just placed my 9 billionth add in my local classifieds to try and find more boxes.i mean,where have all the big boxes gone i wonder?i hate ebay, but even thats been dire lately.
heres what ive had in the last few weeks/months:
panasonic rx 5104L -ebay £7.75
aiwa tpr180k -mate £10
jvc rc w410 -mate £gratis
i go to an all year round carboot thats been mega fruitless of just late.at one time late last year i was getting at least 1 box every week from it, now nothing.everyone there i speak to says "everyones asking for them now" which i say is BS.ive one guy who i was put in touch with who i was told always used to have a collection of them in stock-everytime i contact him he just says the same thing-"oh ill have some in the next few weeks for you" which is more bull sh#t- ive had nothing off him yet.
theres nothing at the tips either, even if i was allowed to take anything.
this is crazy. they are about, i know they are. its just my contacts of late are useless. if they shake their heads saying no any more their fecking heads will fall off
my only hope is young dave on here with us whos got me a sharp gf8989, hopefully touching down with me next week.
if it werent for dave/my other mate dave where would i be?
i was trying to sort out a 575 with f.d as well,but right now just dont have the money (or the time-i still havent had my op)to do justice price wise for the 575-dont worry fuzzy- i will have it off you.im just not having much luck lately generally
anyways, all you guys in uk how are you getting on, and how about europe,the states and oz, etc?
has it all dried up?

andy, everything you mentioned above is true for me too ! Infact it sounds so exact i would nearly have thought you where scouting my area
Im definately not finding anywhere near as much as i used to but still every now and then something shows up that excites me ! So that always keeps me searching
Also you mention about other people asking for them, well about 2 weeks ago i was at one of my weekly markets and i seen a guy checking out a couple of small silver National boomboxes. (i had already seen them and had passed on them)
It got me wondering if this was a new competitor ? would he be likely to pick up a BIG boombox if he was to see it before me ? most likely i guess
On the other hand it could be a good thing, that is, if i was to get too many every week i would run out of room very quickly, in fact i already have and it probably wouldnt be as exciting when you do find an awesome one.

aza, so true all that mate.only problem is i dont own one of the major boxes yet-the lasonics, crowns,9696 size etc etc,which sometimes makes me feel like packing the interst in.sure i have a gf525,9090 and an 8290 trk,but these arent show stopping boxes.my only major ish find at the car boot is my philips d8534, and thats a 3 piece-i prefer a 1 piece box over a 3 piece any day.but the big 1 piece boxes just dont turn up at all anymore for me in yorkshire, in the north of the uk.its like everyone that has em refuses to let them go.
and where do you draw the line?last week at the booty i spotted a ropey (and i mean ropey) trk3d8e that was all scraped and abused.i didnt even ask its price-if that had been a big 1 piece tape deck id have been all over it like a rash, and anyone else wouldnt have stood a chance!even my best source hasnt found me anything for such a long time now!btw the reason why i rejected thr 3d hitachi was cos ive had one before anyway, and mine was in much better nick.
but whats the story aza, eh?why cant you or i find a couple of nice large 1 piece boxes on the open market anymore?
thank heavens for my mate dave bush and his 8989-thats all i can say, and dave- i want your 9696!!!!!!!!!!

Slow & steady for me... loads I still want but I'll be patient and who knows what'll turn up. Just recently got a VERY nice condition Sharp GF-9000 that needed minor work and cleaning to make it a beauty in form and function, also got my eye on something else on the bay which I'll go for if the price is right.

got a panasonic rx5250 for free on sat-needs complete restoration.another aiwa cs230 yesterday,and an early alba mono box today for free from bhf-it actually sounds really good!
so theyre finally coming in!!!!!!!!

wow rx5250 for free!

Yes they are getting really hard to find. I started collecting a year ago. Thinking that alot would be out there. But nope. Most have been tossed, but teh remander are now collected. They are really hard to find in toronto. If you have one in a store window (completely busted, you will still have offers for it everyday). When I go to the used item markets i can't find any. Its because most were tossed out about 10 years ago. The only ones i find now are stationary units that play up 3 cds as well as tapes. I can garuntee in a 8 more years those also will be hard to find. They are not making them any more. Ipod docking station has replaced them. All I find are stacks of discmans now at these markets. Who knows, they may be really collectable in a few years. I find at these markets (such as the ones i go to, value village, good will and slavation army) there are people that go there everyday just to look for stuff to flip on ebay, so my chances are really slim if im looking for an 80's old school boom box.

Its also a fad thing. 80s fade made a comeback 3 years ago in fashion, hence anything that was vintage 80's went up in price. I saw this when i was looking for keytars. They stoped making the ax-7; eighties become popular, keytars shot up in price. Now the ax-synth cannot even be kept on demo display where i am cause its constantly being perchased by people that need on a now bases!!!

I find my best place in getting old electronics is garage sales. That way you sorta have an idea where the item has been kept all these years lol.

hey samsnite, youve not seen her!
and still no pics, sorry

5250! Congrats, Andy! Still, no camera?;]

not yet brigadier
when my inheritence comes through ill be having one then-plus a webcam,sanyo big ben......m70.......

to be fair its never been easy pickings. ive been at it trying to get ghettos since 2004 and theyve always been scarce. especially the big ones.

my friend and i scoured the south east one summer, going to every possible shop and boot fair looking for boxes and vinyl. we got a few but never anything crazy. a mint 8585 and a ropey 8989 (i think, or 8484? it was big i remember that atleast)

thats why these things make decent money and are classed as 'rare'.

you also have to keep in mind the price of these things when new, it has a knock on effect.



and to be honest the prices on ebay now are waaaaaaaay less than they were about 5 years ago. gf9090 would typically go for £120+, gf777 £400+, hitachis over £180 and even small crappers would make good money. i remember an sz5100 going for £250 and a 9191 for £365, neither were exceptional.

there was a legendary "wog box of doom" that made over £40 and that was a heap

Yeah its dropped in price because of the recession. That and everyone spending their money on the lastest ipod/ or perosonal computer or very leas video game. Ipod has killed boom boxes cause everyone now now wants their whole music collection with them. It plays through everything, cars, computer speakers and home theater systems. Most people don't even need boom boxes with ipod dock in them cause it is common to be some sorta outlet for music to be played in most places nowdays. The home theater system is now the television and sound system all in one. Most idock boom boxes don't even take batteries's cause no one likes to pay for them.

The style now, ipod and personal computer. Another time it was walkman and boombox. YOu still need the master system to program the smaller personal system.

well guys, now got the gf8989-and all i can say is WOW!
this unit is a great looker and performer,i only wish id have got one sooner.its now the best one in my collection.its also the best condition-dave you have looked after it mate- the chrome cracking is minor-my rx5250 is on its last legs compared to this baby.
the sound?the back says 28w if i remember-it sounds better than that-ive got a gf525 rated at 40w, and the 8989 sounds much better than that.this is one killer machine.
wasnt there an 8989II-whats the difference between that and this then, folks?

the bigun i got one summer for £40, it wasnt an 8989, it was a 9494, one of these

i got a nice few boxes,last year was my biggest year..jvc pc5-£8 flea market,pc55-£15 flea market,Sharp GF990-£26 ebay,GF777 Swapped for laptop,conion C100 swapped for one of my pc55,Intersound superjumbo,bought it with faulty decks from blasterpunk for 145 euro..GF9000 £115 ebay,another GF9000 £60 ebay..

latest buy-massive jvc rc-x720 with avtive hyper bass, from about 91/92.only got cos i need one with a cd on.not really my usual shape.
but this is the m90 of the 90s- it really is:
powerful
heavy
bassy-you can hear it on low volume 2 flights of stairs down in my house-word for word
i got it for just £2.
"while my 90s jvc vibrates the concrete....."