[NJARC] Meetings Auctions, etc etc...

[Owen Gerboth]

Hi all,
          A thought came to mind as I read over these posts. If we are going 
to hold meetings in Princeton, why not just  have meeting, and hold auctions 
at Infoage. There is so much more room there, I believe the big room behind 
the museum, to hold sizable auctions. The meetings in Princeton should be 
just that. Discussion on new as well as old business, then have a tech talk, 
have a presentation by member's, or even and outside speaker. SO instead of 
schlepping auction items to Princeton the items are already at Infoage. Just 
a thought..

Owen
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <AMCMATADOR at aol.com>
To: <njarc at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Sunday, February 22, 2009 11:45 AM
Subject: [NJARC] Meetings Auctions, etc etc...


> Just remember
> Reply = Poster
> Reply All = Everyone
>
> _________________________________________________________
> All,
>
>     I have been reading the preceding emails, and  will throw my 2 cents 
> in.
> (though with inflation, mabe it should be 2  bucks?) . For approximatly 
> the
> last 10 years or so, I have been a club member. I  would say I have made 
> at
> least 90% of meetings during that time. Through those  years, meetings 
> have been
> in Old Bridge?. Princeton and in Wall Twp at InfoAge.  For almost the 
> entire
> duration, I have come from Staten Island, to the various  locations. 
> Sometimes
> it takes a little longer, sometimes not. I have found ways  to take 
> different
> and or local roads, to shorten the trip. The point is, I  value the club
> meetings, and will do what I need to so can get  there. At this point. I 
> have
> purchased a home in Jackson. That is just about  half way between 
> Princeton and
> Wall. Either location is equally convinent for  me. But if sombody were to 
> decide
> to hold meetings in say, West Orange, or even  Sparta, I would still find 
> my
> way there. I think Sarnoff and Info Age, are  equally historic in their 
> own
> right. Info Age, having been a Marconi Site, and  Sarnoff being the 
> birthplace
> of Color TV and NTSC and so many other important  milestones in 
> Electronics.
>
>      As for the auctions "cheapening" the image  of the club. Lets face 
> it,
> most of us are collectors. Most collectors are  thrilled by the thought of
> increasing their collection, and from time to time,  NEED to reduce its 
> size. The
> auctions fill that need nicely. I for one, CAN  speak about the Ebay 
> factor.
> I have been an Ebay seller for many years, and have  had much success with 
> it.
> For one thing. I cant think of one item I  have  purchased at a meeting
> auction for resale on Ebay. Doing so would seem  unethical, unless nobody 
> in the
> club wanted the item.  The items I sell  on Ebay, are those I find, as any
> Antique dealer would, by  hunting for them and or the ocasional dumpster 
> find.
> Frequently  they aren't even radio related. Why? For the most part, if 
> something
> has  any great value, it doesn't get sold for peanuts at a club auction, 
> sure
> it may  go for less than Ebay value, but then it goes into a club member's
> collection,  and the club doesn't have do deal with the complexities of 
> Ebay
> sales, (packing  , shipping , photographing , describing , customer 
> satisfaction
> etc etc). Ebay,  is not the "Fast Cash" deal that many picture it to be. 
> Ebay
> requires ALOT of  time, and a lot of care. And you can still get screwed. 
> To
> that end, I decided a  long time ago, that 5 and 10 dollar items are NOT 
> worth
> putting on Ebay. The  time and effort required to list, package and ship 
> the
> items , simply  doesn't warrant it. I would sooner pass something like 
> that on to
> another person  who can 1) USE it, 2) USE it for parts for something more
> worthwhile. That can  be done at a club auction or on the free table at a
> meeting. I remember a  few months back, sombody mentioned throwing away a 
> large pile
> of 6SN7s.   There was an outrcy on this reflector as to why nobody should 
> ever
> throw  such items away, and "THAT IS WHY WE HAVE CLUB AUCTIONS". There is 
> a
> lot of  truth there. Its an old cliche " one man's junk, is another man's
> treasure". In our club, we run the gamut, We have collectors of early 
> Crystal
> sets right up to almost current technology, and everything in between, 
> from TV
> sets to Hi-Fi. Military Radios to Efemera. If it has to do with radio and 
> or
> electronics, I'm guessing there is somebody in this club who collects it. 
> Lets
> not be elitists about the items we collect. I seem to  remember another 
> club
> in upstate NY who did just that. It has not served  them well. Their
> membership continues to dwindle , even though they  have a wonderful 
> museum and are the
> oldest club in the hobby.
>
>  It might also be prudent to remember, may of us got into this hobby  at a
> time, when Cathedral radios, and or Catalin sets and other desirable 
> items,
> were found on top of every trash pail. Some of us came later. For those, 
> the
> Auctions are a welcome way , to increase the quality of their collections 
> , at
> more reasonable prices than fully restored sets would cost at swap meets, 
> or
> on  Ebay.
>
>                                                      Just  my two cents,
> which are worth less today than yesterday.
>
>
>              Darren
> **************Need a job? Find an employment agency near you.
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