Here are two ads for what obviously is the same Aiwa HS-J9. It first showed up in Buyee (Japan) for a fixed price of about $140 US. Lately ads have been posted by what seems like more than one seller on eBay for several prices up to $325 US. What is going on here? Is someone trying to flip it for a profit? What if someone buys it for the higher price on eBay and someone else buys it from Buyee before the eBay seller can buy it from Buyee? https://buyee.jp/item/yahoo/auction/t1140904988 https://www.ebay.com/itm/405143885578
Given on ebay shipping is listed as being from Japan, I think it's the same Japanese seller behind both listings rather than a re-sell. Seen these situations before, it's common for some Japanese sellers to list these items on many sites at very different prices. In regard to items selling on both sites at the same time, I guess they just take that risk. Chances are extremely low to sell on both at exactly the same time. And even if it does, they are likely to honour the ebay order, not the YAJ one. They afford more negative feedback on YAJ than on ebay.
On the ebay listing I actually see two more listings for the same unit in the banner. This banner rarely shows up for me. Both listings are from different sellers, so three total different sellers.
Besides whatever may be wrong with its internals, it has: - missing battery lid - broken battery lid latch - 2 missing screws - broken radio panel with piece missing - discolored cassette door side paint - missing model sticker - 3 missing slide knobs - broken continuous play knob (Someone must have tried to remove it without looking to see it is securely attached and almost never missing.) On the positive side the battery compartment seems clean and it has a case. ...meaning the eBay prices are highly optimistic.
They always have three listings on ebay at different price points, I don't usually follow the models listed except a Crown Suitcase a few years ago. I don't think the price ever drops but the items do disappear after a few weeks.
The seller in Japan gradually reduced their "buy it now" price to what the unit was worth to me. I think I can fix or replace the damaged or missing bits, and do the usual internal jobs. It sold for about $100 US and is in transit from Buyee. However, a week later two of the three eBay ads are still up. They cannot provide the item, because I bought it. These ads all allowed a buyer to make an offer. When you make an offer, you are locked into the transaction. I suspect the "sellers" are one scammer who just pockets your funds. If it is just one seller behind all these ads, why are they using multiple aliases and why can't they delete all the ads when the item sells? There is at least one other Aiwa HS-J* on eBay with similar multiple listings. Such as this one, which I recall seeing on Buyee but is no longer on Buyee. https://www.ebay.com/itm/395589233752
I did more searching, and many of the eBay Aiwa HS-* item listings that specify "from Japan" raise the same concerns. I'm still not sure what's going on here, and who knows how common it is. And not just with walkmen.
I'm not paying 519 bucks for any Walkman. Personally I stay away from the ones that have equalizers in them. Allow me to edit this. I'm not paying more than $400 for anything.
So far I've repaired 5 Aiwas with equalizers. Though this includes many problems, the only issue with the equalizers has been damaged or broken solder joints for the flat flexible ribbon cables. Because putting the equalizer on the cassette bay lid requires using a ribbon cable. The equalizers worked fine even on the most battered unit. They all have rotten belts and almost all have a broken auto-reverse mechanism. All the ones I've bought have had missing trim bits.
i assume you are still selling walkman as well, Ser James. Knowing your good price offering I am willing to buy your DD100 in any condition.
--------------------------- Junk AIWA HS-J9 Cassette Boy TV/AM/FM https://buyee.jp/item/yahoo/auction/n1157071225 Closing Time (JST)18 Oct 2024 20:04:43 32,800 yen (US$230.26) pics from listing [ Translation ] Junk AIWA HS-J9 Cassette Boy TV/AM/FM The reason for the junk is that it has not been tested. Please check the condition in the photo. If you are nervous, please refrain from purchasing. This item was placed in a place without pets or smoking. It is also being sold on other sites, so it may sell out.
This J9 is in ok condition. The equalizer panel is easy to glue back on. Looks like it has all its parts, but no accessories. Marring on the chrome control panel could be grime or corrosion. Possible corrosion in the battery compartment. White powder in the cassette bay is a concern, plus apparently bent metal in there. No doubt it needs a belt and auto reverse repair. I would do the auto reverse repair anyway just so it wouldn't fail in the future. My problem with it is that after conversion to cdn$$ and paying all the associated fees, it would be around $400. Not much room to improve its value, and I'm trying to resist being a collector.
I don't consider myself a collector. I consider myself a experiencer that is. I've been trying to find the best sounding cassette player. Portable whether it be something I put in my pocket or something I carry in my hand with speakers on it. That sounds good and lasts a long time on batteries. I don't care if you can plug it into the wall. I'm not interested. However when I was younger I bought one hell of a lot of stuff because it was cheap and now that stuff that was cheap back then is now expensive present day and people keep asking me to sell what I have. And no I'm now just trying to find the best examples of what I have and repair them and get rid of the rest but all this takes time. And I like making videos of what I do when I do it and all that. So I've got a lot of videos out there. Not everything for everybody but a lot.
Boombox Season is coming, it usually starts around the 2nd week of November and prices drop dramatically. I've found rare items and they go for nothing, the season usually last until mid-January.
Like 15 years ago or so I can't remember. I bought a JVC RC m75 around Christmas time and of course everyone's on the holiday and a guy never shipped it. So I filed a claim with PayPal, got my refund and then the box arrived. I made a few videos about it. I didn't like it so I sold it to a person in Canada. Also the name of James Phillips.
My background is that back when they came out I bought the Aiwa HS-J09 and a Sanyo M9998. The Sanyo because I was living in a camper converted delivery van and wanted a sound system that ran on 12v. The Aiwa because I wanted to listen to cassettes and use the radio for travelling. I bought them from a high end audio shop, assuming such a shop would only carry good stuff. Turned out they knew what they were doing as both became highly desirable to collectors. And I have all the accessories for both of them. But over the decades both units developed many problems and fell into disuse. The Aiwa came off its belt clip and fell down a cliff. A year ago I finally got around to digitizing my cassettes. But I needed a way to play them. The new cassette-to-mp3 players were utter garbage. Rather than consume another player with a cassette drive I decided it was more sensible to fix the Sanyo and Aiwa. Both fully work now except for the AM band on the Sanyo. But looking up guidance for repairing the Aiwa somehow led to buying and fixing another. And another... I used one of the Aiwas to digitize the cassettes using Audacity on a computer, and enjoy the efficiency of playing the music on my phone. All the songs in one place with more playback control and nothing additional to carry, plus the phone has speakers. I understand the pleasure of using vintage gear in top shape, like driving an old restored car. But practicalities intrude, such as strenuous hikes where every ounce counts. Anyway, there's another J9 in shipping to me... I have this compulsion to fix things. It's an excellent challenge and very satisfying to save something from becoming trash.
I have always had the compulsion as you put it to fix things and also fearless to take things apart. I got in trouble way back in my early grade years. Maybe 5th or 6th grade? When I took the vacuum cleaner apart the Electrolux brands that cost $300 back in the '60s. My parents weren't happy about that but I put it back together and it worked better after I did so anyway. Now press forward to the future. Started buying these cassette players back in the year 2005. More to it than that. But I bought way too many when they were cheap and now I'm repairing them as I'm turning 65. So therefore maybe 10 years younger than you. But I have a hell of a lot to repair and I've made videos about doing so. Here I got my 99998 off the shelf just for you. Someday I'm going to repair it. Just haven't gotten around to it. And as you can see I have other sanyo's and other models as well to repair. Some have been done and others are just I can't remember lol.
I always loved the "gadgets" and could never touch the high-end stuff back in the 80's let alone have it survive me skateboarding around everywhere. I started seeing great equipment being tossed around 1999 and started grabbing it for future enjoyment. I do like repair work but never have the time for some of it. Like I've said many times, the fact that I can still play music is huge and makes it 10x more fun.
Yes, we had an Electrolux. From Sweden. Expensive and they needed occasional motor replacements. Thanks for the M9998 photo. It looks like the European version with shortwave. I paid $600 for mine in 1979, so in terms of being an investment it has not done well. Don't be in a hurry to work on yours since everyone finds them frustrating. But if you do I'm more than happy to assist.
