I've seen some people shout out about a great audio equipment buy they made from CL (CraigsList), SA (Salvation Army), and GW (Goodwill). Anybody found any other great sources for terrific audio deals?

Barter Town in the Subscriber's section.

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/payments.php

Why would I give out that information?:scratch2:

I've got some very good deals from ebay actually. Look for the ones in the wrong category with a bad title, bad photos and no shipping.

I once got a Rotel reciever, Rotel EQ and BSR (heh) turntable this way, all in good working condition, for the opening bid of £0.99. And an arc welder Grundig for £1.99.

Ebay can be expensive, but badly presented items are cheap!

Really, really, really rich people.

je

Kijiji and some good friends!

My best deals have been through ebay and the net, then estate sales.. CL has been really good to me for LPs

I went to my local goodwill and thrift stores after reading about all the good deal here.
I found a tiny pair of plastic speakers wire hanging out the back for $30
I found a small pair of Cerin Vega 2 way for $164 and the surrounds were distroyed.
I don't think I find "good" deals. I did found one pretty good local deal on CL.

I check CL electronics pretty frequently and then garage sales in CL (using audio search terms) on thursday or friday - the newspaper at one time had things but I dont even bother anymore - We have decent pawns in town ( check about once a month) and the managers know me from past purchases and will keep an eye out and give me better pricing on gear than sticker (somtimes big cuts) - I check ebay once a day (local search of audio within 200 miles - I have this search bookmarked in my browser) I go out to the thrifts about once a month - I usually go out to thrifts more this time of year,when the "snowbirds" all come down to their winter homes and there seems to be an influx of equipment - all the audio gear I have is from buying/selling (thats the deal with wife) - its turned into quite the hobby.....

Look for the idiots who spell receiver "reciever"... However, I think Ebay not corrects spelling for searches.

Seriously, I think I just gave away a secret.

Look for the idiots who spell receiver "reciever"... However, I think Ebay not corrects spelling for searches.

Seriously, I think I just gave away a secret.

Yeah, but people have caught on- the best E-Bay deals ever on guitars were in the past when you'd search "gutar", "gitar", "gutiar", "Fedner", "Gisbon"...I'm serious.

je

Get new home threater stuff, and dump their heavy old junk at the transfer station. I do some consuting work for two towns, and am known for showing up at the transfer stations with extra beer at Friday closing time:smoke:. Its nearly stealing, but nobody gets hurt and I can quit any time I want.

Ebay local picup only, especially with gas at $1.75

local garage sales

Ebay Buy-It-Nows when people are wanting to unload the item quickly, or have no idea of the value. Also, random chance gear spottings in others' homes. For example, I may be getting my hands on some Hafler and Adcom gear by having a keen eye as a guest. It is sitting unused in a corner in my friend's parents house.

Why would I give out that information?:scratch2:

You don't have to say a word because we already know how you operate!:D

I've seen some people shout out about a great audio equipment buy they made from CL (CraigsList), SA (Salvation Army), and GW (Goodwill). Anybody found any other great sources for terrific audio deals?

All of the above plus estate sales, garage sales, and swap meets. Vigilence is the key. The more effort you put in, the luckier you get.

All of the above.

I have only purchased one item via CL (Pioneer Sx-780) though I do see good deals fairly often.

The best finds were at thrift stores. I found a Sony CDP-520es for $13 at GW. A good Technics cassette deck for $10 at another thrift store over a year ago, but since then I've found absolutely nothing good there. Many other finds including Hpm-100's and Sansui 7070, both for $40. Many stores these days are asking ebay prices so great deals are getting less common. Sometimes the store can't find the item on ebay or google just because it hasn't sold recently or something, and then they may price it considerably lower than it's worth which is how, I presume, I got some of the deals I did.

Yard/garage/estate/storage sales for me have been so-so but I always had fun looking. If you come across someone who's not asking ebay prices you can get a great deal.

Ebay is usually big money. Deals are much harder to come by today and like a poster above said mistakes like spelling receiver wrong don't pass by most ebay users anymore. The only audio components I've bought this way are my Yamaha AV amp and HK speakers. And I do search locally. Most of all the shipping is the deal killer for me. Especially if you're talking speakers or an older component that weighs a lot like the Sansui I have.

Barter Town in the Subscriber's section.

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/payments.php

You are 100% correct sir! No, you may not score a Marantz 8b for $10, but you will get accurately described, fairly priced, carefully shipped gear.

Best audio $$ I ever spend. There is a TON of gear listed right now, amps, RTR, speakers, music, cables. McIntosh, Pilot, Micro Seiki, Yamaha, Marantz...

Pay your $25 and check it out.

One source that I've found that has good stuff at sometimes ridiculously low prices are church garage sales. I've bought stuff there at practically give-away prices in the past.

I say Ebay for me not much luck with CL

Darren

My best scores have been at Good Wills. There are 5 not too far from where I live. What's nice is, you have 7 days to return electronics....so if it powers up, I grab it! :D

The local thrifts usually ask close to e-bay prices for thrift store slections. The shipping can add up quick with e-bay. My best luck has been with craigslist. My best prices have been church rummage sales. There are alot of retired military around here which means alot of nice vintage stereos.

Flea Markets & Thrift Stores are a good source for me to check.

Rome

Where I least expect it!

I've gotten stuff from all the usual places, eBay, CL, estate sales, thrifts, word-of-mouth, and even from the local newspaper. But things seem to go in weird cycles.

For example, I got a few decent deals from eBay, where local pick-up was required or shipping costs were ridiculous and I was local. So I started concentrating on eBay searches without success. Then I was driving through a local town and came across a house that was obviously being emptied. Found some great stuff cheap, so I started stalking estate sales. Again, the moment I concentrated on them I found no great deals. Then, looking through the classifieds in my local paper a few months later I found a cryptic ad offering LPs. Gave a call and scored a bunch of wonderful gear that was never mentioned in the ad.

I guess the best strategy is to check everything in moderation. Let your friends know you are interested in the gear, so that they can help you. A nephew in CT found a wonderful old tube organ for me, which I got for free simply by carting it away. Scored many tubes, a pair of tube amps, and some decent speakers, all because he knew of my interest and was called in to help empty and refurbish an old house. I was even able to dispose of the carcass of the organ in his dumpster (it wasn't worth keeping). I made sure to reward him nicely so that he'll want to help me more in the future.

And don't expect the best deals to be had without a bit of digging. If great gear is well documented and advertised you aren't going to be lucky enough to be the first to see it. And if it is that well documented you won't get it cheap.

Do your research so you know what you want, and can appreciate items you find. I have found some cool equipment simply because no one in my area really knew what it was.

Finally, you need to think of this as a hobby. And that means respecting people, and understanding that many are a bit overwhelmed selling stuff. We've all heard of the audio jerks. That CL buyer north of Boston comes to mind. Indignation should be heaped on the scammers and serial sellers who always overstate and over-rate their gear. But for the normal person who will have only one or two major audio sales in their life there should be room for a little slack.

A few years ago, I purchased a stereo system off of CL from a guy who had lost most of his hearing. The guy wasn't familiar with CL and put a low price in his ad, although it was obvious from the ad content that the listed price was well below what he wanted. This upset more than a few bidders, whose anger towards him ultimately helped me.

I recognized that he wanted to negotiate on the sale of his beloved system. By being "civil" and taking my time I was able to be one of a handful of potential buyers that he entered into serious discussions with, and one of only 2 or 3 that were local to him (he didn't have the capability to deal with packing and shipping any of the gear). Based upon my conversations with him I offered a rather high price relative to the items he had listed on CL, certainly a much higher price than any of the other local bidders.

A few competitors (who I know, but didn't know I was competing with at the time) thought I must be crazy. But I had taken the time to discuss the system with the seller in detail during our 3 week correspondence. Included in the system were a few unbelievable components that weren't explicitly specified - but were implied from the system description - that made my offer extremely reasonable.

The seller was ultimately happy with selling his "baby" to me, and I was ecstatic at the deal I got.

CL, though I haven't been looking much lately...

Garage sales in nice, older neighborhoods.

Wife tells the husband get rid of those big old speakers, put them out on the driveway for sale.

Found Rectilinear IIIs Allison CD-8, and Infinity RS-II speakers that way. Just sitting on the driveway at very low garage sale prices. Spring garage sales are the time.

Recently I find very little at estate sales and goodwill.

Cheers, Snade

Atta boy Snade.... that's the ticket!:yes:

Where I least expect it!

OK, you keep staking out southern Jersey, I'll take northern. ;)

I hear you on your points... serendipity is almost always king. You just never know what "box of chocolates" is going to come your way. But ultimately, go to be shrewd but fair... I feel guilty ripping off someone when it's a screaming good deal, especially if the person is nice and just doesn't know what they've got. So, I can see talking with a more favorable position... when someone feels they're getting good value, then you never know what freebies they'll kick in as well.

I like Snade's idea about Spring... scour a bunch of garage sales and see what turns up. Focus on neighborhoods rife with the elderly... who knows what Bertha ends up forcing her Ulysses to push his gorgeous vintage speakers to the curb with a $10 tag on 'em. :banana:

One source that I've found that has good stuff at sometimes ridiculously low prices are church garage sales. I've bought stuff there at practically give-away prices in the past.

Praise the Lord!

I find a lot of good stuff out of thrift stores. There is one that I mostly get good success with. I also look at estate sales, flea markets, garage sales and Craiglist. I quit buying items on eBay, since they wind up damaged.

I have come across some elderly neighborhoods but what few audio items I did find were Lloyd's and some vintage department store crap.

One lady said her husband bought this turntable/stereo system years ago but didn't have the knowledge to ever connect it. They were going to practically give it away but it was Panasonic or some other plastic/fiberboard thing. Too bad.

The problem in Florida is that many of the best systems these older people had were sold when they downsized, before leaving other parts of the country. Too many of the retirement communities aren't really conducive for the size and power of collectible vintage gear.

I have my sources, but they are pretty much confined to Hong Kong and of no use to others here (or even to most locals!).

But thinking of places I used to find stuff years ago in the states, and brainstorming a little, I would say look for/at the following:

Flea markets.
Thrift shops.
Garage sales.
Estate sales.
Church sales.
School carnivals ("country store" booth).
Used-book sales (school sales and library excess/donation clearance sales. When people donate books, sometimes they also donate records, which is seldom advertised).
Antique shops (mostly over-priced, but occasionally they don't know audio...).
Pawn shops.
Repair shops (appliance, TV, etc...).
Moving and storage companies (unclaimed/unpaid stuff).
You-store-it places (stuff being cleared from unpaid storage).
Government surplus outlets.
The police. Ask them what happens to unclaimed things in the lost-and-found, recovered stolen goods that they cannot locate owners for, etc... Usually these will be auctioned or sold through surplus outlets, but find out and follow-up; you may find a source you wouldn't know about otherwise.
Universities (Check both official sales and unofficial channels like campus bulletin boards and campus papers; graduating students often sell off decent stuff).
Retirement homes and communities, esp. one in more affluent areas. (Also check the shops nearby; dealers often cultivate relationships with them, and clean out the best stuff. Donating some gear for use by the group may get you heads-up alerts on other gear.)
Local classified ads, classified flyers, supermarket notices, etc... (Both look at ads and put in "wanted" ads yourself).
Auction houses.
Accountants and lawyers... WTF? No, I'm not kidding: contact the ones who specialize in bankruptcies and liquidations; they are often happy to have willing buyers when trying to liquidate assets of failed firms. I once got a fully-equipped office, including some audio gear, for pennies on the dollar that way.
Audio dealers. A long shot, but since they are selling new gear, in some cases they may have leads to people with older stuff they are "upgrading" from. Make it worth the dealer's while, and they might be willing to pass your card on to their customers as a "service".
Delivery people who deliver the audio gear.
Trash collectors. Make it worth their while, and they'll set aside the audio stuff they find as they make their rounds. In some areas, this might mean people working at the dump or "transfer station" or other...
Scrap-metal dealers/recyclers. I've seen/found everything from line array speakers to a B&K pro amp to a Minus-K laboratory-standard anti-vibration table to 15" woofers at the scrap place. You need to get them before the guys rip 'em apart or crush them, but if they know you might pay more than scrap value, sometimes they'll hold the stuff and call you first.
Enthusiast clubs. Obvious ones would be audio-related, ham radio clubs, etc... but don't overlook other groups like vintage car people. They understand collecting passion, and have money (=good gear, in many cases). Go to their events, make friends and let the people know you are "also" interested in audio gear.
Real-estate agents. They may well be showing and selling houses which people are still living in. Since those people will be moving soon, they may be willing to sell their audio gear, rather than have to move it.
Cinemas. Obviously, some of these have old VOTTs and other nice gear. Even if the one where you are asking is newer, perhaps the owner also has a few other cinemas in other areas, including an old one that they took over and are renovating...
Decorators, redecoration and construction firms and people like architects who will know when old places are being overhauled. Places like that old indoor skating rink that had an old organ with the tube amps in it...


And these days...
Banks. Why? In some neighborhoods, they are getting stuck with all kinds of houses abandoned by people who can't pay rent. In many cases, these people just walk/drive away with a few suitcases of clothes, leaving furniture and... audio gear! Sometimes, it may be old or good stuff that you would want. The banks will tell you who is disposing of that stuff, and you may be able to get it cheaply.


Another BIG thing you should do, which is suggested by some of the things on that list: talk to people you meet, no matter whom or where, and tell them of your interest. That piano teacher you know might well remember which students have nice old gear sitting unused in their homes; that supermarket cashier's brother-in-law might have an old system in his garage; etc... You never know who might be the link to getting some great old gear.

Print up little namecards or notices that tell of your interest, and pass them out liberally to people. Put them up in places where they'll be seen, too. Leave them with the owners of all the shops (mentioned above) that you visit; even if they don't have anything today, they might tomorrow... and if they have your card, they may call YOU first!

If you TELL everyone you meet (that you CAN tell; don't do this at a job interview! LOL) about your interest in finding old audio stuff. Do that for three months and I can almost guarantee that at the very least you'll get a few leads, even if most of them turn out to be BPC. It only takes ONE person who knows a person who turns out to have that old Marantz tube stuff of Grandpa's in the attic, to make it all worthwhile.

You can also be pro-active with charitable groups you know, like church groups, scout troops, etc... by suggesting they hold fund-driving audio collection-and-sale events. These could include CDs, records, tapes, gear, etc... and should probably be expanded to "books-and-music" sales. Help organize and run the things, and take first pick of the best donations when the sale starts. Just make sure you pay a fair price, in line with or above what the other stuff is priced at, so you aren't taking unfair advantage. This way you can get good stuff and do good at the same time.

Go around and stuff mailboxes in likely areas with notices telling of your interest. (Assuming the post office allows it. Otherwise, post notices in appropriate places.)

And for those who are into metaphysical stuff, start picturing the stuff you will get, and be grateful for it, happy and confident that it is coming, and write it down. Then do SOMETHING (like one of the things on the list above, plus something generous and nice to someone) to kick-start the Karma process...

And if you aren't into metaphysical stuff, go ahead and do the generous/nice thing, anyway! :D

Wow, great post Arkay!

Lots of stuff there I would never have thought of.