Anyone annoyed with how high prices are for vintage gear?

Michiganamps

Michiganamps

Active Member
I know this is kind of a rant, but being the same age as the whole "hipster" generation (20) does anyone find it annoying? Like I've been collecting LPs since I was 11 y/o, waay before the craze took off! It kind of irritates me because I used to get made fun of in middle and high school for not listening to rap and being interested in classic rock. Buut now it's the totally cool thing to do. I've even noticed that records that my local store was basically giving away ( 1st presses in VG+ condition) for 1-$3. But now for records in G+ condition are going for upwards of $5+. And don't even get me started on the Vacuum tube gear! My first amp was a bogen DB-110 that I bought locally for <$100 with all tubes and I just had to do a simple restore, but now I see amps on local Craigslist for upwards of $1500 for something that should be $300-450 dollars! Sorry for my rant, but is anyone else annoyed with the seemingly crazy prices you have to pay now for some decent equipment?! I guess I'm lucky and bought my integrated tube receiver before prices get really crazy!
 
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Michiganamps said:
I know this is kind of a rant, but being the same age as the whole "hipster" generation (20) does anyone find it annoying? Like I've been collecting LPs since I was 11 y/o, waay before the craze took off! It kind of irritates me because I used to get made fun of in middle and high school for not listening to rap and being interested in classic rock. Buut now it's the totally cool thing to do. I've even noticed that records that my local store was basically giving away ( 1st presses in VG+ condition) for 1-$3. But now for records in G+ condition are going for upwards of $5+. And don't even get me started on the Vacuum tube gear! My first amp was a bogen DB-110 that I bought locally for <$100 with all tubes and I just had to do a simple restore, but now I see amps on local Craigslist for upwards of $1500 for something that should be $300-450 dollars! Sorry for my rant, but is anyone else annoyed with the seemingly crazy prices you have to pay now for some decent equipment?! I guess I'm lucky and bought my integrated tube receiver before prices get really crazy!
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Don’t Worry
It runs in Cycles
Do your research go to Estate sales
Be the first person there! Really important !
Craigslist eBay audiomart
Only buy on a deal
Oh yeah when the Economy Crashes and it
Will there will be hundreds of Fire sales
Eventually us old collector guys 60+ Will be getting sick moving to smaller houses
Going to assisted living and well you get the Idea At 20 something time is on your side
Meanwhile Start stacking Silver and then
name brand Classics ! Not so much the exotic
New stuff easier to resell later
Good luck
Bobhorn
 
For me my main concern is the condition of said product. Vintage means OLD AS FAUK. LOL Deoxit can only do so much, sometimes parts need to be recapped and replaced. Unless its been recently serviced I wouldn't pay that high prices.
 
Since I don't "buy" music anymore, the climb in demand, and thus $$, for "vintage vinyl" & related don't bother me one iota. Rather, the timing is just about right for me to launch my second "vintage LPs & 78s tradin' post"; I shut down the first such @ around 1997 after a 10-year run. This time I'll be based out of Odessa (in Ukraine), not The States, and sure as hell not in France (note: only concern re: Ukraina operation is if Ukraina joins The -- ugh... EU.). I have a standing inventory of ~7,000+ LPs and 78s -- and a helluva lotta (mostly 50s and 60s Blues) @ 45RPM... but I will need to prepare a machine-readable inventory management system -- Excel or something similar -- to keep track of it all. Have already established necessary contacts in Kiev (federal level) and Odessa (oblast, or provincial, level) trade/commercial development offices and things are already rolling... could have this operation up & running by (late) summer or, more likely, early fall 2020. I'll but an apartment in Odessa to establish a business address as well as a place where I can repair, for up to 180 days/year, if/as needed, to "manage" affairs, etc. Otherwise a close friend will become "the primary tenant" of the space in Odessa and she will watch over the "physical plant", so to speak. If it takes off, might to likewise with a horde of 2,000-3,000 "US & Soviet militaria" pieces I've been amassing since cifrca 1978 -- the nascence of my Army Ranger service, including the rather robust "edged weapons" inventory if I can manage to find a way to bring it into Ukraina... but probably not the firearms cache, which will likely remain in The States forever and will eventually be turned over to my sons. Funny thing is that "The CCCP" items sell most quickly & @ top dollar in The States, and The USA" items sell mostl quickly and @ highest $$ in The EU and (when they can afford it) in Eastern Europe. Each wants "the other's" WW2 and Cold War pieces. Other than East Germany, I have almost "nothing" in the way of post WW2 "Central European" militaria, which suits me fine as the market for everything/place except East Germany (esp. "Stasi-related") is "soft". Of course TR market is (seemingly) forever hot, but other than firearms and a few edged weapons, my inventory of TR items is very modest. [note: I might still have an SS "greatcoat" -- a charcoal/gray-colored leather w/ purple silk lining -- but I might also have traded it away for s.t. American, most likey a painted or unpainted A2 pilot's jacket, WW2 -- I have several of each]
 
^^ Hm... guess a lotta that ain't "audio" related, but the discussion of one market phenomenon leads, naturally I should think, to that of another, eh?
 
@Michiganamps.
The market is what it is. Less would be nice. Then I would have better gear. I new my objective from jump. Then I determined the point of diminishing return for me.
Now my objective is changing. I have decided I "must" have a 200+ watt solid state amp. And all cost must be recoverable. Otherwise I'm having a blast.
I have hobbies competing for dollars. So patience is the name of the game.
 
I simply won't pay more than $250 for a vintage unit. Beyond that it represents very poor value. $1500 will buy some surprisingly decent gear these days that will objectively destroy anything from 45 years ago. And if you're willing to solder, you can totally build a fully class A amp, pre-amp, and phono pre-amp for about $2000. And I'm not talking some Chinese kit crap. I'm talking a stack of Nelson Pass designs.
 
Am I annoyed by current prices for vintage gear ?

Nope,,,not at all...

I dont see the market as being over-valued.
Excepting for the fact that certain specific gear currently commands a premium as it's in demand and the supply is somewhat limited.
Thing is that's not the sorta gear I persue,and when I do I've had no problems waiting out the market trends and finding good buys.
Me,I have a house full of gear that's all been bought over the last couple of years,and none of it was over-priced IMPO.

Patience young lad.
If you're chasing the same trends (ie: gear) as everyone else you gotta expect there to be competition.
And you gotta expect that competition (ie: demand) is gonna drive the current market upwards.
It's business 101.

The trick is to find your gold in the spoils everyone else is completely ignoring,not where everyone else is looking.

For guys like me that are outta vinyl completely (and have -0- interest in tubes) times are pretty good.
From my POV there is a whole lotta decent "vintage" digital gear @ damn good prices these days.
It's all a matter of one's perspective...

FWIW

Bret P.
 
Overpay for a premium, top-condition, highly-desirable item today and in ten years you'll be delighted to be one of the few who have it and you'll marvel at how cheap it was a decade ago. ("I thought it was expensive? Compared to now, back then it was cheap.")

Overpay for a mundane, poor-condition, or non-desirable item now and in ten years it will be worth nothing.
 
It's called the Free Market System. Simple "Supply and Demand" economics (with a little bit if inflation rolled in). I never thought I would have to pay over $50,000. for a new car, either. Or upwards of $500,000 for a house. My old '72 Chevy pickup cost around $5,000 when it was brand new. I could easily sell it today for @ $30,000. I could get at least $10-15,000 for my old '68 VW. It only cost about $2,000, new. Checked the price of tennis shoes lately? Welcome to 2019!
 
peerson said:
It's called the Free Market System. Simple "Supply and Demand" economics (with a little bit if inflation rolled in). I never thought I would have to pay over $50,000. for a new car, either. Or upwards of $500,000 for a house. My old '72 Chevy pickup cost around $5,000 when it was brand new. I could easily sell it today for @ $30,000. I could get at least $10-15,000 for my old '68 VW. It only cost about $2,000, new. Checked the price of tennis shoes lately? Welcome to 2019!
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The currency has just become hugely devalued. That’s what happens when you keep printing paper money with absolutely no gold to back it up. When the economy tanks again it will be interesting to see how the audio market changes.
 
Nope, Klipsch Cornwall do not appeal to hipsters. Too big.... Expensive in the US, and downright rare and dear as poison here in Australia. $8-10,000.
 
Dazaa said:
The currency has just become hugely devalued. That’s what happens when you keep printing paper money with absolutely no gold to back it up. When the economy tanks again it will be interesting to see how the audio market changes.
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Why not reference money to peanuts, or soy beans, or concrete? They're all commodities subject to supply and demand. That sounds like a good idea? No... US currency is referenced to debt. Each American dollar represents somebody's debt. Their house. Their car. Their TV. Their business. Things that aren't so strictly manipulated by the supply and demand of a commodity. It stabilizes the value of the dollar which is why it's the "gold standard" of currency around the world.
 
Since I don't have to have the $1500 or more units, I'm not upset. I'd rather pick up $50 units that can be repaired on the cheap and are valued at 10X my final cost. That doesn't mean everything I buy is for sale. Almost everything I have could be for sale if the market values it more than I do. I actually think some of the prices are undervalued. Does that mean they'll continue to climb forever? There are cycles to every market.

It does take patience and time but it's my hobby and it is self supporting. I get to enjoy different flavors of gear and sometimes pass them on to others who will hopefully do the same. If you absolutely have to have an item, you will probably wind up overpaying.

Mark
 
Learn to build your own or do the footwork to educate yourself about about vintage gear that sounds very good, but is under appreciated and priced accordingly (Magnavox tube amps for example)...
Actually, a better way to view the question "is vintage gear over priced" is what percentage of your money can you recoup if you decide to resell an audio component you purchased?
If you research prior to buying vintage gear and buy accordingly, there is enough demand from other audiophiles that you can sell without a loss if you don't want to keep it.
Try buying a brand new piece of audio equipment, deciding in six months you want something else and see what percentage of your money you get back when you sell it.
I recently bought a very well reviewed, 150 wpc, one year old solid state amp for 40% of what the seller paid for it... That is where people lose money, not vintage if you buy smart.
 
I think a lot of vintage stuff on ebay is overpriced where seller has set a starting amount. Having said that, a lot of that sort of stuff does not sell so it just sits there. There are still some good deals to be had and not all of them on ebay. My local recycling shop often has old gear that is tested (for saftey) at a very good price. Glenn
 
Vintage gear has lost it's charm for me, I don't want to have to restore it and it all has problems sooner or later. I'm in the market for a new TT and I'm buying a new one. Some say a vintage TT is better after being restored but I have several old pieces of gear that I have been unable to get restored so now as things croak I'm just buying new and selling off the old gear as is
 
Maybe if people stopped paying the higher prices, sellers would have to lower their price.

What annoys me is how the word Vintage is way over used. Most of it is just old mass market crap.

When I sell, I always shoot high because most buyers want to lowball every item out there. So maybe I don't get my asking price but everyone wins. I sell and someone gets something they want.

Believe me, I am still stunned that I could buy a pair of Bose 901 series IV with stands and EQ for $100 and sell them for $350 in 2 months because someone just had to have them.

So to answer your main question, it is the buyers of this old stuff that is allowing the prices to go up. Stop buying it and watch the prices come down.
 
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