I (or more accurately, my parents) were one of those that happened to buy a computer in that brief 286 window (specifically an IBM PS/1 Model 2011). My friend bought a 386 shortly after that and I had severe buyer's remorse on behalf of my parents. Still had a lot of fun (and learned to program in Turbo Pascal) on that old 286.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_PS/1