Thrift Store Audio Gear Prior to eBay and CL

[javamanad]

I've only been collecting audio gear for ten years - right about the time I joined eBay in 1999. I have no recollection of the selection of audio gear in thrift stores prior to the age where things could be sold online.

Does anyone remember if thrift stores had a much better selection before people realized they could make money from their gear instead of donate?

Anyone find anything spectacular at a thrift store prior to online resale?

 

[mufster]

Prior to selling online(especially ebay) there were more hi-fi stores selling 'used' gear. There were also many more 'second hand' stores stocking electrical gear and many more people used the newspaper advert section to sell their gear. I think ebay in particular has made us seen a major shift in where these lovely electricals are available to buy.

People who have no idea how much something is worth can just perform a quick search on ebay(or Google) and they find out they have a real 'gem' on their hands. All these naive widows selling off their husbands gear no longer get sneered at by someone who has just grabbed a high end piece of equipment for next to nothing. Ebay is not often a generous place for the bargain hunting audiophile. For the naive sellers, it's paradise!!!

muf

 

[soundmotor]

I bought & sold plenty of gear prior to the internet. There were many venues for hi-fi enthusiasts such as used stores as well as hi-fi shops with used sections. But make no mistake, the value of vintage gear was well understood 20 years ago and hotly traded. The most significant avenue was the clubby Audiomart. After the internet happened anyone could join. Prior to the internet you needed references and maybe you'd be let in. Once in though you were in the candy shop. What the internet did was open the doors to everyone.

 

[SOTA]

Things have changed a lot with the "interweb" Back in the early days of the net my beloved Yammie CA-1000 was a $4.99 GW find...that'll never happen again:tears: Mind you, over the years I've had so many freebies and insane steals come my way just by having the right connections at the right time:thmbsp:

J.R.

 

[70salesguy]

Prioe to CL and eBay

Prior to ebay, the most prevalent marketplace was the newspaper classifieds and even more so, the local "community" type newspapers.

The regional "trader-type" papers were pretty popular for electronics as well as other bargains.

Growing up in Charleston SC, there was a local paper in the Hanahan section known as the Hanahan News. It could have just as well been called the Hanahan very little only local news and classifed ad gazette!

People used to wait outside their offices in the afternoons to be among the first to get their hands on them!

 

[gogofast]

my friend's father used to run a electronics recycle organization - late 80's early 90's. he told me that he used to see mcintosh, marantz, and other tube gears and receivers all the time - cramped into trailers.

 

[ke4mcl]

i remember finding more stuff on the curb as a kid. now i find like one interesting piece a month and the rest is vcrs and crt's.

 

[Robisme]

The flea market used to be loaded with gear, now it's hit and miss.

Rob

 

[superdog]

I don't remember.I was given a big quad Kenwood in about '83 and never had the itch to look for anything else.It wasn't until the itch hit the second time around in '00 that it hit hard and started searching for more.Oh the things I missed in the thrifts in all that time.:tears:

 

[FDWheelMan]

Prior to ebay, the most prevalent marketplace was the newspaper classifieds and even more so, the local "community" type newspapers.

The regional "trader-type" papers were pretty popular for electronics as well as other bargains.

Growing up in Charleston SC, there was a local paper in the Hanahan section known as the Hanahan News. It could have just as well been called the Hanahan very little only local news and classifed ad gazette!

People used to wait outside their offices in the afternoons to be among the first to get their hands on them!

Alas, the Hanahan News is still in circulation. Although the frequency of ads has severely dwindled...

The upside, Salvation Army opened a huge store, and Goodwill opened an "Outlet" store a little ways back from it....

 

[blackfly]

Prior to selling online(especially ebay) there were more hi-fi stores selling 'used' gear. There were also many more 'second hand' stores stocking electrical gear and many more people used the newspaper advert section to sell their gear. I think ebay in particular has made us seen a major shift in where these lovely electricals are available to buy.

People who have no idea how much something is worth can just perform a quick search on ebay(or Google) and they find out they have a real 'gem' on their hands. All these naive widows selling off their husbands gear no longer get sneered at by someone who has just grabbed a high end piece of equipment for next to nothing. Ebay is not often a generous place for the bargain hunting audiophile. For the naive sellers, it's paradise!!!

muf

How true. My RC 5000 was found at a thrift store in a "better" part of California with the original box for $50. The seller was able to get $4200 for it. He claimed to not know what it was worth, but I am not so sure. I got what I wanted, and I am sure he still is wondering how it was worth so much.

 

[Dr. Music]

Pawn shops. they used to have plenty of vintage gear before the days of ebay and the internet. At that time, being silver was a good thing to the pawns rather than a bad thing.

 

[Mysteryed]

Sold a Sony R-t-R to a dealer in New Mexico doing an exact replacement for a client that had a fire... I got the R-t-R from a PGA player that had fallen on upon less than successful times. All this was accomplished through Audio magazine's "want ads" in the 80's very pre-ebay. Mostly, Audio was not a magazine to me... more like a wish list. :yes: