Stuff

[John Dilks K2TQN]

Hey Doc,

You're only 81, what's the rush?  Once your treasures are gone you 
won't have anything to do.  Keep them a little longer.  :-)

As far as the "estate ham guy" goes, you have to think about the big 
picture.  He probably thinks he is a business man, and maybe he 
is.  He'll come in and cart everything away, not to keep - but to 
resell.  He'll want to make a profit.  He'll want to make money for 
the time spent.

He isn't able to trust that everything is in good condition, so he 
figures perhaps he'll have to fix some things, or sell them very 
cheap because they are broken.  He has to transport them, store them, 
and then sell them in some manner.

I don't know if your offer of $1000 was fair or way-low.  Selling to 
a re seller will not bring you as much money as selling them 
yourself. But if you sell them yourself on Ebay, then you have to 
deal with ebay, the buyers, packing and shipping - which can be a 
pain. The old stuff is heavy and not fun to carry around, and down to 
the UPS.  Then UPS (and other shippers) will damage your package - 
and then you have to deal with the buyer who will be upset when his 
radio arrives in pieces.  If you hamfest, then you have to load the 
car/truck, go there, set up and deal with the buyers. (sometimes fun, 
sometimes not).

There is no perfect answer and I wish you well.  As I am only a few 
years behind you - I will have to follow in your footsteps in 
disposing of all my treasures soon enough.  Maybe if we wait a little 
longer.... After all they recently invented Viagra to make us feel 
good, maybe they'll invent a youth pill - and then we can keep our 
stuff forever.  :-)

73, John Dilks, K2TQN
   www.k2tqn.com/



>From: Boat Anchor Owners and Collectors List on behalf of Lewis c Emerson
>Sent: Sat 4/15/2006 4:47 PM
>To: BOATANCHORS at LISTSERV.TEMPE.GOV
>Subject: [BOATANCHORS-TEMPE] Stuff
>
>Guys and gals,
>
>As I'm new to this list and am computer illiterate I may be doing the
>wrong thing by sending to this address, but...
>
>I'm an older guy who's been into ham radio for more years than most of
>you can count as your age.  Anyway, at the behest of my XYL and a
>daughter I'm being forced to "downsize", meaning clean out the basement
>and get rid of all this "radio junk".  This is really putting a big hurt
>on me as it's been a very big part of my life for almost 70 years.
>Anyway, I need some advice and hence this note....
>
>I, obviously, have a ton of equipment and ham radio gear, and to boot,
>was big time into building my own stuff.  When I was brand new to this
>wonderful game, back in the 1930s, I started building my own equipment -
>everyone back then used a commercial receiver, but built their
>transmitters.  I was into that game too, and, in fact, have my original
>receiver purchase, a Hallicrafters Sky Buddy (their S-19R) which I still
>have and which, believe it or not, still works. I bought it with my paper
>route money for $29.44 including shipping.  I had many delightful CW QSOs
>with it and a crystal-controlled 6L6 one-tube x'mitter.
>
>Anyway - here's my dilemma  - is e-Bay the way to go or, as I see on this
>list, advertising here?  E-Bay does present a problem as their asking
>prices vary all over the map.  As just one example, I have a brand new,
>but 40-year+ old, Eddystone 898 great slide rule dial that I bought when
>I had aspirations of building Ted Crosby's HBR receiver - but just never
>got around to doing it.  When I mentioned this on another list asking
>what it was worth these days, I had two replies.  One guy said he sold
>one on e-Bay for $130, and another guy said he bought one, also on e-Bay,
>for $10!  If you inflate my buying price to 2006 dollars it comes to well
>over $100.
>
>An estate ham guy came by recently and offered my a flat $1000 for
>everything I have.  But another ham buddy told me to look at e-Bay prices
>and I was absolutely amazed to see that a UHF rig, one that I have, went
>$710 and another mobile HF rig, that I also have, went for $435.  This
>guy was gonna "clean up" with resales - and that's only scratching the
>surface of what I have.
>
>Have any of you guys and gals out there had any experience in disposing
>of tons of "stuff" - UHF rigs, HF rigs, satellite gear, 300 tubes,
>thousands of resistors and capacitors, transformers, chokes, panel
>meters, switches, sockets, coil forms, hookup wire, test equipment - like
>Simpson and Triplett VOMs, Tektronix scope, VTVMs, ICs, LEDs,
>transistors, etc. etc.
>
>Hamfests are few and far between in my area, so that's not a good option
>- and besides who builds things now?
>
>Looking for answers.
>
>73,
>
>Doc, W4ITJ

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