SX 1980 with box...how high will it go?

[myu701]

I wouldn't take that bet. I might even raise it! At its current price of $2,900 (as of this posting) it's just crazy expensive. Forget about alternatives you could buy for that scratch. This is a vintage piece that hasn't even been recapped or serviced! I can't take at face value the seller's claim about the previous owner having it upgraded by Pioneer. No documentation means to me it didn't happen. And what kinds of upgrades would Pioneer have done?

Spot on analysis. The general perception is that "unused = near mint", and thus ready to go as-is, which is likely not the case. Even if it works fine as-is, there's no telling for how much longer. There's also the issue of how long it has been sitting idle. If the guy who bought it didn't allow for the capacitors to "re-burn", who knows what kind of stress problems have been triggered by firing it back up.

It's over $3000 now... that's just insane. If I was hell bent on owning one of these, I'd rather buy a good condition recapped example for $600, rather than one like this.

 

[bktheking]

Fisherdude hit the nail- and the set number is what brings up the price. If there were millions of these things kicking around they'd be worth peanuts. But there aren't, they were produced for 3 years and are the most powerful pioneer has built to date. There were $1300 in 77, that's like $4000 in today's money if not more.

 

[Snow]

Spot on analysis. The general perception is that "unused = near mint", and thus ready to go as-is, which is likely not the case. Even if it works fine as-is, there's no telling for how much longer. There's also the issue of how long it has been sitting idle. If the guy who bought it didn't allow for the capacitors to "re-burn", who knows what kind of stress problems have been triggered by firing it back up.

It's over $3000 now... that's just insane. If I was hell bent on owning one of these, I'd rather buy a good condition recapped example for $600, rather than one like this.

I think that the odds of finding a recapped good condition SX-1980 for $600.00 is slim but if you can more power to you. :yes:

As far as the price being insane it is to you but obviously it isnt too much for someone else and I suppose thats all that matters, someone once said about the value of an item its worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it on that given day and as long as two or more people are bidding than the price will continue to rise. I think for most its more about owning the nicest example of whatever thing you collect than it is about money spent. I seen an auction for a boombox the other week and it was allready up to $2700.00 now it isnt worth that to me, it was something that I might pay 5-10 bucks for at a yard sale if I had a need for one but to the collector of rare boomboxes it was worth far more.

I see IMHO butt ugly paintings all the time that sell for hundreds of thousands sometimes even millions that I wouldndt take home if they were offered free, beauty value is in the eye of the beholder I suppose. Heck John Lennons tooth sold at auction a little while ago for over 30k. Is it worth that to me? nope sorry it isnt but to a collector it was and thats all that matters.





REGARDS JIM

 

[eddantes]

I remind all of you - to some people $3K is a tip you give the chauffeur... In fact to some people: it is a point of pride - to spend an insane amount of money to get what you want. "Value" does not even factor in to the consideration. The only thing that matters is whether or not you have what you want.

 

[Fisherdude]

Two additional points...

It doesn't matter whether or not it sounds better, the same, or worse than any other Pioneer receiver, or any other brand receiver. Nobody is buying it because of the sound. They're buying it because it's an SX-1980. As far as value to a collector, the sound is secondary.

Regarding whether or not it's been recapped. That most definitely has an effect on the value. If the receiver is untouched electrically, not recapped or altered in any way, that would tend to make it MORE valuable in the eyes of a collector. You not only know that some hack didn't mess something up, but you also know that it's exactly the way it was when it left the factory, and that's exactly what you want.

If you intend to recap or restore it, fine, but at that price point a buyer would feel much more comfortable having that work done under his control.

 

[Yggdrasill]

Two additional points...

It doesn't matter whether or not it sounds better, the same, or worse than any other Pioneer receiver, or any other brand receiver. Nobody is buying it because of the sound. They're buying it because it's an SX-1980. As far as value to a collector, the sound is secondary.

Regarding whether or not it's been recapped. That most definitely has an effect on the value. If the receiver is untouched electrically, not recapped or altered in any way, that would tend to make it MORE valuable in the eyes of a collector. You not only know that some hack didn't mess something up, but you also know that it's exactly the way it was when it left the factory, and that's exactly what you want.

If you intend to recap or restore it, fine, but at that price point a buyer would feel much more comfortable having that work done under his control.

This makes a lot of sense. I guess that I just don't "get" the concept of collecting vintage audio gear that one does or can never use. It's weird to me.

 

[Fisherdude]

Don't feel alone.

There are many people, including some of my non-audio friends, who scoff at the idea of "collecting" anything. Stamps, coins, art, doesn't matter. They just don't get it.

"What's the point of just "having" something that just sits there? What, you're going to fondle it every day or something?"

Collecting is about many things. It's about the thrill of the hunt, it's about (seriously) learning more about the history and details of whatever it is you collect, and the sense of completion you get when your collection, or at least a part of it, is "complete".

Having a box makes it even better!

 

[Skylab]

On the flipside, if you DO recap/restore/rebuild an SX-1980, you can, IMHO, have your cake and eat it too - I love having an SX-1980, but mine also sounds GREAT. I do not care at all that the innards are not all original - I'm glad the flaky power supply board was completely rebuild and that all the aging electrolytic caps were replaced, etc etc. Having done that, mine sounds terrific AND looks cool

YMMV, JMO, etc etc.

 

[Arkay]

i have heard stories of money laundering going on with overly high price items ..not saying this is the case here but i believe it does happen

For most of the people who need to launder money, the amounts involved here are really a bit too small to be worth the hassles... but you never know; enough small markups add up over time.

... I seen an auction for a boombox the other week and it was allready up to $2700.00 now it isnt worth that to me, it was something that I might pay 5-10 bucks for at a yard sale if I had a need for one but to the collector of rare boomboxes it was worth far more.
...

I started buying up some of those "collectible" boomboxes when they were readily available to me, but hard to find elsewhere. My aim was to flip enough of them to pay for "serious" gear, and while I sold off a few, I got into collecting them myself for a while, and started keeping a lot of them. I still have a bunch now in storage, that I'll finally be selling off... to fun "serious" acquisitions, as originally intended. There are VERY FEW boomboxes that can cross the US$2K mark. The only one that consistently does so is a JVC RC-M90. (I have a couple of those! ) But there are a number of them that consistently cross the US$500 mark. The market for collectible boomboxes is like any other market: supply-and-demand rules, and things like fame (association with performers, movies, etc...), and condition (working? clean? boxed?) can also affect prices.

I remind all of you - to some people $3K is a tip you give the chauffeur... In fact to some people: it is a point of pride - to spend an insane amount of money to get what you want. "Value" does not even factor in to the consideration. The only thing that matters is whether or not you have what you want.

Amen. Anything collectible, even matchboxes or swizzle sticks that were originally free, disposable items, can command high prices from the right buyer, and the "right" buyer is someone who wants it badly and has money to pay for it. To anyone else, the prices may seem ridiculous, but not to the collector. The only risk to the buyer is that one day he loses interest or otherwise decides to sell it. Then he's betting that someone else with means to pay will want it just as badly. Otherwise, he'll lose money. In an inflationary economy, even that isn't much of a worry, as in nominal dollars virtually everything tends to increase in price (or perceived "value", even if that is at least in part an illusion.)

 

[meewoo]

We job creator can buy anything!!

:nono::nono::nono:

 

[slow_jazz]

Personally I'd rather have a Yamaha CR-3020 for 1/2 the price.

 

[nickv41]

Amen. Anything collectible, even matchboxes or swizzle sticks that were originally free, disposable items, can command high prices from the right buyer, and the "right" buyer is someone who wants it badly and has money to pay for it. )

You got that right. I just saw a Gillette Fatboy safety razor from the late 1950's sell for $1,850.00 on Ebay. This was an item that sold for $1.95 at the drug store. If only I had a time machine.

 

[jt45]

You got that right. I just saw a Gillette Fatboy safety razor from the late 1950's sell for $1,850.00 on Ebay. This was an item that sold for $1.95 at the drug store. If only I had a time machine.

:jawdrop: Indeed !

 

[Fisherdude]

If any of you are avid fishermen you are probably aware that there's a huge collector market for antique fishing lures. Huge.

I saw an empty box for a particular lure sell on eBay for $5,000.

Ok, it was in very good shape. AN EMPTY BOX.

What's the world comin' to, I ask ya...

 

[62caddy]

You got that right. I just saw a Gillette Fatboy safety razor from the late 1950's sell for $1,850.00 on Ebay. This was an item that sold for $1.95 at the drug store. If only I had a time machine.

Hell- why stop at razors? Time machine would do quite nicely for stock prices, commodity futures, lottery numbers, etc etc etc.

 

[62caddy]

If any of you are avid fishermen you are probably aware that there's a huge collector market for antique fishing lures. Huge.

I saw an empty box for a particular lure sell on eBay for $5,000.

Ok, it was in very good shape. AN EMPTY BOX.

What's the world comin' to, I ask ya...

I think that's what makes the world great! You just never know...:scratch2:unless of course...you know.:yes:

 

[Fisherdude]

Ok, Ok, here we go...you ready??

This is a picture of the little toy face powder compact from the accessories to the 1959 Barbie Roman Holiday doll. This was the ONLY year this compact was available. It's sitting next to an Altoid for scale.

Current FMV: Approximately $900.00.

Seriously.

 

[bowtie427ss]

Once an object becomes iconic............. :yes:

 

[Yggdrasill]

How hard could it be to manufacture a fake one? You'd think there would be a lot of counterfeiting!

Ok, Ok, here we go...you ready??

This is a picture of the little toy face powder compact from the accessories to the 1959 Barbie Roman Holiday doll. This was the ONLY year this compact was available. It's sitting next to an Altoid for scale.

Current FMV: Approximately $900.00.

Seriously.

 

[62caddy]

How hard could it be to manufacture a fake one? You'd think there would be a lot of counterfeiting!

Rest assured somebody's already got it covered.