Brad and GTC,
Yeah I agree about gumtree and the scams .On the News they were speaking about the same problem regarding a gang of muggers that buy phones off gumtree and then Mug the owner of the phone and their cash..even throwing one victim out of a moving car in Glebe. Years ago while in Glebe on a date . I got mugged by 4 guys with a knife as the lady and I left a Restaurant
Charming world !!

I miss the old days of just getting up early on a Thusday morning and going to the paper shop and buying the Trading post .
Those days are gone now,

Pete

I miss the old days of just getting up early on a Thursday morning and going to the paper shop and buying the Trading post

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dik_wnOE4dk&list=RDdik_wnOE4dk#t=5

Oh ,The cringe !
Sydneyites were never like that.
Hahah

Crikey Brad, you could sell them here in the appropriate section as I'm sure you'd be narrowing down your prospective buyers to the "right" kind, namely members here, birds of a feather so to speak!

Or ask us to value it for you and then put it on ebay ! He he he he he

I've usually made the habit of offering radios here before putting them on Ebay but only about six of them were ever sold here, with the rest shifting to Ebay for a 100% strike rate. I'll do the same again but I am not expecting an improvement.

Oh Brad ! I was having a shot at the one time posters that use us up not you ,
Play on words,,

Yes well among the hazards of buying on Gumtree and Ebay is not knowing what your really buying or who it is from, while at least here there seems among regular posters, a guarantee of integrity, but with Ebay and gummy it's very hit and miss, I recently scored a gorgeous 1958 AWA 589p Radiola, not working for $20 and was ecstatic, only to receive it with the case smashed in transit, poorly packed and it looks by the dent in the box, roughly handled.. I managed to find most of the missing pieces and superglued them back into place and re-capped It and it's a great radio, but not perfect as it would have been.

it looks by the dent in the box, roughly handled.

That is a given.

I have mentioned on here before that I have watched Aus Post couriers (from a concealed viewing point behind a post office) literally tossing packages onto the concrete from the back of their trucks. They don't give the proverbial rat's. I wish I had a video camera with me at the time.

So, I always tell shippers (and the majority are in the USA or UK) to expect that their shipment will be tossed around by cargo handlers along the route and to double box and pack internally with peanuts, etc, and to securely tape the box around all edges. I do that via email so that I have some sort of recourse if they don't follow my instructions. So far, they have all done what I asked and I have escaped damage even though the outer cartons always show evidence of rough handling. I sent a photo of his bashed-up outer carton to one American seller to reinforce what I said to expect.

In some ways ebay has taken the fun out of collecting, because humans are actually very social creatures and we like to chat and mingle and mostly buying on the net does not involve much of this.
The other thing ebay did was it killed off the good auctions around town and also much of the gararge sales. I use to go too between 30 - 50 garage sales on each weekend buying collectables and often I would drive to Canberra to do the garage sales run there about every two weeks. Well now there is only a handful of gararge sales on and I would be lucky to go to 5.
The only place left that still has a large garage sale scene is up north from Gosford upwards everywhere else is pretty dead these days.

In some ways ebay has taken the fun out of collecting, because humans are actually very social creatures and we like to chat and mingle and mostly buying on the net does not involve much of this.

After going to the latest RadioFest I feel that this type of event should happen more often, though I can appreciate that it takes a lot of work to properly organise these things.

The other thing ebay did was it killed off the good auctions around town and also much of the garage sales.

I reckon there's a symbiotic relationship between garage sales and eBay.

I have noticed some regulars at garage sales, and by chance I ended up buying some tools from one of them when he advertised on eBay. He didn't know me from a bar of soap, but I recognised him immediately.

Brad,
I've never been to a Radio fest and in all the years that have past I've only ever met 2 people that share my interest in vintage TV's. One I met here through VR and the other I met while buying a TV off ebay and I started my TV obsession 14 years ago, Although I did buy one much earlier than that.
The funny thing is I dont even watch television ,I only watch or use my 50s TVs to watch old movies on DVDs like

The mummy 1959
The day the earth stood still
War of the war of the worlds
City in fear
The thing
It came from outer space
Them!
The creature from the black lagoon

You know ! serous meaningful reality stuff like those.

Pete

The RadioFest seems to alternate between Canberra and Melbourne these days. Melbourne is hard to get to and I don't like driving around there because of the traffic and general unfamiliarity with the place but I still do enjoy the event. Being in Sydney, I find Canberra much easier to get to, once on the Hume Motorway it is 3 hours maximum and usually a bit less.

I was impressed with the size of the hall being used to sell all the goodies this time. It was twice the size of the joint the last time I went.

If the distance isn't an issue, I do recommend attending. HRSA members can go to the sale on Saturday but it is open to all on Sunday.

Pete, could I add to your list of favourites to watch on our B&W TVs?

Dr Strangelove
To Kill a Mockingbird
Early Homicide episodes

and any of the Hancock series, especially 12 Angry Men - love those 405 line kinescopes!