This thread http://www.stereo2go.com/forums/threads/americas-largest-boombox-collection.5720/#post-44618 made me wonder if collecting runs in families
Great poll! I think I am probably the most prolific collector, but it feels like there is a connection...definitely nurture, and possibly nature. Any science on it?
Nope, my family, inlaws and most of my friends are clean-freaks. My stuff drives them nuts so now I have "re-education" when they come into my office they have to hear why something hanging on my wall is "cool." Then I pull up the super-expensive Russian Ebay Guy and show how much my stuff is worth....
just for the psychologists in this forum: yes, collectors genes are in the family. my dad collects two way radios (from their beginning) and my brother collects computer
HAHA That guy is great!!!! He not only validates my poor investments, but he also has some rare stuff.
...and by the way: those hoarder-genes are bad... luckily you din‘t ask „what else are you collecting“
Tell us then In the past I have collected Valve / Tube radios (back when you could pick those up for next to nothing (compared to Walkmans you still can). I still have about five. Home Computers - I recently realised that I now have ten laptops; not because I set out to collect them but because I have hung on to most of the old ones. Before that it was Home Computers. In the loft I have four Amigas despite the fact I was an Atari ST fan back in the day. I've four of those as well ! Bizarrely I sold the first one that I bought new, full price, buying an STE from a friend for about half the new price. Then they just seemed to accumulate at ever lower prices . I have mentioned Digital cameras. At the weekend I got so fed up I went for an expedition to the next village to a couple of Charity shops. One had an instant camera collection ranging from a Box Brownie type, through 110s etc to a very early Samsung 0.8MPixel. I wasn't tempted though. I did buy a Casio calculator for £1, Irresistible to me despite owning about 50 calculators already. That raises another question. What is is the most you have ever paid for a collectable ? I can understand people not wanting to admit it though. For me it is probably my VZ2500 at £100 (sat in storage waiting for restoration).I did pay £20 for a Philips value radio back in 1983 to celebrate finishing my exams so allowing for inflation that could be close. Of course there are other things now in my collection cost a lot more like a Pentium 75 Toshiba Libretto 50CT. That cost me about £600 back in 1999. The difference was that I bought it new to use and did for quite a few years. Having paid that I have no intention of selling it for a fraction of the original price, although like many computers I have Libretto 70CT which I bought for much less as a spare and would happily sell on. p.s I forgot the keyboards / synths, Some of those cost £300 each and are now appreciating. Bought (at the time) to use not collect though.
Feast your eyes on arguably the best Boombox store on the planet!!! https://www.ebay.com/sch/m.html?item=233302609885&hash=item3651eb4fdd:g:YZgAAOSwukVbEPrr&_ssn=a.redchenko70&_sop=16
For me the hunt is as fun as getting the equipment, in the old days I'd find stuff everywhere for pennies or free. Most of my jobs include a lot of driving so stopping at a few garage sales or thrift stores is mandatory to get the blood back in your legs. Even before Ebay I was buying stuff thinking if I did it full time I could make a living. After years of searching there's been a handful of equipment I've paid up for knowing that I might never see one again at least not below Russian Value. I've tried to stick with mainly audio but I do have some toys (I try to post in my photos), 80's electronics, old tools but I wrench a lot and do use them and a crap-load of records given to me when CDs took over. I hate selling, I'd much rather trade, I'm hoping to move some product this winter now that the times have changed and Journey Albums are actually worth something. The Russian Guy is awesome, I feel like Cassette2go might be the USA Version with all of those sparkling rare models. We need to get in touch with him so he starts posting on here, it would be interesting to hear his story and see more shop photos.
agree 100% ! for me this is one of the main things, buying and selling is one thing - trading makes it more personal. i met great people with trading collectibles, all over the world, many in person. but before we go too much off-topic here, let‘s start a new fred...
Yes. The hunt really is one of the best parts for me. Particularly the thrill of getting something high-end or rare for really cheap prices. Makes for a nice story to attach to the item.
No close family members were collectors that I was aware of so I do not know where I got the collecting bug from. My sony collection is not even my main collecting interest, I have another vast collection of items I have been involved with since the mid 1970's which is now supporting my own facebook group.
I completely agree with that. The reason I originally joined the forum (back when it was on Hoopla) was because someone asked "Why are Vintage Boomboxes so expensive". I just had to point out that in 1980 my bottom of the range Sony CFS45L cost 1/6th the price of my new Honda Motorbike. Using the Bank of England inflation calculator it cost about £340 in 2019 money. So @WheelyPanamax2 £300 might have been less than the original purchase price in real terms. With specialist items it can get even sillier. A Radio Ham once showed me his Murphy B40 Marine receiver. https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/murphy_b40_b_40.html He said that he had admired that type of set when he first saw it advertised in Wireless World, but back then getting one had seemed like an impossible dream, as brand new the sets cost as much as a new car (which of course wouldn't be a problem when fitting out a large ship). By the 1980s it was probably cheaper to buy one of those than a new shortwave radio from a Ham company like Icom.
Sony-Boy, what's your other collection? I wish there was a forum for hoarders and collectors, something that encompasses everything but doesn't go too in-depth. Do you know the guy Mystic?
Nah, mate. I could have heard something about someone in this location near Moscow but not sure now. "From personal collection"? Hm, I'd doubt that, a profiteer rather.. But again without knowing details can't blame anyone as long as it's legal. But those prices... meh And unfortunately our old BBX friends being 30-40 years have already started falling apart even its plastic.. Even safely sleeping in a warm house corner untouched. So he can be sitting on them untill hell freezes over.
