Got scammed by a 'vintage' box of old computer cables at a garage sale

I found this big dusty box of cables from the 90s at a yard sale for $20 and thought I scored some retro treasure. Spent an hour untangling them only to find half were broken or not even computer cables, just phone cords and random plugs. Has anyone else wasted cash on a junk drawer that turned out to be actual junk?

2 comments

2 Comments

dylanbarnes6d ago

Man that $20 probably would've bought you like 3 actual vintage computer mice at a real retro shop lol. I did the same thing once with a box of "rare vinyl records" from a flea market in Austin, turned out to be scratched up Herb Alpert albums and a broken 45 of some christmas music. The phone cords are the worst part because they look exactly like old serial cables until you get them home and realize you just paid for someone's literal trash. At least you can recycle the copper maybe? Or hang them on a wall as a warning to your future self about garage sale impulse buys.

the_jana6d ago

Feel you on that vinyl story, Herb Alpert scratch city is rough. I grabbed a box of old game cartridges at a yard sale once, turned out to be mostly TI-99/4A stuff nobody wants and one cracked Atari 2600 game. The phone cords are the worst, they look so much like DB9 serial cables from a distance, it's a trap every time. I kept mine in a drawer for a year before I finally admitted defeat and tossed them in the e-waste bin. At least the copper recycling idea is solid, might squeeze a buck or two out of that disappointment.