Electronics sections at thrift stores vanishing.

[bill]

been a while since i have posted anything here. Have been working on figuring out school and stuff.
Ventured out on a thrift store run this weekend and was shocked.
Many many of the stores i had frequented in the past five years have eliminated the electronics section.
I had seen this coming up here for a while now with all the bs recycling centers up here.
I would say 80-90 percent of the thrift stores up here have shrunk the electronics sections down by 75 percent. There are some holdouts but for the most part its really bleak. Looks like garage sales are still a viable option but sad times for the vintage electronics hobbiest up here. Then again i consider myself really fortunate to have been able to get in and score some amazing things while it was still great.

 

[gagaeyes]

I've noticed that too in some of the thrift stores around my area.I see mostly clothes and some furniture, very little electronics.

 

[Lasonic TRC-920]

 

[ViennaSound]

I've noticed that too in some of the thrift stores around my area.I see mostly clothes and some furniture, very little electronics.

Main problem!
Here the same.
They told me, because of the new european union laws, they must give warranty or takeback guarantee.
Most stores are not willing so, and they close the electronics section.

 

[Uncle Ed]

Wow, just happening there

Been true here for 5-6 years.....

 

[shane higgins]

Yes the larger chains don't warranty any electrical as there dont have a sparky to cheak the goods for safty
many small country town shops sell as collectors items only and as not working
A kid was killed about 5 years ago in Australia when mum brought a toaster from the good sammies and it shorted out and bang the kid was gone
so buy some tapes

 

[MasterBlaster84]

They told me, because of the new european union laws, they must give warranty or takeback guarantee.
Most stores are not willing so, and they close the electronics section.

The wisdom of our governments sucks more and more as time goes on.

 

[hemiguy2006]

Our thrifty stores suck when it comes to electronics
So no biggie over here.
Just VCR's Old CRT computer monitors keyboards and junk like that.
Never found anything in the thriftys around here.

 

[restocat]

Not only less electronics but with the recession alot more shoppers.Still you never know and it is about being there a the right time. I just found a good old walkman cassette for 2 bucks so there is still hope.

Things are still good here, but more black, less silver. half a dozen walkmans/ tape players and a n1 minidisk sitting at our closest shop, they are just sitting there for few $ each. Yes timing is important.

 

[Pointdexter1906]

I have never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever found anything worthwhile at a thriftstore, nothing but black plastic eggs. :annoyed:

 

[Boom Shaka Laka]

Agree. It's been years since I've found a decent boomer at a thrift store. Electronics seem to be mostly old analog TV's and VHS VCR's, a few black eggs, and maybe an occasional no-name portable CD player. The "good ol' days" of buiding a collection from thrifty finds are gone. Yes, timing is important, and I just might find the occasional silver boombox if I walked in the right store at the right time on the right day. But the odds of that are almost zero, and the only way to increase those odds would be to spend every day thrift-store-hopping. But who has the time or energy to do that?

What I try to keep in mind is that the number of boomers showing up at thrift stores (and rummage sales and flea markets) has slowed to a trickle because the number of boomers still in households is very, very small. It just stands to reason that I would find more boomboxes for sale in 2000 than in 2011. And, of course, there's eBay, which is more pervasive than ever. Why give something away when you can get a decent price for it in an eBay auction? Finally, I sense that the masses today see classic boomboxes as very collectible items, symbols of a bygone era. They're simply not throwaway junk anymore. (Why else would I see them in Progresive Insurance commercials and on T-shirts at Urban Outfitters?) And so, it just makes sense that boomers would be harder to get, and the ones that are available would cost more.

I started actually "collecting" boomboxes around 1997. I felt bad back then because I thought I was late getting into the hobby, and all the good stuff would be taken. Yes, it was pretty easy to find a silver boomer or two every week at a thrift store, but they weren't always grails, and some of them (though not all) had non-working tape decks and/or a few scratches. Now, however, as I look back, I feel pretty good - and pretty lucky - because I know it'll never be that easy (and that cheap) to find classic boomboxes again.

 

[Pointdexter1906]

Agree BSL, I wonder if we're reaching the "bubble?"

 

[devol-toni]

You guys was blessed with your opportunities to buy something from Drift stores in some part of your life,
Here in Macedonia has never exist any form of "drift store", "Op store" or "Second hand store"

 

[ViennaSound]

You guys was blessed with your opportunities to buy something from Drift stores in some part of your life,
Here in Macedonia has never exist any form of "drift store", "Op store" or "Second hand store"

but fleas!
Less finds are from charity stores, most are from flea here

 

[hfaltermeyer]

It's pretty scary to think of restrictive laws just pushing stores to shut their electronics sections down.

Here in the States, all thrift stores still have an electronics section - but come to think of it, I think I've been suffering from what psychologists call "intermittent reinforcement."

Years ago, i found a beautiful boombox at a thrift store and carried her home with a smile on my face.

I still find myself looking through thrift stores to this day. Although never once, aside from that single time, have I found... anything good. Come to think of it, I don't think I've seen a single piece of worthwhile audio since then. And interestingly, over the past two years, the price of the crappy stuff (and thrift store merch in general), seems to have literally doubled.

Just today, I saw a shimmering silver mirage that turned out to be... a tiny Sony CD-playing piece of garbage. But I'll still be taking that walk past the dusty shoes and the frayed stuffed animals, all the way to the back of the store to make sure...

 

[Boom Shaka Laka]

And interestingly, over the past two years, the price of the crappy stuff (and thrift store merch in general), seems to have literally doubled.

Thank eBay.

But I'll still be taking that walk past the dusty shoes and the frayed stuffed animals

And through the dozens of racks of used clothing, where the mixed scent of sweat and urine fills the air.

 

[MasterBlaster84]

But I'll still be taking that walk past the dusty shoes and the frayed stuffed animals

And through the dozens of racks of used clothing, where the mixed scent of sweat and urine fills the air.

Ah yes the scent of the filthy.
Some of the strangest people I see are in the thrifts, I know I'm there too.

 

[TW5]

Still lots of stuff here , new and old.
A few good finds sometimes.
But boxes are fewer at the thrifts.

 

[Superduper]

The wisdom of our governments sucks more and more as time goes on.

The more they control, the more they screw up.

 

[MasterBlaster84]

The wisdom of our governments sucks more and more as time goes on.

The more they control, the more they screw up.

Perfectly stated, we need to be governed less not more.