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Garage Sale Steals - What to look for?

Am I the only one that has that dream of tagging along with the wife to some garage sale, only to find some audio equipment for sale and the guy doesn't know what to ask for it, saying, "make me an offer"? The thought flashes, boy I'd like to run home to look it up on the 'net to be sure! You return home, find out it's a gem, return to the sale only to find out someone with knowledge purchased it and you wake up in a cold sweat! (Sorry, I got a little carried away there.)

A year or so ago I was interested in Nak decks and used to have such thougts of finding a deal, though I am rarely, if ever, at a garage sale.

A recent discussion on here about Threshold amps prompted me to create this post. What "legendary" piece of audio equipment would you like to pick up for next to nothing? (This way I can create a cheat sheet for my wallet! LOL)
brianmgrarcom
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
I'm looking for the nice aluminiom or even gold-plated volume knobs at least 1" in diameter.
bob_bundus
1,834 posts
 
I always keep my eyes open for that Realistic, Optimus & Bose product. It makes my target range practice a side-spliting-hilarious undertaking.
david99
1,467 posts
 
I found a MINT NEC CD player at a yard sale for $20.I know its far from great but it did list for $300 at one time.My 12 y/o daughter is using it with her Sony 'rig'
sean
6,231 posts
 
Boy, this is kind of "frustrating". I really WANT to name names and quote prices here, but i can't. You see, if i tell you what i found and at what price i found it at, i'll never be able to get anything for it when i list it for sale. Everybody will know what i have in it and expect me to pass it on for that same price i.e. "next to nothing". DARN !!!! : )

Having said that, i found a piece at a local "flea market". I had NO idea what it was but i did see the name on it. It first caught my eye as it looked like some type of "homebrew" electronics project, but was very well constructed and obviously a labor of love. Knowing that this company made nice audio gear, i asked the seller what it was. He told me he had no idea, but if i had $3, i could have it. Needless to say, i paid the man the $3 and walked away with what turned out to be a .....

Wait, i can't say what it was. DARN IT !!!! ( again )

Then there was this other time at the same flea market. I found this "XXXXXX" for $20. Boy, was that a ...

Oh, nevermind.... : ) Sean
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sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
What you mention happens occassionally on America's garage sale, eBay; even though usually prices on eBay end up higher than classifieds. The main reason this happens is bad spelling so folks who search don't find it, or it is in the wrong catagory.

I picked up some $400 audio cables for $65 because they were listed under Car Stereos. The seller did not notice or even seem to care they sold so cheap? The classic Rotel RCD-855 I use at work was listed at Consumer Electronics Other and was spelled Rotell. I paid less than half of what they sell for used usually. It was mint, and had the manual, remote, transit screws, etc. The Conrad Johnson preamp (with phono) I use in my small home office system had a "Buy it Now" price of only $350. New list is $2250. Last was a Yamaha TX950 tuner I got for $175. Did not care for it and resold it for $350.


To find this stuff you have to search for what you want at the main home page, so it searches the whole eBay database. Good Luck!!!

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