Hi I'm a newbie, but I hope you guys can help me out.

It's time for me to bid farewell to my much loved, well-used but perfectly operational Sony Trinitron KV2080R which I purchased in 1987. The remote disappeared at some point, but I still have the oringinal manual and even the receipt. I'm trying to figure out what I should list it for.

Also, my mom has a similar era 20inch XBR which is not fully functional -- I can't recall if its the picture or the sound that's not working.

I also have a a KV13TR24 which I may or not sell.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on values. I live in NYC.

Also a similiar era Mitsubishi Monitor

Those are decent sets; but, '80's era TV's don't bring much $ and there are not many collectors who are interested in TV's that new. I just sold a mid '80's 19" Sony, that worked perfectly, to a "non-collector" for $25. And, I felt lucky to get that much for it. The 20" XBR is probably like the one my Sister and ex-BIL paid megabucks for back in the mid '80's; but, once again, they are not worth much now. Since it has issues, you'd probably be looking at between $0-$5.

Although these aren't the same exact models as you're selling, the prices might give you some perspective. Less than a year ago, I purchased a 20" Sony KV-20S42 for $20 and most recently, a 13" Sony KV-13TR27 for $5. I have a 20" XBR that I bought new in 1992 that I'd be lucky to get $20 for.

I know its frustrating when you paid high dollar for these TV's new and they still likely have years of life left in them, to have to almost give them away. I keep thinking there are lots of people who can't afford to pay several hundred dollars for a new LCD or plasma TV and would love to have a good used CRT version, but sadly, that doesn't seem to be the case, at least around here.

There was a time not too long ago when someone who could not afford a TV would be grateful for any working set even if it was black and white and be genuinely glad to have it. Even as recently as the late '80s I could get a quick $25 for a working 12" black and white in good condition.

Well many people that don't know about TVs think backwards. For example anything from the 80's they're going to view as complete crap that wont last a day and they'll end up getting a late 90's early 2000's CRT set. Just browsing through my local CL postings and there are literally hundreds of the later CRT models for practically nothing...there's simply too much of the newer sets out there and people cant even give them away..

There was a time not too long ago when someone who could not afford a TV would be grateful for any working set even if it was black and white and be genuinely glad to have it. Even as recently as the late '80s I could get a quick $25 for a working 12" black and white in good condition.

I could still get $25 for a good 12" B&W as recent as the early '90's. Then, as the years went by, I was getting less and less for them. I think the last one I actually sold was for $5, about 10-11 years ago. Since then, I've either kept them for myself or given them to interested collectors. I've also seen a time, as recent as the early '90's, that a clean 19" solid state B&W would bring $50. The first TV I ever sold was an early '60's tube type VHF only 17" RCA B&W for $25. I advertised it on a local call in radio program and it was gone the same day. A young guy, who had just gotten married and didn't have much money, bought it and was happy to get it. Now, most young married couples think they are "entitled" to the nicest, newest things and they are going to have them, even if they have to go in debt. Heck, most of them have probably never seen a TV with knobs.

I can also understand the frustration of having to either sell cheaply or give a TV away that was once a high end TV that would have been worth good money on the used market; but, the fact is that most of the buying public wants the so-called "latest and greatest" and the fact that new TV's are constantly coming down in price does not help the situation. A year or two ago, I enjoyed a brief period of actually being able to get good money for CRT sets because many people could not afford a flat panel TV. Now, with the prices coming down, just about anyone who wants a flat panel TV can have one sitting in their house, even if they have to get it from rent-a-center.

When I used to buy broken TV's to fix and resell, I've made quite a few people mad when I'd offer $5 or $10 for their broken set. I'd usually hear, "I paid $1200 for that TV and the cabinet is worth more than any $5 or $10". Then, other people were glad to get the $5 or $10 and get the set out of the way. Now, most people don't want any money. They just want it out of their house. I still have a few people ask if I buy broken TV's and I always tell them, "No, I have more than I need given to me and I can't make enough money off of them to justify buying a broken set + spending money on fixing it".

I just gave away a 2007 35" Sanyo because I was tired of looking at it and moving it around. And, my flea market friend just sold a 25" Sanyo for $40 and I think he felt lucky to get that for it. There was a time I would have laughed in the face of anyone who offered me $40 for a 19" rotary knob tuned color TV, let alone a 25" set with remote.

Thanks for your input everyone.

I put the set up on CL for $50 just to see what happens, and, believe it or not, I lucked out. The young guy that came to pick it up forget to bring cash, because he was getting several sets and not everyone was looking for money. He went out to a cash machine and came back, but because I didn't have change sold it to him for $46.

Turns out he's an artist and was gathering sets for video installation he producing in Brooklyn.

A friend of mine gave me a 37 inch HD flat screen he no longer wanted which is why I said farewell to the Sony. And while I appreciate the size of the TV -- I have to say do I miss the beautiful color of my trinitron.

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Yes, you did very well. Had I got that much for a 20" CRT set, I'd think the "old days" were coming back.

This is what I put in my craigslist ad -- but honestly I do think it had to do with luck -- the artist that picked it up was interested in the aesthetics of monitor as much as anything else:

Sony Trinitron KV-2080R TV & Monitor $50 OBO

It's time for me to bid farewell to my much loved, well-used but perfectly operational Sony Trinitron KV2080R which I purchased in 1987. The remote disappeared at some point, but I still have the oringinal manual and even the receipt. Perfect for hobbyist and collector. Hey, it's officially a vintage item.

The Gods smiled on you, my friend.

Yeah, most people would have said, "WHAT, 1987!"

When someone calls about buying a TV, the first question is often wanting to know how old it is. When I tell them it's a 2003, they usually tell me that they want something newer. And, I usually feel like asking, "What the hell do you expect for $25". I finally got so that when they'd ask how old the set was, I'd tell them that I didn't know and that all I knew was it worked good. And, I know it's a little dishonest; but, I've come close to scratching the date off of the sets I sell as it gets very frustrating when you're selling something at what I consider a giveaway price and these morons expect a TV that's less than a year old.