Pawn Shops - Just Like Xmas in Sept.

[cjgeraci]

Many of us in here visit pawn shops, garage sales, or estate sales on an infrequent (or regular) basis looking for audio gems at special prices. Today, my four year old son and I visited a local <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />St. Louis pawn shop. We went through stacks, stacks, and stacks of vinyl just strewn about like an afterthought. (The durability of vinyl never ceases to amaze me. After being cleaned up, some discarded vinyl sounds surprisingly good despite their poor treatment).

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We left the pawn shop with records for the usual monetary outlay seven albums for five bucks. Nothing earthshattering or rare in the mix, but pleasurable notwithstanding e.g. Seals & Croft, Jackson Browne, Loggins & Messina, Don Henley.

The treat of tonight, however, was listening to one of the finds Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Brain Salad Surgery, which was in excellent condition. I have owned and enjoyed the album & CD of this title for a number of years, but my vinyl version had a variety of imperfections on it. Spinning a real nice copy that I picked up for less than a buck made the experience all the more enjoyable.

There have been a number of threads in here recently about great audio hardware finds in pawn shops, garage sales, and estate sales (e.g. amps, receivers, speakers).

Share your thoughts on your favorite media finds at nice prices, whether it be vinyl, CDs, movies, concert videos or other

Does not have to be rare or exotic finds. Just enjoyable.

Carl.

P.S. Sheltie Dave is one of the best I know at finding great deals, including media finds.....

[edwinr]

I found an early 60's Bobby Vee album 'Greatest Hits' last week. I know he's not exactly Elvis, but it cleaned up really well on my VPI 16.5 and it now sounds excellent. I keep looking for bargains and it's great fun when you find a classic album for $1.

[capo72]

I did the local pawn shop circut yesterday afternoon. I was mostly looking for electronics or speakers, but I always ask about vinyl as well. One place said they had about 8000 albums, but thay are not currently accessable. [] I said I would love to go through them, and his response was "I think we're gonna eBay 'em" Oh well.

I hit the Salvation Army after that and found Simon & Garfunkel "Sound of Silence", and a Herb Alpert album for $1 each. Half the fun is in the looking []

Jeremy

[joessportster]

i have been checking the local salvation army here in york and they seem to always get in a few, problem is they never go thru them and throw out the crap that isnt selling so you have to look thru all the junk each time you check for new stock the price is right of course 99cent each or 6 for 5.00. i thought i had a good chance at getting a 4000 album collection of jazz but i guess the seller changed his mind as i cant seem to contact him now.............. Joe

[cjgeraci]

There are also a number of deals to be had on CDs and movies. Sheltie Dave has been lauding Bel Aire, a local pawn shop, for some time now, and this morning I visited for the first time. CDs and movies @ three for ten bucks.

Yes, the Salvation Army can be a good source for vinyl. A local Army shop was selling albums 5 for a buck until I bought too many one day. Now, they simply sell them for a buck apiece.

Carl.

[classichits]

Went to one of our local used stores called Value Village for electronics

and vinyl. No good vinyl that day, but I bought a Pioneer RT 707 open

real in good condition working for $10.00. My brother wanted to sell

me his for $350.00.

[sheltie dave]

Picked up two Telarc classical CDs today over in Granite City, plus Casablanca on DVD, for a tenner.[]

I'm still nursing my wounds from last Friday when I missed a set of monobloc MC-30s for $200 by an hour, and the set of JBL C-38 Jubals(now on EBay) by ten seconds. Mr. Mossman got them for $100. [8-|]

[capo72]

Holy crap! I picked up a pair of the c-38's last weekend for free! Mine are quite a bit rougher, but have all the same drivers in them. Maybe I should try to sell them on ePay. I was planning on keeping them, but I really want a Blueberry Extreme. I can't wait to see how this auction ends.

Jeremy

[sheltie dave]

Capo, these were totally cherry, which (in a good auction) will double/triple the return price. He did not do a good job with his photos, but he probably will get asking price from a Japanese collector. I don't think anyone in the US will bite at his starting price, but I have been wrong before.

You have the less desirable legs, and they are missing the signature peg decals, which REALLY set the upper end market price. At the stratospheric price level, it's all about looks, baby. Kinda like trying to sell a Z28 302DZ with orange peel paint on a fresh restoration.

[CaptnBob]

Who had the Macs?

[Audible Nectar]

You folks in bigger urban areas have it MADE. We NEVER see any vintage high end tube gear/large speakers around here, because nobody bought any of that stuff around here in that era. There are LOTS of Magnavox consoles - nice period pieces, but not really serious gear. The closest I have come to anything else "tube" was missing a load of 6L6/5U4 from an old enthusiast by 10 minutes.

I did score my Rega Planet CD player from a pawn shop though......$200 out the door, when $350-400 was the going Audiogon rate. I see garage sale after garage sale, estate sale after estate sale, and the best I ever see are '80s vintage SS units like Sony ES or Nakamichi Stasis receivers....and that's rare. Also a rare Klipsch Heritage mid-late 80's model pops up every once in a while, as there was a local dealer selling these for a time - but they don't show up often, and they don't last long when they do. Our old dealer buys back used Heritage, as they have old customers who will buy them.

I have made my share of three hour trips to Chicago for gears, but that's a long way to go to come up goose eggs. Got a couple pairs of Cornwalls that way, and a few other near-misses.....but here locally, it's pretty barren. If it wasn't for the web and this forum, I would still be listening to a low quality system.

But if I lived in a place like St. Louis, Nashville (BIG source for this kinda stuff), or the northeast corridor, I would go NUTS.

[sheltie dave]

Bob, the sale was run by Fin de Siecle, so no luck on who got them, altho it wasn't Joe. The Paragon dude from Columbia was not in either, so I'm hoping they went to someone who actually will use them!

The estate had a Dual 1218 with a well used Pickering 681EEE($50,) a Sansui 200 with walnut case($40,) a Nak 550 tape deck, and a cheap DVD player. The Danish modern stereo buffet was $150(go figure - ladies setting prices[])

They had a Conant Ball birch student desk and china cabinet that caught my attention downstairs, otherwise I would have found the JBLs quicker.

Audible, let us know if you want something specific, and we can bird dog for you. Deals like last week's $60 Bozak Symphonies don't come along often(another miss,) but we'd be happy to pass along a requested item. With the large number of Fortune 500 headquarters that once existed in St. Louis, there is a cornucopia of great vintage stuff to be found.

[rcarlton]

I've never been in a pawn shop, nor have I been to an estate sale. Not sure where a pawn shop is around here. I imagine estate sales are listed in the newspaper...Highland Park might be a good place to look...Dallas' version of Beverly Hills. Always looking for McIntosh stuff.

[sheltie dave]

It's a strange pursuit, Ron. The best places are catching estate sales where the family never moved, and the kids have moved well away, and there aren't many kids to start. Hubby holds on to everything he has, because he knows that he is not going to get much better than his current rig. Older people are loathe to change anything in their kingdom.

It isn't neccesarily wealthy people who have the best stereo stuff, tho it helps. Most very well off (younger) people I know in St. Louis really churn the daylights out on their system(s), and never stick to a tried and true setup because the flavor of the year is TOTL for social affairs as well.

I divide and judge whether there is a gold mine by the amount of music present in the house, and whether the guy was a tinkerer. If I walk in and albums, cassettes, CDs,8 tracks, and RTRs are exploding, I know there will be a good stereo somewhere on the main floor. With tinkerers, esp. electronics, there probably will be a secondary stereo or repairs in progress down in the man den as well. It just fits with the psychological mindset that a person or couple that enjoys good music, and lots of it, will enjoy it on a good system.

The best deals come from widows/widowers who want the system to pass to someone who will enjoy it as much as they have, and don't really worry about price because they have recouped their outlay over the last 30 to 50 years. In the end, it's all about enjoying the music, and we're lucky to have the Klipsch, Altec, JBL, EV and other vintage stuff still around to show how good it can be[]

[edwinr]

You folks in bigger urban areas have it MADE. We NEVER see any vintage high end tube gear/large speakers around here...

I have the same problem. I live at least 2 hours from the big city. My town is small and has only a couple of pawn shops. It's surprising what turns up though...