9 Thrift Stores And I Found Nothing

A lot of the stuff I have been getting lately has been from Facebook Marketplace. Several of the guys that are now using it in my area use CL and FM at the same time and usually charge a bit less on CL. Now I always look on CL for the same item so I can get the better of the two prices. I like CL but it is not a easy to save things and come back to them as FM.

But even eBay can cough up a a decent deal once in a while.....
 
Agree with everyone saying that 9/10 times you don't find anything. You can't go to thrift stores expecting to make a great find. My last good audio find was at a Salvation Army around 6 months ago - an AR-XA turntable in pretty decent shape. They had it marked at $20 next to some junky plastic table which was marked at $45. I doubt if there was someone there with special dibs on audio gear that they would have passed up anything AR, especially being in New England. It's all a matter of "You win some, you lose most."
 
Depends on condition and model.

A model 570 (which is a curve tracer, but is sometimes confused for a conventional 'scope) in excellent condition could go for over £1000; a model 531 in rough shape you would have trouble giving away.

Some models (e.g., 547, 549) had high voltage transformers that were faulty from new and are worth up to a couple hundred pounds if fixed properly; maybe a tenner or two (though sellers often naively ask for much more) if not fixed. Some of the truly massive beasts (555) are too big to be practical and have an outboard power supply that's sometimes missing; maybe worth £50 with power supply? Giveaway if not.

Oddly, the plugins sometimes sell for more outside a 'scope than a 'scope with them.

I had assumed these were ALL just obsolete bits of test equipment with little more than novelty value, will certainly be looking out for a 570. I just checked and mines a 533A with a Type M plug in module, is it good one or just scrap value?
 
Wash D.C. has a "large" private thrift with staff that price vintage electronics for pennies on the dollar, then call their buddies to come and purchase. And split the profit on craigs.
Arkansas has nothing, a dead zone.

Links to that? Sounds more like Urban Legend.

I see you are a couple year AKer there Blue. You can read through the 10 years of posts on AK and see that some here have discussed the happenings in the intake portal of their local thrift store where some employees or chosen 'friends' get first pick of the goods. This has been reported by AKers for the past number of years. It is known to happen. Some of these 'friends' are helping to evaluate the gear coming in and skimming the product flow while providing a service to the thrift with their evaluation of the remaining items. It is not an urban legend but it would take some time to find the threads, most probably in $&¢ forum IIRC.
 
I had assumed these were ALL just obsolete bits of test equipment with little more than novelty value, will certainly be looking out for a 570. I just checked and mines a 533A with a Type M plug in module, is it good one or just scrap value?
The 533A isn't worth much. It's less desirable than the popular 535 or 535A because it doesn't have the cool delayed sweep that lets you zoom in on and scroll through a waveform, but it's just as big and heavy. I hate to say it, but you'll probably get more for it selling off the tubes, knobs and the plugin separately than as a whole unit.

The Type M 4-trace plugin is rather nice. It's not as desirable as the 1A4 4-trace plugin that replaced it, but still nifty. The later ones with BNC connectors are more desirable than the early ones with the UHF connectors.

If you want to sell the plugin, let me know -- I've been looking for a 1A4 or Type M.
 
I see you are a couple year AKer there Blue. You can read through the 10 years of posts on AK and see that some here have discussed the happenings in the intake portal of their local thrift store where some employees or chosen 'friends' get first pick of the goods. This has been reported by AKers for the past number of years. It is known to happen. Some of these 'friends' are helping to evaluate the gear coming in and skimming the product flow while providing a service to the thrift with their evaluation of the remaining items. It is not an urban legend but it would take some time to find the threads, most probably in $&¢ forum IIRC.


I am sure somewhere sometime it has happened. But a systemic conspiracy over an entire chain? Nope. And just because somebody said the same thing on AK years ago does not mean much really. Many times a lot of those stories are told by people that are pissed about missing a great deal etc.

When a poster flat out tells of something happening like the above, I would like to see some evidence of it. Urban legends get started when the smallest spark (an instance of a employee getting first grab at something, which is fine with me BTW) grows into a blaze (shops holding back good stuff for employees to sell at street prices to share with other employees or favored customers).

Of course things like that happen, but I need more proof that it happens at the rate being implied here.

I believe virtually nothing I read on the WWW without links to a reputable site. Just like am waiting for somebody to bring in an actual Bigfoot so I can see it. Just because people "know" there are Bigfoots, does not make it a fact.
 
I suppose I could say that I've known a few "back door men", but something tells me that wouldn't be good enough evidence for @Bodyblue. Would it help if I told you that I'd briefly been one myself? I've got no pride there, but the ethics can get a little fuzzy...

In any case, the practice is widespread, sometimes by store policy, and sometimes due to unscrupulous employees "going rogue". I don't even understand why there's a debate.
 
I am sure somewhere sometime it has happened. But a systemic conspiracy over an entire chain? Nope. And just because somebody said the same thing on AK years ago does not mean much really. Many times a lot of those stories are told by people that are pissed about missing a great deal etc.

When a poster flat out tells of something happening like the above, I would like to see some evidence of it. Urban legends get started when the smallest spark (an instance of a employee getting first grab at something, which is fine with me BTW) grows into a blaze (shops holding back good stuff for employees to sell at street prices to share with other employees or favored customers).

Of course things like that happen, but I need more proof that it happens at the rate being implied here.

I believe virtually nothing I read on the WWW without links to a reputable site. Just like am waiting for somebody to bring in an actual Bigfoot so I can see it. Just because people "know" there are Bigfoots, does not make it a fact.
The evidence is in the older posts. Actual facts stated by the folks that did some skimming and saw some skimming. You seem to be fairly set in your ways on this and I can't try to convince you otherwise. No, not system-wide but at probably many locations. Totally unknown as to a percentage of those locations.

Take for example my local GW. All donations go on a truck and are taken to a regional sort center and who knows what happens there but for sure the electronics of any mention are NOT brought back to that store as it is not in an area with a good market for that gear. Mostly clothes and household goods. Just because you don't see it doesn't mean it isn't happening on a scale that would fill the 'score' stories for weeks. I think you are fanning the spark into nonsense. It is not happening at the rate you inferred here. But with the use of the interweb increasing over the past dozen years, finding the deal is harder as folks look up what they have before they sell and same for the places that receive the gear as donations. A good manager would try to maximize the income from the donations to help the cause. The problem here and now is the entitled AKer that needs to get gear for pennies on the dollar.

Curious is AK is a reputable site?
 
Because "knowing" is not the same as being able to prove it. Ask any cop about that.
This ain't a court of law to determine if this skimming is a thing. This is AK where we discuss audio. Only when it comes to the cable debate can we get out of hand and riotous. All other discussions should be all audio, no attitude.
 
who knows what happens there but for sure the electronics of any mention are NOT brought back to that store as it is not in an area with a good market for that gear.


A great example you asserting things you have no direct knowledge of. Correlation is not causation, what part of that dont you understand? I am not fanning any flames, I am just stating that I need more proof than what is said on a BB on the web.

Curious is AK is a reputable site?

It depends on what subject is being discussed. What I am looking for is a story in a local newspaper or site, or a magazine that is doing a long form piece on a subject. Something well researched and sourced.

Letting employees get first shot at cool stuff does not bother me a bit. If the thrift wants to lose money that way, it is up to them. If the emps are stealing the donated merchandise it is up to the company to stop it.

There are a lot of reasons for seeing less amazing thrift deals today and probably one of the factors is that some thrifts are selling the good stuff on eBay at near or at street prices (many Goodwills do that). The biggest reason is that vintage gear is hot and I believe that many people realize that just giving an old SX750 to Goodwill for free is rather silly.
 
A great example you asserting things you have no direct knowledge of. Correlation is not causation, what part of that dont you understand? I am not fanning any flames, I am just stating that I need more proof than what is said on a BB on the web.

What? No direct knowledge? Dude I drop stuff off at this location and it must be done in the am when the truck is there. I have discussed it with the guys manning the truck. You have no acceptance of the internet word so I can not help you come to grips with things that are curiosities to you. Since I am not going to write out a complete legal argument for everything we discuss and accept a cross examination to give you the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, I'll just step aside.
 
I have been searching TSs with my wife for years. I have found nothing worth buying in at least eight years.
 
The 533A isn't worth much. It's less desirable than the popular 535 or 535A because it doesn't have the cool delayed sweep that lets you zoom in on and scroll through a waveform, but it's just as big and heavy. I hate to say it, but you'll probably get more for it selling off the tubes, knobs and the plugin separately than as a whole unit.

The Type M 4-trace plugin is rather nice. It's not as desirable as the 1A4 4-trace plugin that replaced it, but still nifty. The later ones with BNC connectors are more desirable than the early ones with the UHF connectors.

If you want to sell the plugin, let me know -- I've been looking for a 1A4 or Type M.

Thank you, really appreciate the info. It's currently with my tech, same guy with my NRG's so i'll let you know what his plan is for it, might be a while before I hear back from him tho
 
This ain't a court of law to determine if this skimming is a thing. This is AK where we discuss audio. Only when it comes to the cable debate can we get out of hand and riotous. All other discussions should be all audio, no attitude.

Oh, I see now. Since I dont agree with you I am unreasonable....got it.
 
Since I was re-bitten by the vintage audio bug about two years ago, I have been visiting thrift stores once or twice a week.
So at 1.5 X 104 weeks, that's approximately 156 TS visits in two years.

In that time I have found the following audio related "scores":
Fisher 450T receiver
Pair of DCM Timewindow 1a
Pioneer PL 112D with Shure M91E
Sony C601ES CD player
About 12 LP's I am proud to have in my collection

If I count each record as an individual "score", that's still about one find per 10 visits.
I keep doing it though, because I enjoy going to thrift stores, and have found other non-audio "treasures".
 
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