Skip to main content

Tekserve's demise means you could get your hands on a collection of classic Macs

tekserve mac auction screen shot 2016 08 18 at 10 57 02 pm
Image used with permission by copyright holder
The most coveted vintage items? They’re not shoes, bags, or any other article of clothing. Rather, for the time being at least, they’re old-school Mac computers, and you can get your hands on some of the most classic models thanks to the unfortunate closing of Tekserve, otherwise known as the “original Apple store.” The New York City institution, which had been in business for nearly three decades, was unfortunately forced to shutter this week, and in classic “everything must go” style, put up its very impressive collection of old Macs for auction.

Featuring no fewer than 35 pieces, this is one collection that you won’t see walking any runways, but will still fetch a pretty penny. To be fair, the group of computers includes more than just Macs — there’s a NeXTcube in the mix as well, which was developed by Steve Jobs when he was initially fired from Apple. And then there’s also the Macintosh 128K that bears Steve Wozniak’s signature. So, yeah — if you’re a technophile, this is certainly a collection you’d be interested in.

Recommended Videos

As per liveauctioneer.com’s post about the impressive computer set, the 35 computers all come with “accompanying text, describing the revolution Apple brought about from 1984-2004 … Together they tell a story, and what a story the history of the Mac and Apple is, from boom to bust to behemoth.”

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Also included in what is officially Lot 0400 are the Apple IIc, Apple IIe, Apple Lisa, Apple III, Macintosh 128k, Macintosh SE, Macintosh Classic, Macintosh Portable, Macintosh LC II, Macintosh PowerBook 100, Macintosh PowerBook Duo 230, Macintosh Quadra 700, and Macintosh Color Classic, to name just a few.

The auctioning site notes that the condition of the items “varies” and that they have not all been tested. That said, the overall condition is said to be “good.” The starting bid currently stands at $8,000, so if you’re interested, you better start gathering funds, as bids are already pushing $30,000.

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
I’m worried Apple will skip its October event – here’s what that means for the M4 MacBook Pro
Apple CEO Tim Cook looks at a display of brand new redesigned MacBook Air laptop during the WWDC22

For months now, we’ve been hearing that Apple is set to announce a boatload of new products -- including the M4 MacBook Pro range, fresh iPads, and more -- at an event this October. Yet a new report suggests that things might not be quite so simple after all.

In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman says that Apple is set to reveal these new products “around the end of October,” with the devices going on sale on Friday, November 1. So far, so expected.

Read more
Your Wear OS smartwatch could soon get RCS texting
The Google Pixel Watch 3 next to the Pixel Watch.

Your Wear OS smartwatch brings a lot to the table. Fitness tracking, Google Pay, and so many other features live on your wrist, but the watch doesn't have an independent connection from your phone. If you don't have your phone nearby, you can't respond to text messages. New code discovered in the most recent Google Messages app update suggests that could be about to change.

In an APK teardown, Android Authority's Aamir Siddiqui found several lines of code that indicate Google is bringing standalone RCS to Wear OS smartwatches. The flags were found in the Google Messages v20240926 beta and point to not only on-device RCS messaging, but also voice messaging.

Read more
The MacBook Air M4 could launch sooner than we thought
The M3 MacBook Air in front of a window.

Spotted by MacRumors, display industry analyst Ross Young has posted a subscriber-only tweet revealing that panel shipments for the MacBook Air M4 should be starting in October.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman then confirmed his own information points to the same conclusion -- that Apple will launch the next MacBook Air during the first quarter of 2025.

Read more