"Pickers" please describe your techniques and finds

[jlovda]

I read about so many people who come home with Mcintosh amps, AR-3a's, etc. I wonder what I am doing wrong. Where are the best places to go; flea markets, garage sales, estate sales, GW, SA, etc? My neighborhoods seem to have nothing but baby clothes and Little Tikes toys. How often are you out looking and stopping? Does good stuff seem to be "pre picked over" at GW before hitting the sales floor?

Thanks

 

[pete1729]

As a very exclusive interior designer friend used to say to me, "If it came in a box everybody would have one." Which is to say there is no single secret, and if there was, no one would tell it.

Realize that what you read here is the absolute cream of the cream of the crop. Nobody posts about how they struck out that day. Also don't take the futility of your search to mean that God does not love you.

Carry a business card declaring your obsession, hand them out everywhere. Make sure everyone you meet knows what you're after. Call every estate and probate lawyer in your state. Go to every thrift store in a fifty mile radius and offer bribes to they guys at the receiving dock.

You live in N.E. Ohio, Audiocraft territory. Audiocraft did a 'Music For Alzheimers' program in the '90s wherein they took donations of old audio equipment and records and placed them in nursing homes. I know for a fact that they skimmed the nicer things off the top.

 

[nexus]

location, location,location. it applies to this as well...

 

[Vintage Bert]

Ok, since the fellow above mentioned the bribe issue...

Simply a card and a case or two of beer can go a long way to the fellows at the electronics recycling depot giving you a call if something interesting comes through. Someone working for minimum wage will appreciate a pizza gift certificate or some beers way more than promises of something good in the future.

Thrift stores, befriend some volunteers or volunteer yourself for the hospital auxiliary on a good nite.

That's all the secrets to be shared today.

 

[Gazdatronik]

+1Location is key. In the chicagoland area, the equipment was literally sitting on the curb for trash day. I walked to my grandparents house from 4th grade to 6th, along the way picking up speakers, recivers, amps, vcrs and televisions. So many, that my grandparents garage was so jam packed with stuff, when she died, my aunts opened the door and stuck price stickers on everything and cleared out the place. After moving to pre bubble marietta Georgia in 2000, I found everything. My thrift store right by the house had rectilinear xi, jbL100s, ar7s, advent 3, the marantz mr220, kef c35`s and two sets of optimus 1`s at different points over the couple years I went there, and I bought all of it.

A few years later, and I move to Chattanooga. There's hardly nothing here. And now I'm sad.

 

[able.baker]

I've picked up a fair amount of stuff on the side of the road. But you have to STOP WHEN YOU SEE IT! It won't be there if you drive around the block or look for it on the way back. GW/Salvation Army have been close to a total bust. Estate sales can be good but you have to get there early. I've also gotten some good finds at church/synagogue rummage sales. Leave no stone unturned!

 

[ggregg]

Right place at the right time.

I haven't been lucky at thrifts since I moved away from the big city. Thrifts around here think Lloyd's is high end.

Pawn shops used to be a good source but now they think everything is gold. 10 years ago one could score in pawn shops, now it's all BPC or priced through the moon.

Garage sales are hit and miss but still can be good if you get there really early. Usually where you will find the best deals, but you will hit dozens usually before you come to a decent piece. Flea markets are similar. Every seller at a flea is a flipper so buyer beware, but good pieces can be found.

Craigslist can be fruitful or frustrating.

Ebay has the greatest selection but you will pay market price, whatever that is.

I've actually scored a few times in antique stores. My best score ever came at an antique store, and I almost missed it. Empire 698 for $60. Still my main turntable.

 

[RxDx]

I've found bargains in every place people have mentioned, including ebay, just not on a frequent basis (though some are more reliable).

My most consistent sources are two related locally-owned thrift stores. I try to get to them once a week.

 

[Jenkster]

I'm not a picker per-se' but I have made good scores on audio related gear. One thing I will do is scan local CL and other For Sale publications for vintage audio gear. If I see, lets say, a vintage turntable I'm not interested in, it is quite possible they have other gear, albums etc. that hasn't made it to the market yet. For example, I saw a pair of very old DIY speakers on CL. I wasn't really interested but responded to the ad. Turns out, the seller had two Fisher tube amplifiers and lots of spare tubes he forgot about. I did very well that day!:yes: Another example was a pair of JBL L-65 Jubals. He wanted way too much money but I asked what other audio gear he had. He offered me his "Non-working" Pioneer SX-1250 for a VERY reasonable price.

 

[Ramseybella]

Luck, location and timing!!
It also helps to look like one of the Security guys on Hard Core Pawn when the cart comes out!!

I just scored me a nice used $900.00 MSRP Cannondale mountain bike for $100.00
At Salvation Army this weekend, they wanted $225.00 I offered $100.00 and it went home in my truck.:thmbsp:

Don't be afraid to ask you never know.

 

[ConradH]

You need to be on the prowl all the time. I'm not and still manage to stumble into something decent about once a year or so.

I did a bit better on my Cannondale. It was $15 at a barn sale. I did, however, have to clean off the barn schmutz and bird droppings of several years and put new tires on it.

 

[Ghonk]

The thrifts in my area only have junk,unless you are into acquiring the world's largest VCR collection,after at least 50 trips i have ALMOST given up on them.
I have had much better luck at estate and garage sales.No great scores,but at least i was able to buy something.

 

[jcamero]

99 times out of 100 you will strike out! That 1 time is a rush, trouble is, the 1 time, may be the first time looking, or the sixty ninth! My advise is do not waste your time looking for a "score", it WILL, find you. My latest score was a Harry James LP recorded by Sheffield Labs, I found it going through my LPs' at home.

 

[gonzomeep]

Picker joy

Things have changed since I started picking or networking with pickers. Used to be that after running into the same people that "got there first", I realized that I needed to give these pure pickers ($-flip- no emotional attachment) an incentive. Told them that just a lead would net them money. Gave them my number and watched as the calls came in. Search my older posts and witness the amount of great old gear I was able to obtain. In this "picked through" environment, my tactics have changed. The old saying that "The early bird gets the worm" is my M.O. The countless hours searching the net and the value of trusted picker contacts is key nowadays. There is still some to be had, but you gotta work much harder for it now.

 

[RandyFloyd76]

Some good advice in here. Time searching is the most important component for me. Thrifts in more affluent areas help, as well as not for profit thrifts like in senior centers or humane societies for example.

I've actually found hard to locate Bozaks listed in my local paper's free "thrifty" ads. Church Rummage sales can be good. The internet sites can be good, especially if you're looking for more obscure brands like Optonica or Lafayette etc.

I have also seen some incredible bargains on this site's "Barter Town."

It is getting harder for me though. The advent of the "flippers" have even reached my rural area. If I see something interesting, I don't hesitate to buy it on the spot.

 

[Junknewbian]

After buying and selling a lot of audio equipment over the past 10 years, I have met most of the other vintage gear-heads in this community. Now we do a fair bit of trading that seems to offer excellent deals for both parties. We know what each others preferences are. Basically, the secret is to be nice to the people you buy from and sell to.

 

[gonzomeep]

Yup

:yes:

 

[Ramseybella]

After buying and selling a lot of audio equipment over the past 10 years, I have met most of the other vintage gear-heads in this community. Now we do a fair bit of trading that seems to offer excellent deals for both parties. We know what each others preferences are. Basically, the secret is to be nice to the people you buy from and sell to.

Agree 100%..
Don't be aggressive to others even if they are nothing but I-pad toting sharks, they have one agenda get it all and sell it on Ebay.
You have to be ahead of them and know more then they know, just because it has standard household names like Radio Shack, Philips, SONY or Magnavox or is a DVD player does not mean it's always some consumer throw away POS.
Something says SACD on it I will pull it that's how i Scored my Sony 999 and Denon SACD players, all the other audio geniuses walked right past them.
My favoret line from Jurassic park was "Is it heavy? then put it down it's expensive", that holds true about 80% of the time.
I work for a living so I don't get to hit the thrifts as much, most of the thrifters that sit all day get some sort of disability check from the Gov so they have nothing to do but hang out and cart feed.
The little thrift store around my work has been a gold mine.

(NOTE):It is an addiction no bones about it so be aware of this warning..

 

[Marantz Fan]

I'm a realtor. I sometimes cruise neighborhoods looking at yard sales to see if people are moving. I see a lot of gear that way. Mostly junk or at least very overpriced. Ocasionally I find something worth buying.

We also have a great local online classified site. I check it about once a day. Lots of overpriced items and junk also but I have snagged a few gems.

 

[tubed]

It's better to be lucky than good so work on your luck skills.