Best deals: Walkmans

That's a great deal, and I'm sure it made for an exciting bidding war. Sorry to hear that John passed shortly after. I didn't know him, but he must have been a good guy to prevent you from opening an in-box Boodo Khan.

 

Allow me to clarify. It's a working Walkman but doesn't have the original box to it. Matter of fact I don't remember what all comes with it but I think it's just the Walkman by itself and maybe the extra battery compartment thing? I don't even know if it's needs one or not.
Here let me show you the box it's in.

And then here's a close-up of the date and try and track that LOL

Someday I'll open this.

 

When you get a chance you need to search this site for the name ( John Edward ) . Maybe you need to search the old links in this site regarding walkmans and his name. He had a hellified collection of walkmans more than you could ever imagine. I think it had more than these websites Walkman Central or just walkman or any of those websites. He had more than any of of those sites. Only us old people know. John Edward, you need to learn about him or at least his contributions to the Walkman world.

 

I just thought I'd mention that while I had to get The boodo kahan from off the top shelf I thought I'd let you see what else is up there but we ain't talking about that right now I'm just saying

 

On the contrary. The guy has raised the price to $799. I wouldn't pay that much for this model. I really don't see the attraction to it except that it's black like the DC2 and has some Japanese Kanji on the front. The silver switch at the bottom is ugly and looks out of place. Sure the Mega Bass is meant to be "unique" and the model number is "DD-100". But I don't see why it should cost double what a Dc2 costs.

In that condition you linked I wouldn't even pick it up for $200.

 

The only thing special about that model is that it has dynamic base boost which is supposed to be better than the megaboost for the bass sound.

 

I've never had one myself, but lately they seem to be listed for $800-1000 on ebay, even broken and in awful condition. Now that the seller upped the price to $799, it's not any better than the typical prices one sees. I was hopeful that someone here who wanted a Boodo could snag it for under $600.

Also, I know a number of people who would pay extra for the Japanese Kanji alone, setting aside the megabass, haha. Aesthetics are always worth something to someone.

 

You know I had to Google the word kanji!
Back in the day from maybe 2007 until about 2012 or thereabouts I bought based upon the hype of whatever the equipment was supposed to be the best.
The above was based upon the hype that I read about in the online internet forums and places like that, however, once I got some of these items I discovered that they weren't all that fabulous or fantastic and so now I have the ones that I like to use and I still have all these other ones that I paid either a lot of money for or very little money for it that are worth a lot of money present day.
One more thing about me and the equipment that I use to play my music and that is I don't really care what it looks like as long as the function and the sound is there. If it's scratched up or banged up, as long as it's not super serious to not allow its functionality to work correctly then it's okay with me.
Another thing I learned when people are trying to buy some of these things that they want them to be looking perfect and not so much it all working correctly. I don't have anything beautiful looking but they all work that I repaired. Some I have are the ones that are dinged up that nobody would really want to buy but they sound terrific to me and work as well as they can for what they are.

 

Yeah, I see that he was a very liked and prolific poster here. I looked through a few of his threads last night, some of which were revived by Mister X.

 

I feel the same way. I actually prefer buying things that are a little dinged up so I don't have to worry as much about the odd scratch here or there. Plus, saves a lot of money haha.

 

Ah I am the opposite hahaha. If it looks banged up, I don't want it (least of all for a high price). Generally when I've got units in that condition the interior is as bad as the exterior.

I can often fix it or pay someone else to fix it so it works as well as it looks. But if it's banged up I don't see the point. Maybe I shouldn't care so much about the looks but my philosophy is more of finding high quality models that are in mint condition and ensuring that they stay that way. I try not to get too sad though when I notice a little scratch or mark on one of my units. Such is life and nothing lasts forever. Still, I do understand the importance and reasoning in ensuring that they work first and look good second.

At the moment I am not even sure why I collect Walkmans. They are from a bit before my time and my first "Walkman" was actually a pretty lousy Discman which always jumped and skipped tracks. I guess it's out of interest for the technical mastery of the devices and the fact that I love cassettes. They resemble a time in life when I was really young, innocent and very happy. When no one cared about "scrobbling" songs and Hi-Res "audiophile" quality. My father also owned a TEAC stack similar to this one. Also Double Cassette but instead 6 disc auto selector.



It broke so many times and he spent a fortune keeping it and this old hyrbid 2-in-1 VHS TV of ours fixed. Ultimately one of the cassette deck faces fell off so you couldn't put a tape in it and the other wouldn't stay closed haha. But if I had a dollar for every time he listened to Buddy Guy, The Doors, Van Morrison etc. on tape or disc. I'd have a fortune. I hated those bands when I was younger but today after his passing they're all I listen to.

In any case. I want these devices to last, at least as long as this kingdom on earth will last.

 

I have a box full on this model

 

Okinawa Walkman which is very hard to find is available on eBay for 529.99 (best offer accepted).

https://www.ebay.com/itm/3872010314...iPFjL/evc2BTC90mir34bsz0zz|tkp:Bk9SR7aUmf-WZA








PROS:
- This Walkman is very hard to find. I have 2 and each one took 2 years search to find . Its an opportunity for collectors to get this one. (I paid more than whatever seller is asking).
- seller confirms the unit is functional
- seller accepts best offer

CONS:
- requires repair. Like all other DD Walkman units, it requires the central gear repair/ kit.
- doesn't have original box
- has scratches
- rubber cap for headphone jack is missing

 

Okay really old question answered maybe but what old rare box would you like to see posted again?

I don't remember how I got to this thread but here I am answering this since 2018 LOL

 

Interesting comments in this thread about appearance vs function.

I bought both an Aiwa HS-J09 and a Sanyo M9998 new. This was long before anyone had a clue these models would become of interest to collectors, so they were bought for using.

Both units saw lots of use. Because it was indoors the Sanyo stayed in very nice cosmetic shape even as it degraded internally.

However the Aiwa saw extensive hard use. This eventually included being dropped down a cliff. I remember this well. The belt clip the early production had, slipped off my belt. I tried to grab the unit and couldn't quite get my hand around it. It continued falling, slowed by the earphone cord. Eventually it pulled the earplugs out of my ears. I intercepted it with my foot but it bounced off. Down it went. This resulted in a lot of additional cosmetic damage. Knobs etc. disappeared down between rocks. They must still be there. The unit still worked, but after the second broken belt it was put away for decades.

As you know I recently fixed all the internals, replaced the missing parts and did what I could about the cosmetics. It will never be a shelf queen. To me, because it is mine and I know what it went through, it's extra satisfying that it is fully functioning again, and the remaining scratches etc. recall the wonderful adventures I enjoyed with it.

The best memories:
Sitting outside the Abbott Pass Hut in Canada's Banff National Park listening to my favorite music while gazing at the spectacular mountain scenery.

Hiking along Canada's fabulous West Coast Trail, again listening to my favorites, stoned, with the ebb and flow of the music synchronized to an amazing new view around every corner.

Riding a bicycle up Canada's Dempster Highway above the Arctic Circle, listening to the Aiwa stowed in a pack using an extension cable to the Genexxa stereo speaker mounted on the handlebars.

 

My way of thinking is to go find that Aiwa at the bottom of the cliff and repair it back to working.
No big deal that it has a little bit of cosmic damage. Just get it working again. That pretty much sums up my entire collection. Everything is dinged dented scratched but they work. And nobody wants to buy them from me because they're not beautiful, or used looking?

 

No, the Aiwa in the photo is the original and the one I dropped. I recovered it after I got down the cliff. This was decades ago and if I'd left it, it would have been picked up by someone within hours.

Many antiques are more valuable if they have "patina" from use than if they are cosmetically restored. But this is not yet the case with electronics.