Empty Reels, Metal and Plastic, 10½" and 7": Do They Have Any Market Value?

beau

New member
I have piles of empty tape reels lying around, metal and plastic, 10½" and 7", and I'm assuming that everyone else with an analog tape studio also has dozens of them and that therefore they have no market value. Am I right?

But before I throw them out I thought I'd ask you guys. I'll put them up for (cheap) sale on homerecording.com's classifieds if they have any value.

Thanks!

~ beau
 
Depending on tape width and condition...yeah...you can get a few bucks each for them.
I like to buy tape pancakes and then transfer to empty used reels, it's cheaper than buying new tape w/metal reel.

The plastic stuff is not as interesting to most tape users...but some home/consumer decks and some smaller pro-sumer decks only use 7"...so you could maybe find some interest for them.

Check eBay for pricing...and don't be swayed by the idiots who mark up empty reels at $30-$40+ prices!!! :D
I would say for 1/4" metal reels, fair prices are $6 - $10 each, depending on age/brand. I bought a pile of them (with tape, that I didn't want...it was all crap anyway) as a bulk purchase, and paid around $6-$7 each. They needed a little cleaning, since they were older Scotch reels...but, they worked out fine. I threw some new RMGI pancakes in them.
 
Yes, I might be interested in buying a few depending on the size of the reels. A lot of times Junkbay overprices analog equipment and accessories so price things accordingly. Please post amount and sizes.
 
check this link: Audio Tape Take Up Reels, Flanges, and Hardware
that's what prices are for blank reels, metal flanges and parts.
In general it's pretty much like 10 bucks per single metal flange.

There are some "special" brands of reels (to match your recorder :) ) that are very desirable (for what ever reasons, collectible, simply cool, or simply because they are no longer being produced and you gotta have one ) , such as Revox, Otari, Fostex, Akai, TEAC, Technics even Tascam. Depending on condition those may go pretty hi :) Some in excellent condition or nos may go into area beyond 50-70 bucks.

10 bucks for a popular empty 10" metal reel (like Ampex or Scotch or Maxell / TDK / (others)) in unspecified used condition is pretty common.


7 inch metal reels like popular Maxell MR-7 and pretty much any brand (which are all pretty rare) also may make you few good bucks.

Plastic reels do have value but it's simply harder to sell. So you simply never know. Again, see the link above for reference to get an idea about current prices for new reels.

If you sell your metal reels for cheap, chances are that they will end up on eBay later , for profit, of course ... heh heh

Good luck selling.
business is good :p :drunk: :p
 
Hey miroslav, dodgeaspen and Dr Zee, thanks so much for your replies, I had no idea these reels were worth anything!:D

It's great to know I can get a few bucks for them, I'll do a thorough web search before deciding on pricing, then I'll put them up for sale in the classifieds forum here at prices that
are somewhat less than what's online.

I'll also notify each of you individually before I put them up publicly, in case you want some at lower prices.

As a result of you guys' comments I've just done some research on prices, yikes!:laughings: $11.50 for a used 7" plastic reel - if that were for real I'd be sitting on a gold mine! :o) Thanks also Dr Zee for the observation "if you sell your metal reels for cheap, chances are that they will end up on eBay later" ~ ooof! that'd frost me off no end!:mad: Plus thanks for the link to usrecordingmedia.com, very helpful.

I'll also be selling my Revox A700, which I bought new in 1977, and I'll post that in classifieds, too. Alas, it is not in perfect working order, several small probs but mainly a serious recording problem. I found one that was put up first at $900, then at $500, then at $400, but it's condition was described as excellent, so I'm guessing I'll
be lucky even to get $200 for mine, and possibly nothing, since it requires real work.

~ beau
Sorry to be so long in getting back to you, I've only just now checked the email notification box so I'll be more current in the future.
 
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