice collector pieces but mine was sitting at home all the time because I was afraid to damage it. If you really need something that small look for a 240Z or 240X. They have a similar amount of processing power (P3 versions anyway), size and weight but are by far easier and cheaper to obtain. Plus they can be fairly easily modded to have wireless.

lewdvig · #7 Post by **lewdvig** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 3:34 pm

It is the single most perfect ThinkPad ever from a design perspective, hence the demand. People looking for it probably already have the listed alternatives. They want it for a pedestal.

#8 Post by **erik** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 4:14 pm

i doubt i'll ever part with my s30. the X40 might have more features and weigh .25lbs less but seriously, who really cares?

my s30 has internal B wireless, the mirage black cover with matching battery, and both US english and japanese keyboards. i wouldn't part with it for $1200 let alone $400 as it means too much to me. it holds a lot of sentimental value since i bought it brand new while on a trip in japan.

mine is a 2639-RAJ.

the main considerations with the s30 are that it comes in a few iterations. here is a list i compiled of the various MTM configurations:

Code: Select all

iSeries s30
2639-4AJ     Win ME     20gb     Wireless          Mirage Black       Internet Buttons
2639-43J     Win ME     20gb     10/100 + 1394     Mirage Black       Internet Buttons
2639-4RJ     Win ME     20gb     Wireless          Thinkpad Black     Internet Buttons
2639-45J     Win ME     20gb     10/100 + 1394     Thinkpad Black     Internet Buttons

s30
2639-4WJ     Win 2000   20gb     Wireless          Thinkpad Black     Volume Buttons
2639-42J     Win 2000   20gb     10/100 + 1394     Thinkpad Black     Volume Buttons

s30
2639-RAJ     XP Home    20gb     Wireless          Mirage Black       Volume Buttons
2639-R3J     XP Home    20gb     10/100 + 1394     Mirage Black       Volume Buttons
2639-RRJ     XP Home    20gb     Wireless          Thinkpad Black     Volume Buttons
2639-R5J     XP Home    20gb     10/100 + 1394     Thinkpad Black     Volume Buttons

s30
2639-CJ1     Win 2000   20gb     Wireless
2639-CJ6     Win 2000   20gb     10/100 + 1394
2639-NJ1     Win 2000   20gb     10/100 + 1394
2639-NJ2     Win 2000   20gb     Wireless
2639-NJ3     Win 2000   20gb     Wireless
2639-RJ1     Win 98     20gb     10/100 + 1394

s31
2639-53A     XP Pro     15gb     10/100 + 1394
2639-53B     XP Pro     15gb     10/100 + 1394
2639-53H     XP Pro     15gb     10/100 + 1394
2639-54K     XP Pro     15gb     10/100 + 1394
2639-54T     XP Pro     15gb     10/100 + 1394

poky · #9 Post by **poky** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 4:43 pm

I still have mine S31, the value of this machine is non-comparable.
Mine is still in new condition, all protection sleeves are still on it as new.
Not to mention it comes with the genuine piano finish floppy and cd-rom drives

I would sell my other Thinkpads(X20, X31, T21, X61s etc.), but NOT this one.
Even with the slow PIII-600 cpu and limited 256 ram on it, I still enjoy taking it out to the Starbucks in the Friday afternoon, I even found out this little guys is more attractive than my new X300 in the public.

For those of you who haven't seem the picture I posted in 2005

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=12108

chazz · #10 Post by **chazz** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 6:26 pm

wow ..nice system..like the "seran" wrap on the lcd screen..
You should wear white gloves while using that system

Thanks for sharing

synchromesh · #11 Post by **synchromesh** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 9:50 pm

chazz wrote:You should wear white gloves while using that system

And that right there is precisely why I sold mine. It was just too precious to me to walk around with but it would be also such a huge waste to allow it to sit on my desk and collect dust while losing value.

I do miss it sometimes though.

ajkula66 · #12 Post by **ajkula66** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 10:32 pm

This is one of the very few ThinkPads that I wanted to have, but never had a chance to buy at reasonable terms. Furthermore, I've never seen one with my own eyes.

Hold on to yours, poky (not that you need me to tell you that...

), it's an amazing example, and its value is going nowhere but up...

sakkara · #13 Post by **sakkara** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 11:53 pm

seems there is a little parting of ideas as to the worth / cost here

sakkara · #14 Post by **sakkara** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 3:50 pm

so if you can find one for sale the price may be low or out of sight !! ??

ajkula66 · #15 Post by **ajkula66** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 4:23 pm

Well, none of them have been offered on fleabay here in the USA recently...so no dice there.

I'd be very surprised if you found one in good shape under $400.

pianowizard · #16 Post by **pianowizard** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 4:38 pm

ajkula66 wrote:I'd be very surprised if you found one in good shape under $400.

Making it worse, the OP is located in New Zealand, and it's extremely unlikely that he would find one locally. He'd most likely need to pay a lot for international shipping from Japan or China.

obpsym · #17 Post by **obpsym** » Fri Mar 28, 2008 12:50 am

eric

Good list, mine came with XP Home. More importantly, all Hong Kong versions shipped with an English US keyboard. (Japan, Taiwan and China models have Asian characters on many of the keys).

To the OP, I paid around US$500 including case, CD and floppy. I paid over the market price because it has no scratches and the original piano finish CDRom & Floppy had their original cases and were unopened.

I don't use it much, I tend to grab my 240X more often.

j-dawg · #18 Post by **j-dawg** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 12:33 am

This site claims to have S31s for $279:
http://www.usanotebook.pl/2205-ITPS31_I ... ad_S31.php

However, it's all out of stock and I doubt it'll be back in soon. Moreover, I have to wonder how reliable the site is--it has a 5.0 on resellerratings. Still, if you were desperate...

pianowizard · #19 Post by **pianowizard** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 6:49 am

j-dawg wrote:I have to wonder how reliable the site is--it has a 5.0 on resellerratings.

But that's still higher than both Lenovo's and IBM's ratings!

I would certainly be willing to spend $279 (plus shipping?) on such a machine.

Puppy · #20 Post by **Puppy** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 11:03 am

j-dawg wrote:This site claims to have S31s for $279:

Wow ! I've asked local usanotebook office whether would be possible to deliver it over here.

ajkula66 · #21 Post by **ajkula66** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 11:43 am

OK, everyone here wake up and smell the coffee...

This is a classic example of "bait" in retail...look at their other prices and laugh heartily...

And they would want you to believe that they'd sell you an S31 for less than T23???? You've got to be kidding me....

They might sell one of these at the given price every six months...meanwhile get at least some people believing that all of their prices are such an outstanding deal...

Been there, done that, long before ThinkPads were invented...

pianowizard · #22 Post by **pianowizard** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 12:07 pm

George, I bet this company just doesn't realize the S series is worth so much money. The specs of the S series aren't spectacular, so they might think it's worth about as much as the X2*. Only connoisseurs know about its rarity.

If they wanted to attract customers, selling a T42 or X31 for $279 would be much more effective, because a lot more people know that's a good deal.

WANTED IBM S30 any idea of market value ??

WANTED IBM S30 any idea of market value ??

thanks

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