russ dworakowski wrote: > Yes I know, $500 rangers. But look, you don't have to buy it! Just how > bad do you want one anyway?
This is the main point. No one is being forced to pay anything. Strictly a choice. > I have 2 that I paid $25.00 each for. > Money in the bank collecting interst? You bet. To be certain, I would not > pay $500 for any Johnson Ranger, not even NIB. But I already have 2. Would you sell them for $25? For 'the good of ham radio'? If I find a gold piece in the dirt, should I give it to someone else because I was in the right place at the right time and found it? That seems to be what some would like us to do. > Remember the Hallicrafter SX-115? How much now? I have seen $3000 > bids. This is no $3k receiver, but just how badly did that person want > one? You must've missed the ones that went at auction starting around $4,000 a couple years back and advancing to $6000. I paid $500 for mine from the original owner, thanks to a tip from a member on another list. It was more than I'd ever paid for any radio at that time. I'm with you, Russ - it's a nice receiver, but it's not $3k's worth to me. I had chances to bid on them like everyone else, but couldn't afford that much and wouldn't have paid it if I could. It's just not worth it in my opinion. Lately they've returned to the kilobuck +/- price on epay. Like the stock market, other things that were over-valued are making corrections it seems. > I have also seen $20,000 for a Collins KW-1. Sorry folks, and no > offense to you Collins collectors, but this is no $20k transmitter. I spoke personally with a retired Collins employee who told me of a KW-1 sold by his friend to a fellow in Japan. $46k and change, then the guy paid to air-freight it to Japan! It was completely restored to 'like new' condition, but still....you can buy a small house for that in some places! It's likely the best built AM transmitter you can find, and pretty too! But....gah! > Bottom line- what color is your > money? > or better said "how bad do you want one? Russ-WB3FAU And there is the other main point - if it's "not worth it", then no one will buy it, right? I've gotten some really good deals in my day, and I've paid some pretty 'fair'(maybe high to some) prices for certain things, but I've never paid more than I wanted to. And the radios I'd like to have but don't, prove this point. There are probably a lot of us enjoying nice gear that we'd not have if we had to go out and pay highest bid price, or even the equivalent price in today's dollars. I'd like things to fit my limited income too, but I'm realistic enough to know that it doesn't work that way. We take what we can get, buy what we can afford, and enjoy our own little pieces of history for a while, hopefully preserving them for more generations to come. 73, Todd/'Boomer' KA1KAQ
