Stan writes:

> Remember, the IRS and your friendly government is basically trying to
>  find out: how much money-equivalent did you give to the recipient.
>  *Not* what is the money-equivalent *to the recipient*, but what's the
>  equivalent in dollars that came out of your pocket.

The governing instruction booklet for this kind of thing states:

=======================================

Market Value (FMV) on this page for the type of
statement to attach.

Column (h). Enter the method(s) you used to determine
the FMV. The FMV of used household goods and clothing
is usually much lower than when new. A good measure
of value might be the price that buyers of these used items
actually pay in consignment or thrift shops.

Examples of entries to make include “Appraisal,” “Thrift
shop value” (for clothing or household goods), “Catalog”
(for stamp or coin collections), or “Comparable sales” (for
real estate and other kinds of assets). See Pub. 561.

========================================

Notice that the FMV determined by prices common to "comparable sales" is a 
perfectly valid method of deducing a piece of equipment's FMV, as outlined in 
the sentence, "A good measure of value might be the price that *buyers of 
these used items actually pay in consignment or thrift shops*," which is what 
I've been saying all along (where a used computer dealer's selling price is 
our "thrift shop" equivalent).

As was mentioned earlier, more abstract items such as warranties and 
refurbishments will affect the prices and those factors should be taken into 
account in determining a FMV. The one point I do agree with Stan on is that 
if you want to be very safe, list only the value that a used computer dealer 
would pay *you* under the worst possible circumstances. In that case, the FMV 
is for a "dump and forget" situation, where you make no warranty that the 
equipment works now or will ever work again. But if you are willing to make 
such a warranty, even if for only a matter of days, then the value of the 
equipment will obviously be higher.

Wirt Atmar

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