Olympia Electronic Compact-2 Typewriter.

Compatible with a large variety of serial or parallel computer interfaces
(switch selectable).

Excellent condition and includes

3  Type Wheels: Elite 12, Mini Gothic 15, Gothic 10/12

2  extra ribbons, correctable and multistrike.

16 new lift-off ribbons

   (Both typing and lift-off ribbons are still available.)

1  adjustable wheeled typewriter table

2  Manuals:

   Operating Instructions

   Printer-Computer Interfacing

I ran it last from a Zenith 145 running DOS 3.3.

Make an offer (starting at $ 50). It cost $ 500 new.

13 responses total.

At Kiwanis we were lucky to get 1% of the value of anything similar to a
computer after it was more than five years old.  Electronic typewriters were
particularly hard to sell because everyone replaced them with a computer and
a printer.  But they might accept this as a donation since you have all the
ribbons for it, and you could get a tax credit.  I presume you have the
receipt to show the IRS.

A year ago we knew someone looking for one of these because people in prison
are allowed to use typewriters but not computers.  You could check the closest
prison to see if they have a use for it.  

If you were to try to sell things as soon as you stopped using them you might
have a larger market.  But we do appreciate the Star printer you gave us for
a friend, and the 360K floppy drive.

It's hard for me to know when I've "stopped using them", since I also use
heritage gear way beyond its "normal" obsolescence. Who knows, someone might
have come up with software for completing general forms, for which a
typewriter is superior to a computer printer. 

Thanks for the prison notion. What's the best way to check with local
prisons - do any have websites with want lists?

I could never claim the purchase price for this setup, on my taxes. You
have to use current fair market value. 

One of these, without the accessories, is being offered on e-bay, but the
start price is higher - and there have been no bids. 

You could lower  your start price to $5 if you really want to divest yourself
of the typewriter.  When I checked there were quite a few asking $10 that had
not sold.  The prison I knew about was a federal one in Kansas, for the
military.  

(It sure is a shme when such a marvel of machinery can't fetch more than
$5....)

We were, after a few months, unable to sell tpryan's $5000 IBM computers for
even $50, which is 1%.  If you take 1% of $500 that is $5.  The IBMs were less
than 10 years old.  PS/2 386s with a whopping 4MB RAM.  And 500MB hard drives.

Someones, somewhere, must believe my typewriter is worth $ 50 or more. You
can still buy the ribbons for it for $ 5.30ea. Maybe someone needs one as
a prop in a play, along with an XT to drive it, for period authenticity? 
Consider that $50 will only buy a meal in a restaurant for a few people,
and how long does that fun last? Fun with this typewriter could last for
weeks...well, at least days.  One problem, of course, is that typewriters
don't have any scavangable parts that people need for other uses.

Take a look at the ebay completed items under electronic typewriter, or even
for your specific model.  They have no edible parts.  Perhaps you could give
it to a typewriter repair store to sell to someone who brings one in for
repair?

That one that just DIDN'T sell on e-bay doesn't seem to be the true
Electronic model - just electric (and its been relisted: 3848590688).
There is no mention of the computer interface - and there are fewer
buttons on the keyboard than on mine. It also does not include a table,
all cables, all manuals, extra tapes, and additional typeface daisy
wheels. Mine includes all that - for half the price. 

There must be other uses for an electronic impact typewriter. The ultimate
use is a boat anchor, but there must be uses that take advantage of more
of its capabilities than that. What needs to be emplaced on surfaces by
impact other than ink? Or can anything be usefully indented with letters
without ink? Could it be adapted to make music? 

Maybe there are daisy wheels for fonts that are not available for
inkjet/laser printers (whatever such might be).

Think of ten other uses for a computer driven impact typewriter......

Why aren't you keeping it, Rane?

We have a couple typewriters at work for filling out forms.  We'd never
connect one to a computer, though.  It'd be extremely slow, and you can
buy an inkjet printer now for about what you're asking for the typewriter.

Ah, but the ribbons cost only about $5! What do your print cartridges
cost? 

Re #9: I haven't used it in some years. I've nearly always had a
typewriter and touch type, and eventually got a Selectric but when that
broke - and typewriters with computer interfaces appeared - I got the
Olympia. My main use for the computer interface was for typing form
letters on behalf of a charitable non-profit, thanking new members,
thanking donors, etc. It made such good copy compared to dot matrix, and
of course was *much* faster than hand typing those letters. And then came
the inkjet....

If I had a need for typing lots of different mailing labels it would be
more convenient than entering the info into a database and then printing
it with an inkjet (it would be just as fast doing the typing and the label
would be the direct result), but I don't have such an application.  What
other applications would be like that? 

We can refill our cartridges for $1-2 (and half an hour's time for several).
Dot-matrix printers use cheap ribbons that can be reinked.  Electronic
typewriters tend to use the film ribbons, one-time only.

Kiwanis could try to sell it. Once it a while these sell.  I brought them a
Japanese one once but it was not daisy wheel.

Your best bet is going to be to find a small business that needs to fill
out forms or print onto carbon-copy paper.

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