Of course it is to some. I Buy hi fi / Stereo equipment along with other electronic items such as Amateur radio equipment. I don’t consider myself a collector. I am a tinkerer, fixer, experimenter, hobbyist. I buy my son small tube guitar amps which he has a nice collection, etc. But he is not a collector, he is a guitarist and uses all of the amps. They are not just for show or to complete a collection. Some confuse investment, worth, value with collectability. There is someone out there who collects virtually anything and everything. Some people collect high end watches, exotic or classic cars, electric trains, coins, stamps, depression glass, the list is endless. Most of the time people use the term collectable and believe it’s somewhat synonymous with increasing value over time like an investment. That’s where the problems start, for example Lionel trains were highly collectable in the not so distant past. Some still are but many have lost much if not all of their value. Virtually every Lionel train has been “reintroduced” that’s not reproduced. Introduced designates the same as the original, true or not it lowers the value of the original. Because some nut-job collects bloody scab, pus stained band-aids on the beach does it mean they are worth money or are a good investment? After all he is a collector right? Collector, collections, collectability, collector quality, etc. have been used on everything from McDonalds toys to Cabbage patch dolls. I mean really think about this, plastic throw away toys you get for free at a hamburger joint are collectable? They were thrown in the trash for a reason. Since there are a few that weren’t properly disposed of, now they become collectible due to scarcity. Grown men collect these pieces of plastic throw away crap and are proud of their collections.
Watching Collectable Television Shows: Did you ever watch US pickers on TV? Frank and Mike travel the country to buy “rusty gold.” They travel 5,000 miles to make 500 bucks, lol. Is it me? I wouldn’t take any of that excrement they buy for free. Do people really believe that what they buy is collectable? Who collects rusted junk beyond repair, or restoration? Or the car shows? Danny the Count buys an old car they are gonna build…it’s all there he says…. Mean while it’s just one door handle left from the original car, lol. But they can get all the other parts and complete the restoration in one week. Plus they go banging on strangers doors in Las Vegas. Two hairy, tatted up guys whacking on the doors of people they don’t know. Tell them you were admiring their ride and you want to check it out. Go ahead try that kind of behavior where ever you live, hahahhahaha. See what happens, virtually all possible outcomes will probably end in severe pain. Or the other show with a rats nest hanging bearded mechanic is leaning over running big block engines. What’s wrong with that picture? Anyway they take a classic car if restored to close to original it would probably be worth something but they have a vision. A vision of what it’s supposed to look like and make a modern ugly mess out of it and call it a creation. Skulls, splash, mile wide pin stripes, cut out fender wells, giant wheels with low profile tires, hydraulics, lowered to the ground, 510 cu inch engine with super charger, nitrous, and dual turbos, are what everyone wants on their 1969 Olds 442, lol. Most of the time it looks like a bowel movement with four wheels. And they supposedly sell it for an astronomical price? Yeah ok, I believe that hahahahha. Something to think about, Reality TV is not Real, pathetic. Turning a “collectable” car into a clown mobile boosts TV ratings I guess. If you want to really laugh turn on US restorations one night. People supposedly have emotional attachments to various consistencies of feces and pay Rick many thousands of $$$ to make it smell nice again. I can’t even watch that show anymore its so bizarre. Does anyone believe these shows about collectables? There are so many now, pawn stars, storage wars, etc. Is it me? None of it is even vaguely believable to me (Reality).
That brings me to audio equipment as collectable. Is it? Most of the quacks who rate and evaluate this stuff have diminished hearing. I am included in that group since I just turned 58 this week. High frequency hearing diminishes with age(most people.) I have been to a few “audio/stereo” collectors ponderosa’s and there are literally components everywhere you look. When they describe the sonic differences between components it almost makes me want to vomit. Most are so full of $%#@ and I can prove it. That’s a story for another day. They spout, this amp is worth this, and that speaker is worth that. Everything has an invisible ebay price tag on it, and everything is collectable. Of course they forget all the work, risk, time, energy, fees, etc. That doesn’t count, everyone works for free, right? I went to a ham radio collectors home recently and I couldn’t believe my eyes. Every room, every available space was taken up by receivers, transmitters, transceivers, linear amplifiers, antenna tuners, microphones, meters and various accessories. I mean everywhere, bathroom, bed head board had Yaesu’s stacked up. It was beyond sick. I have seen train collectors with a total obsession, orange, blue and beige Lionel boxes stacked up to the ceiling in every room. Most never removed from their master shipping cartons. I was once one of them. I snapped out of it, how? I worked at a large train store/distributor for many years during college. I bought many vintage and new electric trains at a discount. Long story short, I had a set of passenger cars in which Lionel produced an extra matching car with a different name on the side two years later. Even at a discount that one matching passenger car cost twice as much as the whole set purchased two years earlier. I said to myself, “the hell with this.” I went home and dismantled my 23′ X 16′ layout never to run or buy another electric train again. I spent years building this layout. Seven trains running at one time, figure 8’s suspended from the ceiling with hand cars, etc. shelves filled with all kinds of desirable pre and post war trains. I look at the whole experience as a disease that cured itself. At the time it was also a terrible drain on my finances. Some locomotives sold for well over a thousand bucks. Glad I kicked the habit, it was like any other addiction. Some “audiophiles” have a similar ailment. Many think old, vintage stereo/hi fi equipment is money in the bank. Straight up, the only place your sound equipment is worth money is on Ebay and a few esoteric sites on the interweb. That’s right, your Fisher 500C and your McIntosh C33 is not worth scrap locally. Don’t believe me? Go try and sell it…where and to who. The only people who even know what your stuff is are Men 45-50 and over. That’s right, middle aged and younger don’t know or care what it is. And most women have no use for it. They want no part of it. The only place it is collectable is to niche people with 1/4 of their lives left and the only place you can sell it is on ebay. Who else is going to buy it? People like me who are far and few in between, and resellers. Resellers will play all kinds of games such as paying you well for one piece and giving you virtually nothing for the next. Or finding flaws and imperfections with your equipment when they see it and paying less then agreed, or trying to trade you for other equipment. There are dozens of cons and hustlers out there. I keep it simple, I pay 1/3 the average price of ebay completed auctions. If something averages $300.00 average, median price Sold, I pay $100.00 cash, and that’s working or Not. No waiting for payment since I come to you with cash in hand, no receipt, no money paper trail, I don’t plug it in, I come to you and am prompt and courteous, no packing, no shipping, No 180 day 6 month no questions asked paypal money back guarantee, No fees, no stress, no work, and again I pay cash. At first people say are you kidding? Think about it…you have to double box much of this stuff that’s at least 40 mins alone of your time, you have to purchase insurance, and pay ebay or site fees, buy packing materials and boxes, you have a pay a percentage of your sale price also, you have to honor the sites warrantee policy since they have your CC and bank account as a seller and yank out the money if the customer isn’t happy In 5 months and 29 days. You have to write a description, take pics, etc. Virtually all vintage electronics have something wrong even minor such as a scratchy volume control, you have to list every little imperfection or guess what? You will find “an item not as described” letter in your dedicated ebay mail system box.” So paying 1/3 of average price sold is not really 1/3, it’s less then 1/2 considering all the fee’s, time, energy you have to put out to sell on line. And I haven’t even mentioned aggravation, frustration, and dishonest, aggressive buyers. People rave about Craigslist, all you have are resellers, riff raff, no shows, scammers and some nice people trying to sell stuff for asking prices they see on ebay. Give it a try, maybe it will work for you. Most of the time all you will get are window shoppers, tire kickers, dealers, resellers, and no-good-nicks who will leave a big oil stain on your driveway with their busted up 1973 van. Oh yes there are a few millennials here and there who are into it, and buy some vintage audio, just to cover all bases. So yes it’s collectable to a choice few, who have the room and the mindset to stack this stuff up all over the place and “have a collection.” Me? Yes, me I am included. I have storage areas with equipment. It’s not stacked up all over my home since it’s in dedicated storage. But there is one major difference with me. I fix, experiment, and even try to sell equipment here and there(which as previous stated is getting harder by the week.) I even give some of it away as gifts after the challenge of repair. I don’t look at myself as a collector, I am more of a hobbyist. One situation I have come across in my travels is beyond disturbing. Some “collectors” spend most of their money on “collectables.” They tell their wife that this locomotive only cost $25.00 mean while it cost $2500.00. Or this Krell amp was $500.00 mean while it was $5.000. It doesn’t matter what they are collecting or buying, the sad truth is they are lying to their so called life partner which should be their best friend. I have come across this life scenario many times. The husband dies, his wife is left with piles of his collectable “sheet.” Ok, no big deal right? He spent all of his extra money on this junk instead of investing for his families future. That’s a BIG deal that leaves the guys wife and possibly kids in a bad position. What does she do with rooms full of amplifiers, trains, clocks, etc? Sell them? Sure, for next to nothing. Compare that to having diamonds, or even rolex watches, or gold coins. Even investments, stocks, bonds, property, etc. are sometimes as good if not better then legal tender. At least you can get market value or slightly under from thousands of sources. It’s usually not ideal like cash but at least it has value over the generations and always probably will. At least it has worth. Even a rare, desirable car is hard to dump. You have to find the one schmuck out of millions who wants it and can afford it. My personal belief is that the day of the collectable is over. From what I can see the next generation is not into acquiring collections. Completion of having every Aurora slot car ever made does not interest them. Most are not excited about technologies of the past and have little or no emotional attachment to material things with the exception of items of worth such as jewelry. As for me…I have a lot of old school hobbies, here is a pic of another one of my passions. I breed freshwater Angelfish. I don’t sell them, I give them away…No Collection, I am not a collector. This one is my show tank.
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