Early Macs, 'Think Different' posters headline auction by shuttered Apple vendor Tekserve

After Monday's closure of the New York City Tekserve retail and service location, nearly the entire array of Apple collectibles accumulated over two decades by the company will be sold in a live auction, with online bidding underway.

Highlights of the auction are the vaunted Tekserve Coca-Cola machine, a wide array of Apple and NeXT computers, the contents of the vintage radio wall, individual early-run "Think Different" posters, and the Mac museum that the store has had on display as one item.

Roland Auctioneers & Valuers of New York are selling the collection. Preview dates for the sale are Aug. 20 and 22. A full catalog is not yet available, but an online preview is ongoing.

The Tekserve retail location in New York City was a long-running Apple service shop, and magnet for enthusiasts for 29 years. Tekserve obtained Apple repair certification in 1993, and was located at 119 West 23rd St. in the Flatiron District for the last 14 years.

"We love our customers, and we love what we do," CEO Jerry Gepner said when the closure was announced. "But there comes a point where that doesn't make sense anymore, as much as we love it."

The retail store closed on Aug. 15. Corporate sales and support aspects of the company will remain open. About 70 employees have lost their jobs.

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6 Comments

haar

said about 7 years ago

I would assume Apple has everything in this collection. because why would they not buy the whole lot?...

anantksundaram

said about 7 years ago

haar said:

I would assume Apple has everything in this collection. because why would they not buy the whole lot?...

Most major companies have a 'corporate history' department, so yes, Apple likely has everything in this collection.

welshdog

said about 7 years ago

anantksundaram said:

haar said:

I would assume Apple has everything in this collection. because why would they not buy the whole lot?...

Most major companies have a 'corporate history' department, so yes, Apple likely has everything in this collection.

I have a faint (possibly incorrect) memory of Jobs not liking to look back, so Apple has no museum of past products.

cmyk

said about 7 years ago

Ok, I don't know how many people realize just how sad it is that Tekserve is closing. This is a store that didn't so much break retail rules as ignore them. From the owners to everyone that worked their, they loved what they did and took pride in serving their customers. It was a bit of Hippy Heaven with the vintage Coke Machine that dispensed the little glass bottles for a dime; what you soon noticed was that there was a small dish of dimes on top of the machine & that pretty much summed up the philosophy of Tekserve. That along with the aquariums, terrariums, vintage Macs, old radios and all manner of ephemera, Tekserve provided a stimulating environment that went beyond just "selling".

I have been a customer since 1989 and they have bailed me out of many a tight spot. Where personal computers began as "optional" in our lives, they soon became essential and being without one meant one couldn't work; Tekserve understood this. Many times I would bring in a machine and they would take it and have me wait for 20-30' and it would be done. None of this "pick it up in 2 weeks" stuff.....they get it, you need your machine. They also understood that not everyone wanted to (or could afford to) buy the latest model every year or 18 months. They loved keeping the old ones going. They had the parts, system discs and know how to accomplish that. Amazingly, they actually fixed stuff. I had an old PowerBook and the cable from the monitor to the video board had come loose. They explained that the wire was very, very fine and it was really not meant to be fixed; it was somewhat akin to reattaching a hand. The guy behind the counter offered to try and solder it back, it would run $100.00 win, lose or draw. I went for it and was not disappointed. His skill were not lost on me having earned my radio license at 14 and done quite a bit of soldering myself. In short, it was an amazing place in and of itself and even more amazing that it existed in NYC.

By contrast we now have Apple Stores. Oozing technology and cool with little to no soul. If something is broken, the chances are the recommendation is to buy the latest model. Bringing in an older machine is basically not an option as they don't stock parts and essentially have no interest. If I were to step outside reality for a moment I would think it would have been nice for Apple to subsidize Tekserve......they could have done it secretly. It could have been this Consulate of Good "Apple" Will where the tough problems get solved and hard questions get answered. But that is not the world we live in. Perhaps someone will recognize the value of what Tekserve created and do something similar but I won't bet on it.

Frankly, along with doing more than anyone else in NYC to move Apple forward, they showed us a business model that needs to be copied; passionate, small, independent works for me.

I'll miss Tekserve and I know I'm not alone.

SZ

docno42

said about 7 years ago

cmyk said:

By contrast we now have Apple Stores. Oozing technology and cool with little to no soul. If something is broken, the chances are the recommendation is to buy the latest model. Bringing in an older machine is basically not an option as they don't stock parts and essentially have no interest.

I dunno about soul (my local Apple store has plenty of employs that are personable, friendly and go out of their way to please) but with automated manufacturing and the way modern products are assembled, repairing is no longer economically feasible. It's far more economical for Apple to hand you a totally new device than repair what you have - especially if it's a mobile device. And some Apple stores stock parts - my the first two repairs of my late 2008 MacBook Pro were done in store in less than an hour. Maybe because that model had continual motherboard/GPU issues they kept replacement motherboards on hand - I dunno. But even when my Mac Pro had to be sent out for some parts it still only took them a couple of days (Apple care paid off that time!). Even then it's far more economical for them to just swap entire parts like a motherboard and then have a central location or two decide if it's worth repairing or recycling.

I too miss the days of shops like Tekserve being able to survive, but the economic models around computers have simply changed and such shops haven't been able to survive that easily for over a decade now :(

It's more a testament to their staying power that they survived this long. I was in NYC a few years ago, I wish I would have remembered to visit them. I can remember reading about them with amazement and jealousy in the '90s when I was on the west coast.

I think the best thing you are going to get is a strong enthusiast community. When I actively used my 12" PowerBook G4, I was on a mailing list of 12" enthusiasts - that was a tight community. Having paid staff in a physical location? The economics just don't support it any more :(