The "I Missed It by THAT MUCH" thread

I wanted to cry when I was on an goodwill auction site and they had sold a perfectly working Scott rs1250 reciever for 11 bucks plus shipping just a mere hours before hand
 
Can I post something that's not audio just this once. I've been looking for a while to put together a home gym.
So just on the blue I decided to go online bam there was! You know the feeling the hunt is on.
Sadly somebody got there before me.
250 lb of weights for $50. I guess he was selling them for such a great price because weights are known to deflate over the years? :D

I'm obsessed with these weights I would love to have them they're just beautiful.
Back to stereo gear carry on!
 

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Can I post something that's not audio just this once. I've been looking for a while to put together a home gym.
So just on the blue I decided to go online bam there was! You know the feeling the hunt is on.
Sadly somebody got there before me.
250 lb of weights for $50. I guess he was selling them for such a great price because weights are known to deflate over the years? :D

I'm obsessed with these weights I would love to have them they're just beautiful.
Back to stereo gear carry on!

Bummer, so close. I missed out on a mint condition Breville Barista Express espresso maker for $50 and a $100 large Big Green Egg smoker by several minutes each so I feel your non audio “missed it by that much” pain!
 
I kept this email from 2012 just to torture myself. I saw these Win Burhoe speakers listed on Craigslist and it sure caught my attention. I guess Mr. Burhoe was the guy's neighbor at one time and they messed around with stereo gear together. I contacted the seller twice and he seemed like he was going to sell them to me, but then he stopped responding. Still eats at me.

"Hi
There isn’t much more to tell about the speakers. I built the cabinets, sent the crossover components to a guy in Mississippi to match the components, and Win built the crossovers and wired everything up. 24dB per octave, the Vifa is crossed over at 1.5kHz. I had em wired up and running yesterday with an ancient Yamaha HT amp, and they sound very clear, but I’ve been used to having a sub banging away for so long now I probably couldn’t go without one."
 
Learned 2 things over the years (used to own a vintage musical instrument store, top quality gear only, no junk:

1. When you see it... JUMP ON IT immediately - No hesitation. He who hesitates loses.

2. If the lady on the phone says: " I just want to get 'it' out of the house ".... those are the keywords! Absolutely drop everything that you are doing and JUMP ON IT IMMEDIATELY - LIKE FASTER THAN RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!

And if she's an 'old lady' & doesn't really know the value of what she's selling, be cool and pay her a little extra too (an on-the-spot, case by case decision as to how much extra... but be cool. Good Karma helps. You're still making a 'sizable' profit! That way everyone ends up being very happy & it's a really good feeling that way for both parties. :thumbsup:
(Unless, of course, paying extra will ruin the deal, like give her 2nd thoughts about
what she is selling and she will back out of the deal completely. Don't lose the deal.)
 
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Learned 2 things over the years (used to own a vintage musical instrument store, top quality gear only, no junk:

1. When you see it... JUMP ON IT immediately! No hesitation.

2. If the lady on the phone says: "I just want to get ' it ' out of the house".... absolutely drop everything that you are doing and JUMP ON IT SUPER IMMEDIATELY !! LIKE RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(And if she doesn't really know what she's selling, pay her a little extra too! Good Karma helps! You're still making a sizable profit!)


Well your response begs the question. What did you miss?
 
Well your response begs the question. What did you miss?

The only things I 'really missed' were two items from Yahoo Japan because it's so complicated and expensive to buy, package, and ship from Japan. And one from eBay:

1. Sansui flat black tall wooden speaker stands with Sansui logo, 1970, M- condition. Really needed them before but don't need them now. But still collector 'cool'. I'd still be 'super happy' to have them!

2. The 6 pairs of 1980 'used' Sansui interconnects that just sold, as described previously, for $15.50, but don't need them either... I have 2 NOS pairs still in original boxes in stand-by right now... but it was an unbelievable deal for such super rare items at such a ridiculously low price, but then there's Japanese handling, packaging, and shipping.

3. And very recently a 'brand new' Dunhill wallet, brown leather ($225+) that just sold on eBay for $35 plus $5 shipping. That's like FREE, as in FREE! I really don't know why I passed on it (??), and I was 'on' it, even at the final moments in the auction. Just decided I really didn't need it - it was a "total momentary lapse of reason." :dunno: It was an English Dunhill. And I do need it. Could have bid $50 and got it for $40-45. It would have been a super deal @ $75.
 
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Learned 2 things over the years (used to own a vintage musical instrument store, top quality gear only, no junk:

1. When you see it... JUMP ON IT immediately - No hesitation. He who hesitates loses.

2. If the lady on the phone says: " I just want to get 'it' out of the house ".... those are the keywords! Absolutely drop everything that you are doing and JUMP ON IT IMMEDIATELY - LIKE FASTER THAN RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!

And if she's an 'old lady' & doesn't really know the value of what she's selling, be cool and pay her a little extra too (an on-the-spot, case by case decision as to how much extra... but be cool. Good Karma helps. You're still making a 'sizable' profit! That way everyone ends up being very happy & it's a really good feeling that way for both parties. :thumbsup:
(Unless, of course, paying extra will ruin the deal, like give her 2nd thoughts about
what she is selling and she will back out of the deal completely. Don't lose the deal.)

Best post of the month.
 
Learned 2 things over the years (used to own a vintage musical instrument store, top quality gear only, no junk:

1. When you see it... JUMP ON IT immediately - No hesitation. He who hesitates loses.

2. If the lady on the phone says: " I just want to get 'it' out of the house ".... those are the keywords! Absolutely drop everything that you are doing and JUMP ON IT IMMEDIATELY - LIKE FASTER THAN RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!

And if she's an 'old lady' & doesn't really know the value of what she's selling, be cool and pay her a little extra too (an on-the-spot, case by case decision as to how much extra... but be cool. Good Karma helps. You're still making a 'sizable' profit! That way everyone ends up being very happy & it's a really good feeling that way for both parties. :thumbsup:
(Unless, of course, paying extra will ruin the deal, like give her 2nd thoughts about
what she is selling and she will back out of the deal completely. Don't lose the deal.)

If you find something you like on Yahoo Japan use a proxy service like Buyee. Buying through their site makes it about as easy as an eBay purchase. They get a little fee but it's well worth it.
I've made probably a dozen purchases over the years from amplifiers, paper magazines and head shells with no problems so far.
 
If you find something you like on Yahoo Japan use a proxy service like Buyee. Buying through their site makes it about as easy as an eBay purchase. They get a little fee but it's well worth it.
I've made probably a dozen purchases over the years from amplifiers, paper magazines and head shells with no problems so far.

I've had mixed results with the proxy services, and I've tried most of them at this point. The costs are prohibitive for most things because there are so many fees and shipping costs are very high. By the time you factor all that in, you're paying about what you would on eBay, but get very limited buyer protection. With electronics, you also have to deal with the added cost to add transformers since Japanese gear is 100v. However, if you must have that rare peice, it can likely be found easier in Japan, as long as you are willing to pay whatever it takes. Another caution: JDM gear often differs from the export stuff in very significant ways. Make sure you do your research or you'll get something very different from what you expected.

I've missed out on a few items there though. A set of sp-m1 speakers for about $50, and the occasional Technics separates that never come up for sale in the US (just couldn't convince myself to pay the price yet).
 
I've had mixed results with the proxy services, and I've tried most of them at this point. The costs are prohibitive for most things because there are so many fees and shipping costs are very high. By the time you factor all that in, you're paying about what you would on eBay, but get very limited buyer protection. With electronics, you also have to deal with the added cost to add transformers since Japanese gear is 100v. However, if you must have that rare peice, it can likely be found easier in Japan, as long as you are willing to pay whatever it takes. Another caution: JDM gear often differs from the export stuff in very significant ways. Make sure you do your research or you'll get something very different from what you expected.

I've missed out on a few items there though. A set of sp-m1 speakers for about $50, and the occasional Technics separates that never come up for sale in the US (just couldn't convince myself to pay the price yet).

I’ve never had to return anything but if it got hairy I’d imagine there’s some protection through PayPal.
You’re very right about the shipping cost which is another good thing about the proxys. Shipping on a single magazine is about $20 but three or four is only a few dollars extra. They'll hold your purchases for a month so you can add items to keep the total shipping cost down.
Something like an amp is still going to cost you and that most definitely needs to be taken into account as well as the step downs and such.
 
I remember the time when I went to check out the 2nd Sherwood receiver at this man's house a few years back.

He had it in operation, and it was picking up FM though reception tended to drop out. Works great...just needs Deoxit and a few bulbs replaced.

The speakers he was testing it with were a small pair of I believe Wharfdales...vintage of course. No idea of the model. They sounded sweet and full, and they were extra...not sure how much more, but I passed since I didn't really "need" them...still kicking myself to this day, as I could have had a real decent pair of sealed & vintage bookshelves already.
 
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