De-hoarding (getting rid of gear, components, etc.)

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Purge Time -

I've been into electronics since I was a kid, at least 35 years now. I still work in the field as a technician. Over the years, my main areas of interest have been audio/sound (music synthesis, music instrument amplification/effects) and RF (mostly shortwave/ham radio) using technologies ranging from the earliest days of vacuum tubes to modern surface mount.

In the last third of a century, I've accumulated (hoarded) a lot of really cool things. Unfortunately, I now know I have amassed way more 'stuff' than I will probably live to be able to do anything worthy with. Also, I'm looking at relocating in the near future, and I simply have to pare down in order to make that possible.

I've talked to people about ways to part with things, with ideas ranging from eBay to Craigslist to yard sales, etc. The problem is that I have little time to sort through or organize at this point as my entire house is overrun with electronic components and related ephemera (books, hardware, storage systems, test equipment, etc).

I don't mind bringing someone here to go through stuff with me but I'm not keen on 'pickers'. I feel that ideally it should not be a 'flipper' but rather an end-user, if that makes sense, and the stuff has to go in bulk, not one or two things at a time.

For me, the issue is not so much about money transacted, as it is about wanting to see things go where they will be used and appreciated instead of just trashed or recycled.

If anyone has been through this type of situation and has some helpful suggestions on how to best deal with it, I would really like to hear from you.

By the way I am located in the Eastern U.S. if that helps.

Regards,
Dave
 
I got my amateur license a while back, mostly from the nostalgic publications I had been reading, only to find that today's ham is not the tinkerer of yesteryear... it's become a much more consumer/plug-n-play hobby.

I think the main problem is that the old timers are the ones who know what this stuff is for, but they're the same ones who already have substantial hoards of their own, and usually in the same boat, trying to get rid of stuff.

I'd love to see more young people getting into the hobby, but the ones who are don't seem to dive in as deep as we used to.

I may just have to go the eBay route after all, even if I have to do bulk lots or something like that.

People in countries outside the US seem to still have the bug for hardcore improvised tinkering, at least seemingly more so than inside the US; we have too many things readily available here, and necessity is still the mother of invention.

Regards,
Dave
 
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