Estate Sale Electronics Bonanza - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Wrydog
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2019, 06:40:41 am
content: I've got an estate sale in my area this weekend -last day is tomorrow. There are a few generations' worth of electronic and electrical related accumulation. Literal tons. In addition to all the boxes of equipment, I have the opportunity to pick up many data manuals for next to nothing as well as old, nearly complete sets of CQ and QST magazines.Are these desirable at all today with most everything available online?A few pictures:

author: Wrydog
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2019, 06:41:28 am
content: More pictures

author: Wrydog
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2019, 06:42:02 am
content: final

author: Johnny10
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2019, 02:25:36 pm
content: Yikes!The more you buy the lower the price.

author: soldar
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2019, 07:16:11 pm
content: That looks like my basement and it stresses me out just to think about it. I would pay good money for someone to rid me of all the clutter, all the useless junk I keep "just in case".

author: Stray Electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2019, 08:28:25 pm
content: Ha! I wish my basement was that well organized! My kids aren't interested in the stuff and after I go, I expect that they'll call in a front end loader and large dumpster to clear it all out.

author: wilfred
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2019, 09:48:47 pm
content: Quote from: Wrydog on April 14, 2019, 06:40:41 amEverything that's more or less ubiquitous gets discarded until it isn't. Then it's desireable.It's just a question of storing it until the time comes.My advice is stay away and let someone else die wondering.

author: CatalinaWOW
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2019, 11:23:31 pm
content: You have to be very selective at those estate sales. Most of that stuff sat on the shelves for years because the deceased party thought it was neat at one time, and then never found a use for it. Unless you have a yen for some particular era of technology most of that stuff will be better off just left to die.But you still have to go to those sales, because A: You really are into that era of things, or you happen across a treasure trove of something someone else is into (1920s vacuum tubes/valves). B: You find one of those timeless bits of gear, like the that last one I went to which had a good quality strobe light. $5 and a little skull sweat and elbow grease and it was good as new. It has already proven its worth a few times measuring speed of rotating machinery much faster and easier than other techniques available to me.

author: tpowell1830
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 15, 2019, 12:24:51 am
content: That looks suspiciously like a basement, which means that you are not in Texas, and I am not able to bid on or purchase any of it. However, if you have room at your place, even though some of those items are vintage, it would be advantageous for a hobbiest to have. For instance, some of the old equipment have big hefty, over built transformers which could be repurposed. The wire and scrap wire have uses as well as value, if you decide to sell as scrap copper or use in a project.Also, if you bid on the whole kit and kaboodle, you are likely to get it cheap. While you are loading it, you could make mental judgements whether to keep or dump or sell.But, I am a bit of a hoarder when looking at such things in regards to things that I like to do in my hobby, so others may have different ideas.

author: Cyberdragon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 15, 2019, 02:57:55 am
content: Any books post 2000 are trash, especially those catalogs. All of that's either online or irrelevant. Anything pre-1990 might not be online yet and can be considered "vintage". Since most of those books seem to be digital stuff you might get a bit from selling them to the vintage computer community (though don't pay much initially).As for equipment, look for anything reasonably intact (even if it has to be recapped or needs simple hardware). Stay away from anything in bits (unless you want parts or can find all the parts) or you'll end up with a junkyard like me.Those piles of cables might fetch a bit as scrap, but pay very little if yo take that gamble.