Went bargain shopping!

[Lexman]

Saturday, I went to get my hair cut, and when coming back, saw a 32" TV for sale at a pawn shop. They had a tent setup outside, so it jumped out at me. I went in to check on the TV, and it was 400 bucks. Well, that was a bit more than I wanted to pay for a gaming television. so, after I tried to get him to come down on the price, I left. But I went across the intersection to pawn shop number 2, just fo grins to see what they had. Note, my daughter hasn't been able to play her video games since I moved the 35" Mitsu to my bedroom. I don't allow it on the RPTV. So, feeling bad about her gameless state, I felt it the right thing to do to address the situation.

So, I looked at a JVC 27" , good price, no S-video. Then, on top of a console TV, I saw a 27" Toshiba TV. Looked good. Tag said it had remote. So, I looked at the back panel. Had at least 3 A/V inputs and S-video in. We have a winner! They wanted 199. But I was able to get them to 185. So, for just over 200 bucks tax and all, I got the perfect TV for my cabinet in the great room, so gaming stays in the great room. Set was manufactured in 98, and probably would cost 400 bucks new I guess. Heck, I even got simulated Dolby surround.

Set is nice, and has an excellent picture with good color saturation before even calibrating. I guess I have at least a temporary home now for my spare Panasonic A110 DVD player. I can connect it on the shelf above the TV for use in callibrating at least. It would also serve as a backup system then though I won't be connecting it into the main theater just yet.

Lex





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[MRWILLL]

After reading about your prior rumps through the local pawn shops, I have found myself doing the same thing. You&#39;d be surprised at some of the great equitment they have. I have even given them my number looking for them to call me for a specific component. I found both of my Marantz M-500 mono blocks (mint) for $300 at my local pawn shop.




STOP!!...LOOK!!...LISTEN!!
DVD...Hear it from the people who
mixed and mastered it "LEXICON".

[Lexman]

Yeah, you have to be careful, and thoroughly test things out, but there are a few bargains to be had. A month or so ago, coincidentally, also after getting a hair cut, I found a Cannondale mountain bike for 100 bucks at still yet a different shop! I have got to stop getting my hair cut, cause it costs me 100-200 bucks every time, lol.

Good deal on the Marantz mono&#39;s! I haven&#39;t seen any of those. You must have higher grade shops than me.

Incidentally, the TV was an instant hit. Daughter played P2 and N64 3-4 times from Sat to Sun. Made me feel pretty good about my purchase decision!

Lex





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[Andrew Pratt]

Hey Lex we have another thing in common I love to wander through those types of shops, you knew know what you&#39;re going to find. I got my Hafler power amp at one for cheap and its a great stereo amp.

[Lexman]

Yup, sure do buddy, good find too on that Hafler!

Post # 300 for A/V chalet!

Lex





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[John Holmes]

I too do the pawn shop sweep. If there isn&#39;t a great deal on a piece of equipment, there is usually a dvd or laserdisc for a awesome price($10 & under)!

Lex congrats on your find.

Andrew great deal also.




"I came here, to chew bubble gum and kickass. And I'm all out of bubble gum!!!" My DVD's

[Ken McDaniel]

The best stereo bargain I&#39;ve found was a pair of Klipsch KG 5.2&#39;s for $200. I still have them. Don&#39;t quite know what to do with them, but I have them nonetheless.




Ken

[Andrew Pratt]

Okay so lets make this interesting...whats the best HT related bargin you&#39;re gotten? (not online)

I got my Energy RVS centre for something like 60 percent off retail when a local store stopped carrying the higher end Energy lines. My RVSS rears were something like 1/2 off from the same &#34; sale&#34; .

[Ken McDaniel]

Lex, Andrew, if were going to do the greatest-bargain-ever topic, can we create a seperate thread? This has to potential to be good.

My greatest bargain: I was parusing my local hi-fi store&#39;s dent-and-chipped trade in pile and saw what appeared to be a THX Denon receiver. I asked the sales manager, &#34; How much for the Denon?&#34; He replied, &#34; 900 hundred bucks.&#34; Having my eye on a B&K and a Parasound pre-amp I declined and went home.

Later that evening, my wife approached me and asked, &#34; Honey, did you see the Denon pre-amp?&#34;

&#34; Pre-amp?, I saw a receiver,&#34; I replied.

&#34; Well, I&#39;m talking about the Denon AVP-8000 pre-amp they had in the used section.&#34;

ZOIKS! 2 years ago you couldn't find those bad boys at all much less for 900 bucks, they still listed for $3750. &#34; We must go back now!&#34;

&#34; Calm down,&#34; the wife replied, &#34; I have his number.&#34;

It&#39;s in the cabinet, my wife rules!




Ken

[Lexman]

Absolutely Ken, and I think Will already started it. Way to go Will!

John, your right. I just wish I had more time to browse them. It's very interesting what you can find! The stores here are big business. We have a ton of them too! I can go to 6 different stores very easily. But as it turns out, probably 3 of them are the best I have found for variety of merchandise. A friend of mine does quite well on DVDs at a few shops, and a used bookstore.

I will save my best buys for the other thread

Lex





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[Robbie]

Hey...How come I only find junk at pawn shops. I always hear of folks getting good stuff so occasionally stop by but all I see is JUNK and overpriced at that.

Ya&#39;ll are the guys!!!

Robbie

[Lexman]

Hmmm Robbie. Let&#39;s analyze this. Either:

1. People in your area are so affluent, they never get in a bind for cash, so they throw out better stuff than most people hock.

2. Sting operations put a hiatis on &#34; fence&#34; operations. Let&#39;s face it guys, some of this stuff could be hot! So, keep your receipts!

3. Select clients get phone calls from store operators on the good stuff, so it&#39;s gone before it hits the shelves.

4. The owners just really don&#39;t like you, so they hide all the good stuff when they see you coming, lol.

Well, that&#39;s about all the reasons I can thing of. Really, there is a lot of junk here too. You just have to look for that &#34; jewel in the rough&#34; .

Lex





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[John Holmes]

I think Lex hit 1-4 dead on the money (esp #4). I am sure like anything else, who you know helps to get first shot. Of course the owner may have a interest but, he&#39;d have to be like us, an addict in that hobby (He is trying to make money you know). Then there are the employees. And last but not least, BOTTOM FEEDERS like myself that make the time for the pawn shop circuit.

What burns my butt is when I see something I may want and it has a layaway ticket on it. I don&#39;t want to see that!...Get it outta here....Move to the back....I don&#39;t wanna see dat:O

Sorry, had a flash back....sorry.lol




"I came here, to chew bubble gum and kickass. And I'm all out of bubble gum!!!" My DVD's

[Lexman]

That item was mine John. I was short on cash that day, so I just popped it in layaway. I tell ya, had years of good service from that original Marantz tube amp I got for 50 bucks, rofl.

Lex





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[Robbie]

Yea Lex,

I think #4 hit it on the head. I get that kind of respect everywhere I go.

Robbie

[Lexman]

Robbie, you poor guy! We will try to see to it that you get the respect you deserve around here. So sit down, shut up, and get to listening. Oh wait, you deserve a bit more respect than that!

Goodluck on finding that "jewel in the rough".

Lex





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[John Holmes]

Hang him, Hang Him!!! or let'em in. He seems okay.lol

Don't worry Robbie, it's hip to be square, you'll fit in just fine. Nothing but squares here.




"I came here, to chew bubble gum and kickass. And I'm all out of bubble gum!!!" My DVD's