I'm a casual observer of valves on eBay, just noticed this £1500 (2000 USD) auction. Maybe I don't have the nose for a bargain but just seems like a load of TV/radio valves. Could not see any of the crazy price audio things. Well I suppose it's £1 per valve. So not bad value. I just surprised someone would pay so much and need so many!
Very Large Collection of Old Radio Valves | eBay
Very Large Collection of Old Radio Valves | eBay
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Because some of those old Mullard types etc can fetch big money, it's worth the gamble to some people just in case there are those rare tubes...
Well, it was collection in person.
The buyer may have viewed before bidding and liked what he saw, not such a gamble then.
The buyer may have viewed before bidding and liked what he saw, not such a gamble then.
Strange place ebay, either you get peanuts for something or the price goes through the roof.
I tried to sell a loudspeaker for £150.
Didn't sell so dropped it £10 each week until it reached £50.
Then decided to maybe keep it so bumped price up to £150 to stop it selling.
Sold next day !
Maybe I am simply not asking enough ?
I tried to sell a loudspeaker for £150.
Didn't sell so dropped it £10 each week until it reached £50.
Then decided to maybe keep it so bumped price up to £150 to stop it selling.
Sold next day !
Maybe I am simply not asking enough ?
If there was one tiny VF14 in there the buyer already more than doubled his money.
On the market £3000 for one would be considered a bargain.
If you want the U47 microphone which it was used for as well you're looking at £20k+.
The FET versions are available for a quarter of that.
On the market £3000 for one would be considered a bargain.
If you want the U47 microphone which it was used for as well you're looking at £20k+.
The FET versions are available for a quarter of that.
Even 807's get $20.00 these days. I used to shoot them with my slug gun for practice.
I threw out a pair of NOS 211's because I could see myself ever using them.
I threw out a pair of NOS 211's because I could see myself ever using them.
Looking at a bunch like this you will never find anything precious.
It has been removed before. Re one tiny VF14 - did you ever see
ONE in your life ? Certainly not in a "collection" like this.
It has been removed before. Re one tiny VF14 - did you ever see
ONE in your life ? Certainly not in a "collection" like this.
You have to be careful with Ebay as some people just use it to offload junk.
Its risky buying a lot like that.
Its risky buying a lot like that.
Don't feel bad. A friend and first electronics coach quietly told me how, back when he and his buddy figured it really was the end of the tube era, they went out to the local sand pit and practiced on a box of WE 300b's. He had a certain look on his face as he said it.
Large lots of random vacuum tubes sometimes go for stupid money, but often go for little or nothing. I prefer nothing.
About 25 years ago I get a call from a friend who is a surplus / scrap dealer. He had bought an abandoned warehouse full of WWII vintage "stuff" for $5K. I can have all the vacuum tubes for free if I come help him move it all. The warehouse is about 200 miles from me, so I drove there every weekend for a month to help him move it all. On each trip I brought a large trailer, or truck full of vacuum tubes back with me. Estimating by weight and volume, there were over 100,000 tubes, all for 8 days of work.
There were no 300B's or 45's but there were about a dozen good 211's or 845's, and many WE 417A's. For target practice there were several thousand 6AL5's.
I have picked up several box lots of tubes for free in the closing hours of hamfests. Some had some useful tubes, and some junk.
I can remember grabbing a big box of tubes for free at a hamfest, then sorting them all, and then trading all the tubes that fit old radios for a Fender Squier Stratocaster at the same hamfest. I kept and played the Strat for a few years, then sold it for enough $$$ to buy 2 Chinese guitars and a bass on Ebay, the worst of which plays better than the Strat ever did.
Tubes are a consumable item, only people with entirely too much money will spend thousands on 50+ year old tubes.
About 25 years ago I get a call from a friend who is a surplus / scrap dealer. He had bought an abandoned warehouse full of WWII vintage "stuff" for $5K. I can have all the vacuum tubes for free if I come help him move it all. The warehouse is about 200 miles from me, so I drove there every weekend for a month to help him move it all. On each trip I brought a large trailer, or truck full of vacuum tubes back with me. Estimating by weight and volume, there were over 100,000 tubes, all for 8 days of work.
There were no 300B's or 45's but there were about a dozen good 211's or 845's, and many WE 417A's. For target practice there were several thousand 6AL5's.
I have picked up several box lots of tubes for free in the closing hours of hamfests. Some had some useful tubes, and some junk.
I can remember grabbing a big box of tubes for free at a hamfest, then sorting them all, and then trading all the tubes that fit old radios for a Fender Squier Stratocaster at the same hamfest. I kept and played the Strat for a few years, then sold it for enough $$$ to buy 2 Chinese guitars and a bass on Ebay, the worst of which plays better than the Strat ever did.
Tubes are a consumable item, only people with entirely too much money will spend thousands on 50+ year old tubes.
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A smirk? - Nothing a good kicking wouldn’t fix!
Or he looked sick to the pit of his stomach when he realized what he did!?
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