Arkay
Lunatic Member
Okay, maybe that title was slightly misleading: I didn't pick one up free from the curbside, and I don't own one yet, but I did see one sitting there alone on the curbside, and I may end up owning it, yet! Please read on for the whole story...
I posted a few weeks back about seeing a Marantz 500 amp in a shop. The guy there said it was definitely NOT for sale. It had just been bought in for repair. It was a bit of a thrill just to see one of these --it was a lot bigger than I had envisioned-- but also a disappointment that I didn't even have a chance to try to buy it.
Tonight I happened to be walking down the same road which that shop is on, on the other side of the street and about half a block further along it. I saw this BIG thing sitting on the sidewalk/curb edge in front of me, with its back towards me. I walked closer, looked and it was ... a Marantz 500!
As I stood there, slack-jawed and staring, trying not to drool on it, a guy bounded around the other side of the van parked near it, came over and picked it up, and began loading it into the van. [I tell you, white vans have GOOD stuff here! ]
Turns out it was the same 500 I had seen before, all repaired now and being picked up. I was just lucky to have come along at that moment; otherwise I probably would never have seen it again. I asked the guy if it was for sale, and he said "No, it belongs to my boss. It's not for sale right now." Keying in on the "right now" part, I asked how I would go about getting it when it was for sale, and he asked me why I asked. I said I collected Marantz stuff, but didn't have this model yet and would like to add it to my collection (true enough).
He took down my number and said he'd pass my message on to the boss, also commenting that the guy had a bunch of them! I asked, "A bunch of 500's, or a bunch of other models?" The guy's answer was ambiguous (sorry, we were speaking Chinese and I can't translate exactly) but it suggested he had other Marantz and other-brand stuff (not necessarily another 500) - just "a lot of very good gear".
An hour or two later, I got a phone call from a guy who was apparently the owner (boss). After introductions, he asked how much I'd pay for the 500. I said I really wasn't sure what I should pay for one, and asked him to name his price. [Seems to me he isn't too eager to sell it, but is willing to do so for a decent price.] Then he said he had a lot of other gear, saying the other stuff was BETTER than the 500. He said a lot of it was rare or hard-to-find stuff. If the 500 is an example, I believe him. LOL He claims to be a collector, not a dealer, but it seemed he was suggesting I might be interested in buying some of the other stuff, more than the 500. [Possible, but not very likely!] So then I'm imagining the better stuff must be the likes of Krell, Bryston, Pass, Moon, Levinson, etc... but he then names some brands (sorry, can't remember exactly which ...maybe Luxman was in there, or Pioneer?) that I didn't think would necessarily be any better, if as good. :scratch2: Hhhhhmmmm....
He didn't name a price, but left the door open for me to think about it and call him back when I had decided how much I'd pay for it. It is possible he knows exactly what it is worth, and is hoping I'll be a nutty and rich collector who will give him an outrageously high price for it. It is equally possible that he doesn't know what it is worth, got it cheaply several years back, and is willing to sell if there is a decent profit in it, so it could still be a reasonable bargain(?). He has little to lose if I make an offer first. Of course, I want him to name a price first. Initial deadlock of two less-than-stupid negotiators. We'll get to prices eventually, but the dance won't be a quick-step.
I'm not too cash-flush right now (already spent my audio budget for the month, and then some), so the prices these things have reached in the most recent eBay sales is out of my budget right now. I lost most of my income last year, have had some expenses, and while things have started improving lately a little, I'm still being thrifty and budgeting my audio purchases very carefully. I think I'll need to sell of some other gear, before spending on something as expensive as this is likely to be. On the good side, it is not in a store and not being marketed, so it will probably "wait" a little while for me. I have a decent shot at ending up owning this, I think.
I'm thinking of waiting a week or so before calling him back (which gives me time to get at least some cash ready, in case his price is cheaper than I fear and closer to what I hope/wish) then playing the angle of seeing the other stuff he has, as well... make myself seem a little less interested in the 500 per se, and hopefully getting a chance to get to know him and what he is thinking, a little better, before we talk "real" figures. I do want the 500, absolutely, but I will not pay the kind of money that last one or two to sell on eBay went for. I don't mind paying well over the most I've ever paid for audio gear (so far) for this particular piece, and knowing that it will retain good resale value for a while, I'm not afraid to pay a chunk of change for it, but not TOO much.
I am aware of the tendency of the 500 to "self destruct", and while this one has just been repaired by a very experienced (decades in the business, handling good stuff) tech, I'll make sure firsthand that it is still in good shape internally (not "hacked" back into funcitonality with replacement transformers or anything like that) before buying it. In fact, once a price is established and I plan to buy it, I'll probably ask the repairman what was done to it.
My aim would be to use my 3650 preamp with this, probably along with the 300 DC in a bi-amping set-up. Not sure if it is safe to pair these with the Infinty RS-III or Dahlquist DQ-12s, as they are "amp killers" and I'm not sure if these amps can handle the low impedances, but if so, that's what I would use them with as first choice.
Any suggestions on negotiating tactics, price levels, etc... for this would be welcome. I want to end up with this amp, at a price I am satisfied with, and I don't have a first-born child nor much of a soul left to offer. The guy may well read this thread and chuckle, etc... for all I know, but that's okay. I'll buy it or not, depending 98 percent on whether we can reach a mutually satisfactory price. If he reads here, he'll already know what these sell for elsewhere already; if he doesn't, then the thread and potential "risk" is moot (except to me). Thanks!
I posted a few weeks back about seeing a Marantz 500 amp in a shop. The guy there said it was definitely NOT for sale. It had just been bought in for repair. It was a bit of a thrill just to see one of these --it was a lot bigger than I had envisioned-- but also a disappointment that I didn't even have a chance to try to buy it.
Tonight I happened to be walking down the same road which that shop is on, on the other side of the street and about half a block further along it. I saw this BIG thing sitting on the sidewalk/curb edge in front of me, with its back towards me. I walked closer, looked and it was ... a Marantz 500!
As I stood there, slack-jawed and staring, trying not to drool on it, a guy bounded around the other side of the van parked near it, came over and picked it up, and began loading it into the van. [I tell you, white vans have GOOD stuff here!
]Turns out it was the same 500 I had seen before, all repaired now and being picked up. I was just lucky to have come along at that moment; otherwise I probably would never have seen it again. I asked the guy if it was for sale, and he said "No, it belongs to my boss. It's not for sale right now." Keying in on the "right now" part, I asked how I would go about getting it when it was for sale, and he asked me why I asked. I said I collected Marantz stuff, but didn't have this model yet and would like to add it to my collection (true enough).
He took down my number and said he'd pass my message on to the boss, also commenting that the guy had a bunch of them! I asked, "A bunch of 500's, or a bunch of other models?" The guy's answer was ambiguous (sorry, we were speaking Chinese and I can't translate exactly) but it suggested he had other Marantz and other-brand stuff (not necessarily another 500) - just "a lot of very good gear".
An hour or two later, I got a phone call from a guy who was apparently the owner (boss). After introductions, he asked how much I'd pay for the 500. I said I really wasn't sure what I should pay for one, and asked him to name his price. [Seems to me he isn't too eager to sell it, but is willing to do so for a decent price.] Then he said he had a lot of other gear, saying the other stuff was BETTER than the 500. He said a lot of it was rare or hard-to-find stuff. If the 500 is an example, I believe him. LOL He claims to be a collector, not a dealer, but it seemed he was suggesting I might be interested in buying some of the other stuff, more than the 500. [Possible, but not very likely!
] So then I'm imagining the better stuff must be the likes of Krell, Bryston, Pass, Moon, Levinson, etc... but he then names some brands (sorry, can't remember exactly which ...maybe Luxman was in there, or Pioneer?) that I didn't think would necessarily be any better, if as good. :scratch2: Hhhhhmmmm.... He didn't name a price, but left the door open for me to think about it and call him back when I had decided how much I'd pay for it. It is possible he knows exactly what it is worth, and is hoping I'll be a nutty and rich collector who will give him an outrageously high price for it. It is equally possible that he doesn't know what it is worth, got it cheaply several years back, and is willing to sell if there is a decent profit in it, so it could still be a reasonable bargain(?). He has little to lose if I make an offer first. Of course, I want him to name a price first. Initial deadlock of two less-than-stupid negotiators. We'll get to prices eventually, but the dance won't be a quick-step.
I'm not too cash-flush right now (already spent my audio budget for the month, and then some), so the prices these things have reached in the most recent eBay sales is out of my budget right now. I lost most of my income last year, have had some expenses, and while things have started improving lately a little, I'm still being thrifty and budgeting my audio purchases very carefully. I think I'll need to sell of some other gear, before spending on something as expensive as this is likely to be. On the good side, it is not in a store and not being marketed, so it will probably "wait" a little while for me. I have a decent shot at ending up owning this, I think.
I'm thinking of waiting a week or so before calling him back (which gives me time to get at least some cash ready, in case his price is cheaper than I fear and closer to what I hope/wish) then playing the angle of seeing the other stuff he has, as well... make myself seem a little less interested in the 500 per se, and hopefully getting a chance to get to know him and what he is thinking, a little better, before we talk "real" figures. I do want the 500, absolutely, but I will not pay the kind of money that last one or two to sell on eBay went for. I don't mind paying well over the most I've ever paid for audio gear (so far) for this particular piece, and knowing that it will retain good resale value for a while, I'm not afraid to pay a chunk of change for it, but not TOO much.
I am aware of the tendency of the 500 to "self destruct", and while this one has just been repaired by a very experienced (decades in the business, handling good stuff) tech, I'll make sure firsthand that it is still in good shape internally (not "hacked" back into funcitonality with replacement transformers or anything like that) before buying it. In fact, once a price is established and I plan to buy it, I'll probably ask the repairman what was done to it.
My aim would be to use my 3650 preamp with this, probably along with the 300 DC in a bi-amping set-up. Not sure if it is safe to pair these with the Infinty RS-III or Dahlquist DQ-12s, as they are "amp killers" and I'm not sure if these amps can handle the low impedances, but if so, that's what I would use them with as first choice.
Any suggestions on negotiating tactics, price levels, etc... for this would be welcome. I want to end up with this amp, at a price I am satisfied with, and I don't have a first-born child nor much of a soul left to offer. The guy may well read this thread and chuckle, etc... for all I know, but that's okay. I'll buy it or not, depending 98 percent on whether we can reach a mutually satisfactory price. If he reads here, he'll already know what these sell for elsewhere already; if he doesn't, then the thread and potential "risk" is moot (except to me). Thanks!
