Receiver Values

[Harvey A. Kader]

Greetings all, and Happy New Year!

Here is a POSITIVE example of some of the GREAT deals available on you
know where.

Recently I picked up a NEW mint in box Realistic DX-160 communications
receiver with matching SP-150 speaker. The receiver came in the original
box with the original packaging material, and with the original
instruction manual.

I bid for it $150.00. To me that was a reasonable price. This receiver
was manufactured in the early 1970's I believe. It is a single
conversion analogue receiver with five FIELD EFFECT TRANSISTORS in the
tuning section. It has a SOLID METAL chassis and metal cover. It is a
beauty! I bid what I thought it was worth.

When I got the receiver I noticed that it had the original Radio Shack
price sticker on the bottom of the box - $169.95! Now, that is in early
1970's dollars. So now some thirty years later one can calculate what
its value would be in year 2000 dollars. Considering the effects of
inflation at an average of approximately 3.0% per year, over thirty
years, this receiver would THEORETICALLY be worth 7-10 times the
original price. This gives a year 2000 market value of $1,190.00 to
$1,700.00 which is in line with what a good professional communications
receiver retailsfor today.

So, without factoring in speculation and subjective worth, the OBJECTIVE
worth of this receiver in todays dollars for one in NEW condition is
MUCH GREATER than what I paid for it. Another way to look at it, is that
if one were to manufacturer this receiver today in the year 2000, it
would retail for approximately this amount. Alternately, one could say
that I paid approximately the original early 1970's retail price with
TODAYS' year 2000 dollars, which are worth MUCH LESS than early 1970's
dollars due to the effects of inflation and compounding over the years.

Did I get a good deal? Yes I did! In fact, since the unit is NEW mint,
one could say that I paid only one seventh to one tenth its true
objective value. The objective value is what it costs to build today and
what it would retail for in year 2000 dollars. This is NOT necessarily
the same as market value. I am extrapolating real estate concepts here,
but the concepts can apply to any commodity.

So, auctions CAN give tremendous value! It is up to the bidder to be
WISE AND LUCKY!! Good luck bidding everyone!

Harvey A. Kader.

Sponsored by the City of Tempe 

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