[Jeffhs]

I wouldn't be surprised if they did junk that Magnavox stereo console, and did not look back. Most people outside our hobby do not realize the value of these older sets; if the new owners of the house are under about 50 years of age they almost certainly do not remember when these sets were new, and how much better they were than today's offshore stuff. Also, there is the chance that the former owners didn't have a lot of time to vacate the property, so the Magnavox stereo and the '74 Zenith TV were left behind in a hurry. Most people today cannot be bothered with TVs and stereo sets that are not the absolute latest, with mp3 playback, CD player, flat screen, etc., since that is all they know (remember, many new homeowners are, again, under about 50 years of age, so they have no idea of how good TVs, stereos, etc. once were).

There is also the likelihood that the new owners of the house Doug got the '74 Zenith TV from are moving (or have already moved) into much smaller quarters, so they may not have the room for large console TVs, stereos and other large pieces of furniture. When I left my former residence 15 years ago to move to the apartment I live in today, I left my Zenith 4-mode integrated stereo system behind (along with a lot of other stuff I couldn't use in the new place due to space limitations--this apartment is much smaller than the house I left) and bought a new bookshelf stereo, TV, and even new furniture for the apartment (very long story and OT). This is probably what the new owners of that house in Wisconsin may have done, and why, again, the TV and the Magnavox console were left. The new owners probably have a 30"+ flat screen with 5.1-channel surround sound and couldn't care less about a 50+-year-old stereo console with vacuum tubes, which they may never have heard of. They probably have no idea, and could not care less if they did know, how much the console sold for when it was new.