Apple Stores and PowerBooks: not compatible

Question

Recently, I've brought my G3 and G4 PowerBooks into the local Apple Stores to inquire about batteries and power supplies. However, as far the Apple Store's tech staffs are concerned, I might as well have brought in a couple of dinosaurs.
Neither store had replacement batteries for my G4, and neither one had a replacement power supply for my G3. Both tech staffs regarded my 15" G4 -- built in the apparently Dark Ages of the Year 2004 -- like it was an abacus. And they responded to my G3 Pismo -- built in the Paleolithic Era of 1999 -- with something like incredulity. Meanwhile, there was a line of MacBook Air owners impatiently waiting for me to hurry up and get my antiques out of the way.
Good grief! Any one else have similar experiences? Why don't Apple Stores have some older accessories on hand?

Answer 1

My surprise was that Apple apparently wants to forget about discontinued products as soon as they get discontinued.
I think you're overstating the case a bit. As I noted, Apple is still selling batteries and AC adapters for all of the Aluminum Powerbooks, the last of which was discontinued over two years ago. But Apple may not supply those batteries to every Apple store and Apple reseller, because they can more efficiently and inexpensively be directed to where they are wanted if they're kept in a central location. And as Niteshooter has correctly observed, a battery whose package has been unsealed and that has been used for testing purposes is no longer saleable as "new," so stores may well be reluctant to open and use them that way even if they are in stock. And stores may well be reluctant to keep them in stock, because they are no longer much in demand. The marketplace dictates in large part how convenient it will be for you to obtain parts with which to troubleshoot and diagnose a problem with an older Mac (or any other older device).
For some people in the situation you were in, a good option is to connect with a Mac user group, which may have members with like equipment who can swap parts temporarily to test them. But if there's no user group nearby, you have to do whatever you can, as you did. It's just a fact of life that solving problems with old stuff gets less convenient (and potentially more expensive) as the stuff ages.
I'm glad you resolved your battery problem successfully, and at no extra cost. You can be confident that a new battery would have cost more at the Apple Store, if it had had one to sell, than you paid on Ebay. Of course in that case you could have diagnosed the problem at the Apple Store and then bought a battery on Ebay — but I'm sure you can see why the store wouldn't have any interest in facilitating that outcome.