[Johnson] Ranger prices?

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

On Tue, Jan 3, 2012 at 1:18 PM, Carl <km1h at jeremy.mv.com> wrote:

> A near mint factory wired one at Nearfest in Oct went for $250 with manual
> and a box of parts for a Valiant. It was supposedly completely overhauled

Guess I missed that one, Carl. They Hosstraders guys who were welling
off Joe Demaso's stuff had a decent one in the building they were
asking somewhere around $500 for. It hadn't sold as of Saturday the
last time I wandered through. Maybe they came down some on the price.

It's always interesting and, at times, amusing to see how some people
react to prices. You have the group who remembers when such-and-such
sold for $50 or less back in the 70s because no one wanted 'those
boatanchors' anymore, and still believe they're worthless today.

Then you have the other folks who see a few priced abnormally high and
automatically assume that to be the going price. We saw this recently
on AMfone when one member asserted that "HRO-60s are now worth $1500"
simply because one very clean, complete, well-optioned example brought
that on ebay. He ignored the multiple examples provided by others of
more accurate average pricing on ebay and elsewhere that had sold
recently. Convenience, completeness, and top electrical condition will
always cost more.

Rangers were made in large numbers, and there are still a lot of them
out there. From all I've seen, most Rangers sell in the $100-$300 +/-
$50 range. There are a few exceptions, as always, that have been gone
through, returned to new or better condition, which bring more. Those
restored by the late Dee Almquist with his custom silkscreen
repaint/clear coat finish still bring a premium, as do those sold by
Chuck Hurley. These guys put a lot of time into the transmitters. They
are as much a showpiece or statement as they are a working
transmitter. You can get a clean one and go through it electrically
yourself or pay someone else to do it for $300-$500. They will work as
well as the showpiece transmitters do. They just lack the
labor-intensive finished look, and instead just look like a stock
Ranger. Labor does count for something, even if you do it in your
spare time.

Another thing to always keep in mind: someone can ask whatever they
want for an item. That doesn't mean it sold for that amount. That's
where the 'assume' word comes into play.

~ Todd,  KA1KAQ/4