How long since the days of finding vintage stereos in thrift stores?

[Bone Yard]

I go to thrift stores a fraction of the old days, those were good times up to around six or seven years ago. At the same time as Goodwill's Massive Expansion into new buildings, several other "thrifts" closed around here, there's lot's of internet stories of how the other stores were buying Goodwill's Inventory and selling it more for profit than charity.

I was in outside sales so it was easy to hit 10+ stores a week at lunchtime or between sales calls, I'd usually find a Goodwill Nugget every two weeks. The big guys, Unique Thrift (maybe owned by Savers?) had bigger, brighter stores and usually 2-3 recievers at any time but they were priced 2-5x as a Goodwill Find, they were still under $50 but I left a lot sitting on the shelf.

I'm not sure what happened to all of the stores but I think several chains got sued because they weren't giving enough to charity, this was in the last eight years and is pretty much when the weekly supply died out.

I did hit a store two weeks ago and found a killer AKAI Tape Deck for twelve bucks, but that's kind of rare. There's still a lot of units out there but you have to do a lot more hunting.

 

[benricci]

Probably 20 years or so. Once eBay and Craigslist became ubiquitous, the real good vintage stuff started drying up almost completely at thrift stores (at least around where I am).

Keep in mind the stuff from the 90's you're finding on shelves now is all about, or approaching, 30 years old. So it's technically as "vintage" as the 70s stuff was about 20 years ago...

 

[quiet]

Maybe it's not as much about increased demand as it is the old stuff got old and failed and dropped in the trash.
Maybe the great masses have no way or place to get it fixed and just drop it in the can.
Going, going, gone.

 

[WSideWitness]

Almost 100% of my finds are on the internet. I still go in thrift stores occasionally, but anything I find is not very desirable and expensive. I have found a fair amount of good deals on FB and CL this year, but I check multiple times a day and still sometimes I go 3-4 months without buying anything. Then I'll find a good haul of stuff all of a sudden. I've never found a deal on any high-end stuff on the internet though. Good mid-range stuff like Marantz 2226b, Pioneer SX-650 and Sansui 5000x but not the monsters everyone wants.

 

[Moonshadow]

That's the first place I go looking ,when I walk in the doors. Don't know if you know but goodwill has been holding stuff from shields and have a website with loads of stuff that needs work.

 

[Moonshadow]

Shelves

 

[rudolfo]

Its a good hobby for some people. As long as they're enjoying it, I think that's what counts.

 

[Mr.White]

I go in one SA locally pretty regularly now for almost 20 years. I don't recall ever seeing anything really cool from before the mid 80's. It's pretty much only BPC. I only ever purchased one SONY 5 disc changer for $25. I have found some great stuff on the sidewalks of Brooklyn as well as at a local electronics recycle dumpster.

All free stuff I found;

Everything in this stack was free;

The LR-9090 was a sidewalk find;

 

[sandpit56]

its even getting hard to find good buys on ebay, stuff that needs repaired is going for an arm and a leg not to mention shipping costs

 

[rudolfo]

its even getting hard to find good buys on ebay, stuff that needs repaired is going for an arm and a leg not to mention shipping costs

I wonder why?

 

[jayvis]

I wonder why?

I've been in the stereo hobby since the mid 70's, and new equipment has always been an expensive luxury item. Comparing dollars then to dollars now, quality equipment and sound have never been more affordable than it is today. But that may not apply to the vintage stereo repair hobby.

 

[mwolfe]

Nothing around here at thrift store in Raleigh,NC. There were tons of vintage stuff at thrift stores in Palm Beach county FL. in the early to mid-2000's.

 

[Spinning45s]

It seems 2000 to 2015 were the years to find great components at the local thrift. Now, nothing! Though, one acquaintance did find a nice TT some months ago.

One earlier post mentioned that the good gear at his thrift store wasn't making it to the shelves. We had a similar situation here. One guy was paying off one of the employees and getting items like a MacIntosh amp for $5 while Sounddesign stuff was being priced at $30 or more!

Guess I can't complain about the current situation, I have a room full of great components picked up over the years.

 

[62vauxhall]

There is a fact that I have not noticed in this thread. Which is that the supply of desireable donations to thrift stores dwindled over time. There is not an infinite quantity of worthwhile anything in peoples homes and those inclined to make donations have mostly done so. The headwaters have dried up.

 

[Blue Shadow]

Still happens:

Thread 'Anyone have any info on this Sansui TT setup?'

Jun 23, 2026

Just picked up this set up from a thrift store for $25. Seems to work fine. Any info on the Cart and the transformers it came with? Never seen either and I’m pretty new to this stuff. Thanks!

• Shockmaster
• Replies: 5
• Forum: Turntables

• 

Not as common, but it happens.

 

[rudolfo]

Could it be related to this???

 

[BOUXY]

Found some 70's Pioneer in good shape recently in Thrift Stores!

 

[loudnoises]

The savers stores all changed policy about 6 years ago. Pricing is stupid now, closer to ebay. I don't waste my time anymore. There's one older guy who works there and he's confirmed stuff is getting peeled off the top and sold thru other channels. In all departments. They're a for-profit company. Goodwill here barely exists. Huge volume of clothes and crap.

I honestly think we've simply cleaned out most of the closets since covid. It's a time or generational thing. Happened in the early 80s with yard sales and antiques. The crap gets brought out and picked thru. We tossed a ton of 80s and 90s bpc from 2000-2020. I saw turntables and such on the street in the 90s, and watched fisher 500s barely going for $300.

So now what is the source of the gear we're expecting to find in the wild? Where is it supposed to be coming from? Sadly the most practical source now is one of us aging out. My humble horde is barely mentionable compared to some of yall, but I know i can't replace it in the same fashion as I acquired it.

 

[Andyman]

I check out the shelves after I drop things off, but don’t hit them much otherwise. That being said, I did score a very nice Marantz 2265 w/ wooden case for $31.99 after my 20% Senior Discount about a year ago and a very nice Pioneer EQ a few years earlier.

Ever since Kegger passed and I started selling off his hoard, I’ve dialed my scrounging waaaay down as I had all his stuff and mine to get rid off. A heart attack 3 years ago also drove home my mortality and downsizing for a move all have enlightened me to getting rid of items unused and unneeded. I still go to drive by estate and garage sales but those desirable items usually get flipped fast, as for the most part, I’m fine with my rigs and am even thinning the herds of multiple backups. No collections for me, just stuff that is in a system and used daily, media included too as streaming suits me just fine!

Good luck on your hunts to all!!!

 

[Oerets]

There have been many changes over the years effecting our hobby. Cell phone and instant access to the internet being IMO the most influential. From yard sales "well on ebay" to the second hand store pricing donated items.
This and the fact of aging out of the first even second owners of vintage gear. To now onto the newer crowd of buy to flip for profit. I see these as the two most influencing factors in the markets.

The to flip crowd with FBM being the center at the moment. There was always the insider effect even back in the hay day, it is just now not hidden.