[Boatanchors] Stuff

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

Nothing as exciting here, but I'll toss in a couple of quick comparisons.

The biggest estate I worked on was for the late Gerald Cunningham
W1MMV, a true radioman who ran a radio shop locally back in the 20s
and claimed to have buried more old radios in his backyard than most
collectors had, because the local dump told him not to bring anymore
there. This was back when AC sets came along and everyone was tossing
their battery sets. Anyhow, Gerry was one of the original DXCC crowd
and had been accumulating gear for decades. Good stuff too, like
chrome-chassis Scotts still in the boxes and so on. One day I'm at
work and a well-known local auctioneer comes in, walks over to me and
says 'Got a minute? I need your help'. I'd bought from him before, so
he knew me for my interest and at least some amount of knowledge. I
was surprised to find out that it was Gerry's estate, having known him
for years. We met with the family, looked over the items in the house
and three outbuildings, and they asked for my suggestions of value and
what to do with it. Around this time is when they mentioned the
'visit' from an old friend named Charlie, who cherry-picked a few nice
pieces worth a few thousand dollars, for a few hundred dollars. One
was a rare AK-7 or 9 breadboard (I forget which). I know this guy, and
while I knew he was slippery, I never thought he was so slimy as to
basically steal from friends by lying to them (he told them he was
doing them a favor by paying 'so much').

I told them that, at a glance, I figured there was at least $10K worth
of stuff, probably more if they wanted to take the time to piece it
out. They did not, one son was an engineer for Lockheed in California,
the other was from the south. They waned to get back home ASAP. They
even offered me the entire package for $7K to expidite things, and as
tempting as it was, I pushed them to auction it instead, as planned. I
didn't have the money on hand but could have gotten it easily enough,
but that wasn't why I was there.

We advertised the auction in ARC and hoped for a good turnout, but
only got 40-50 people. The auctioneer was sure it would be a flop and
wished I had just bought the stuff, but at the end of the day they had
some $14K or so, including non-radio items sold like a few pieces of
furniture. The gear alone *should* have brought more, the lack of
turnout made for some very good deals, and very happy family members.
The auctioneer was scratching his head in amazement, just never
thought ANYONE would want all of that junk. I didn't ask or want to be
paid, but instead ended up with a few pieces of Gerry's station (son
from 6-Land was a ham and kept his S-Line, tower, and other stuff),
including his old Johnson Desk KW that was torn apart due to problems.
Scruffy looking, and back before they were fashionable to collect
(they were selling $100-$500 in great shape), I still have it and it
still needs parts and work. But it has a lot of history. They still
wanted to pay me as well, I declined. For my part, I worked 3 months
of my spare time cataloging items, locating missing pieces that were
scattered around, bundling old books and magazines, and also worked
the auction giving descriptions, answering questions, toting bits
around and so on. Considering I had just bought a house a few months
earlier (good idea) and was in the process of getting married midway
through the ordeal (bad idea), it's hard to put a value on my time.
But I liked Gerry, his family, and working with the auctioneer. The
bidders who came up afterwards to thank me made it worthwhile, too.

Other side of things: buying something for "less than what it's
worth". Spied a Hy-Gain Dipole antenna on someones table (ala Collins
tape dipole) for $40 or so. Always wanted one. Asked the guy if he
knew they were bringing $100 or more (at that time)? He made some
remark along the lines of 'ya, you and everyone else'. Basically, he
said he brought it there to sell, not to be educated, and if I didn't
want it for that price, someone else probably would by the end of the
next day. I had $60 and still had to buy food and pay for gas for the
2.5 hour trip home. So I bought it for his price, and learned a
valuable lesson: it's not my job or place to educate others on just
how they should sell their stuff, or what they should ask for it.
99.9% of people at hamfests bring stuff there to sell, not take back
home. I bet at least 95% of them also shop around for deals on gear
they want. And I don't put this in the same category as lying to
someone who is clueless, simply to benefit yourself.

What makes it easy for me is that I buy stuff to use and enjoy, to
keep and not resell. Therefore, I'm not concerned with someones spin
on current value, ebay vs hamfests, and so on. How much I want
something determines how much I'll spend, simple as that. And nothing
is worth lying or cheating to have. I've sold stuff over the years,
usually things that came with something else and were of no interest
to me. Sometimes things I wanted to keep, but needed to sell to pay
bills. And once or twice, I've bought something thinking I'd like it,
only to discover it was a dog. But when it's not about the money side
of things, life is a whole lot simpler. You either pay the price or
haggle, buy it or not. And I do my best to stay out of the 'advice to
widows' business, as it's always easy to declare what an item is worth
(opinion), but not as easy to determine what it will sell for (fact).

I do think too many people focus on perceived future value or profit
and miss the true point of enjoying old gear. As well, and perhaps due
to lack of exposure or experience, all too many people seem to lump
everything into one basic category where ethics and the actual reasons
behind the sale aren't a concern, only price. Sad, but true.

~ Todd,  KA1KAQ