Well, I think that's it....

[Lasonic TRC-920]

I haven't seen a "Vintage" blaster at any thrift stores in a very long time now. Just black CD 3 piecer's. I think with all the e-waste centers and recycling, mixed with the sudden popularity of our beloved 80's radio's that there is little or no chance of finding any in 2nd hand stores. Which leaves us with eBay, Craigslist and swapping between each other.

There might be some hope at yard sales or estate sales, but I haven't found S%&T at those either.

:'-(

It's a real drag...

 

[gsbadbmr]

Don't worry Chris...they ARE out there

 

[skippy1969]

Yeah my Aiwa CS660U I found a few week ago was the last in the wild find I've seen in a longgggggg time.

 

[k2j]

Ya no doubt Chris. Remember the day's when people pposted wild finds pretty often. Sad, gonna have to start adding hobbies to increase the odds. Finding cassettes is getting difficult too. Ugh.

 

[Lasonic TRC-920]

I'll tell ya, in L.A., craigslist is full of ad's "Looking for 80's Boombox will pay CASH".

I hit up thrift stores all over the surrounding cities and there is nothing in the electronic's section but eggs, crappy 12" CRT TV's, dirty digital alarm clocks and misc mismatched speakers. Oh and the super low end black 3 piece 90's cd machines. Just garbage.

Ya no doubt Chris. Remember the day's when people pposted wild finds pretty often. Sad, gonna have to start adding hobbies to increase the odds. Finding cassettes is getting difficult too. Ugh.

I agree, just 2-3 years ago you guys were posting new finds left and right. It seemed like every week we all celebrated together on the gems we used to find. Now every butt sniff longing for his childhood is in on the scene searching...Oh Wait, that's me!

Either way...I ain't done yet....just whining a bit....

I still have "The Dream"....Based on the one's I have read right here on Boomboxery...the wild and crazy C100 in the wild find or the co-worker walks in and say's "I have this dusty old radio in my garage that has been there for 20 years, you want it?" and it's a friggen M90....I HAVE READ THESE STORIES!!! I just want to live one!

Anyway...The search goes on

 

[Styleking]

It's really like finding dinosaur skeletons lately. It's sad when the listings on Craigslist are for eggs and the seller wants $100 plus for them! We need to find the Final Frontier! I let everyone I know that I collect them and have people on the lookout all time.

 

[Retro Addict]

I agree with you, Chris. In second-hand electronics stores and other outdoor sales, proper vintage boomboxes are extremely thin on the ground these days. They were everywhere when I started collecting in 2006. I was really lucky that year, and in 2007. I was adding to my collection 1 box every fortnight or so. All in-the-wild finds. It was great. But nowadays, there's no chance! I'm keeping a firm hold of what I've got, because I know I wouldn't be able to get them again.

But look at the collections we have here, some members have hundreds to their name! Collectively, I think we've done a mighty fine job of scooping up all the good boomboxes for sale, you only have to look at people's collection pics to see what we've achieved. There can't be that many left out there!

 

[blu_fuz]

I also agree. There has been NOTHING at thrift shops. It almost seems as if each thrift shop has someone working in the back saving the good blasters and they never hit the shelf for sale. It's discouraging and wasting time and gas.

My best, best, BEST deals are on boomboxes I see on ebay that I make a deal with the seller behind the scenes OR finding a ebay sale that is close to home and asking to come see the box in person and make a cash deal. Scored some HUGE grails that way and at 1/2 or 1/3 the price of ebay auctions.

 

[Lasonic TRC-920]

I guess if you look at it from the point of view that we all wanted to "Save" these machines from the landfills and compactors, than in that respect we have done a great job.

I also agree, we are lucky to have what we have. There are some sad suckers out there wishing they could have just one but they came to the game late.

I'm still on the lookout. I'm on the garage sale / estate sale circuit praying (preying) to find granny's beloved GF1000!

I know that for the right price I can have what ever I want through eBay or from buying from another member but paying $1,000 for a radio just doesn't turn me on.

The search goes on.....

 

[oldskool69]

...granny's beloved GF1000!...

 

[gsbadbmr]

Well to be honest i don't really go out looking anymore. I used to go out 3-4 days/week when i first started collecting and used to find tons of stuff...Now i can't be bothered I have enough boomboxes to last a lifetime.

Like Retro Addict said (and i do agree) : "I'm keeping a firm hold of what I've got, because I know I wouldn't be able to get them again" .

Sure, e-Bay still seems to have boxes, but i'm not into that bidding war thing...and then the shipping/potential damage/import fees etc...I like meeting people face to face

 

[hemiguy2006]

Don't feel so bad, at least you have found some in the wild.
I have not found one in the wild since i've started collecting in 2009

 

[superlew]

It's really like finding dinosaur skeletons lately. It's sad when the listings on Craigslist are for eggs and the seller wants $100 plus for them! We need to find the Final Frontier! I let everyone I know that I collect them and have people on the lookout all time.

Jerry, it sounds like you're referring to a specific craigslist boston seller.
I'm pretty sure I posted it in "For Sale" several months ago. It's not an auction, but it definitely complies with Rule #4 under "Auction Posting Policy." (Members check craigslist boston. "It's a Sony")

Last month I hit every thrift in Jensen Beach, Port St. Lucie, and Stuart, FL - And, of course, the Stuart Flea. I'll put it this way: I went back to Boston with a book and some tools.

 

[Styleking]

Jerry, it sounds like you're referring to a specific craigslist boston seller.

Aram, it's more like every seller on Boston Craigslist these days. There are three Conion c100's for sale on Craigslist Boston, 2 at $1500 one for $2000! There's a Disco Lite for $2000 a Toshiba for $1500. People with common boxes see these ad's and they all start thinking there Memorex egg is made of gold. Last box I got in the wild was 3 years ago. Ahhhh the good old days.......

 

[Lasonic TRC-920]

Like Retro Addict said (and i do agree) : "I'm keeping a firm hold of what I've got, because I know I wouldn't be able to get them again" .

Sure, e-Bay still seems to have boxes, but i'm not into that bidding war thing...and then the shipping/potential damage/import fees etc...I like meeting people face to face

I totally agree. The whole eBay thing just turns me off. I know allot of members do good business there, I've never been one of them. Add in the shipping problems and the damage....it's not the way I want to go. At least when you buy from a member here, 90% of the time your dealing with someone that can properly pack the radio, but that's still no guarantee.

Don't feel so bad, at least you have found some in the wild.
I have not found one in the wild since i've started collecting in 2009

Wow...that's probably because Ira has bought every radio in a 6 state circle plus Cuba!

 

[oldskool69]

Gotta admit, I've been pretty lucky in the thrifties since I started collecting...

Sanyo M-X650-K
Sony CFD-5
JVC M70
Vector VMC-100
JVC M60
Lasonic TRC-931 (2nd Edition...Twice)
GE 5238A "Blockbuster"
GE 5286(?) with the vertical CD Player
Sony CFD-444
JVC PC-W350 (Three times...)
JVC PC-11
Panasonic RX-C100
Panasonic RX-DT680
Panasonic F32 (But was so beat to hell I couldn't save it.)
...

You know what...I'm going to go back over what I've had/sold (Including walkmans) that came from the thrifties...better to start a different thread.

However, that being said, the last one I got from a thrifty was a Hitachi TRK-3D88E a week ago, Panasonic RX-C46 in December. Not long before that was the M70. I guess it just depends on where you are and if you can beat the eBay hunters. That's what I've noticed here. Plus I've taken a tip from my Australian counterparts and have folks in these give me a heads up if they see what I may be interested in. Just gotta keep hunting. And keep in mind, the better the size of the city, the better your luck generally. My wife found a nice Toshiba for me a few months ago at an estate sale, not really special but nice sounding box. Gotta keep hunting and remember, the early bird doesn't always get the worm, but if he knows where, or is there when the soil is wet, he won't go hungry.

 

[gsbadbmr]

Wow...that's probably because Ira has bought every radio in a 6 state circle plus Cuba!

Actually, i think it was that "THIS SUCKER MC JAMS" dude that cleaned up shops

 

[Retro Addict]

Gotta keep hunting and remember, the early bird doesn't always get the worm, but if he knows where, or is there when the soil is wet, he won't go hungry.

Love this statement! And very true!

 

[Boom Shaka Laka]

A topic that's dear to my heart! I've stopped going to thrift stores altogether, after finding so little for so long. Waste of time and gas. EBay prices for the good stuff that still occasionally turns up are in the stratosphere (and I can't bring myself to deal "behind the scenes"; has always seemed like cheating to me). Haven't found a "keeper" at a garage sale or radio collector show in years. Flea markets are marginal, although every now and then a surprise turns up. (Seems to depend on the area of the country where the flea market is held.) And I'm afraid of craigslist. Sometimes (but rarely), just being in the right place at the right time produces a serious find, but it's never been because I was first in line when a flea market or garage sale opened (after all, even when you're first, you can't be first at every table).

In other words, I have no strategy for finding boomboxes anymore that I can count on with any degree of certainty. If anyone has a plan that works in even a slightly reliable way, I'd sure like to hear about it (no need to spill secrets, tho).

Fortunately, like many of you, I stocked up during the good years (before '80's memorabilia became fashionable) and stubbornly hold on to what I've got. And I've got a lot. Of course, I don't have every boomer I'd like to own, and I'm missing some important grails that I've never been lucky enough to run across. (Sometimes I think that the only way I'm ever going to snag another grail is if it falls out of the sky and and lands in my lap... or on my head!) Still, whenever I start to despair over how badly my sources have dried up and how my collecting has slowed down to a trickle (or, more accurately, an occasional drip), I think about what I already have, and that puts my mind at ease. It really is true that "you can't always get what you want." Which means that, even if I never get another boombox, I'll probably be OK.

 

[Lasonic TRC-920]

A topic that's dear to my heart! I've stopped going to thrift stores altogether, after finding so little for so long. Waste of time and gas. EBay prices for the good stuff that still occasionally turns up are in the stratosphere (and I can't bring myself to deal "behind the scenes"; has always seemed like cheating to me). Haven't found a "keeper" at a garage sale or radio collector show in years. Flea markets are marginal, although every now and then a surprise turns up. (Seems to depend on the area of the country where the flea market is held.) And I'm afraid of craigslist. Sometimes (but rarely), just being in the right place at the right time produces a serious find, but it's never been because I was first in line when a flea market or garage sale opened (after all, even when you're first, you can't be first at every table).

In other words, I have no strategy for finding boomboxes anymore that I can count on with any degree of certainty. If anyone has a plan that works in even a slightly reliable way, I'd sure like to hear about it (no need to spill secrets, tho).

Fortunately, like many of you, I stocked up during the good years (before '80's memorabilia became fashionable) and stubbornly hold on to what I've got. And I've got a lot. Of course, I don't have every boomer I'd like to own, and I'm missing some important grails that I've never been lucky enough to run across. (Sometimes I think that the only way I'm ever going to snag another grail is if it falls out of the sky and and lands in my lap... or on my head!) Still, whenever I start to despair over how badly my sources have dried up and how my collecting has slowed down to a trickle (or, more accurately, an occasional drip), I think about what I already have, and that puts my mind at ease. It really is true that "you can't always get what you want." Which means that, even if I never get another boombox, I'll probably be OK.

Your right man, looking around my Boomroom and seeing all the blasters I have makes me happy, even though there are many I don't / wish I had. I still have hope. I was out this weekend, hitting up the garage sales and hoping....nothing of course!

But I will keep looking!