Amazing the items you can purchase for a dollar.

2ndisbest

Sr. Member
Nov 6, 2009
343
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I picked up this piece of vintage stereo equipment for $1. The lady wanted $5 for it so I plugged it in and it powered up but the power button won't stay on. A common failing of this model. Anyway I said it don't work so how about I give you a $1 so you don't have to lug it to the trash? It weighs a ton, ok rough estimate 35 pounds. And she says sure. Ya I would have paid the $5 anyway, but doesn't hurt to ask.

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It is a Marantz Model 2230 Receiver. I am no audiophile but when I hooked it up to test it further I was blown away by the quality of this old machine. Since I only have $1 invested in it I am wondering if it would be worth it to restore? It has a few issues like the power button and a few bulbs out and the dial is off about a complete 1.0. So if you want to tune in 98.1 you have to set the dial to 97.1. Also I took the lid off and it is filthy inside. I think if I sold it as is on the bay I could get about $125 for it. (my estimate) But I really don't want to ship this.

If there are any audiophiles on here your input would be welcomed. Thanks.
 

I'm not an audiophile, but back in the day (70s and early 80s) Marantz was top of the line audio equipment. I'm not so sure if it would be more trouble than what it's worth to restore though. You might try a CL ad before putting it on ebay.
 

Those who had the biggest stereo ruled the barracks. Disco Duck.
 

I mean I only have a $1 invested so anything I get for it is profit.

That's an attitude I hate to hear from a seller for so many reasons.

One, why settle for less money simply based on what you paid for it. If you had paid $75 for it, would you still not be concerned how much it sells for? Be greedy, sell it for as much as possible.

Two, people that have little to nothing in an item are the ones that help degrade the price of an item for all. Oh, I got that piece of glass from Grandma for free, I'm happy to sell it for $50. And they don't seem to care that it might normally sell for $200. But since their investment is zero, the price they sell it for is irrelevant. That's one of the biggest reason items sell for so little on ebay. Yeah, you can make the argument that an item will only sell for what it's worth, but that's not necessarily true. Sometimes it's just a matter of the demand not being super high and randomly 10 sellers list it for $9.99 when only 5 buyers are looking that week. Then next week people see it only sold for $9.99, so they list for $4.99 to get a sale. Then people at auctions see it only selling for 9.99 and 4.99 online and refuse to bid on it at an auction.

And it all starts with people who could care less what they sell an item they paid very little for.

When it comes to selling online, I wish more sellers would be a little bit greedier and not settle for less.

But it's also a product of the economy. People have less money to spend on frivolous items and many sellers have no money and are desperate and will settle for any amount of small profit they can get.

/rant :)

And I'm not saying this applies to you, but I see this statement posted so frequently it makes me sick.
 

That's an attitude I hate to hear from a seller for so many reasons. One, why settle for less money simply based on what you paid for it. If you had paid $75 for it, would you still not be concerned how much it sells for? Be greedy, sell it for as much as possible. Two, people that have little to nothing in an item are the ones that help degrade the price of an item for all. Oh, I got that piece of glass from Grandma for free, I'm happy to sell it for $50. And they don't seem to care that it might normally sell for $200. But since their investment is zero, the price they sell it for is irrelevant. That's one of the biggest reason items sell for so little on ebay. Yeah, you can make the argument that an item will only sell for what it's worth, but that's not necessarily true. Sometimes it's just a matter of the demand not being super high and randomly 10 sellers list it for $9.99 when only 5 buyers are looking that week. Then next week people see it only sold for $9.99, so they list for $4.99 to get a sale. Then people at auctions see it only selling for 9.99 and 4.99 online and refuse to bid on it at an auction. And it all starts with people who could care less what they sell an item they paid very little for. When it comes to selling online, I wish more sellers would be a little bit greedier and not settle for less. But it's also a product of the economy. People have less money to spend on frivolous items and many sellers have no money and are desperate and will settle for any amount of small profit they can get. /rant :) And I'm not saying this applies to you, but I see this statement posted so frequently it makes me sick.

I agree completely. I usually won't buckle on an item until I have held it for at least 3 months without success selling. But time is an important variable in any economic equation. Supply and demand is a big factor in my pricing. I will jack up some of my items over the last 3 that sold if there are no others currently for sale. Or under price my items if there are many available. I see no point in holding an item an extra 3 months just to squeeze out an extra dollar or two.

I have a buddy that ebays and he drives me nuts. He will do a 30 day listing for say $150 or best offer right off the bat and then take the first offer that comes in because "I only paid X amount for it."

Though on the plus side if there weren't people who "Oh, I got that piece of glass from Grandma for free, I'm happy to sell it for $50." people like us would not be able to make some decent cash on ebay and craigslist. We are more in tune with the market, and for that knowledge we have an opportunity for greater profit.

I was comparing the marantz receiver to the one I currently have hooked up and it blows it away. And I love my receiver. I paid $10 for it, a yamaha rx-v870. When it was new in 92-93 it retailed for $1500. I am going to have to make some calls and get some estimates.
 

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If you sell this on ebay just be careful packing it up. Those dial lenses break easily if the unit isn't packaged correctly. And make sure you charge right for shipping. Those who only guess usually lose money.

I picked up a unit similar some years ago and sold it on ebay. I thought I packed it right but the glass broke. The buyer was a collector (there are many) and he was heartsick (so was I).
 

If you sell this on ebay just be careful packing it up. Those dial lenses break easily if the unit isn't packaged correctly. And make sure you charge right for shipping. Those who only guess usually lose money.

I picked up a unit similar some years ago and sold it on ebay. I thought I packed it right but the glass broke. The buyer was a collector (there are many) and he was heartsick (so was I).
That's the bad part about shipping vintage electronics. I sold a vintage receiver once, weighed around 20 lbs. before packing. It arrived to the buyer just fine. He claimed the left channel was out (worked fine when I shipped it). I told him it was probably a fuse. I told him it was very easy to replace and told him how to do it if he wanted to or he could send it back to me for a refund. About 3 weeks later I received the unit back. Upon opening it up, I noticed one corner of the unit had a big dent in it, like someone had dropped it. This thing was mint when I shipped it. It was shipped back exactly like I shipped it, wrapped in large bubble wrap several times over and encased in thick styrofoam boards not peanuts, double boxed, outer box also wrapped in large bubble wrap and encased in styrofoam. I emailed the buyer about it. He never returned my message or communicated at all. I never did give him a refund because he wouldn't communicate. I replaced the fuse and am still using this unit today. I don't know what was up with the guy, but I never heard a peep from him. I know if I'd paid $200 for something and returned it, i'd want my money back. I still wonder what his deal was. I think maybe he dropped it when he unpacked it and felt guilty about it. I don't know. I would have gladly refunded him if he would have just answered me back. I may have been wrong by not doing so, but I was po'd that it came back damaged and I wanted an explanation. I shy away from most electronics now, unless they are small.
 

The Marantz has a nice rich sound quality to it, making it a favorite of the cult following that Marantz enjoys.

I got one in my garage, and another in my basement. The bulbs are a bugger to get in, but the dial problem is an easy fix; just a string issue.

Good score!
 

I run an e waste business and ran into a fella that had literally hundreds of these and similar units sitting out side all with the cords cut off. I scrapped them all ....kinda wish i would have spent a little time checking out the market for parts and such. i know i had several like the one pictured but they did sit out side for several years....
 

I run an e waste business and ran into a fella that had literally hundreds of these and similar units sitting out side all with the cords cut off. ............... but they did sit out side for several years....

Just like shoveling money down a volcano. :BangHead:
 

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