Any given thrift store has the potential to be a gold mine or a disaster for electronic equipment. This article covers equipment such as computers, televisions, stereos, and the like. Media such as CDs, disks, tapes, and appliances are fairly hit or miss. Most buyers can easily differentiate between bargains and crap for media, but equipment takes a more well trained eye.
There are some thrift store patrons who purchase electronics not for function, but for appearance or artistic intent. The tips found in this article focus on identifying functional electronic equipment and knowing what to pay for it.
First, find your favorite thrift store and locate the electronics section inside it. They tend to be lumped together in the back somewhere or perhaps behind a counter. Don’t let a glass showcase fool you, the items available at that store can be just as functional or non-functional as the thrift store down the street that leaves things piled haphazardly on top each other.
Second, categorize an item you are interested in using the categories below. Let’s take a look at the categories and then decide how to place items there.
- Gem: perfect condition
- Well Loved: the machine is beat up, but working properly
- Semi-functional: some non-essential component is missing or broken
- Fixable: broken, but fixable
- Defective: working but with some major defect
- Dud: serves no value unless you enjoy smashing things
Gem
These are rare finds, but they are definitely out there. In general, there are two kinds of gems. First, someone purchased something new and never used it. It ended up at the thrift store in a beat up box and was priced low. Second, the store manager had no idea what he or she was looking at and priced it way too low. This reminds me of a friend of a friend who found an iPod for $20 once. Clearly, the person who priced it had no idea what it was or what it was worth. It didn’t come with a charger, so they probably thought it was broken. A find like that once and a while makes up for several dozen fruitless trips.
Well Loved
As alluded to above, thrift stores often price items based on the appearance of the item or the box it was dropped off in. Sometimes a machine with a nasty gouge or graffiti can be functioning perfectly well. It’s a modern day retelling of the Ugly Duckling.
Semi-functional
There are two ways to land in this category. Have a non-essential piece missing or a non-essential piece broken. A missing remote is of no concern given that you can purchase a universal remote to replace it. Although truly archaic machines often aren’t programmed into universal remotes, so be careful buying something ancient. The best semi-functional find is something with a broken power button. Stores think it’s junk and other buyers assume it can’t be turned on. Of course, there is no guarantee that it can, but in my last five similar purchases, I was able to repair four. A small amplifier with a broken input was the only lemon. The real key when purchasing semi-function equipment is to get something you can live without or easily repair.
Fixable
This category isn’t for everyone, but someone with a little electronic know how or good intuition can often get something that’s broken and get it functioning. The only broken things to consider are those with asthetic, mechanical, connection, or plastic problems. If you see a circuit board split in half, leave it be. People with the skills to repair most circuit boards generally make enough money that they don’t think about going to thrift stores. Sometimes replacing a few resistors or one capacitor and a little soldering can do the trick, but more often than not, the item is beyond repair.
Defective
This is the most dangerous category. Items here give the illusion of working, but don’t function. I once found a relatively new, large screen TV for $25. I plugged it in and got static. This was expected since it had no antenna or input. However, once I got it home and plugged it in my antenna, I got no signal at all.
Dud
A dud does not and will not function. Generally it’s easy to spot one, but they can be dangerous when you find something very desirable at a very low cost and salivate yourself into buying it.
Now that we know the categories, lets talk about how to classify machines. You always want to see a product working if you can. Good thrift stores will have electronics on displace and in operation. Others (sometimes unintentionally) provide outlets for items to be plugged in and checked. Just because something lights up does not mean it works. If you really want to get serious, bring along a variety of cables and other testing equipment. It’s best to label these clearly with your name so you aren’t accused of stealing. I generally bring a coaxial cable, a few RCA cables, a CD, a VHS tape, and headphones if I am doing some serious hunting. If you want to purchase a VCR, find a functioning TV at the store and connect it and try to play your tape. Oh yeah, and don’t bring a precious tape because an unhappy VCR is likely to have a few nibbles on it. When testing electronics, let them run for a lengthy period of time. Sometimes machines only show their true colors after five or ten minutes of use. Only then does the picture suddenly give out or the CD begin skipping.
Third, assess the functionality and value of the machine. Think about how you can use it and how well it will work. Computers are generally useless in thrift stores unless you want to build a basic web server or something of that sort. By the time computers make their way into thrift stores they are generally ancient. Also, don’t think you can buy it and cannibalize it for parts for your machine. The hard drive and RAM are probably too small.
Consider the way in which you want to use the machine. I once bought a CD player. I tested it at the store with some speakers they had and also with my headphones. It played for 15 minutes of MU330’s Chumps on Parade without any problems. I brought my $10 lucky find home to my dorm room, plugged it in to my amp, and enjoyed it for the next couple days. Friday rolled along and a few people came over. One dance step and suddenly the machine started skipping. Turns out it was ultra sensitive to movement, a fact I didn’t discover standing patiently in the thrift store.
Fourth, determine a good price. You must know what is a valid price to pay. It helps to know the approximate retail price of an item, even though this doesn’t relate to the thrift store price directly. Here are some general benchmark prices for common items. It’s probably best to never pay more.
Television - $20
VCR - $10
DVD - $15
Stereo (working CD) - $20
Computer (no matter what speed) - $40
Computer monitor - $15
Record player - $10
Printer - $15
Game system - $25
Discman - $10
The above price recommendations were generated based on value, commonality, likelihood of failure at time of purchase, likelihood of failure shortly after purchase, and fixability.
Other factors that should effect your judgement are age, condition, and the store. The older a product is, the more likely it is to be broken or function poorly. The exterior condition is usually (though not always) an implication of it’s functionality. As for the store, look at the other electronics around what you are thinking of buying. A diamond in the rough is rare. If you’re standing in a junk yard, you’re probably looking at junk.
Also, don’t get greedy or tricked. All too often I’ve seem people’s eyes get big when they think they’ve found something they can easily fix and resell for much higher. Sometimes this works, especially for a seasoned eBay pro, but it’s not a good route to take for the novice. If you plan to operate like this, it’s best to only buy low and expect a loss on some items.
Fifth, know when to walk away. Extremely low prices can mean either Gem or Dud, you’ve got to know which it is. Don’t pay much for something that is questionably working, because the majority of the time it won’t work. Beware of “as is”, its essentially synonymous with broken. Almost all stores have this policy, so your confidence needs to affect the price you are willing to pay. The less confident you are of the machine working, the less you should pay for it regardless of if it works or not.
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