Quote:
Originally Posted by Telecolor 3007
Guys, from where the heck do you get those nice S.-V.H.S./U-Matic decks?
I guess in U.S.A. are quyte cheap comparing to the incomes.
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I'm in Australia, but the situation in the USA is probably similar. Most people have no interest in VHS anymore and have dumped or are dumping their VHS gear and tapes.
Like almost all of my stuff all but one of my VCRs was bought at a local junk auction. Working (ones that play, their isn't enough time to test all functions) VCRs typically sell for $5-$20, if it doesn't work it's usually $2 (the minimum bid) if it sells at all. It all depends on who is there on the night of the auction. To most of the people there one VCR is the same as another. They don't usually recognise SVHS and pay more for it. The only thing the usually makes a difference in the price is the brand name. A low end Sony or Panasonic will often sell for more than a high end deck from any other manufacturer.
The high end and professional decks don't show up every week, usually it's just stacks of basic mono VHS decks.
This Loewe OC3820H (actually built by Hitachi from memory) is my most recent SVHS purchase. It has a power supply fault that I haven't looked into yet. It cost $2. On the same night a working Panasonic SVHS deck sold for $8. I passed on the Panasonic. I already have more VCRs than I need and I'm trying to cut down on the amount of gear I buy. I just couldn't resist that Loewe deck because it matches my Loewe TVs.
I still have the one and only VCR I bought new many years ago. A basic 2 head mono Akai VHS deck. I spent the night waiting in the car park with 29 other people to get it for $99 at one of those doorbuster gimmick sales. This was before DVD when the regular price was $299 and it wasn't possible to get good VCRs for almost nothing. It's still working, but it doesn't get much use anymore.