Most of us who buy vintage audio/hi fi/stereo equipment do one of three things with it. We can restore and use it, we can trade it, or we can sell it. Or, a little bit of all three things. Problems: Using it, most vintage equipment has to be refurbished after fifty or so years and that is often more work/trouble/cost/stress then it is worth. Next, trading the equipment. Hard to do because most of the Local people who enjoy this stuff are gone or on their way to a better place. Third, selling the equipment. Extremely hard in what I call the new world. The only viable places to sell your audio treasure is ebay and a few selective websites. Ebay has been phasing out old/vintage/collectable auctions for while now. I believe it’s around 12% auctions on ebay now. Forget “buy it nows” etc. you’ll never get a good deal buying and for selling at a profitable price. You will have to leave it up there for eternity plus beat out the junk yard dogs who are willing to make $1.00 selling a $100.00 item. It’s not the ebay of ten years ago.
Many people call me and use online retail prices as a reference. That’s cool, it’s understandable since where else can you get a starting point. Problem with that method is that the caller or emailer always forgets to mention as a seller the fee’s they have to pay to the online venue, they forget the paypal 180 day no questions asked money back guarantee, they forget the packing nightmare especially with tubes, bringing the massive double and triple boxed item to the shipping desk or depot. How about writing a description and taking pics? You forgot to mention that 1/1000 of a millimeter speck of dust behind the dial glass. Don’t forget…the buyer is always right even when they down right steal or rip you off. You just sent out that mint Dynaco 70 amplifier. Five days later you get that dreaded email…item not as described. Buyer claims unit does’t work. Click, a pop up screen appears with a few choices on how to handle the matter. Send it back to you for a full refund, partial refund, etc. etc. You triple boxed this amp, it worked perfectly for a week in your home. Strangely after selling it, it’s no good, buyer wants to send it back. Long story short you get it back with Kmart tubes instead of those Mullard and Telefunkens you sent it out with. Also, there is a big dent in the side of the chassis and cage. The buyer sent it back in one box, loose in one large box. Now you realize, hey this isn’t even the amplifier I sent out. What to do? You can do next to nothing. Ebay and other venues take the side of the buyer 11 times out of 10 so don’t even waste your time. Ok you can make a police report, make a big stink but time, energy, aggravation is worth 100 X more then the thing is worth so you chalk it up to a loss.
What is the point of this writing? If your selling…No one in their right or wrong mind is going to give you $100.00 for something that is worth $100.00. You’re lucky if you get $25.00 – $40.00 for it. You mine as well just exchange one hundred dollar bills if you think your going to get a hundred bucks for an item selling retail on the interweb for $100.00. When your selling something expect to get 1/3 of AVERAGE EBAY SELLING PRICE. That’s not ASKING PRICE, That’s Not HIGHEST PRICE THAT THE ITEM HAS SOLD FOR. You have to go to COMPLETED SOLD AUCTIONS and figure out the median or the average price that item routinely sells for and offer 1/3. For this you need your own ebay account. Ebay does not allow you to view past/completed/sold auctions without being an actual member. Asking prices and “buy it nows” are near worthless, I see buffoons trying to sell $50.00 items for $1000.00 many times.
When I receive communications from people who want to sell things for the highest prices they see on ebay or private websites I wish them luck. It doesn’t make me angry or mad. If they can deal with all the pitfalls and roadblocks, work, stress, time, energy, they darn well deserve to make the big bucks. Plus, most just use it as a bargaining tool. If they don’t sell it locally the next of kin end up throwing it in the dumpster when they’re gone. Some audiophiles / collectors don’t believe that. They can’t fathom that someone doesn’t want their Fisher 800c tube receiver. Most people under the age of 40+ see a Fisher 800c as a piece of old crap. No matter how much it’s worth on ebay. They Don’t Want it For any Price. It’s not a Rolex watch, it’s not Jorden Sneakers, or a new age smart phone, etc. Many seniors wouldn’t believe for well over thirty years I have gone to yard sales, estate sales/tag sales and picked up electronic treasures for five and ten bucks, sometimes even free at the end of day. Garage sales especially, it’s closer to the curb, closer to the garbage after the garage sale is over. In all honesty it’s a little more difficult today. People look their items up on ebay or the internet and believe they have gold. The way you handle that is you go back at the end of the day. Many times the large, heavy, non-working amplifier is still sitting there and they surely don’t want to carry it back in the house. Another Plus in your favor is that stereo equipment has a very low elderly wife approval rating and they want it out(no matter what.) That is now changing since more females then males have an extended education and appreciate more of what life has to offer. Some newbie’s brave it out on the bay and attempt to sell electronics (or in fact anything vintage that actually has to operate or work mechanically, electronically, etc.) In real time truth most fail selling online and soon after realize they would of been better off just selling the stuff to me or someone else like me. Cash in hand, working or not, no waiting, no games. A little late, but a lesson learned is a lesson learned. It’s the real world, you buy a nice new Lexus and decide to sell it a day later. It’s now worth at least 25% less just for that five mile drive to your driveway from the dealer. Wish I can find a deal like that…Come to think of it why do you Park your car on a Driveway and Drive your car on a Parkway?
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