Gifts
Retro-tech merch is the kind of gift that only lands with someone who was actually there. It doesn't work as a generic present — it works because the person opening it recognises something specific out of their own history. That's the whole shop, but these four shelves are the fastest way in.
By recipient
- Gifts for Developers — for the engineer whose first browser was Netscape and whose first professional language was Java. 24 items.
- Gifts for 90s Kids — for the thirty-something who grew up in the elementary-school computer lab. 34 items.
- Gifts for Mac Users — for anyone whose first computer was a beige Mac Classic. 16 items.
- Gifts for PC Gamers — for the person whose first rig was a beige tower with a Sound Blaster card. 19 items.
Plenty of things appear on more than one shelf, which is usually a good sign you've found the right one.
By price
- Under $25 — mostly stickers, magnets, patches and mugs.
- Under $40 — most of the hats and t-shirts.
- Stickers, magnets and patches — the stocking-stuffer shelf.
When you're not sure
- Best sellers — the designs that land most reliably.
- Abandonware Credit — a digital gift card, delivered by email. For when you know they want the retro-computing thing but not which one.
If you're shopping by era instead
- Screensavers — After Dark, the Flying Toasters, Windows XP Bliss.
- Retro Web — Netscape, GeoCities, Winamp, AIM, ICQ, MySpace.
- Windows 95 to XP — Clippy, the Recycle Bin, Encarta, Bliss.
- 90s Educational Software — Kid Pix, Number Munchers, MECC.
- Retro Games and the Microsoft Entertainment Pack.
Ordering in time
Everything here is made to order — nothing sits in a warehouse waiting. Production and dispatch usually take a few business days, and then normal shipping time runs on top of that.
For a gift with a fixed date, ordering about ten days ahead is comfortable for US delivery. International needs longer. If you're up against a real deadline, send us a message before you order and we'll tell you honestly whether it can make it.
More about who makes this and why: About Abandonware.