Vintage Polk Speakers on E-bay

wrich22

I have been watching e-bay for several weeks lately trying to buy an additional center channel speaker to go with my SDA-SRS's, I have been watching for CS350LS and CS400i's it appears that the people selling these have hundreds or thousands of references and the people buying them have the same, What is going on? in the market place. I did manage to buy a set of SDA-SRS's and Set of SDA-1'c. ITs seem that every seller is a power seller and every buyer is a power buyer???? are they buying and reselling or is there a scam out there to drive up prices, is this a full time job for these people. I have had the same problem buying old amplifiers and turntables

Bill

danger boy

some times scammers show up on Ebay selling SDA's.. communicate with any potential seller out there if you are wanting to purchase some SDA's from them.. ask all the questions you need in order to satisfy yourself that they are legit and upfront with you.

wrich22

Let me rephrase what I am saying, I am looking to buy some CS350ls' or Cs400i's. But have been kind if dismayed by the bidding process. Why are the Polk Speakers being sold by power seller's that sell jackets, posters,and other junk. And then the people that bid on them seem to be power buyers that have bought 100's or 1000's of things on e-bay, that don't even relate to Audio Items. I have been doing extensive buying of certain things for my own personal use. But keep getting beat out by power buyers that bid the price up. These guys have bought 100's of things on e-bay. and most don't relate to audio. I have only bought 12 things for my personal use. But did manage to get a good deal on some SDA-SRS's that I picked up from a power
seller. I tried 15 times to buy a Thorens TD-125 turntable and almost evertime someone who has bought 100's of items comes out of no where and wins the item and I check thier record and they buy all kinds of junk, I do not think they are audiophiles buying for there own use. I finally lucked out and bought one a reasonable price. Is E-bay just being used for buyers and sellers to drive up prices. All I want is buy buy some center channel speakers. I have had probelms buying Amplifiers and tone arms also. Does any one have some insight on this.

Bill

Dennis Gardner

Very few "great deals" on desireable gear are to found on eBay these days since everyone and there dog now think they are eBay savvy. My best finds are on gear with low or undervalued BIN pricing, from sellers unfamiliar with the gear early in the auction. There are simply too many people in the know watching the site eager to tell sellers what they have and how much they should be asking. Don't even get me started on the auctions that are ended early for off line sales......................

Even the "mispelled/mislisted" items are easier for all to find with eBay's smarter software. Audiogon classifieds are looking better all the time.

hearingimpared

Check this out!

Hope it helps.

danger boy

wrich22 wrote:

Let me rephrase what I am saying, I am looking to buy some CS350ls' or Cs400i's. But have been kind if dismayed by the bidding process. Why are the Polk Speakers being sold by power seller's that sell jackets, posters,and other junk. And then the people that bid on them seem to be power buyers that have bought 100's or 1000's of things on e-bay, that don't even relate to Audio Items. I have been doing extensive buying of certain things for my own personal use. But keep getting beat out by power buyers that bid the price up. These guys have bought 100's of things on e-bay. and most don't relate to audio. I have only bought 12 things for my personal use. But did manage to get a good deal on some SDA-SRS's that I picked up from a power
seller. I tried 15 times to buy a Thorens TD-125 turntable and almost evertime someone who has bought 100's of items comes out of no where and wins the item and I check thier record and they buy all kinds of junk, I do not think they are audiophiles buying for there own use. I finally lucked out and bought one a reasonable price. Is E-bay just being used for buyers and sellers to drive up prices. All I want is buy buy some center channel speakers. I have had probelms buying Amplifiers and tone arms also. Does any one have some insight on this.

Bill

Who cares what power sellers or power buyers buy or sell? I don't. I find some good deals on Ebay.. like alot of other people. I think you're barking up the wrong tree by being upset at power sellers and buyers.

The key to ebay is patience.. you may not win the first time a CS400i comes up for sale.. you may not win the second one either. but at some point your time will come. patience in the key.

TroyD

Capitalism, dude.

Supply/demand. That whole thing.

BDT

strider

You must have missed the Monitor 5's on there last night with a BIN of $95. They're sold this morning, but as was posted above, you gotta keep an eye out. There's a couple of pairs of (what I think are) Monitor 7's with BIN between $150 and $200. Not great prices, but not that bad, either.

I do hear your frustration with the prices on Ebay, though. Seems like there's always somebody with more dollars then sense that's willing to pay more then things are worth. Try keeping an eye on Carver amps. I bought an M-500 years ago for about $200. I've seen 'em go for almost $500 now. Like TroyD said, capitalism; it's what the market will bear.

Try what I've been doing- check out your local Craigslist. Hidden gems there every once in awhile.

strider

http://cgi.ebay.com/Polk-Audio-CS400-CS-400-Center-Channel-Speaker-black_W0QQitemZ330093473813QQihZ014QQcategoryZ14992QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

BIN of $170 on a CS400.

jakelm

I found my 7b's with peerless for $70 + $40 to ship and they are pretty mint. I love Ebay..lol

Harvey/ Ga

wrich22 wrote:

I have been watching e-bay for several weeks lately trying to buy an additional center channel speaker to go with my SDA-SRS's, I have been watching for CS350LS and CS400i's it appears that the people selling these have hundreds or thousands of references and the people buying them have the same, What is going on? in the market place. I did manage to buy a set of SDA-SRS's and Set of SDA-1'c. ITs seem that every seller is a power seller and every buyer is a power buyer???? are they buying and reselling or is there a scam out there to drive up prices, is this a full time job for these people. I have had the same problem buying old amplifiers and turntables

Bill

Hi Bill..

Who cares what power sellers are buying?? They have to bid just like you do. If they're buying to resell later on, as some do, they bid like you or me..no favorites (most of the time) 'Course, some reserve the right to end the auction early because they have the item for sale in a store/pawn shop.

In the past year, I've bought enough vintage stuff from E-bay for a complete system. I don't have bottomless pockets, being retired, but I've managed to find some nice gear, albeit at more then the $10-$30 that some claim to find in Good Will, etc. Many times, the bidding went over my budget..$100-$150 depending on the item. I may have to revise that a bit on a good TT,as some go for twice what I can pay. Why cry?? It's part of the bidding game. Be patient and wait it out. :cool:

Regards,
Harvey/ Ga

wrich22

I am just an Audiophile looking to buy some good gear. I just don't understand why these people are buying old David Halfer equipment or Polk Speakers. What are these people doing with all this equipment. It doesn't make sense to me. Are the power sellers selling to other power buyers, so the power buyer can try to sell it at a higher price to some one else. In other words creating an artifical market. After looking at what the typical seller sells and what the winning buyers buy, they are not audiophiles buying equipment for themselves, I have concluded. Some one who has a record of
buying several hundred items ranging from Model Cars, to Jackets and posters. Why would he be bidding on Polk Center Channel Speakers. I have been following this for over a month and see it time and time again. A good example is the link posted today by strider. Take a look at the high bidder and the seller. They probably do not have a clue in what they buying and selling. Are these CS400i speakers that hot....Still confused and frustrated

Bill

engtaz

If anybody is looking for some SDA SRS's

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=007&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=170085400725&rd=1&rd=1

Just for info
engtaz

Rivrrat

What danger boy said. I was looking for surrounds, either Rt/fx's or Ls/fx's. I probably bid on at least 10 pr's before I got my Rt/fx's for 82 bucks. Wait long enough, and you'll get your deal.

A lot of those people are willing to bid stupid amounts of money for the stuff there. I'm still watching people bid more for a used Csi 3 center, than you can get one new on e-bay. Go figure.

wrich22

engtaz wrote:

If anybody is looking for some SDS SRS's

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=007&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=170085400725&rd=1&rd=1

Just for info
engtaz

This is the first time I have seen any set of Polks being sold by someone, that has a zero selling record. They must belong to him and he really wants to sell. It will be interesting to see who buys them. I bought my SDA-SRS's from some power seller guy in Tenn, that must have picked them up at an estate sale. Met him halfway to pick up from Louisville.

Bill

engtaz

anybody in Texas is lucky

POLK AUDIO SDA SRS 2.3 STERIO FLOOR SPEAKERS LOUD
Item number: 300087871952

engtaz

zombie boy 2000

Nothing really to add except...
welcome to the Forum wrich22.

-- a fellow polkie from the 'ville:)

davidk0512

wrich22 wrote:

Let me rephrase what I am saying, I am looking to buy some CS350ls' or Cs400i's. But have been kind if dismayed by the bidding process. Why are the Polk Speakers being sold by power seller's that sell jackets, posters,and other junk. And then the people that bid on them seem to be power buyers that have bought 100's or 1000's of things on e-bay, that don't even relate to Audio Items. I have been doing extensive buying of certain things for my own personal use. But keep getting beat out by power buyers that bid the price up. These guys have bought 100's of things on e-bay. and most don't relate to audio. I have only bought 12 things for my personal use. But did manage to get a good deal on some SDA-SRS's that I picked up from a power
seller. I tried 15 times to buy a Thorens TD-125 turntable and almost evertime someone who has bought 100's of items comes out of no where and wins the item and I check thier record and they buy all kinds of junk, I do not think they are audiophiles buying for there own use. I finally lucked out and bought one a reasonable price. Is E-bay just being used for buyers and sellers to drive up prices. All I want is buy buy some center channel speakers. I have had probelms buying Amplifiers and tone arms also. Does any one have some insight on this.

Bill

Bill, I have made approximately 50 purchases on ebay for a variety of items including scuba gear, chain saws, audio gear, kitchen sinks and a number of others. I have been outbid a number of times as well. I generally watch an item for a few days, research it, and I never bid on an item until the last minute and a half of the auction. I only bid my maximum offer, no bidding wars, ebay will increment up to that amount. Many times I win, sometimes I lose. This process has worked for me and I haven't won any items that caused me to kick myself for paying too much. On the other hand, I have lost some deals by a dollar when low balling the bid.

Mix-no-mo

I have a CS400 that I am interested in selling. My GF has an eBay store, and she's sold a bunch of stuff in it over the years, but I would rather see it go to someone who knows what they are looking at.

Truth be told, I registered here to find out what it's worth. I have Tannoy speakers now, but I had a set of old school 7's, and my 911 still has Polk speakers in it.

Ebay is a funny world, and I think you will do fine if you just use your head. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Don

engtaz

In NY area:
Polk SDA-1A Speakers No Reserve Pickup Only Brooklyn NY
http://cgi.ebay.com/Polk-SDA-1A-Speakers-No-Reserve-Pickup-Only-Brooklyn-NY_W0QQitemZ200086301296QQcategoryZ71571QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item200086301296

Good luck,
engtaz

engtaz

In San Diego,
PAIR POLK AUDIO SDA II 2 SPEAKERS
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=002&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=120095193332&rd=1&rd=1

Nisqually Dave

It was just posted for 200, If you want it you better hurry.
160094259305


Dave