Stupid waste of vintage TVs

[andy]

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[radiotvnut]

I can't begin to remember how many people that have said "leave your number and we'll call you" only to never hear a word from them. That's the polite way of saying "get the h-ll out of here and leave me the f--k alone." I asked a person in a high up position at one of our local charity thrift stores to please call me if anything old came in because I'd be interested in buying it. He told me real fast that he wouldn't call me because they didn't have time to waste setting non working junk to the side for someone and that anything old that didn't work would go to the trash. He said the only chance I might have was to drop by everyday and if something happened to be there, we could deal. Needless to say, I didn't like his smart@$$ attitude and I have not been back since. I mean, what is it with these places? They are always begging for stuff to sell and $$ donations; yet, I offer to buy their non working / vintage stuff and they don't want to be bothered. They'd rather throw it out! Now, if they had been nice and called me about some stuff, they could have made some $$ on some stuff that would have otherwise been trashed and maybe gotten some free stuff from me along the way! I guess they've never heard "one man's junk is another man's treasure."

[freakaftr8]

I have had this same issue up here in Placerville with a thrift store called Snowline hospice. They are rude, very frank and tell me the same thing, I have reiterated that these vintage tv's they get in from time to time are for collectors and will not be disposed incorectly, they told me to get lost! Un****ing believable! What exavtly is it going to take for these people to realize that they dont treat people this way! Im from Michigan and I have never in my life seen more rudeness and harshness towards people and ill temperedness anywhere else ever than here! God it just makes me wanna strangle someone!!!

[dr.ido]

There's a recycling center here with that I've had similar experiences with. They are attached to a dump. The idea being that people come in with their loads of rubbish and the staff seperate out anything that they think is worth saving for resale or scrap value. On several occasions I got in trouble with some of the staff for dragging stuff out of the bins, or going through piles of stuff they hadn't sorted through yet. For a while I had a good relationship going with some of the staff and they'd let me get away with it. The turnover was pretty high though and eventually they all left (I think it operates as some kind of training program for long term unemployed and peolple with disabilities, once someone is good enough for a "normal" job they move on).

I stopped going for a while after I got into a big argument with some of the new staff.

I went back for the first time in ages a while back and the staff had all changed again. The new staff seemed reasonable, but they were sticking to the rules. There wasn't really much left there except for overpriced used furniture and garden/building materials. I thought of making an offer to take "everything" TV/electronic/audio that they got in, but I don't really have the space and I doubt they get enough good stuff to make up for all the crap.

I used to get some interesting stuff there, but it just isn't worth the effort anymore.

Blame occupational health and safety regulations and law suites for this kind of crap. In the old days I used to be able to roam freely around scrap yards and pick out what I wanted and pay per kilogram at the gate. I tore up my clothes and sometimes my arms reaching into piles of metal to drag something out, but I never complained about it. I took the risk and was my own fault, but I guess others didn't see it this way.

I seems that a lot of places don't want to deal with any secondhand electronics anymore due to potential liability issues. I've seen a couple of them close down shortly after making this decision. I used to see several other regulars when I'd make my rounds going to the some places sometimes daily buying up all the electronics/computer/audio gear they could find. We'd usually pick through the vinyl and other stuff while we were there, but it isn't worth going for that stuff alone. I did notice that some of these places raised the prices on their other stock after they stopped accepting electronics/computers, so they obviously noticed a down turn in sales, but it wasn't enough for them to reconsider.

[Adam]

I used to go to that place when I lived in Berkeley and had just started collecting TVs (2000-02). That 25" 1967 Zenith color console I sold to jpdylon a few months ago originally came from there. http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/sho...ghlight=zenith It sounds like they changed quite a bit, I remember there being lots of non-working electronics for sale radios, console radios, and quite a few old sets. The problem they had back then is that they were always asking too much for their older stuff, 60s and 70s stuff was reasonably priced, but 50s and earlier stuff was way too high, $100+ for plain ordinary mid-50s 21" b/w consoles. Although what I used to do is just let some stuff sit there for a month or so, after stuff had been there for more than a month I could usually talk them down on the price. A few years ago when I was in Berkeley I went there and it looked like they had closed down, the building it was in looked abandoned. I had assumed the place was gone, maybe it has since opened up under new management?

[radiotvnut]

On dumpsters: It's now considered a "crime" around here to "dumpster dive." A friend of mine got very mad because a deputy ran him out of a dumpster. He said "they need to be out catching real criminals instead of worrying about me fishing something out of the garbage to sell." The reason for all of this is to prevent lawsuits by people "getting hurt" while fishing out garbage. My take on all that is "enter at your own risk." Of course, there is still plenty of "dumpster diving." If I see something I want beside a dumpster, I'm getting it unless someone of authroity stops me!

On a positive note, there was one church run thrift store in town that was run by a nice lady that actually tried to help me find old stuff. They actually gave me a beat up German stereo once. I would drop in and buy some things from them and I have given them some things. The only problem is that they went "belly up" without warning. Why is it that the good one's fold?

The least these ahole stores could do is not destroy something before trashing it. I guess they have the attitude that if "they can't sell it, then no one else is going to get any use out of it for free."

[kx250rider]

The State of California government has a program that gives big bucks (our tax money) to companies in order to crush TVs and "get the hazardous waste out of the hands of the public". That's a true greenie lefty liberal lunatic feel-good law that was foisted on us about 4 years ago. Same time they passed the law that sends you to jail of you throw anything in the trash with motor oil on it, and mandates that your car be seized and crushed (at your expense) if you knowingly allow your car's emissions system to be messed with.

Charles

[radotvguy]

I can relate to the stories you guys have been posting . Here in NJ, THE attitudes you get are kinda the same . Nasty and snotty .

Back in the late eighties and early nineties , i use to find a lot of vintage tvs at thrift stores or the salvation army and actually they were fairly priced . However now days its rare to ever see one there . I think its becuase these places have limited space and they feel these old sets dont work and are not worth their time and effort . I usually get a puzzled look when i ask for vintage tvs .Usually when i ask the director at the salvation army about tube tvs, she said that those old tvs are too big and they have nobody that wants them. I expressed a interest but they declined becuase they feel its more of a hassle to pick it up and hold it and hope i come for it . The places that i do see tvs at once in a while are antique stores or flea markets, however usually the stuff is so over priced at antique stores that it aint worth what they are asking for it . I actually see tvs in the antique stores that need total electronic restoration and the people want more then what the tv would sell for it it was perfectly restored . Basically i think the best place to find old tvs is yard sales or estate sales, providing you get there early, otherwise the ebay hawks buy everything and shove it on ebay . Kinda funney to see how these ebay/antique dealers buy stuff and just load it on ebay and really have no clue on exactly what they have or its working condition . It kinda takes the fun out of finding good old tvs . I find them here or there , but not like i did 15 or 2 years ago . I guess you just have to be in the right place at the right time .

[andy]

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[andy]

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[freakaftr8]

Very much agreed! This state sucks!

[andy]

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[freakaftr8]

I know the feeling, it's just as bad here, it is a beautiful area and lots of culture and great history, too many people take for granted, not to gloat, but i am for one of those people that let people pull out into traffic and say hi to the neighbors, (although I get a smug grunt in return). Oh well, just seems to be the concesus of the mind here, and for that it's too bad that buisness owners won't take the time to pull thier heads from thier *** to understand the beauty of vintage electronics and the collectors that would be restoring them and not throwing it into some field or stream! Mostly it seems that these such companies are owned by young ontrapuneurs that dont have a clue what they are taking in and have no care for the history and the keepsake factors involved, (just recycle it) in the head of these people! Berkeley must be the worst due to the "green" feeling I get when im there. But even though this may never change and it will probably get worse, (and I dont like to think this way). The more our sets will be not only worth in some timeline but the ownership pride too! Kinda like a 57 Corvette.

[ChrisW6ATV]

I think there was a topic here on AK a few months ago with a color roundie TV at that Urban Ore store, high priced. Did you see that one (or start it), Andy?

I am another non-native Northern Californian who likes this area but misses Midwest people at times, too.

[andy]

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