Thrift Store/Garage Sale Finds Part 1

I shop at thrift stores all the time. I go to my local thrift stores about once a week, and whenever I am in a new city for work or travel, I usually hit the thrift stores. I mainly look for music, books, and electronics. Yesterday, I think I found the best deal I have ever scored in a thrift store. Now as long as I can convince my wife that we indeed do need more electronic goodies in the house, all is good. If not, I will be getting rid of some, but definitely not yesterdays score.

I got to the store as it opened, and went straight to the electronics section. Then I spotted a pair of speakers I did not know existed. Braun L1030/4-TC speakers. I only knew Braun made razors and such. The first thing I did was pop the grilles off and look at the woofer. The entire speaker, including the woofer was mint. Only minor wear on one of the grilles. Most used speakers from the golden age of stereo (70’s-early 90’s) have rotted foams around the woofer, so you have to decide if you want to refoam them yourself for about $20 or pay someone else to do that(around $50). So this is a consideration. You don’t want to spend decent money on a crap pair of speakers that sound bad, and will be worth less than your investment. I then noticed unique adjustment dials on top which I presume is for treble and mid adjustment. The next is the aluminum grilles. I have only ever seen mesh grilles. Last is the heft. These things are heavy. As I brought the speakers to the front to pay for them, the employee that rebuilds the electronics told me the man that donated the speakers bought them brand new in 1970 for $2000. Wow. That equates to over $12000 today. I have a bit of a hard time believing the price, as this is what a small car would have cost then, but I am just telling you what I was told.

I used my 30% off coupon because I was buying records and books as well. So for the speakers I paid the princely sum of $7. When I got home I googled this speaker, and found they are going for between $200-500, so $7 seems worth it. I have seen many other thrift stores have a section at the front where they auction items such as these. I can bet they would have gotten $150-200 for them if they had done this, so I lucked out.

When I got home I compared these speakers to my B&W’s and they sound just as good. Also they cost way less, and they are adjustable. I made a video and was hoping to post it so you could hear the sound of them, but I was not allowed to attach my videos. I tried compressing them but could not figure it out. Oh well, I’m a nube so I should hopefully figure it out for future posts.

Take my advice. If you want stereo stuff, records, cd’s cassettes, 8 tracks and books for way cheaper than classified ads. Check out the thrift stores. Happy hunting.