What would you pay for an older powermatic TS?

[Synon]

So the company I work with has an old 5hp powermatic tablesaw from the mid 80's. It was mainly used to cut plastics and was never used all that much, so it's in decent shape. They are planning on auctioning it off with secret ballots so you can't see what everyone else is bidding, so you get one shot. My current tablesaw is hardly one at all, craftsman that only handles an 8in blade, raised all the way up I can barely cut through a 2x4, weighs maybe 30 pounds, tiny little thing. I guess I shouldn't complain since it was free, but I figured this would be a good opportunity to upgrade since I don't do enough wood working to justify a new TS.

So I knew powermatic was a highly respected name, but I didn't realize a TS like this costs several thousand dollars new! What would you bid if you were in my shoes? I know of at least one other person who is interested, but we have 250 "potential" bidders in my building, though likely only a few will bid. What would you bid if you were in my shoes?

[Frank Speyerer]

There's a 5hp Powermatic table saw for sale on ebay for $1,575 if that helps.

[jab73180]

can you see how many people bid on it?? if you can make 2 bids, a low and a high one. on the last day if there arent a lot of bids, throw the low ball in.