[Milsurplus] [ARC5] Boatanchor Ennui: Is He Wrong?

Fri Jul 22 16:14:14 EDT 2016

Guys, after reading a few of these posts, I'm starting to think we may have to put this entire list on suicide watch!
There is another way to look at it. Think of all the fun and enjoyment these radios have given us and will continue to give us. Remember the fun of haunting the hamfests and laying your eyes on that really special set, good-naturedly haggling with the seller, and bringing that treasure home. Think of the fun restoring and repairing these sets, trying to make them perform as well as they did the day they left the factory (and sometimes succeeding). Remember those tough-dog sets that seemed to defy all of the established trouble-shooting technigues and how good you felt when you finally found and fixed the problem (usually something that was staring you in the face the whole time). Think about all the evenings spent using these sets. Remember the enjoyment of discussing these sets with other like-minded people.
I can't put a price on all of that. Can you?
                    Joe Connor 

    On Friday, July 22, 2016 3:29 PM, Don Merz via ARC5 <arc5 at mailman.qth.net> wrote:

 Sadly, it isn't just "their stuff" going into the dump--it's his stuff too and mine and yours. 
We're headed into the final phase of supply and demand--supply will overwhelm demand in the next 10 years--by a wide margin. Values will plummet. It's all in the demographics--period, end of story. I am 63 at he tail end of the baby boom. The average age of hams is right with me--almost exactly. And hams make up most of the collectors.
Within 10 years, I HAVE TO dispose of all or nearly all of my stuff. Right now I am a buyer and a seller. Up to now, I have tended to buy in estate-size lots, sell most of it and keep a few things. My health is such that I can no longer lift a 90 pound RBL or 110 pound AR-88 by myself. I try not to lift them at all and get my sons to do it. So I am turning away from everything big and heavy--and so is everyone in my demographic. It's natural and obvious. Also, I am giving up entirely on the estates. I promised my sons that I would drop out of the eBay selling game at the end of this year. That is when my pension kicks in and I won't need eBay money anymore to support my uh......lifestyle.
I am a member of 2 local ham clubs and VP of the local antique radio club. The story is the same across all 3. The ham clubs are withering. The cadre of old men that they have relied upon for years is dying off or moving away. The antique radio club is thriving. But radios at their auctions mostly sell for $20 or less. NOBODY wants 7-tube consoles or anything big and heavy. Try selling a 1952 12 inch TV--good luck! Try selling your complete collection of HAM RADIO magazines--good luck!
Many of the guys are in denial of the issue and just keep accumulating. The club gets 2-3 calls a year asking for help disposing of a houseful of radios. And we do the exact same thing that everyone is doing--we pick out the best stuff for them to include in our auctions and tell them to pitch the rest. 
Yes, the dumpster is the future for most of this stuff. In 10 years, it will be 99% buyers and 1% sellers. Only a small portion of the best stuff will survive--because it was "the best stuff" and too much of it is still around to chase too few buyers. There was a guy at Dayton selling three fully restored 75A4 receivers. $650 each FULLY RESTORED. Two had the spinner knobs, one had two filters and the others just one. He had no takers. In 10 years, everyone that has a basement full of "the best stuff" will all want to sell it at the same time. Prices must and will fall drastically because all the buyers will have left the market. 
One happy exception is military gear, since that is collected by military buffs and radio guys.I think military gear is safe, more or less. Amplifiers are also safe I think. The prices of new ones are through the roof. So the new amp prices are pulling up the value of used ones. Another curious question is what about the 1920's and 30's stuff that is about to become officially "antique"--100 years old. Will it have increased value simply because of its age? Interesting.... Another issue is what effect the conversion to digital radio will have. Will anyone want that Philco 90 cathedral when it can never receive a signal again?
I have loved this hobby. It's a gem. But I have told my family not to care about any of the gear when I go. Sell it cheap and don't look back or just donate it to a local club--if any of them still exist by then. 
73 Don Merz, N3RHT

      From: David Stinson <arc5 at ix.netcom.com>
 To: milsurplus at mailman.qth.net; boatanchors at mailman.qth.net; ARC-5 <arc5 at mailman.qth.net> 
 Sent: Friday, July 22, 2016 2:12 PM
 Subject: [ARC5] Boatanchor Ennui: Is He Wrong?

I was talking with a "grumble buddy" the other day
concerning our "boatanchor radio" hobby and its future.

"Dave, for every twenty guys with a garage or storage
locker full of crap, there's maybe *one* who has heated
a soldering iron and actually finished a project and got it
on the air in the last 10 years.  
They all have the "' 'round-Tuit" disease
and it's going to stay that way until their stuff goes to 
the dump."

I told him he was being cynical- that there were 
at least twice that many guys who actually finished
a project and got it on the air.  

What's your perspective?
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