Stanwal,
No, I just either got really good deals or they came with other tables I have purchased at a good price. Some of them were broken and I put them back together. I seem to buy a couple of good tables a year and a few arms and cartridges at great prices. Thats the advantage of not needing to buy, you can grab a deal when you see it. But, I do have too much stuff now and need to cut back, which I have been doing, but I seem to have bought as many as I have sold. Ive also had 5 cartridges rebuilt by soundsmith. That is really a bargain if you can pick up the body for less than $100.
Since I have an SME 309, I'll probably put that on for now. You and RCCC seem to like the SME and Ive never had a problem with it.