Best gear you ever found at a yard sale?

Farmhand · Jan 1, 2015

15 years ago I was at a yard sale and in the back of the garage was a covered-up guitar amp. A largish one. A Vox Buckingham.
So I asked the lady how much she wanted for the amp. She said "Oh, is that what that is? Mmm, how about twenty?"
"Dollars?" I asked.
I took it home. I cleaned it up. I messed with it and got nothing but static.
Then I sold it to a collector for $400.
I'd like to have saved the cabinet, with those nice Goldbacks in it, but back then I was more in need of money than project amps.
That was a good find.:thmbsp:

mhardy6647 · Jan 1, 2015

CR1020 by mhardy6647, on Flickr

Five dolla. In my own, erstwhile (MA) neighborhood.
The lady selling it told me the price. I repeated it with some obvious surprise, and she (a true Yankee) said, "What, do you want to pay more?"

No, ma'am.

avguytx · Jan 1, 2015

Polk Monitor 10b's for $3 a pair and then a Carver C-2 pre, M1.0t amp, and Akai EQ for $20 at same sale. (Pissed off ex wife it looked like) Another sale I bought a Technics SA-800, JVC QL-F4 turntable and 125 70's/80's albums all for $50. Then a Sansui G-7500 receiver for $25. Pioneers SX-680 for $2. May be other things but those come to mind first.

Oh yeah...the best one. Pioneer SX-1980 for $10. Missed the HPM-150's and 1100's by half an hour that Goodwill picked up. Said the receiver was too heavy.

Sam Cogley · Jan 1, 2015

Sony PS-X50 with a Shure V15IV for $0.50. I asked if the price sticker was accurate, was assured it was, and I tossed a dollar to them and started to carry if off. They actually asked if I wanted my change.

ra7c7er · Jan 1, 2015

Well I know it's not great but I got a pair of JBL LX-500 speakers for only 9 bucks.

Andyman · Jan 1, 2015

I picked a Fisher X202 amp out of a curbside trash pile at an estate sale and asked the guy what he wanted for it.

"Nothing, that's garbage" was the reply, so I thanked him and took it and the Telefunken 12AX7s and Fisher/Westinghouse 7591s in it to my car...

ekmanning5 · Jan 1, 2015

JBL L 65 Jubels. $20.

byoungman1 · Jan 1, 2015

1970 Fender Twin Reverb; clean, original RCA 6L6GC power tubes, with the cover.
It was $20 because it "didn't work"...the indicator lamp was just burnt out

Andyman · Jan 1, 2015

byoungman1 said:
1970 Fender Twin Reverb; clean, original RCA 6L6GC power tubes, with the cover.
It was $20 because it "didn't work"...the indicator lamp was just burnt out

I got a Sunn 100S Bass amp for $5.00 once with RCA 6550s and a Mullard 5AR4 in it too. The amp was basically a Dynaco Mk IV.

Greybeard Bob · Jan 2, 2015

A real nice set of Ludwig drums, cymbals, pads, sticks, everything. The heads looked almost new. Typical deal, bought them for the kid, he played them for a month or so and then sat in the corner. Picked them up for $200, cleaned them up and flipped them for $650. Wish I could find more like that.

Bob

Mystic · Jan 2, 2015

re: musican gear

Box full of 60s-70s effects pedals, including a Mu-tron BI-PHASE, an original Mayer Octavia, a Fender Blender, a Ross Compressor (the good gray one), a couple JAX fuzz-wahs, Clyde McCoy wah, and a bunch of EH stomp boxes. Nothing by Arbiter, no tubed Echoplex, but I'd track those down eventually.

pilotputz · Jan 2, 2015

Thorens TD124 - 3 bucks.
Fender Tweed Champ - 10 bucks.
Altec Carmels - 40 bucks.
Harman Kardon Citation I,II,III console - 25 bucks.

That's after better than a dozen years of sales, though...

Mozart1220 · Jan 3, 2015

About 7 years ago I found an Onkyo TX-SV919THX reciever in mint condition for $30. I got it home and it made no sound at all. After about 20 minutes of trying various things I noticed all the jumpers were missing. A couple old patch cords later it was working fine, and powers my living room system to this day.

Last year I was looking for an old acoustic guitar for camping and backyard "burp n burns" (Beer around our firepit)

I found one for $10 but it needed cleaning up and new strings. Turned out under all the grime was an Art and Luthrie "Cedar" guitar in very good condition. They sold for around $350 new. Great action and nice warm tone. So nice I use it on stage and now still need to find a "beater" for around the fire.

A local pawn shop had a decent hardshell case for $10, and with a little TLC with a hot glue gun and some staples, it fits the guitar and all the apolstery is perfect.

ngcsstodd · Jan 3, 2015

I picked up a set of Cerwin Vega AT-12's for $20 in a yard sail a few years ago!

Farmhand · Jan 3, 2015

Mystic, was your MuTron Bi-Phase the one with a big control box leading to a rocker pedal? I had one of those for 20 years, and when it was the only piece of gear I had left I traded it for a Tele, an amp, and a bunch of other stuff. I think they give me close to a grand in trade-in value, and it went into the store owner's private collection. Great piece of gear.

thomo57 · Jan 3, 2015

I've had quite a few good buys.
A couple that come to mind are a vintage (1950s) Australian made guitar amp (cream and red vinyl) and lap steel guitar in case
Bought for $20, sold the amp for over $500 and the guitar for nearly $300
Sansui 555au still in box (mint)for $20' sold for $350+
Rogers Ls8a speakers for $10, Dual 1229 mint $10.

dobyman · Jan 3, 2015

I can think of quite a few, but my best was a 1960 Fender Deluxe that I bought for $5 and sold to a guy in Colorado for $3900!! :banana:

Then there's my AR3's for $10 at a family run estate sale. See my thread here on AK. :banana:

And last fall, my $5 Mountain Dew sign that I sold for $500! Although the sign isn't gear, it was a great find.

There has been hundreds of other good buys, but these always come to mind. :thmbsp:

stereofanboy · Jan 3, 2015

While I've kept some yard sale gems for awhile, none of them are still with me today (correction, I just realized that I still have a yard sale turntable from a sale in my parent's neighborhood). I have made a good profit on some yard sale finds.

L65s with Radio Shack woofers for $40. I wasn't sure of the value with woofers that I recognized as incorrect, but went ahead and paid the asking price. After some research, I realized the correct woofers were beyond my means at the moment, so I parted them out. I got $25 for the Radio Shack woofers.

Just a few blocks from my house I picked up two B&W inwall speakers for $50. The guy had three others that he wanted $25/piece for, but I wasn't sure they were worth it so I passed. When I looked them up, there were none currently on or recently sold on eBay so I put them aside for later. When I tried again months later, I saw that a single one had sold for over $400! I listed mine for $225 and they sold pretty quick.

Mystic · Jan 3, 2015

Farmhand said:
Mystic, was your MuTron Bi-Phase the one with a big control box leading to a rocker pedal? I had one of those for 20 years, and when it was the only piece of gear I had left I traded it for a Tele, an amp, and a bunch of other stuff. I think they give me close to a grand in trade-in value, and it went into the store owner's private collection. Great piece of gear.

It IS that version. Still have it. Don;t use it, but it's gear. We collect, right? (read: hoard)

Mystic · Jan 3, 2015

dobyman said:
I can think of quite a few, but my best was a 1960 Fender Deluxe that I bought for $5 and sold to a guy in Colorado for $3900!!

You should'a kept it if you're a player. That is a tremendously FINE SOUNDING amp.

Best gear you ever found at a yard sale?

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