Almost tossed my JVC RCM-70

[Sharonf01]

I'm new to the forum. We have recently moved and are in the process of getting rid of things we don't use anymore. My husband bought his JVC boombox back in the day as a teenager at the AirForce base in Athens when his family lived overseas. We have owned this box all these years, using it in our gym. Up until very recently, the cassette tape player worked. Goodwill doesn't take electronics and I almost tossed it and then looked on ebay last night and saw that one sold for over $500!!!! I had no idea there was a market for these things (my husband didn't either...)

Is it worth fixing the tape deck before trying to sell it or should we sell it as is? Is this particular model hard to come by?

I will say it is in otherwise excellent condition. My husband has always taken very good care of his stuff and it has been well cared for. The one that sold on ebay last night was all scratched up and the speakers were kind of shredded looking. The speakers on ours are pristine looking. It even comes with the original carrying strap.

 

[Northerner]

That's a real quality box and worth some $...you'd easy find a buyer on the forum even if the tape deck doesn't work as we have the the power to rebuild him!

 

[Sharonf01]

I am undecided about whether or not we should try fixing it ourselves. My husband is pretty good with this stuff. Does the tape deck not working affect the price by a lot?

 

[mmcodomino]

I am undecided about whether or not we should try fixing it ourselves. My husband is pretty good with this stuff. Does the tape deck not working affect the price by a lot?

If you are in a M70, you need to take out the whole chassis with all the boards on it in order to get to the tapedeck.
That is a job that should not be done by someone who never saw a boombox from the inside, many things can get messed up. You certainly do not want that.
A realistic price a collector would pay for an M70 is 300-350$ depending on the condition. Without a working tapedeck you might rather be looking at 300$ though.
Forget the 500$ eBay BS. A lot of times people push their auctions. That has nothing to do with a realistic value.
If you want your M70 to be in good hands, leave it as it is and sell it to a member here.
Good luck.

 

[baddboybill]

M70 prices are all over the board. I've seen them sell for $100-$800 depending on condition. They are definitely a wanted box. But like member said repairs are not that simple to someone with no experience... You definitely don't want to mess it up even more.. Sell as is would be your best bet Good luck!!!


Bad Boy Bill

 

[Reli]

If it's in great condition with no scratches, and you take excellent photographs, you could easily get over $400 for it. Consider that most M70's on Ebay are in crappy cosmetic condition.

Also, I really don't understand people who are willing to pay $100+ extra just because the tape deck is working. Odds are that the belts will break shortly after they receive it anyway. If they haven't broke in 30 years, they will very soon. Tapes suck anyways -- Age erodes the tape quality. I have a collection of albums from the 80's, and even though they were stored in dry room, none of them sound worth a damn anymore. They're all faded with no treble.

 

[Sharonf01]

Well I'm really glad I checked before letting it go. I hate throwing things out anyways, especially when they are still working. I just thought these things were obsolete and that no one would want it! I had no idea. I had also never considered that I could plug in my MP3 players into it either. We tried this today and I was amazed that it worked and it did sound pretty awesome. Are those of you who are collectors also "purists"... ie, do you only listen to cassette tapes or do you plug in IPODS and other things into them?

 

[Northerner]

collectors on here wouldn't have an issue with the tape deck not working...can you hear the motor running if you press play? If so its likely just belts but you have to do a fair bit of disaster inducing disassembly if you don't know what you're doing...it's not a box to take a risk on...we'd be gutted if you ruined it! The members on here are fine upstanding citizens and no doubt someone will make you a reasonable offer Good luck!

Some are purists but many, like me, use iPods, tapes, record decks, whatever takes our fancy...there are many Apple fans into Boomboxes!!

 

[blu_fuz]

I will buy it from you. Messaging you now

 

[ford93]

Well I'm really glad I checked before letting it go. I hate throwing things out anyways, especially when they are still working. I just thought these things were obsolete and that no one would want it! I had no idea. I had also never considered that I could plug in my MP3 players into it either. We tried this today and I was amazed that it worked and it did sound pretty awesome. Are those of you who are collectors also "purists"... ie, do you only listen to cassette tapes or do you plug in IPODS and other things into them?

Most members here listen to both Ipod & Cassette on their boomers.

Good luck with selling the M-70 I'm sure you'll find a buyer with no problem.

Sharonf01.

 

[monchito]

Well I'm really glad I checked before letting it go. I hate throwing things out anyways, especially when they are still working. I just thought these things were obsolete and that no one would want it! I had no idea. I had also never considered that I could plug in my MP3 players into it either. We tried this today and I was amazed that it worked and it did sound pretty awesome. Are those of you who are collectors also "purists"... ie, do you only listen to cassette tapes or do you plug in IPODS and other things into them?

Most members here listen to both Ipod & Cassette on their boomers.

Good luck with selling the M-70 I'm sure you'll find a buyer with no problem.

Sharonf01.

and welcome to the site,,you can sell it or just keep it it would not matter .... these m70 are sold very well compared to alot of the boxes....

 

[Sharonf01]

Thanks for the welcome We are going to clean it up (although it doesn't need much cleaning) and see how involved fixing the belt would be. If it looks messy, we'll just close it up and sell "as is" on ebay. Sorry, I know there are people here who would rather buy through the forum but I am a novice here and am comfortable with Ebay. It should be on there in the next few weeks if anyone here would like to bid on it. Thanks again for all the welcomes and for the PMs too! With all the enthusiasm for these boxes, its making me think maybe we should just keep it! Is the draw for these things the sound or is it more the nostalgia?

 

[devol-toni]

With all the enthusiasm for these boxes, its making me think maybe we should just keep it! Is the draw for these things the sound or is it more the nostalgia?

Keep to partying here a little bit more with us and you will find the answer on this q

and

 

[The Box of Boom]

Keep it ... now that you know that you can play your ipod on it ... surely it is a piece which you can use and also be a feature and talking piece in your house.

 

[JustCruisin]

:unknown:

 

[jimmyjimmy19702010]

Thanks for the welcome We are going to clean it up (although it doesn't need much cleaning) and see how involved fixing the belt would be. If it looks messy, we'll just close it up and sell "as is" on ebay. Sorry, I know there are people here who would rather buy through the forum but I am a novice here and am comfortable with Ebay. It should be on there in the next few weeks if anyone here would like to bid on it. Thanks again for all the welcomes and for the PMs too! With all the enthusiasm for these boxes, its making me think maybe we should just keep it! Is the draw for these things the sound or is it more the nostalgia?

You have to be very careful selling boomers on Ebay. You hear many stories of scammers winning an auction, receiving the box and stripping it of all it's good parts replacing them with faulty parts. Then they complain of it not working properly - you have to either pay for return shipping just to discover the scam or offer a huge discount.

You may not get as much here from a member but rest assured,as long as you pack the box well, you will have none of these issues. Just a thought.

Good luck,

James....

P.S. Don't even bother opening the box, all you will do is remove that lovely 'snap' from the screws that we all love to hear when opening a 'virgin' boombox for the 1st time in 30 years. It is a huge job for a novice removing the entire 'chassis' from the outer case without damaging anything.

 

[blu_fuz]

Don't wave your boombox candy here in front of us and tell us we can't have any!!!!!!



You came here for honest advice and we gave it to you.



Reward us by selling it to a member here not on ebay




Don't get that "I saw one sell on epay for $500" mentallity. If you check that auction again, the boombox was relisted for a non paying high bidder and sold for much less. You have a M70 (depending on condition) with non working cassette that could go anywhere from $100-$300 depending on who is looking for one when you sell it.

 

[Northerner]

I got mine for sub $100

 

[blu_fuz]

I got all 6 that I have owned for anywhere from free $0 to $250. Ranging from fully working to completely smashed .

 

[Northerner]

I got mine for sub $100

...though mine is a very special mono version (right channel still not working!) so was cheap!

Come on, sell it on the forum...you know it's the right thing to do!! You'll get a reasonable price, no eBay or PayPal fees, and the satisfaction of knowing it will go to someone who will love it like a son!