[Doublej]

I have a few pieces that have been sitting in the garage for a number years, vintage 1978-1980. Should I just toss them or try to sell them or E-Bay them?

Among other things, I have a BIC T-05 tape deck that to the best of my recollection worked OK except sometimes it would not shut off at the end of a tape, a old Pioneer Integrated that I think has a problem where sometimes one channel would be less loud than the other and a Sansui Classique Turntable that woked fine but probably has a belt that has disintegrated.

What do you think?

[kfr01]

If you're never going to use them, ebay them.

Don't toss them.  You'd be surprised what people are willing to bid.

[Soundbitten]

Donate them to a charitable organization if you're not planning on repairing and using them .

[NealH]

Trash them.  Why waste your time trying to con someone out of a few bucks. 

[Marbles]

What model number is the Pioneer and tell me about that TT.

That ebay suggestion was a good one.

I got tired of trying to fix vintage stuff and ended up putting a Sansui receiver in the trash..then a guy on this forumn said he would pay for me to ship it to him.  I took it to a mailboxes etc... and he paid all costs, but it was expensive for him to box and ship....he is still using it and never had a problem with it. 

I wonder what ever happened to that guy??? 

[kfr01]

Why waste your time trying to con someone out of a few bucks. 

ebay does not necessarily equal con.

If the seller accurately discloses the item's condition, even non-working electronics can be a find for some collectors.

On the other hand, if you can't be bothered, but they still work, please don't trash them - donate them.  Donating is much better for our landfills and the needy!

[Doublej]

Pioneer is an SA 7700. I couldn't find very much information on this beast anywhere. It was sold through Tech HiFi which makes me think it might have been a custom model for them? 

The TT is a Sansui Classique (I am sure if it had a model number). The TT has an S shaped poilshed chrome? tonearm. There might be a caramel color Audio Technica cartridge and a black ADC cartridge in the box too.

OBM on both I think.

I think I also have a (drum roll please) BSR equalizer in the garage as well. My recollection on it is that the spring in the power button fell out so while the button works it's now a push-pull.

[Doublej]

Who would you donate them to? If the item has a bit of a problem is donating fair or should it be trashed?

[markC]

I say donate it to your  friends at AC, explaining the problems.Someone may be handy in repairing the problem and actually want the item.  If no one want's it it's-trash. To donate a problematic piece to charity would not be doing anyone any favours.

[JohnR]

Search for the model numbers on EBay and see if the same or similar have sold in the past. Then you will know if it's worth listing them.

You could still donate the proceeds 

[fredgarvin]

You could donate to Goodwill, vintage stuff is repaired and sold quite cheaply. I remember buying a 4-channel EQ for around 10 bucks about fifteen years ago.

[JLM]

In our town Goodwill is willing to take non-functioning electronics.  Last year we donated an old couch.  They were hesitant to accept it without looking at it first.  As soon as they helped to unload it the guys sat on it, still in the parking lot, and loved it.  30 minutes later as we'd stopped for gas across the street we saw someone pulling out of Goodwill with the couch on their roof.

Check e-bay for prices, so you'll know what to claim on your taxes, then donate.  You may very well start some young cash strapped kid on the way to audiophilia or a career in electronics.

[woodsyi]

For this kind of thing just use Craigslist to see if anybody in your neighborhood wants it for cheap.  This is for my city http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/ but you can click on your city.  I am assuming you are not looking to make a bunch of money on it.

[BobM]

Pick up a soldering iron and do a little basic modding/updating. Specifically ,replace the capacitors with new ones of equal values. You may learn something in the process, as well as beef up your soldering skills to tackle something a little more advanced, like a tube amp project for the main system 

You may be pleasantly surprised at how good these old units sound with a little updating. In any case you could create a secondary system for little to no additional cost to you other than time and basic parts.

Enjoy,
Bob

[Digi-G]

I agree with some of the others here that e-bay can be a valuable source for buying and selling components.  If you list your item(s) to sell be sure to describe it as accurately as possible and include good pictures.  This will ensure you get the highest price you can AND will minimize any potential misunderstandings (which is the biggest e-bay problem imho).

Even if the item isn't pristine there is definitely a market for vintage gear.

Here is a link or two for some Vintage Pioneer gear (a great reference site for Vintage Silver Pioneer stuff):

http://www.silverpioneer.netfirms.com/
http://www.silverpioneer.netfirms.com/Integrated%20Amps.htm

[Soundbitten]

I tried to give away a vintage ( early 80's ) NAD amp & pre on Yahoo's Freecycle once while feeling quite charitable  . Despite being in working order there were no takers ... noone even bothered to look .  . I eventually donated them to charity for resale . I guess most people prefer boomboxes . 

[Rob Babcock]

Vintage electronics can be a powerful narcotic for some.  Even a non-fuctional peice can be a gem to the right guy.  Be honest (as I'm sure you would be) but E-bay it.  Let the market speak.

[warnerwh]

The vintage market is huge. Prices can be very high. I've seen some 70's receivers go for 1-2k. My computer room has vintage gear in it and I enjoy it very much. No, my Dynaco A25's don't sound as good as my Vmps RM 40's but I enjoy them. They were also the speaker that got me into the hobby back in the early 70's. My father in law had been going to put out this turntable for their garage sale last year. I took one look at it and it was a Dual 1229 that worked and looked good. They were going to sell it for 10 bucks. I got 230 for it on Ebay for them. The guy that bought it was local and loved it when he saw it. It had been sitting for 20 years of it's live and hardly used by my father in law when he owned it.

So don't throw the stuff away. Alot of old gear even alot of it that isn't pretty will fetch some money and make someone happy.