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In Reply to: where is the best place to buy nos tube posted by diz1 on August 3, 2005 at 22:38:57:
I have had good service from tubemonger.
Follow Ups:
My advice is to work out your future needs and buy in bulk. Use a smaller dealer where possible, and establish a good working relationship with him. If you buy in bulk you can get at least 20% reduction in price. I have a good regular dealer that I get on well with for most of my needs - I get good prices and service and he has good stock. What I like most is the really small guys, who advertise on ebay. Often older guys hanging on to collections which may include lots of old tubes like 26, 27, 56, 76, 37 etc. They've come to the time to sell up and they're as happy to sell as you are to buy. I've bought from a few of these guys, and they're very courteous and friendly - probably my best source. I tend to pay between half and two thirds of the prices usually listed by big dealers (sometimes less if I'm lucky), but I usually buy at least $100 in every order. The other thing is that I buy a lot of good used - I have a tube tester and I can test for duds and match stuff up. I once had to send back an entire order of 60 12b4s which were clearly a reject bunch that my regular dealer hadn't spotted, and he changed the lot on the spot. That's why good relations are important - be friendly, accomodating, flexible and reasonable but at the same time ask for good prices, and you will get respect and results.
Smaller dealers. The advantage is they have little to no overhead costs to offer better prices. Disavantages are limited stock & some 'snakes in the grass' eBay types. Of course, Paypal can help that situation using 'item not as described'. Look for a eBay seller with a few years experience. This weeds out the snakes that changes their ebay ID after ripping-off buyers.
"Disavantages are limited stock & some 'snakes in the grass' eBay types."I must be fortunate or telepathic because I've never come across the sharks. Could be because:
a) I'm not seeking rare versions of ECC83 etc or any of the commonly hyped up types, so that cuts out a lot of the rogues' gallery
b) I usually share five or six emails before committing and indulge in some general chat, and that seems to serve as a good judge of character. And then when you eventually do a little bargaining you see the whites of their eyes. Some guys are so obviously genuine from their correspondance - genuiness is the kind of thing sharp people can have some trouble in faking.
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