Re:

> documentable quotes for tax purposes. You're simply cheating yourself if you
> use eBay prices.

No, you're preventing yourself from cheating the IRS :)

The IRS doesn't care what you paid for something, or what the replacement
value is, so much as what you could have sold it for ... because that's
what you're giving away.

In short, if you find 10 price points of $1, and one price point of $2,
the fair market value is $1, not $2.

From IRS Publication 561 : Determining the Value of Donated Property
http://www.irs.gov/    (Enter "561" in the "Form Finder" box)

   Fair market value (FMV) is the price that property would
   sell for on the open market.  It is the price that would be
   agreed on between a willing buyer and a willing seller,
   with neither being required to act, and both having
   reasonable knowledge of the relevant facts.

So, that seems to bear out what I said: it's the value *you* would have
received had you sold the equipment on the open market.
(Like the difference between "Red book" and "blue book" prices)

Later in 561, the IRS refers to "the blue book price".  Generally,
a "red book" price is what a dealer charges when selling,
and a "blue book" price is what a dealer would pay when buying.

--
Stan Sieler                                           [log in to unmask]
www.allegro.com/sieler/wanted/index.html                  www.sieler.com

* To join/leave the list, search archives, change list settings, *
* etc., please visit http://raven.utc.edu/archives/hp3000-l.html *