Dick Van Dyke sells his Amiga 4000T on ebay

[anivichano]

Greetings Oli_hd,

Sorry about the confusion ... its an 060 :-)

Hope that helps?

Alex

[anivichano]

Greetigs weirdami,

weirdami wrote:
I hope it's for real and not someone being a jerk liar, but I also hope it's not for real and that good ol' DVD (initials ahead of their time) is still using his Amiga.

Does anyone have a copy of that video message he made that they showed at that Amiga convention in 1998 or 1999? The one that happened in that olde styled motel that got demolished soon after. Gateway is a word my brain is associating with that building.

Yes, the sale is for real.  I helped Dick make that video message.  Unfortunately, I don't have it ... it was on his machine and I can't find it  :-(

Alex

[anivichano]

Greetings Invisix,

Invisix wrote:
Eh, for some reason I don't think this was ever owned by Dick Van Dyke, usually famous peoples belongings end up in museums. I think the seller is trying to dupe ppl, and make oddles of cash on it by saying it belonged to a famous actor. I mean look at the running auction price already.

Just because a person can claim something belonged to a famous person, doesn't make it true!

You are quite correct.  How would you go about finding the truth?

I'd met Dick while I was employed by Anti-Gravity and have been his personal computer technician, every since.  I've been to conventions with Dick, introduced him to Bill McEwen and helped him do the video segments for the Amiga conventions ... so what would it take to convince you?

Cheers :-)

Alex

[anivichano]

Greetings AmiJake,

AmiJake wrote:

This could be a fake!

Quite true ... how would you tell?

Someone like DVD really has no reason to sell his beloved Amiga epecially since he had a blast  :lol:  wit it. I mean money is not an issue for him, he can probably sell his shirt and get more money for it!!

True again ... unless he gave it to his favorite techy as a gift, who chose to sell it, with Dick's blessing??

, hell the real DVD might build a room, encase his amiga in glass forever!

He's got too much stuff to put in glass cases, as it is ... start with 5 Emmy's and go from there ...

I guess there is no "case" for the tower because it already has a signed autographs from DVD (got DVD to autograph it somehow) on the case so if someone requested it Vola! the case shows up with DVD's autograph.

Just my conspiracy theory

Guess again!!!  :-)

The trouble with conspiracy theorists is that they would rather put out juicy conspiracy than actually spend a little time to check out the truth!??

Must be a fun occupation :-)

Alex

[anivichano]

Greetings weirdami,

weirdami wrote:
I asked three questions to the seller but he didn't post them on the auction.

--

1. What proof is there that this is DVD's computer?

"What proof would you consider sufficient?"


2. What happened to the case?

"The case covers have been left off for the purpose of cooling.  Over the years, they've been misplaced."

3. Is DVD selling this himself? Money going to charity?

"No, Mr. Van Dyke is not selling this unit, himself so the proceeds are not going to charity.  Mr. Van Dyke does a great deal of work for charities, as it is.  He considers his charitble work personal, so he rarely talks about it."


--

So...


I think that at least the information in the first two questions should have been put on the auction in the first place. Since there's no proof, and the auction's details aren't so great, and the sellers apparent inability to add at least the question I asked about the case to his auction, then if you want it you shouldn't bid because of a possible DVD connection. Just bid because the hardware is worth that much on its own. :-/

I'm very surprised that you did not post the rest of the correspondance between us?

I asked you what, in your opinion would constitute proof?  I've asked it twice and I still get the same comment:

Just give proof. Any proof at all is better than the zero proof you have given so far.

And I'm still asking for clarification of what "Any Proof" is?

Give me an example and I'll be happy to provide something along those lines.

Would you prefer if Bill McEwen vouched for me?  How about Dan Lutz or Bill Panagouleous, just to name a few?

Alex

PS .. my apologies .. I see that you have posted the rest of our emails ... good for you!

NOW, what would you prefer to see as proof?

Please answer the question and I will respond in kind.

[anivichano]

Greetings Nlandas,

Nlandas wrote:
Anyone have time to call Mr. Van Dyke's advertising agency?

Since its not going through his agency, they won't know.  They'll have to contact Dick, personally, since he gave me the machine to do as I wanted.  We two were the only ones involved in this transaction ... no official publicity.

So, if there's some other form of verification you would like to request, please let me know and I'll do what I can to oblidge.

At the moment all you have is my word.  There are a few in the Amiga community who know me and that I've worked with Dick for years.  Any one of you who's been to an NAB show or a Siggraph show and seen Dick speak on behalf of Newtek would have seen me there as well ... I'm just not as recognizable as Dick :-)

Alex

[Methuselas]

anivichano wrote:

You are quite correct.  How would you go about finding the truth?

I'd met Dick while I was employed by Anti-Gravity and have been his personal computer technician, every since.

Oooh. You worked for Anti-Gravity??? You mind giving me back the grand or so I sent them for the Boxer I *NEVER* got!  :madashell:

[anivichano]

Greetings Methuselas,

Methuselas wrote:

Oooh. You worked for Anti-Gravity??? You mind giving me back the grand or so I sent them for the Boxer I *NEVER* got!  :madashell:

You are correct in stating that I worked FOR them ... I was an employee who had his paycheck bounced and never had a thing to do with the Boxer.  All I did was repair the machines and watch the soap-operas that were happening there :-)

I left after a few months.  Not sure if I was going to get paid from one week to the next :-(

Sorry I can't be of more help.

Alex

[anivichano]

Nlandas wrote:

Oli_hd wrote:

Would there be any way to tell if it's a Commodore or an Amiga Tech A4000T without the side and front, or are they exactly the same?

You could always ask me?

Yes it is an Amiga Tech A4000T and the front panel went the way of the cover ... lost in the vacuum of some storage unit???

I'm really surprised at some of the posters here.  If you have a question about the machine or its authenticity, please ask me.

I've posted that I will answer questions, on the ebay listing and I have responded to all who have asked.  I don't normally frequent this site and would not have known that you people have ligitimate questions.

I request that your questions are ligitimate, do not ask about rumors or speculations and that the questions are to the point and not vague?

I will endevour to answer as best as I can.

Alex

[monami]

hi,

why exactly is this no longer on ebay?

[anivichano]

Greetings monami,

monami wrote:
hi,

why exactly is this no longer on ebay?

I'm pursuing the issue with ebay, but it appears that someone has reported me as "spamming" where I'm using Mr. Van Dyke's name only to get attention and that the listing is not legitimate.

At least, I assume that someone has reported me to ebay, since a couple of months ago, I had sold Mr. Van Dyke's Ultimatte machine with his autograph on it and had no problems.  

In any case, Mr. Van Dyke has been notified and I'm sure this will clear up soon. :-)

Alex

[Oli_hd]

Hi anivichano, thanks for making an account here to sort it out.

Im sure it was a bit depressing reading the people thinking the A4KT was a fake.
And thanks for clearing up about the 040/060 thing. The only reason I didnt e-mail is because Im not going to bid. (Its cool and all but you are probably looking at $1000+ and I already have an A4000T)

I saw one reply you did to someone saying you could do a photograph of Dick signing the Amiga, I think that would be enough for anyone to prove its really his (assuming the picture wasnt at an Amiga show in the 90's ;-) )
So if you did provide that Im sure it would be enough.
Its just signatures can be faked so easily.

Its dead sad that DVD is selling his miggy though, I guess 50Mhz just aint enough to do 3D stuff at HD resolution.

Thanks again for popping by and I hope you get top dollar for it (2000+ maybe)

I hope ebay gets it all sorted.

PS: If you do get a pic of him signing the computer it would be so cool if you could post a copy of it. ;-)

(although it would probably be wise to take a different photo to upload as I bet everyone will sign their A4000T's and flogging them as "owned by DVD")

[redrumloa]

@anivichano

Welcome to Amiga.org, thanks for clearing this up. Let us know if the auction gets re-listed. We are all skeptical, myself included, for a reason. There has been a long history of hoaxes, scams and impersonations in the Amiga community. HERE is a perfect example.On top of that, eBay has a serious problem of counterfeit items selling. So please don't it personally.  :-)

[Plaz]

Give me an example and I'll be happy to provide something along those lines

Here's two suggestions....

#1
The "coup de grâce" would be a snap shot of Mr. Van Dyke autographing this machine. Of course we know he's a busy guy and may not be able to schedule for such a shoot.
 
#2
Perhaps a less reliable but more convienent idea would be to make a phone call. Could you provide a .avi or .wma audio clip of Mr. Van Dyke confirming your possesion of his 4000? Unless you have a professional voice impersonator, I think his distint voice confirming you and the machine would be enough for me.

The fact you've come over to discuss the situation has alreay boosted your credibility, but any one looking to spend perhaps a couple thousand dollars will probably like more proof.

Plaz

[anivichano]

Oli_hd wrote:
Hi anivichano, thanks for making an account here to sort it out.

Sure thing.  For some odd reason (perhaps since I really haven't done much with my Amiga and forgot) I didn't think of looking here :-(

Im sure it was a bit depressing reading the people thinking the A4KT was a fake.

Not at all.  I was surprised that the listing was pulled.  However I'm glad that there is some healthy skepticism and that people have shown enough concern to do something about it.

I've found this entire experience to be quite entertaining.  I can't buy fun like this :-)

And thanks for clearing up about the 040/060 thing. The only reason I didnt e-mail is because Im not going to bid.

At the bottom of my listing, I've stated that if there are ANY questions to please ask.  I don't care if you're bidding or not.  I've already had several emails that have nothing to do with this bid.  So feel free to ask.

(Its cool and all but you are probably looking at $1000+ and I already have an A4000T)

I saw one reply you did to someone saying you could do a photograph of Dick signing the Amiga, I think that would be enough for anyone to prove its really his (assuming the picture wasnt at an Amiga show in the 90's ;-) )
So if you did provide that Im sure it would be enough.
Its just signatures can be faked so easily.

That's easily done.  I have to take the Amiga back to Dick so that he can sign it and I'll snap his pic.

Of course, I expect a good percentage of readers to accuse me of "Photoshoping" (or in Dick's case, Aura'ng) the photo ... heck Dick might do it himself, just to be funny ;-)

Its dead sad that DVD is selling his miggy though, I guess 50Mhz just aint enough to do 3D stuff at HD resolution.

The poor thing was just sitting under his desk, gathering dust. :-(

He pointed out that he clearly recalls times that he's gone to bed in anticipation of 15 frames being rendered, overnight.  Now its more along the lines of 15 seconds or less.

Thanks again for popping by and I hope you get top dollar for it (2000+ maybe)

I hope ebay gets it all sorted.

Thanks.

Ebay has already contacted me and apologized:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180208438492&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:1123

PS: If you do get a pic of him signing the computer it would be so cool if you could post a copy of it. ;-)

I would be happy to do so, as long as I get permissions from both the buyer and Dick.

If you would do me the favor of reminding me at the end of the auction, it would be big help!

(although it would probably be wise to take a different photo to upload as I bet everyone will sign their A4000T's and flogging them as "owned by DVD")

True.  I'm open to suggestions.

Of course, a personallized autograph is anticipated, as long as it follows common rules of decency and politeness. So that might help to keep it authentic?

Many thanks,

Alex

[anivichano]

Greetings redrumloa,

redrumloa wrote:
@anivichano

Welcome to Amiga.org, thanks for clearing this up.

Thank you and its my pleasure. :-)

Let us know if the auction gets re-listed. We are all skeptical, myself included, for a reason. There has been a long history of hoaxes, scams and impersonations in the Amiga community. HERE is a perfect example.On top of that, eBay has a serious problem of counterfeit items selling. So please don't it personally.  :-)

It has been relisted:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180208438492&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:1123

and I can't take it personally!

I'm not a well known name in the larger Amiga community.  I'm certain that there are a lot of Amiga users who still don't know that Dick used Amigas and even more that didn't know I'm his tech ... or even who the heck I am.  Really, I'm noone significant ... didn't invent the Amiga, didn't promote the Amiga, didn't get my picture taken with Jay Miner or Dave Haynie ... didn't even make a prequel movie of "Dances with Wolves" ... i.e. ... "Dances with Penguins" so I expect a good amount of skepticism!

I hope that noone was offended by my responses and I've quite enjoyed this experience :-)

Good luck,

Alex