Goodwill/SA/Thrift Store Discussions & Finds

[milo63]

330B, $20 at the St. V's

After a Deoxit bath it sounds much better, the volume pot was really crunchy. Currently running my $10 Paradigm Atom V.3 speakers. A really sweet $30 system if I may say.
I wasn't sure at first, a bit "muddy" on the bottom but the more I listen the more I like. It's in competition with a Luxman R-113, a very different sound.

 

[Bruins]

Picked this up at Value Village, $12 with speakers.

 

[superdog]

Keep meaning to post about the stuff I picked up recently and also just had a funny story / cautionary tale.

Had a decent Thrift / Garage sale stretch last week. I picked up a NAD T550 DVD/CD player, Older Sony STR-DE695 AVR and a Bello Audio Tower (not 100% which model). The Sony I grabbed because I have a Sony stack that I've had forever integrated in my computer setup. My Sony receiver was an older pro-logic though so this way I was able to update the receiver but still have a matching Sony stack. The NAD wouldn't play CD's at first (but did play DVD) but I remembered an old CD laser lens cleaning disk I had from way back. After using it the player started reading CD's just find and sounds wonderful. The Bello rack looks like this one:

My only concern is that my Yamaha CA-2010 which is destined for that room seems WAY too heavy to put on those glass shelves. I might have to find another material to us for the shelf under that unit.

Here is my funny story/cautionary tale: I recently ran into one of the guys from work while leaving the Goodwill store near work. I had no idea he was an audio guy and also hit the thirfts. I was talking to him today about it and learned that he was into speakers and he told me that he found a pair of M&K speakers for $40 at the Salvation Army across the street from work. I was shocked. I'd pretty much decided that this SA never had anything good and wasn't worth visiting with any frequency. It's right across the street from work, easy to get to, and super convenient but I only hit it up on occasion because I've had very little luck there. I think I've only found a few albums, CD's and a nick-knack or two. Just goes to show that you have to keep looking and you never know where that score is going to happen. Just because a store doesn't usually have good stuff doesn't mean a major score can't be had there.

Those shelves and others I have come across sure are nice looking.Unfortunately they have never been strong enough for the type of gear i have had.

 

[Mitkraft]

Those shelves and others I have come across sure are nice looking.Unfortunately they have never been strong enough for the type of gear i have had.

Yeah, i'm using an integrated so it's the only piece that's too heavy. I'm thinking about trying a piece of Diamond plate painted black for the bottom shelf and putting the integrated on there. I just checked and the CA-2010 which is destined for that spot is 46 pounds. I think I found the specs for those shelves and they say "holds up to 50 pounds" but that's too close for comfort for me especially the way the shelves are cantilevered.

 

[vinyl1]

Yeah, i'm using an integrated so it's the only piece that's too heavy. I'm thinking about trying a piece of Diamond plate painted black for the bottom shelf and putting the integrated on there. I just checked and the CA-2010 which is destined for that spot is 46 pounds. I think I found the specs for those shelves and they say "holds up to 50 pounds" but that's too close for comfort for me especially the way the shelves are cantilevered.

Just be thankful you don't have any 100+ lbs amps. It's hard just to put them on the shelf, even if the shelf will support them....

 

[ScottFan355]

I got a similar new in box JVC system at GW before Christmas as a gift for my grand daughter. She likes it; my son and daughter-in-law not so much. Pay back is so sweet! I'm thinking about getting a drum set for my grandson.

Evil... I love it!

 

[Sparkler]

I just picked up a Magnavox CD500 for 6.99 at my local GW. brought it home wiped in down, hooked it up and it plays flawlessly and sounds really nice.

 

[bobsvinyl]

Just picked one of these up at Buy the Pound. Pretty funny and it looks brand new and works perfectly. It was in Electronics which is 20 cents a pound so it cost just under 40 cents.

 

[Sethbramwell]

Just picked one of these up at Buy the Pound. Pretty funny and it looks brand new and works perfectly. It was in Electronics which is 20 cents a pound so it cost just under 40 cents.]

Once again, I envy you. Our GW Outlet has really gone downhill of late, being 90% ratty clothes with one row of wares bins. The electronics are usually whatever the manager feels like pricing them that day with little rhyme or reason. This has led to some great finds, but also a lot of "huh???" moments from me, such as: "Oh look, two tall brown speakers. They have different designs, are slightly different heights, and have different company badges, but they're both brown. Hm. Better label them as a matched set and tape them together." WTF?

 

[Hofy]

Dont feel bad. They are hitting the crack pipe pretty hard at my local GW too. Check out the price of this Technics rack system. The speakers are separate!

 

[HyKlas]

But it has a synithesizer!

 

[Lazarus Long]

At least it's not a cheapo Fisher system.. A local thrift has had one of those priced at $149. It's been sitting there for close to a year..

 

[Sethbramwell]

One of my local regular Goodwills had one of those Philco all-in-one retro systems (Turntable, radio, CD, Cassette) with a broken tonearm, no stylus, and broken hinges for the lid, and they still priced it at 50.00 red tag (very rare they do sales on the red tags here). It sat on the shelves for nearly a year, even despite the occasional red tag sale. Recently it's vanished, and I have to wonder if they finally found a sucker or if they gave up and sent it off to the clearance center.

 

[Lazarus Long]

But it has a synithesizer!

Looks more like a synitnesizer to me.

 

[BilboBaggins]

Once again, I envy you. Our GW Outlet has really gone downhill of late, being 90% ratty clothes with one row of wares bins. The electronics are usually whatever the manager feels like pricing them that day with little rhyme or reason. This has led to some great finds, but also a lot of "huh???" moments from me, such as: "Oh look, two tall brown speakers. They have different designs, are slightly different heights, and have different company badges, but they're both brown. Hm. Better label them as a matched set and tape them together." WTF?

The Good Wills in my area all closed down fairly recently for exactly that reason! They couldn't compete with the Value Villages which clean almost all their textiles before they put them out.

The thrift stores have to realize that the used market is very competitive now, and they can no longer afford to put out only garbage. They are competing with a very smart marketing strategy promoting reuse, treasure hunting, etc. if they don't put anything good out (like my local and now extinct Good Will) they won't survive against the competition. The Value Villages are also putting stuff out throughout the day, giving opportunity for anyone to find something good.

 

[Sethbramwell]

. The Value Villages are also putting stuff out throughout the day, giving opportunity for anyone to find something good.

My GW Outlet puts out new stuff all day as well, but lately the clothes-to-stuff-I-actually-care-about ratio has been so skewed. It's gone that way in the past and always swung back within a month, but this has been going on for 3 months now. I notice the number of people showing up declining bit by bit as well. I love my outlet, but I fear their days are numbered at this rate. A pity, as almost all my best scores and flips have been from there (and regular thrifts now feel like department stores price wise in comparison!)

 

[absolon]

While Value Village may have more stock, their pricing policy means that there aren't many bargains to be had. Their real target market seems to be the hordes of women picking through the fashion racks. I'm not a fan of new prices for well used goods from a for profit entity. I'd far rather fund the recycling depot or the hospital society thrift and because I'm not looking for fashion, the picking in those is often better.

 

[BilboBaggins]

That's unfortunate. I find their pricing strategy is cyclical. I suspect they have targets to the parent company they have to meet, so when garage sale season is closed, the prices go up. They have less volume, so they price items higher in order to meet their monthly quota. I couldn't survive shopping there without the 30% off coupons.

Personally, I don't understand how the not for profits operate. They don't seem to be very smart about how and what they put on the shelves. There is a Saint Vincent de Paul near me, and they never have anything really good. They never have silver faced beauties because they send it to the recyclers. I asked. I rarely go there because of that. There is even an electronics recycling place now with a storefront, but it is all black plastic crap or you occasionally get something like a Marantz 1515 for $200!

 

[absolon]

Value Village gets supplied by Canadian Diabetes at a low per pound cost that VV implies is a contribution to the community but is in fact an extremely low cost, collected and delivered to their door, cost of goods sold. They run it as a business here with no cyclical nature to their pricing and a single objective in mind; they are always so expensive that I have trouble finding value even with 30% off. As far as electronics, we're long past the golden days of picking; the inventory out their has diminished substantially and the crowd chasing it much larger. I don't ever expect to see again the kind of quality goods that were once readily available and any finds of that kind of gear are truly flukes and in my experience, not to be found in Value Village any more. I don't resent it, I've had my fun and acquired a boatload of nice gear, but I don't waste my time chasing it anymore the way I used to. I also don't donate anything to VV either, there are other places that make better use of my donated goods.

 

[markshan]

Please don't get my favorite thread locked down.

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/in...very-member-read-this-before-you-post.173884/

Topics that have been beaten to death, and we’re done with them:
Complaining about eBay buyers who use sniping programs, or complaining about sniping in general.
Complaining that your local thrift store or charitable organization store is too expensive and/or never has anything interesting.
Complaining about sellers who find out what their item is really worth before you have the opportunity to make your “score”.
Complaining about “flippers”.