I'm bad but...

Wow...he wants an awful lot for that machine considering its full of red oxide dust from that Ampex 456 tape. Id hate to have to clean that machine. And the heads are most likely wore down from that sandpaper/tape...ANd he says sold as is but he hasnt even tested it with tape???
huh...
 
Yeah it's not too clean, I'm not even thinking about it, honestly. This was a relatively cheap one, there's a guy on e-bay asking $1275 for a 38, buy-it-now. THAT seems high to me...
 
...the genius selling the 38 can put a tape on it, but doesn't want to test play/rec mode...

Serious seller, he is...god, I am sick of such BS. I sent a question to that effect.

C.
 
Yeah, he clearly doesn't seem to "know" much about them, other than the round things on the top spin when you press some buttons...I really dislike seeing what were once FINE machines such seemingly poor shape.
 
mamm7215 said:
In case anyone hasn't spent enough on machines in the past, here's a carrot...
http://cgi.ebay.com/TASCAM-38-Reel-...ryZ67814QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Click to expand...

I wonder how many times that machine's been around the country, shipped from coast to coast, bumped from side to side (as is the case with many others), not to mention it being taken on the road or left in a damp basement / garage, not to mention the bad Ampex tape. Scratches, dents, signs of rust / water damage, maybe kept in a smoking environment and other unexplained filth on that machine. Excuse my take on it but it looks filthy and a risky buy. I maybe would pay $100, local pickup, but only if at least some parts were good.

-----
 
Looks kinda bad… like it fell over on its face. Besides the left clamper being broken, both reel tables are pushed too far in for the reels to spin without rubbing.

He says he can’t test it for play because the reels wont stay on. All he has to do is put the machine on its back.

The guy has a tape and an extra reel. If he can’t find a way to test it… :rolleyes::p

I wonder with Daniel if maybe this thing was shipped poorly and didn’t make it back alive.

:)
 
Beck said:
I wonder with Daniel if maybe this thing was shipped poorly and didn’t make it back alive.

:)
Click to expand...

...only to be passed on to another, umptieth, unsuspecting buyer.... and on and on it goes ..... :(

Rhetorical question: WILL PEOPLE EVER LEARN TO GO AFTER LOCAL DEALS AND STOP THIS SHIPPING INSANITY? AAAAGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!:eek::eek::mad::mad::mad::mad:

------
 
cjacek said:
...only to be passed on to another, umptieth, unsuspecting buyer.... and on and on it goes ..... :(

Rhetorical question: WILL PEOPLE EVER LEARN TO GO AFTER LOCAL DEALS AND STOP THIS SHIPPING INSANITY? AAAAGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!:eek::eek::mad::mad::mad::mad:

------
Click to expand...

The short answer is probably; no.

Too many people live in under-populated, under served communities where all they have around them is a Walmart, a McDonald's and gas station.

If everyone lived in a major urban city, this whole shipping issue would probably disappear but that's not reality and most folks aren't willing to get in their car and drive 10 hours each way to inspect the item first and ensure getting the goods home in one piece.

Perhaps the majority of the folks who visit forums like this will look a bit harder for local deals first? But keep in mind our membership numbers here represent a tiny fraction of the buying public.

Cheers! :)
 
Certainly all good points, Jeff but at very least the 'unfortunate' few, who do indeed live in a less than ideal place, should look into palletizing or crating. While not a 100% (and also a bit more expensive and inconvenient), these methods substantially minimize damage.

Shipping the 'typical' way, should really be banned for vintage electronics. Sure, this doesn't solve the problem of actually checking the machine out in person but at least it takes care (to a large degree) of the current epidemic - smashed machines by poor packing and the use of improper shipping methods.

I blame the sellers and the gullibility of the buyers. Everyone wants it quick and easy I guess.

------
 
cjacek said:
Certainly all good points, Jeff but at very least the 'unfortunate' few, who do indeed live in a less than ideal place, should look into palletizing or crating. While not a 100% (and also a bit more expensive and inconvenient), these methods substantially minimize damage.

Shipping the 'typical' way, should really be banned for vintage electronics. Sure, this doesn't solve the problem of actually checking the machine out in person but at least it takes care (to a large degree) of the current epidemic - smashed machines by poor packing and the use of improper shipping methods.

I blame the sellers and the gullibility of the buyers. Everyone wants it quick and easy I guess.

------
Click to expand...

I think your valiant efforts to educate the unwashed about shipping pitfalls is admirable but in reality, getting ebay to publish your tutorials and give a link to them in every auction page would probably go a lot further to truly fixing this problem. Perhaps you might consider coming up with a concise document and forwarding it to them for their consideration? They do have sections already in place for buying and selling tips so perhaps they might be open to adding something about safe shipping practices?

Ebay, themselves, say essentially nothing about it on their help pages at this point in time. Check it out!

http://pages.ebay.com/help/buy/buyer-shipping-about.html

Here, you're mostly preaching to the choir, I fear.

Cheers! :)
 
You're right Jeff. I guess I write with the hope that someone, who finds this forum via a 'search', for example, comes upon this info but, yeah, unless eBay changes the rules or somethin', it ain't gonna change much. As per your suggestion, I'll try brainstorming something. :)

-----
 
Beck said:
Besides the left clamper being broken, both reel tables are pushed too far in for the reels to spin without rubbing.
Click to expand...

Yup, good call on the clamper and reel tables being pushed in. Yup, this thing was def mishandled in a significant way. I wouldn't even touch it for parts.

-----
 
Last edited:
The simple fact that it was photographed on a cheap barstool would have me looking elsewhere!:eek:
 
I like to think perhaps my "play/record" testing question along with the other individual asking about the definition of 'not DOA' may have made the seller feel like someone was actually paying attention to what he was trying to sell.

I wish more folks would send pointed questions when we see auctions like these since they do get shown on the item's page for all bidders to see. Every little bit helps us all.....

C.
 
I actually emailed the seller, about a day prior to him closing the auction, pointing out the various issues, as touched upon above. Perhaps this was the last nail in the coffin?:confused::eek::D;)

----
 
Well if your queries caused him to end the auction on a piece of questionable equipment, kudos to you all. I posted the above semi-seriously, but I've learned so much here from all of you I actually have learned to care about seeing these machines presented and cared for well! Thanks so much for rubbing some inspiration on to me! BTW, my demagger got here and I demagged my TSR-8. I'm sure it hadn't been done in a while because there was a NOTICABLE difference in high freq. detail from when I got it. My cal tape should be here early next week and I can't wait to get at it...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top