Last Wednesday, a friend and fellow collector came to visit from New Orleans. I had not been in any of our thrift stores in over a year and he wanted to check them out; so, away we went. I was soon reminded why I stopped going in any of them.

The first thrift store is run by some preacher who claims the proceeds go towards some overseas children's home. The only TV in the place was a beat to heck late '90's RCA console, priced at $46. I wouldn't have given $4.60 for it! The records were the usual gospel, Christmas, and knock-off instrumental crap that looked like they had been run over by a truck. The prices were $5-$10/record.

The second store raises money for a local children's home. There was one BPC 27" blob with a "SOLD" sign on it and what looked to have been an early '80's 17" GE color TV, priced at $30. It was the model with electronic tuning; but, still not worth $30. I saw one BPC VCR and a SPC Philips DVD player, priced at $12/each. The record selection was the usual crap that needs to go in the dumpster.

So, on to the SA. Unfortunately, they still have the same witch manager that was the reason I stopped going in there, well over a year ago. They had some 25"/27" BPC sets in the $50 range. There was a late '70's 17" Sanyo built Sears knob tuned color TV for $30, a mid '90's white plastic Magnavox 9" color TV for $20, a beat up mid '80's RCA XL100 console for $50, and an '83 Zenith system 3 console with the single knob varactor tuner for $50. I saw one BPC VCR, in unknown condition, for $20. They had raised the record prices from fifty cents/ea. to $1.50/ea for any kind of record. And, double albums were charged as two records. I bought a couple of records and my friend bought a couple of records; but, most of what was there probably needed to hit the dumpster.

As far as TV prices, I'm doing good to get $30 for a later model 19" set and I can forget about selling consoles at any price. Either these thrift store TV's are not selling and ending up in the dumpster or the thrift store customers are willing to spend more money than my customers.

Had that 17" GE or the 17" Sears been under $10, I would have probably bought them; but, I couldn't see $30/each. I wish we had thrift stores down here like what some of you guys describe. The type store that sells TV for dirt cheap prices. I used to could deal with the SA, until they hired the current manager. And, of course, she'll probably be there until the day she dies.

I have a friend, who buys used stuff to resell, and he is always looking for TV's that he can get cheap and make a few dollars on. He says that many people are still living in the past when it comes to used TV prices. He still sees consoles priced between $50-$100, 5"/9"/12" B&W sets priced in the $20-$25 range, and other types of TV's with asking prices like we haven't actually gotten in years.

I have quit shopping in thrift stores (and estate sales, garage sales, etc) as I have just gotten tired of spending more time and effort hauling equipment and storing it rather than repairing it and using it! not to mention spending money.
I have only been taking things which were given to me for the past three months and actually have collected a pretty good amount that way.

I don't understand some thrift stores though like the ones you mention. The stuff they sell is GIVEN to them and probably much of the labor is donated too in operating the store so if they can sell an item at any price they make some profit. And most of the people who patronize thrift stores don't have much money anyway.

I never have been in the buying/selling business but I really don't see how so many who are stay in business with the way they price things. I have seen things at thrift stores and antique stores sit around for years and never get sold. If the stuff was priced more reasonably I'm sure it would, if only by people who don't really need the item but just like finding a bargain.

I test some of the sets that a local SA gets, and I also clean out the crappy records now and then.

The sets more often than not, dont work when I plug them in. People are just having us haul off their trash. If I had my way, we'd plug them in before we pick them up.

One of the SA's in the area got a haul of RCA sets from a motel. There are around 100 of them. The first 5 I plugged in were DOA. SA has to pay to put them in the landfill. I've got 3 that work, so far. I had to resolder the tuner on 2 of these!

The manager of the store I help out sets his own prices. Most 36" TV's go for under $50, and do sell. I do my best to find a remote that will work with them, as alot of shoppers won't buy a set that doesent have one.

There is another thrift in the area that is run by a local religious organization, and I have always been amazed at their high prices on everything, and also, how the stuff just sits there on their sales floor. Who is going to give $99 for a console TV from the early '90's, no matter how good it looks? They have a console Zenith that flashes RED for a moment now and then, and they have it priced at $89 / 'handyman special'!!! I've tried to talk to the manager there, but she says that their store moves them out all the time. She is full of baloney.

I guess it just depends on where you are going.

Maybe they are getting the wrong idea of what stuff is worth by looking at ebay. Then there is the fact that the fact that tHe dollar buys 30% less than it did 10 years ago and they have to keep the lights on. You would think these places would be thriving in this economy but there is still overhead. Most of the small non chain ones here are gone

There was one guy, who managed our local SA store, that I could deal with. He'd save broken TV's for me and I'd buy them for $5/each. Usually, they only needed minor repair and I was able to make a few dollars on them. It was a win-win situation for both of us. They were making a few dollars on junk that they would otherwise have to pay to get rid of and I was getting something that I could possibly fix for re-sell. Also, if I didn't like the price on something, the manager would let me negotiate. Of course, they got rid of this guy in short order and hired the current witch. She overprices things; and, from what I hear, she'll bust something up and toss it in the dumpster before she'll come off the price. I made her an offer to buy any broken TV's that come in and she let me know that they didn't have time to save the junk TV's and that they would go in the dumpster. Oh well, it's their loss because the SA is not the only place I can get broken BPC TV's. Now, since used CRT TV's are not worth much effort, I don't have any desire to pick up too many later model sets. The thing that worries me is the older sets that end up in the dumpster because they are either too old or don't work.

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We've done a couple tours of the local thrift stores through the summer. The best of the local SA stores had been a real favorite of mine; they had a back room where they sold lots of, well, junk. Loads of electronics back there, especially late 70s/early 80s TV sets. I picked up several top-loader VCRs, among other things. The prices were highly variable, depending, I guess, on who was working the day it was put on the floor. You could see a 19" Panasonic from '79 priced $5 and next to it a 19" Sears from '81 priced $35. Several times I've mailed out a flyer to local thrifts offering to take any older junk sets they might get and the manager at this SA actually called me one day; that is how I ended up with the '66 Airline color combo. He did all he could to talk me into taking a late 70s Sears console but I refused. Well, he retired and things have changed a lot now. The back room is no longer open to the public and the prices are on the way up. I did spot an early 50s console when we were in there a couple weeks ago, but it turned out to be gutted.

There is a new store nearby that seems to have a pretty good turnover in electronics; I've thought about dropping off my flyer to them but, how many sets can I really take? I don't need to be hauling home anymore 80s consoles and I'm sure if they called me with one I'd feel guilty and take it. I do have a friend who is one of the lead volunteers at a small church-run thrift and he is always bringing me interesting stuff that he finds, and knows won't sell. Last year he gave me a Sony Watchman with the "lolipop" crt, works like new!

They are crazy around here too. I saw a nice early 90s 27" trinitron for $69! I mean, yeah it's nice and all, but sheesh. Then theres a few sun-bleached, rain warped, consoles for $30+.

People buy them though. I saw a TV/VCR combo, that looked like it had been dropped (the back was broken, like a 5" chunk missing from the corner). The screen was scratched up, and the VCR doesn't work. It sold for $30! Like it has been said, when I have a nice one, I can't give it away, but people can get money for that trash.

[QUOTE=radiotvnut;3015633]"Last Wednesday... a mid '90's white plastic Magnavox 9" color TV for $20"

About 3 years ago I found a Magnavox 9" color portable in the bins for $3 at the Goodwill Outlet Store here in Indianapolis. Model number is RDO946 T102, manufactured in Malaysia in July 1996. I thought it'd be a great video monitor for transfer work, as it has RCAs for video & audio in, plus an external speaker jack & a phone jack(don't have a clue how that would be useful). It works fine, but of course no remote. Any idea how to bypass the auto settings & adjust color, hue, etc? I bought a Philips universal remote but despite trying all the Philips/Magnavox codes I can't get to the picture menu & I can't get rid of the green display. If I knew who really made this set, maybe I could try that manufacturer's codes-but I'm at a loss. Anyone?

Thrifts have steadily gotten worse for me as far as vintage tv's, audio componentry, and records are concerned....one of em actually told me they sold the entire lot of LPs and 78's to some guy, SIGHT UNSEEN for 2500$...damn. Lots of crap in that collection!!!(!)

the 17AC G.E. is a nice set but yeah she ain't worth anything.

Last tv i got from a thrift was a 1984 Magnavox(n.a.p.) 19" knob tuner that worked 100percent...gave it to someone who still uses it with a DTV aerial box. Paid 5 bucks because it was 'very old'! :)

[QUOTE=radiotvnut;3015633]"Last Wednesday... a mid '90's white plastic Magnavox 9" color TV for $20"

. If I knew who really made this set, maybe I could try that manufacturer's codes-but I'm at a loss. Anyone?

I ran into the same problem with possibly the same set. I removed the back and discovered the name FUNAI on the CRT. So I tried the Funai codes on the universal remote setup chart and I was able to access the menu.

Two or three years back a 1952 Philco split chassis console appeared at the local SA. Some clod had knocked the back off and the bakelite base off the CRT, but miraculously the thing was still under vacuum and all the leads were present. This fact allowed me to talk the store down from 15$ to 10$. It had to sit there for a while as I had to go to the trouble of making a place for it in the garage (while dealing with a bad knee :eek:) to get the folks to allow me to buy it. The set now works great, and I have so many others I like better which are taking up too much space that I'm now trying to sell it.

That is the only "Collectible" TV I've found, but tube radios (especially consoles often of the stereo variety) show up every so often, and there are usually more 1$ or less Swing/Big band LPs than I can afford, not to mention the occaisional dumped collection of video discs. I've also found beta tapes, a beta VCR, and an double side LD player so pickings are fairly good here in the radio belt.

[QUOTE=Dennman6;3015822]

I ran into the same problem with possibly the same set. I removed the back and discovered the name FUNAI on the CRT. So I tried the Funai codes on the universal remote setup chart and I was able to access the menu.

Thank you for this! I will try it this weekend & see what I can do with the menu. It really does make a perfect sized little monitor, so to be bale to get rid of that constant green display would be really great.

I use to see early 80s sets in the local Goodwills, But it looks like lately they don't put TV sets out on the floor unless it's black and digital.. Every once and a while I'll see a 80s digital set, like those old Zeniths.. Another local Thrift called Faith Farm use to put out old sets and sell them for $2 and $5.. They put out old VHS machines and tag them at $3, now it looks like lately they've been cracking down and not putting non working machines out even though I was buying them.. We have another local Goodwill thats Waaaay over priced, they have a big VCR section with price tags for a whoooping $24.99 and when I go to try them most of the time I come across one not working right, and then I have to argue with the management and tell them they are selling a broken VCR at $25, and it's not even worth that price working.. I also say I go to the other Goodwills they are priced around $5, and then he looks at me like im crazy..

Thrift stores often put their most drug-addled employees in charge of pricing... :beerchug:

Thrift stores are strange places indeed. There was one guy in town who made a living cleaning out estates and delinquent rental properties, he ran a small shop out of an old auto garage selling the stuff he'd get. I kept him in buisness for a while I'm sure, one of the more interesting things I bought (to the folks in an electronics forum at least) was a 1975 Zenith Allegro stereo with the original speakers. Still works good and I use it daily. He used to let me buy literally truck loads of stuff for $20 just to get it out of the way. I also always stopped by after hours to dig thru the dumpster, so many cool things just didn't make the cut to get put on the floor...

The Salvation Army in town still knows me by name, even though I'm not nearly as common of shopper as I used to be. In one corner of the store they'd have a 80's fridge for $250 and in the other washing machines for $35. The pricing didn't always make sense to me. And I agree with everybody on the junk in the record bin (swear if I find the Goodyear Christmas album one more darn time...). They also would offer me interesting deals, "well, that one TV is $40, but all six of them are $20"... They also would "hide" antique radios and things in the store so they could sell them to me when I'd come in later...

I guess the only thing I learned was go often and make friends with everybody if you want to make a good deal...

There is a woman in a nearby town who has booths in several antique malls. She also has a flea market of sorts out on the highway. The woman really has a serious problem (hoarding, pretty severe) to the point that you really can't get inside any of the buildings she has. Anyway, she still goes to the auction every week and loads up with a ton (literally) of stuff. For several years I would go there every other Saturday and she would sell me pretty much everything electronic she had picked up recently. I rarely paid more than about $35, and more than once I loaded the pickup for under $20. Just loads and loads of clock radios, some higher end sets from the 30s-40s but with cabinet damage, test equipment, some decent consoles, and yep, some TV sets as well. I've bought several 10BP4 sets from her for next to nothing. (last one was a GE Locomotive with some cabinet issues, $10) Eventually I ran out of space, while also realizing that nobody else wanted most of what I had bought!

They also would offer me interesting deals, "well, that one TV is $40, but all six of them are $20"...
I have had spaces at the local electronics flea markets and priced heavy things that way, especially soon before closing. "$10 each or both for $5!" :)

I hit the thrifts a lot also. It is hard to find anything good anymore. I went to a DAV on Sunday. They had tvs on the sidewalk plus more inside. Most were missing the remotes and were beat up. I notice most tvs that have a door over the controls that it is usually missing. The records are usually crap though I did score 4 Elvis albums. They are later pressings of some of his earlier releases. I did get a late 90s Pioneer cd player for 25 cents a while back.
John

I was in the SA today, just to see what was going on. The only set that was missing from last time was the 17" knob tuned Sears. There was a mid '80's 19" Zenith, with a broken off control door, priced at $45 and the single knob tuned '80's Zenith console was priced at $75. I think they had $50 on it last time. I thought the object was to lower the price when something didn't sell, not raise it! I commented to my friend that if I had that Zenith console in my shop, I would feel like I'd done something if I was able to get $20 for it. And, $45 for an early-to-mid '80's beat up 19" color TV? Forget it! $25-$30 is about tops for a recent model 19" color TV with AV jacks and a remote. The next time someone bitches to me about my TV prices, I'm going to send them to the SA. Then, they'll see that my prices are not that bad, after all.

When the old manager was there, I used to donate many TV's to them, including some knob tuned sets. Often times, I'd go back in a day or two and he'd say, "Well, I sold that TV that you gave us". That's because he priced things to move and he was willing to negotiate. Once, he got in a low end Zenith tube stereo console that was rather beat up. He actually asked me what he should ask for it and I told him that if someone waved any amount of money in front of him; then, he should sell it.

I thought the object was to lower the price when something didn't sell, not raise it!
Their twisted logic is probably "it has taken up valuable space for more time, so we have to charge for that now too".

And, it will eventually go unsold and will wind up in the dumpster behind the store.

Habitat for Humanity is one of the worse places when it comes to prices.. I've seen stuff there marked at ridicules prices, not to mention I've seen stuff lying around there for over a year.. They tag prices on there stuff that shows a date, and I've noticed they go around every once and a while and relabel stuff that's been setting around with the same price but updated date..

I volunteer at a thrift store occasionally (St. Vincent de Paul), and one day I had the duty of testing electronics.

Here's how it's done:
1) Plug the item in.
2) Does it work? (Does it turn on?)
a. If yes, then wipe it off with a damp paper towel and go to #3.
b. If no, then throw it in the electronics barrel, which either goes to the warehouse or to the electronics recycler.
c. If you can't test it, then go to #4.
3) What kind of electronics unit is it?
a. If it is a CD player, mark it as $10.
b. If it is a record player, mark it as $5 or $10 depending on size.
c. If it is a printer/scanner, mark it anywhere from $5 to $10 depending on size.
d. If it is a TV, mark it as $10 for small ones, and $15-20 for large ones.
e. If it is a receiver, then you must be really bad at identifying electronics, because I've shopped at this store for 6 years and have NEVER seen a single receiver.
4) If you can't test it, take a label that says "This item cannot be tested and is sold as-is without warranty" and go to #3. The price will usually be lower.

This seems to be the unwritten code of pricing. At least at SVdP, they don't have a specific price guide to consult.

I used to shop at the local Goodwill. They used to get a ton of records both lps and 45s. Well the record section got smaller and worse and worse and 1 day the 45s vanished never to be seen in that store again. I guess they're selling all the good stuff on the internet now. As for tvs they never had anything really vintage and quit carrying consoles of any kind tv or stereo.

That's true.. They price them, they don't sell it goes to the dumpster.. Most Goodwills around here usually don't test stuff, as most of the VCRS at one of them have a price marked $24.99, in most cases when I test one, they end up having an issue.. And I wonder why they have a bigger electronics section at that one, when I told the manager that the other Goodwills sell these things for $4.99. His comment was well we specialize more in electronics than the other Goodwills, I commented back, NO you have your electronics marked too high, they're not selling.. Boy they hate to argue.. You would think some places would mark the prices at a price to sell as mentioned above.. Instead of lowering them and when they don't sell, they just go to the dumpster... I think they do this on purpose..

One of the thrifts around here I would go in there once a week, and I would always buy a certain house hold item worth $5-$10 from the early 80s (Something else I collect) After a while they caught on and thought they were worth more than what they were selling them for, well they started marking the prices a ridicules $50.. I got into a big argument with the sales person in the department, I went to the GM and fixed that one..

Keep in mind, if they see you going to these places and buying alot of the same thing, they will think you're making money somehow and mark prices up really high

Keep in mind, if they see you going to these places and buying alot of the same thing, they will think you're making money somehow and mark prices up really high

Or they don't put them in the store at all anymore like the 45 records I mentioned. No 45s in my local store for 2 years now, I used to buy a ton of them there even when they raised the price to $1 each.It seems like all the rock and roll is gone from the LPs also unless it's a beat up example that looks like someone used it for a doormat.The electronics have dwindled down to all modern junk mostly cheap stereos and vcrs rarely a tv set.

Or they don't put them in the store at all anymore like the 45 records I mentioned.

That's true.. That happens to me as well.. I don't get the point.. It only takes away money they are making, and of course things you collect..

Around here, the Salvation Army has an "as-is" store, where they end up bringing all the stuff that either doesn't sell at their stores, or is too dirty or broken for them to bother putting in the store. They used to get amazing treasures, I remember once I got a Zenith model 835 chrome front cathedral radio for $20, and a Pioneer SX-838 receiver for $5. More often than not now, all you see there is junk. The era of the "save everything" old couple has almost come to an end, and the stuff that is being donated most often is the stuff we'd overlook at the curb.

I did score a Craftsman router table, an army duffle bag, and a couple other trinkets for only $5 this week.

The one thing that I'm watching for intently is TV rolling carts. They're almost more rare to find than the sets themselves.

The Salvation Army store in my town closed this past weekend.
I walked in and it was empty, 75% off everything and I missed it!

The Goodwill has a store similar to Salvation Army mentioned above.. It's a place where items that don't sell in the stores goes to this location. It's in a warehouse type of place and all that I ever see in the place is junk. They sell by the pound and clothing is what they have mostly. I've seen a couple of TV sets, but nothing old, and a few VCRS. The last couple times I went I didn't see either.. I make that a once every couple of months stop, and all the other places a few times a month..

Some of the Salvation Armys have opened Superstores, (The more classy upscale S.A.) and those are not worth a trip ever. I feel like I'm in a used Wal-Mart, as most of the stuff they have is more modern, very little electronics section, maybe I've seen one TV that of course is not any older than the 90s.. They also have a big glassware and clothing section. I consider those stores to be more like a boutique.. The dumps is where we use to find the good stuff, the thrifts that use to put everything they got out and had so much stuff, things were literally falling off the shelves and scattered on the floor, The first time I walked into that place I walked out one happy pappy with two Beta VCRS, and some other things.. Don't see any of those types of stores around here anymore, Boy we use to find treasures in those..

Around here, the Salvation Army has an "as-is" store, where they end up bringing all the stuff that either doesn't sell at their stores, or is too dirty or broken for them to bother putting in the store. They used to get amazing treasures, I remember once I got a Zenith model 835 chrome front cathedral radio for $20, and a Pioneer SX-838 receiver for $5. More often than not now, all you see there is junk. The era of the "save everything" old couple has almost come to an end, and the stuff that is being donated most often is the stuff we'd overlook at the curb.

I did score a Craftsman router table, an army duffle bag, and a couple other trinkets for only $5 this week.

The one thing that I'm watching for intently is TV rolling carts. They're almost more rare to find than the sets themselves.

I had a bunch of these, NOS in the box, from a shop I cleaned out. I advertised them on here several times with no takers :( Those who did have an interest had sets too big for them. I finally left them at the back doorstep of the local used furniture store, when nobody was around! I need to go in there someday and see if they ever did anything with them.

sneaking around late at night to LEAVE items?

sneaking around late at night to LEAVE items?

I've had to sneak around in the middle of the day to get trash in to bussinesses dumpsters when heading home from the family cabbin on days that the waste transfer site was closed!