Sorry guys I'll send them right out to you I'll send one to dave and one to albert and then you can figure it out from there. And by the way Dave though they were big they definitely were fake....sorry. |
Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire David.
Tim the Tireguy knows that Lisa was my squeeze! I want my speakers back and quick. Besides, you got the early press Zep album so you don't need any more good luck. |
Tim!! You mean Lisa with the big hoots?!?! Those are MY speakers you thief!! GIVE EM BACK!!!! |
I have a female friend whom had an audiophile boyfriend, well they broke up and she wanted to "get even" with him(no I did not sleep with her you bunch of sick bastards) and she sold me her ex-boyfriends speakers for $1000 they were new avalon acoustic eclipse. That was like 7 years ago and I still am using the speakers and have not heard from her or him in over 5...sometimes it is great to not have a conscience. No one wins unless someone looses. |
I bought a McIntosh C32 preamp and a MC 2125 with meters at a freight salvage store for $1100. The boxes were open, but I broke the seal on the plastic inter wrap. Best part is I used them for almost 20 years and sold them in mint condition for $1800 cash to a man from Germany. |
Just a couple of weeks ago a purchased an Aragon 5X and Sounstage Preamp for just $4K. Sold it on eBay for $6K last week. Makes me almost want to go into the audio business. |
Bought my Michell Gyrodec with a Premier MMT arm and Koetsu Black for $150 U.S. about 12 years ago at a police auction (mainly stolen bikes). Had to spend about another $300 to put it into excellent condition, but still not a bad deal. Still have the turntable; have changed arms and cartridges since then. |
Picked up a mint Akai open reel tape deck at a local "Hamfest" for $40, resold it a week later on eBay for a cool $580. |
As usual, Albert shows us the way. On a more mundane note, I bought a Dynaco PAS-3 and ST-70 (working) at a tag sale about 10 years ago for $25.00. Used them occassionally for a couple of years and then sold them for $250.00 to a guy from Canada. Now that I think of it, it was my first internet transaction, posted it on one of the tube newsgroups. Now mostly I just buy. |
Massvm...I know from experience that Albert has already gotten way more out of his "investment" than he put in to it. Mostly, being a winner is in the mind. |
I wish that I were some of you folks, or the folks you know. Sadly, I am one of those people that would be on the losing end. Go figure. I do like Albertporter's response, however, do you think he can sell or trade the asset for more than is invested? |
I have a buddy that picked up a stock Marantz 7 pre-amp in excellent condition cosmetically at a flea market for 50.00 about 12 years ago. That is about the best audio deal that I have ever heard of. I know another guy that picked up an old D-100, I believe, Audio Research amp (only 25 or so made) from an estate sale for a song. That one is worth some bucks, ARC has offered to buy it back because they don't have one. Me? I bought a pair of stock McIntosh MC-60 tube amps in excellent condition 10 years ago for 750.00 and still have them. Cosmetically they sure beat virtually all Mac gear I've seen on e-bay. Sound wise they still sing and will continue to long after I'm gone I'm sure. |
A couple of years ago I was at an estate sale in Tacoma, WA at a nice house in the North End. Amongst all the furniture and stuff there were a pair of wooden speakers labeled "KFF speakers, $30." A quick inspection revealed that they were Kef Reference 102/2's, in very good condition. Yes, I bought them for the $30 asking price, I used them for a year or so and then traded them in on something else. I consider this to be my best "score buy" story, and it's absolutely true. |
A few years ago I was working at a hi=fi store and took a call from a gent who asked if we bought used equipment. I told him no, but he was welcome to sell it on consignment here at the store. He went on to tell me that it was in an old cabinet and being elderly could not get it out. I asked him what it was he had but he could only tell me that one was a Marantz and one a McIntosh. My brain went into overdrive and I was licking my chops. I told him I could come out to his house and check it out. I agreed to meet him the following Sunday when he got out of church. I meet this couple in there late 60s, salt of the earth type and they explained that they were getting new furniture and this large, old console (and what was in it) would have to go. I open the console and there's a Marantz 10b tuner and a Mac C22 preamp..and they were flawless. I asked him where the amp was and he told me it was underneath the console. I pull it out from the wall and there covered with dust from 1962 that was so thick you could not tell what it was. Down on my knees, brushing away this vintage dust I come across a Mac 240 power amp...Oh Mama!!! These folks were so desperate to get rid of this stuff that they would have paid me to haul it out. Good guy that I am I offered them $1200.00 for the set. You would have thought they'd just won the lottery by the look on their faces. In an instant he said yes, before I change my mind..yeah right. All three pieces were mint and in perfect working condition, once I cleaned them up. I kept the gear for a couple of years and then sold it all for $5000.00a |
in 1993 i bought at very good condition comlete nakamichi 7 series (cr7e,st7 ,pre,and power)and bw 801 serie 3 for just 5000$ |
My absolute best find was on March 23, 1986. The first day my newborn son breathed life. I can sincerely say that he was the first thing that came to my mind when I considered what was my most valuable asset.
Many evenings I hear a very believable version of Dave Matthews coming from my photo studio. He sits with his Fender guitar and Sovtek amp stack perfecting music he admires. Surely this qualifies him as an audio asset as well. |
sold it the next day for 175.00 |
Bought 48 pairs of Baltic speakers (8 years ago) for $105.00 per pair delevered (each speaker weighed 45 lbs. each!). These tower speakers were respectable three way designs with west german drivers, that had bass response down to 25 hz! Their original list price approached $1000.00, so they were sort of a cross between mid-fi and a high end value speaker. I resold every pair for $500 a pair directly from my house, getting almost a 400 percent profit! My garage and two bedrooms were filled all the way to the ceilings, with these damn things. Fortunatley, they were just too easy to sell, (even at $500.00). I had the best of both worlds, both mid -fi and entry level high end guys,lining up as customers. Everyone was extremely greatfull, none ever complained or returned them (I offered a 30 day money back guarantee). If I had to do it over, I would have bought all 120 pairs that were initially available. As a salesman that has now worked in many industries, this time in my life was too easy and extremely lucrative. |
I bought a Yamaha T-1 tuner off ebay for $50. The owner said it didn't work. I put a new fuse in and it works perfectly. |
Khrys, That rules. My wife thinks I am really weird when I laugh at my computer. Good one. |
For the record it was the California blackout protection feature that sold me. |
I got the Absolutely Amazing Absolute Power Cord for $39.95! |
$3,500 bat vk200, bought new for 1,800. |
found 5 Bright Star big rock isolation basis at a flea market for $32. I got my Proceed PDT3 transport from Getpluged for $249.($2495) swore it would come trashed, it was mint. |
A Prada lightweight gray overcoat at steal price. $2400. retail. Paid only 400.0 brand new. May be shoppers probably did not know what Prada is. That is the best find I can think of. |
A pair of Audio Truth Sterling +, 5' speaker cable for $25.00. They were used and the young saleman didn't know the value.
$200.00 for a 1 year old MK150 sub, and $400 for a 2 year old Classe' 5 MKII with the model 6 phono board. (From a great dealer) |
21 years ago I was a rookie ski-patroller at large ski area. I met a girl in bar, got very drunk and within a week I took her advice and bought the absolute worst
house on the access road. She, being the realtor, had to pick me up and take me to the closing...feeding me a
few tokes on the way to help my hangover. Sounds like a recipe for disaster! But she was not clueless like me.
When she took my $10,000 total savings, got a 30 yr.
$30,000 mortgage and closed on the house, I ended up with a mortgage of a little over $200/mo; less than any of my friends were paying in rent, and closer to work than anyone else could afford to live. The clincher was 2 years later when the town put in a sewer-plant and all the property on the access road became super valuable at a commercial level. Sold the place for a HUGE profit and bought a new home in a better town at
four times the value. The only thing I took of value from that first home was the stereo. I even left the water bed.
Come to think of it....I should look the lady up and thank her shouldn't I? What a deal. |
My offering is a lot more pedestrian that what has been offered here so far. Nevertheless, it is mine. I went to a crazy sale one of the big local Philadelphia department stores was having in a warehouse next to the airport. The year was 1984. I was 14 years old. There were piles of merchandise, thrown here and there. I found one of the just released Sony SuperWalkman cassette players. The ones that were the same size as the cassette case themselves. It was only $25, for a product that sold for over $100, and was impossible to keep in stock in the stores(at the time). I still use that player sometimes. I could not have asked for a better buy. |
I have thought of a number of true stories about buildings and apartment complexes I have bought and resold immediately or shortly thereafter. Then I thought about the amounts of money involved. Then I realized I can't make myself put the amounts in a public forum. So, I'll tell the following...
I know a feller who bought the fastest street car in production in the world in 1984. Most people had no interest in driving them fast-only sitting in them and telling their friends they were cool. Him, no. He wanted it only to go fast. So, he buys it used and pays 58K. Then the imperial leader of the car company, the Impressario(Commodore) dies in 1989 and they diefy his cars.
What do you know? The car sells for $194K c a s h!
Now, I know other good stories. But, I REALLY can't tell them.
Bill E. |
Hmm.. I seem to remember hearing once, "If it sounds to good to be true..." That being said, I'm still a sucker for a good story, can't wait to read some of the great ones. Oh yeah, and if anyone wants to double their money... |
Picked up an awesome 100% handmade Chinese silk 7'x10' rug recently. Original price ~ $15k (CDN), and got him down to $4k!! |
