Thrift Stores & Tubes
 

Hey guys,

I've been really having some trouble lately with giving away sets that I have no use for.

I called the SA today and apparently they have a new rule that prevents them from accepting any electronics older than 5 years. I called GW and they said that, at the moment, they have too many TVs and won't be accepting any more for the time being.

I really don't know anywhere else to donate them. What do you guys do?

Thanks all.

I have the same problem. GW and SA have been dumped on and now they're all prickly about it. Sets do eventually sell but slower than they get them. In this area, there is no more analog cable, so their customers cannot just plug'n'go anymore.

I have taken about 6 sets, just this year to the County Household Haz-waste facility. They sells by weight to some outfit in Baltimore.
I have also done what miniman did and donate a good set (w/DT box, not nearly as easy to find as a TV) to some elderly acquaintances.

You could put it out on the curb with a "WORKS" sign on it.

Around here, all the thrift stores take TV's and places like the SA still ask high prices for them. I doubt they are actually selling for those prices.

Analog TV's can still be sold; but, not for a lot of money. If the thrift stores are asking too much for them, I can see how they end up with a mountain of TV's.

Old tube type chassis should bring plenty but solid state not so much. Those old power transformers and tubes are useful for many projects.

Most GW are picky to what they put out.. Even if the set works great but looks old, they probably will scrap it instead.. No use to put it out to the curb even with a "Works" sign on it, because most likely those Copper thieves will get their hands on it before anyone else does.. Only thing I can think of is to post old TVs to give away on Craigslist. Maybe they will go to a good home..

If you have good sets to give away, you could check with churches to see if they know of people very poor etc. who might want one.

I give away stuff on freecycle.org. I know it goes to somebody who can use it or sell it. You just have to deal with half of the people who say that want something but never show up to pick it up. Some people leave stuff on their front porch so they don't have to deal with people showing up at a specific time.

I stopped giving stuff to resale stores years ago because of how many useful donated items get thrown out before even being put out for sale, and the stuff that does go out for sale gets smashed up and ruined.

If you put a TV out in the alley in Chicago it won't last a day before being smashed up for copper. At least somebody gets money for the metal. If the resale store throws it out, it goes straight to the dump.

Resale stores in other places may be better. I went to a Methodist resale store in a small town in Colorado a few years ago and was shocked at how clean and organized it was compared to stores in Chicago. They even had power adapters sorted and marked with voltage and current.

Perhaps disassembly is the best approach. I do that, rather than try to find someone to take an obsolescent unit. I take out everything that I could conceivably use, put the pieces in my junk box, throw out the obviously worthless parts.

I have used many a part from my junk box. Things like solder-in fuses, mounting hardware for transistors, capacitors, diodes, fusible resistors, and so on. I even save degaussing coils because there is a bunch of enameled copper wire in them.

I have a couple of early 80s sets I would like to get rid of.. I won't donate them to the thrifts because they will get thrown away, I won't put them to the curb because of the copper thieves.. I won't give them to poor people, they would most likely get treated poorly.. I would like to see them go to a person who would appreciate them..

Hmm, fellow Floridian.

Got any pictures? I might not be allowed to get anymore TV's, as my father forbids it, since getting my current Samsung, but, heh, I DO have Storage, and may be interested in repairing them and "upgrading" to an older TV.

I don't even waste my time. I break it up and put in the trash can. If its wood I cut it up with a chain saw and burn it or trash it. Only modern stuff, nothing older than 1975 ever gets dumped. No one wants analot sets at any price. One has been sitting face down on the curb for 6 months at the neighbors.

Where are you located? are you driving distance?

Wow, I had no idea the situation was this dire.

I'm in Oviedo Florida.

Well you're around 3 hours away.. Not too bad..

Yea.. Thing is, I'm probably not going to get away with getting another TV.

I tried to bring it up with my Dad and he stopped me and said "If you're thinking about getting another TV you can forget about it. You don't have the room for it!".

lol

I've seen several XBR sets at local Thrifts around here.

Goodwill has had a couple in the last year that I know of, another thrift had a nice 32" for $25.

Need a CRT set, come to my Goodwill store.
I counted 18 CRT sets and 4 projection sets, including some HD sets a couple weeks ago.

GW will not accept ANY CRT TV's here in Idaho

That's a bit odd, usually the poor don't care if it's a CRT or flat screen..

Au contraire, my lad. The poor want the biggest flatscreen they can get, and they can get it for "a dollar down and a dollar a week" :D at the rental stores. If it gets repossessed in a month for non-payment another store will have them.

I'm being snarky but that does apply to a lot of people. There are plenty of others who would be grateful to get a good working TV for little money. I'm thinking of older retired or disabled folks.

My local thrift store had a dozen CRT sets or more, nice sets, $25 and down. They hardly moved. Finally got rid of them and have a sign up that they don't accept TVs any more. Another store in town does still have them, though.

I so rarely see any SMALL sets at any thrift store. Don't know if people just never get rid of 'em...or if they just TOSS 'em. Just been a VERY long time since I've seen even a 9" set at a thrift store, nevermind the "5 inch and smaller" I do look for.

Sadly, that seems to be common around here too. The local Radio Shack is next to a Rent-A-Center. Looking at some of the vehicles out front, with six dirty kids brawling around inside, and momma on her cellphone talking about making her weekly payment on her TV. :no:

Almost the same thing in Radio Shack. Often I have to wait a few minutes to check out because the every salesmen is busy selling someone a cell phone. It is incredible how many times I've witnessed the clerk filling out the reference paperwork and the "applicant for service" has no idea what address he/she was living at six months ago, where they were allegedly working, etc.

About 20 years ago, I had a 17" early '60's RCA VHF-only TV that I was using in my room, until I found a set with UHF. I advertised the old RCA on a radio call-in show and a young guy called about it. I told him it was an old B&W tube set without UHF tuning; but, it still worked good and I wanted $25 for it. He said he didn't care how old it was or if it was B&W, just so it worked. He said they'd just gotten married, didn't have much money, and that $25 TV would do just fine. About a year later, I heard through the grapevine that they were still using the TV.

I can't say that everybody I've dealt with were that easy to please. I've even tried to give numerous burn-out victims large size (to me) color TV's; but, no, they didn't want them because they were too old, not big enough, didn't have the latest features, etc. Well, OK, if you are in a position to tell me what you must have; then, you can afford a new TV.

A while back, I was trying to sell a mid '80's basic 19" Sony Trinitron TV that worked great for $25. Some young guy looks at it and turns it down because it didn't have A/V jacks on it. He claimed he was putting the TV in his kid's room and needed something with jacks. I explained how to use a VCR or an RF modulater to accomplish the same purpose; but, he claimed that was too much trouble. I started to ask him what he expected for $25; but, kept my mouth shut. Back during the time that I sold the B&W for $25, I could have easily gotten $125 for this Sony.

Yeah, many poor people are going to have a big TV, especially since there's a rent-a-center nearby. They may be living in a shack; but, they're going to have that big TV and that big stereo.

I just can't get over the idea of making WEEKLY payments on a TV.

I got two inputs on my tv. UHF and VHF.

I'm happy with that lol

I would if I wasn't on the other end of the States!

Your stories are surprising, I had no idea tube sets were regarded in this manner.

The thrift stores are quite picky about what they are given for free it seems. I think it's stupid. I posted a video on youtube a while back about no more tvs at Goodwill, that lasted a while and then I saw tvs there again, I tried to donate some sets and they said "NO cable ready only sets are accepted, no knob tuned stuff" I was trying to donate a really nice early '60s B/W Zenith and a few later color sets. not three months later I found a CTC 9 at the Goodwill! WTF!!?? I already have one so I called Nick and he bought it for a hundred bucks. A few months after that, I donated a '68 Sears Silvertone slimline console with owners manual in mint condition along with the aforementioned Zenith, they accepted them. I went in a day or two later ant they were sold already. I really don't think they know what they want to do, or accept for donations. I think if someone is nice enough to donate something nice and or useful, they should take it and put a price tag on it. Someone will buy it.

Zenithfan1, I couldn't agree with you more. Our Goodwills still sell CRT television fortunately. My last really exciting one was a $10 Zenith 19" table set, and the very last tv I picked up was a General Electric tv clock radio. Their ShopGoodwill site sells some old tvs at least. They must be getting a little smarter.

What they will or won't accept seems to vary widely from store to store and time to time; it seems there is a lot of turnover in management, for one thing. The nearest GW hadn't had anything but a couple small BPC sets for the better part of a year but then last month we stopped by and they had an RCA console from about '53 (but overpriced for its condition) and a Zenith Space Phone console.

Stopped by GW today and most of the sets in the picture are gone, don't know if they sold them or Recycled them?

I did find an "Amvets" place here in San Diego that was CRAZY busy....and they seemed to be putting stuff out on the shelves ALL day. They did have alot of TVs, but no old ones. At least I did see a couple 13" Maggies from the 80s-00s or so, and priced at like $5.95 each for anyone that DOES look for this sort of thing

The place was so busy, I think it'll be a completely new store by next weekend

The local Goodwill here follows the "must be cable ready" rule for accepting CRT TVs, though that really just means no knob tuners as they'll accept and sell early digital tuning sets that only do VHF/UHF. There are a handful of CRT TVs there at any given moment, most from the 90s with a 2000s or 80s TV thrown in once in a while. Still, most of them work okay or even perfectly with fantastic pictures, and they're usually sold at a fair price.

The local Habitat for Humanity is my favorite place and as far as I know they'll still accept just about anything vintage. It's still rare to find nice vintage TVs, but I found my precious 1976 Trinitron there among a few other great vintage items, and you just never know what will show up next time.

I picked up a Zenith A4519, with a 12A12C52 chassis at HFH for $5.00 a few months ago. Decent condition. :D

There's a Habitat For Humanity not far away from me. They sell TVs?

Seems like they only sell furniture, from their site.

I only see digital TVS at goodwill in my area, usually 90s and the occasional late 80s digital sets.. A few years ago I would see some knob sets, but there's one goodwill around here that I do actually come across a knob set, but it's a rare occasion.. The "it's gotta be cable ready" doesn't work around here anymore as the cable company went digital about 6 months ago, and any old TV is required to be hooked up to there digital cable box to receive cable now..

There are a few thrift stores around me. The usual chain ones (SA, Goodwill) and several mom and pop ones as well. The goodwills in my area do still have the occasional CRT TV out on the floor. Mostly 90's BPC.

There's a "mom & pop" thrift store not too far away from my closest goodwill that has several early 80's Zenith sets that look like they've been in barn for 20 years. They will also get the occasional console TV as well. I got my computer monitor from there as well as a 1975 15" Sony Trinitron. Unfortunately, I think it has a bad blue or red gun and the contrast pot is broken.

There's a Salvation Army in my area, and mostly every time I walk in there I see a Knob set, I told the guy who is in charge of that department that I collect knob sets, and that I would buy them.. I don't go in there anymore for one reason, I've been collecting round tube consoles and I have no more room.. There's another Salvation Army, and It's been about two to three years since I seen a knob set in that location..

Over here in NY state at least Goodwill has an electronics recycling program where you can bring them stuff and they recycle it. They also have staffed trucks at many grocery store locations where you can just drop off your stuff. Be warned if you are donating your stuff there, it may be headed to the recycling bin. This program is present in some other states as well.

Amusingly I saw someone recycling a CRT monitor at Best Buy, and there is a staffed goodwill truck down the street from that store, and Best Buy charges to recycle a monitor, goodwill is free.

I see a lot of small CRT's around here at yard sales, but most are horridly priced, I really didn't know a random 12 inch CRT is worth $40. Of course they aren't selling at those prices. VCR's are a mixed bag as I have seen them as low as 50 cents and as high as $20 (yikes!) but I save my money for when I can get them for $3 or less which I definitely see more than I can take in for those prices. I did see a TV for 50 cents, but I will get to that story later. I really, really, really can't take in another TV as I have no room at all, my space is extremely small, and I am trying very hard not to become a hoarder.

I am sure its possible to get a good worker from a thrift but I prefer to get my stuff from yard sales as the one owner philosophy plays into it and the fact that 99% of people are generally honest when they say their stuff works or if they don't know if it works. If they aren't sure then you can usually get a very cheap price. Most people won't put out non working stuff, they will either donate that stuff to the thrift or throw it away.

THe SA and GW won't take electronics because if they are no good, they have to pay to recycle them. Around here, they won't take them unless you caon demostrate they work. Then, they still decide of they want them or not.

Habitat near me just started the furniture thing. I donated a fully-working knob-tuned 1976 Panasonic CT906 19" color to see what they could get for it. You need a A-D cable box anyway for Comcast.

Update- Panasonic sold, now they have a 1988 Zenith "Monitor style" 19" with A/V pass thru inputs and original remote for $10 and its my birthday, hmmm

Later, I posted a "WANTED DEAD or ALIVE" poster I made with pictures of a 1947 RCA 721TS, 1958 RCA CTC7 and a Motorola HiFi at the triage door so staff knows to call me for 1st refusals.