Buy cheap and sell high??

Originally posted by GaryP
you should share some of them thar bouncy lights with the hard working, downtrodden but nobel worker!

PS - Just in case yer wondering - hard working, downtrodden but nobel worker - is me! :D

G

(PS Kidding about this whole thing, of course! :D )
 
I love to hear stories like ... oh, I found a 1250 for $5 in a garage sale, etc. I have no problem if that person tries to sell it to me for $200 :) He doesn't rub my nose and even he makes a lot of profit I don't feel like he is robbing me something since to me it is still a good deal. He doesn't have to explain to me how he spends his time, labor to make the $5 item worth $400 and sell its to make a few thoudsand percent profit. He is happy and I am happy that is all that counts. To complain about how people make profits (doesn't matter where, ebay or AK or anywhere else..) is like poking him in the stomach, hey! you are not gonna get away with this easy money. That doesn't sound fair to me.
 
gyusher does point out an area I have thought about. I can't help but share when I find something I think is cool. I do whatever to it, and would have trouble letting it go just for what I paid. And on this site, I might feel sheepish about asking more. But after all, very few, if any, AKers would ever be interested in this stuff anyway, not the stuff I mess with. What is the point of paying $75 for a mid-level receiver that needs nothing?
 
I agree with selling a "found" product for a tad less than going price.


What really pisses me off is price gouging sp?. Like whats happening in Punta Gorda, Fla to those hurricane victims.:mad: :mad: :mad:

There's a fine line between capitalism and thievery.
 
Re: $$$$$$$

I see both sides of the issue very clearly, and am a little divided over the whole thing.

Myself, if I find something I really want, and the price is OK with me, I'm unlikely to care much what the seller got it for...

...unless he bragged about scoring it for $10 on AK.

Selling? I'm with Grumpy...this is a community. Those I feel close to here (and with the PM's and emails, that is an ever-growing number) would most certainly pay less than eBay, and if it's something I have little use for, might very well sell for a modest donation to AK + shipping.

Personally I would love to see a monthly raffle, yes monthly, EchoWars just threw up. . .

You can put me down for one even if I have to buy one to donate.
Yikes!!:yikes:

Actually, not a terrible idea, but not every piece of gear needs to be rebuilt to the 9's like the 1010 was. Just a decent piece that's had a tune-up and a good cleaning. I'd be happy to help there...
 
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Look See

Thats what I was talking about . . . good middle of the road gear that already works maybe just a look see just to say it happened, I guess a cursery exam so to speak looking for something blatant. . . Those were fun times. . . Maybe this would be less fun but still fun. . . .

Pioneer SX-780/650
Kenwood 2010/5600
Sansui 4600 etc. . . .
Toshiba, Akai,Phillips, Sony 4800 Etc.

Good but inexpensive gear that's not going to bring 100 bucks but gear that is really the bulk of the vintage market, the standbys. . . Put your own model number I was just pulling things out of the air. . .
 
Thats what I was talking about . . . good middle of the road gear that already works maybe just a look see just to say it happened, I guess a cursery exam so to speak looking for something blatant. . . Those were fun times. . . Maybe this would be less fun but still fun. . . .

Pioneer SX-780/650
Kenwood 2010/5600
Sansui 4600 etc. . . .
Toshiba, Akai,Phillips, Sony 4800 Etc

sorry to hijack the thread but ive got an sx78o that works good and is in very good conditon that id gladly donate for a raffle.i doubt if im ever going to use it so if it found a home where it was going to be used im all game.
chris
 
YoooHooo Mr. Man. . .

YooHooooo Mr. Man. . . . Down here. . . .


Now what do we do. . . . ????

Where do we go from here. . ??. . I want a ticket. . . .
 
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Now what do we do. . . . ????

i dont know ,mabe instead of a raffle since we have the jolida up for grabs at the moment we could have a contest of some sort where it wouldnt cost anything to participate.(just an idea)ill definately donate the receiver if we could come up with something.any ideas on contest ideas?
chris
 
The issue here is not whether we make a nice profit selling old stereo equipment, we do. (winks) But you can't hold a whole web site responsible for the behavior of a few sick, greedy individuals. For if you do, then shouldn't we blame the whole commerce system? And if the whole commerce system is guilty, then isn't this an indictment of our capitalist system in general? I put it to you! Isn't this an indictment of our entire American society? Well, you can do what you want, but we're not going to sit here and listen to you bad-mouth the United States of America!
(Hums the The Star-Spangled Banner)
 
I have collected audio gear over the last 2 years. I have bought much of it on Ebay. I bought a pair of Sansui speakers for $100 and when I received it, they had $39.99 written on it in marker. Oh well, I like what I bought. It is still worth what I paid for it.

I have purchased all of my gear with no intention of selling it. Whether it was Ebay or the local good deal score. I have set my neighbor up with a clean system including a Pioneer sx 780 because I felt he needed something better for his love of music. he did not have any experience in classic gear. I did this for free. I have also bought gear and sent it to a friend in Florida for free.

IMO, everything that we sell has to do with economics. Right now I do not have to sell anything. Capitalism works both ways. What happens if I lose my job and need to sell to survive? I am not going to remember how much I paid for everything and try to set the cost according to that. I would probably want as much as I could get. Right now if I could help someone with something that they need it would be at cost. That is if I do not need it. If someone offers me a price that I cannot refuse, of course its gone. Again, thats if I do not need it. Alot of this stuff depends on the situation.

I have posted scores on AK 2 times. Both times I have thought to myself that if I did sell, It would be bad business that everyone knows what I paid for it.

I do believe that we can identify the dollar whores that sell everything and try to take advantage of us on AK. And many Ebay sellers can be identified as well by thier feed back scores.
The individual buyer must make thier own business decisions.

MM
 
Very interesting topic and lots of good thoughts from so many of you.

I get almost all my stuff from thrift stores. Over the first couple of years I was keeping everthing that actually worked or I could repair. If not, I was just donating the stuff back to the thrifts if it was uneconomical to repair.

After a while I was finding more good stuff then I needed or had room for. I first tried selling on e-bay, about 6 transactions. While everything sold eventually I found it a very time consuming and fustrating experiance dealing with novice vintage buyers and all the packing and shipping hassles. I wasn't looking for a source of income from this hobby and didn't enjoy the e-bay selling part much.

So what I started to do was sell stuff to friends here at work that I thought might be interested in vintage hi-fi equipment. This has worked out very well as I feel I am finding a 'nice home' for the gear. While I don't 'warrenty' the gear I make sure they know to let me know if they ever have a problem with it and I will either fix it for them at cost or find the the best way to get if serviced.

As far as how much I charge for the stuff, I thought about this for awhile before setting my method. I didn't want to just sell it at cost because I knew that many would just want it because it was so cheap and they might not appricate the value and quality of these items. So what I started doing was printing out e-bay completed listings (always more then one) to show what I thought the 'true' market value of an item was worth. I would explain about condition effecting value and added options (wood case or not, etc). I would then offer them the item at 50% of that average selling price. That has seemed to work out great for all I've offered to. I don't have to hassle with packing and shipping and deadbeat buyers and my buyers get a good deal and a method to get their investment back (via e-bay) if they don't end up wanting to keep it. Now I don't tell them what I payed for it just on general principles and most don't even ask.

Anyway that has worked well for me and allows me to keep my hand in thrift store hunting even though I don't really need anything new.

Now I do and have enjoyed 'bragging' here on AK about great finds I have found at thrifts. It truly is a modern hunting like adventure that mostly you come home empty handed but somtimes you 'get your limit' :uzi:

Lefty
 
Originally posted by Delshadowrio

I do believe that we can identify the dollar whores

MM


I may have to add that to my business card! It will be there with "carrion crow" "bottom feeder" and "scavenger"!

I of course prefer the title "Corporate Asset Recovery Specialist" when applied to my occupation, or "Saver of Vintage Electronics from the Dump and placing them into the hands of people looking for them" when I pick up stuff at the thrifts! Although that is a bit unwieldy for day to day use!

It alls boils down to the same thing though, I buy items at a time and place where they are undervalued and resell them at a time and place where they have higher value. Ebay has been a helpful tool in this, though not an exclusive one.

As far as vintage gear goes, very seldom do I make much, but it makes me happy to see a piece of gear go to someone who wants it, rather than see it taken to the dump when it doesn't sell. I'm especially happy when I do make a good profit- though I don't complain when I buy a SX-780 for $15 and sell it for $30- hardly worth my time but the buyer was happy with it and it didn't get dumped!
 
Don C, that's priceless. Nice Animal House reference. Bet you can't fit a caddyshack quote in this thread.
 
Profit

I wish I paid ten bucks for everything and sold it for a hundred or two hundred or higher yet. . .

I will say it again; my point is not to judge or tell anybody what they should or shouldnt do. I just thought it irksome to see a ten dollar item the very next day for hundreds sometimes, call it jealosey, call it envy, call it what you like. But in my mind I at least like to think I got a deal every time I bought something. I would much rather not know what someone paid for something I buy.

The second point about sharing the wealth. . . I thought I was clear not telling anyone what they should do but I thought it reasonable for a person who gets these windfalls so reagular to spread some of it around to those who cant get around to find those deals or someone just starting out. . . I am sure that you get much more in return than you give, at least I do. I certainly wouldnt expect something for nothing and I certainly wouldnt want to advise someone to do anything they did not feel comfortable doing period.

This whole thing is being taken the wrong way by those who are not comfortable doing this. . . Listen it is no big deal one way or the other and it sure as hell doesnt make me feel any less of a person for not sharing my feelings. I know there is always more to something than it might appear and everyone has their reasons one way or the other. . .

Now the raffle thing. . .I think we need some support or direction from those who know about these things as I wouldnt know where to start. I still think its a great idea though. . .
 
Guy

It is a great idea. I am sorta preoccupied with server probs and the lack of a house right now. If I space this one off drop me a reminder.

grumpy
 
I guess we need to ask the Dow Jones, NASDAQ, S&P, Tokyo and all the commodities markets to close because they aren't allowed to buy low and sell high anymore. I guess the farmers will be glad to hear that. That corn didn't cost $2.00 a bushel to grow, it came out of the ground. Kellogs can't take that $2.00 of corn and turn it into $200.00 worth of cereal. I guess this means we need to revert to communism, hold hands comrades because your not allowed to have more than Mr. Jones next door anymore. We will all get state approved radio's and TV's because vintage doesn't exist, neither do collectible coins or stamps, all vintage cars should be crushed to make new Yugo's. We should all live in the same concrete apartments. We can all wear khaki green clothes, we must all conform, prepare to be assimilated because capitalism is now dead. Nobody can have nothing more or less than what they say you can.
 
99% of the great stuff I find or buy at give away price needs repair one way or another. No mater who owns what sooner or later you gotta give up the goods. I bet 50% of those great finds need a little or alot of repair.
 
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