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Hi, all,
I've got a few vintage items I think I'm ready to part with, and I'm wondering what others' opinions are on whether it makes financial sense to restore before selling, or to just sell and leave that choice to a new owner?
The kinds of things I'm considering selling include a couple of basket cases - those I'd sell as is, but also some units in working condition that might need recapping and maybe aged or obsolete parts (i.e., selenium rectifiers) replaced.
Thoughts? Experiences either way?
Thanks in advance,
David
Follow Ups:
If it's a very high end and valued piece then it may be worth restoring and selling. Check the current prices on several sites to make sure.
Midfi and mid level stuff - sell as is. Restoration in that arena is usually a labor (cost) of love.
charles
Thanks for the replies; they are helpful. I know the question was a little too open-ended to give any absolute answers. I didn't want to make a list of items I might be selling for fear of this sounding like I was plugging potential sales.
Understood.
How can you possibly expect anyone to answer this if you don't specify exactly what you have?
You don't list what you have.
For certain products, Macs and Marantz, as is is preferred. If you do elect to change out parts by all means save the original parts and sell with the unit. Far Eastern buyers prefer the units as stock as possible
Other than that you're on your own. Dyna stuff is so common its is not an issue to change out virtually everything.
If you want a pragmatic answer to your question, spend a few months and track a few dozen Ebay bids.
Look at what is being sold, how it is being described and what the closing prices are.
The results will almost always not make practical sense, yet will reveal how old equipment in rat infested Barn-find condition
fetches more interest and dollars than anything that has had work done to it.
The term coined is "un-molested" and using this term improves your chances of a sale.
I did this exercise a few years back and was shocked at the prices being paid for totally rusted and decrepit equipment.
Only proves that humans are less predictable than most mammals.
The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten”
It is very dependent on a few things. First what EXACTLY is it?(make/model) Some people could care less if you have a totally restored solid state Peavy guitar amp but if you have a totally restored and desirable Mac amp that's another story. Second who is the buyer? Some buyers only want vintage stuff if it is totally recapped and had the resistors changed. Some are willing to pay the extra cost (mostly time) required to do so. Most aren't.
Fix and sell is mostly always more profitable than total restore and sell. Very few things will return the money when completely restored. Cars are no different. At Barrett Jackson several cars each auction very clearly do not return close to the cost of the restoration much less a penny of profit.
When I have a client give me an old piece of hi-fi gear or an old tube radio I always give them an estimate to repair it and make it work (I give a 90 day warranty) and a separate estimate that includes total restoration. Total resto is most often 3X the money or more because of the time much more so than the parts.
E
T
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