This one has got Flower Pot guy beat.

...

It's a nice unit, has been refurbished and calibrated, but it's a tough sell at that asking price. $400 would be more reasonable, if still a bit high. Even with factory refurbishment & cal, I don't think you can pass all those costs along. As an end user you eat some of that cost. Factory service is prohibitively expensive, which drives a lot of users toward DIY anyway, but I can see user-calibration an issue as well as factory cal a selling feature & uplift cost. Not quite that high, tho.
:spank::eek:;)
 
Vintage Tascam 244 Factory Restored to Mint State
Seller information trisspeaker (372 )
100% Positive feedback
(Jun 04, 2014 16:18:20 PDT)
Starting bid: US $799.99


The 4-track has been restored to factory specs by original manufacturer TEAC/Tascam in Montebello, California. See the attached worksheet of repairs. Repairs also included replacing all the VU light bulbs and calibration, which are not on the worksheet.

Price reflects the labor and work involved to get the machine into this condition. Functionally, it is mint. Cosmetically, it is near-mint, with a few cosmetic blemishes (nick in the plastic and a few nobs as shown in the photos).

I will not consider any offers, so please do not write to ask. If I don't receive the asking price I will gladly keep the machine. Thank you.
 

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  • Tascam 244.jpg
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Do these folks ever even sell stuff? I guess occasionally you have a desperate, and/or super wealthy buyer who doesn't care about cost, but jeeze. What's the point of putting things up when you rarely ever make a sale? Would love to have a portastudio 244 at some point, but you could buy a pristine 388 for the same price.
 
Even from the pics it doesn't look "mint"...at all. And the fact that the R/P head was replaced tells me it has some miles on it.

:facepalm::drunk::rolleyes:
 
Yep, the guy spent $350.00 to fix a $150.00 item. And nothing says for me to move on when a seller is defensive right in the listing basically saying, "Poop on you, I'll keep it if I don't get my asking price!" I can only imagine the attitude would continue if any issues should arise during the transaction. These guys are deluded. But again the Flower Pot Guy has basically brought this on us single handedly. He was obviously very calculated about bringing the average prices up over time and its working. Fact is though the machines are no more rare than 10 years ago. There is psychology to it. Idiots are actually buying from Flower Pot Guy, but most items are listed over and over with no takers... same as this guy.

And good point from Cory that heads so worn they need to be replaced indicate a world of issues yet to go wrong, probably sooner than later.
 
4tracker said:
Dang.

Guys, I'm a poster here and the owner of the unit. I'm a great ebayer with perfect feedback and not trying to rip anyone off.

The unit actually sold a few days ago, but I am only selling local pickup and the guy wanted me to ship it, so I had to cancel the sale.

Vintage Tascam 244 Factory Restored to Mint State | eBay (Vintage Tascam 244 Factory Restored to Mint State | eBay)

Regarding price, I have $450 into it.

Price is a personal thing. A seller can ask whatever they want. Whatever value it has to them. And to me selling below what I asked wouldn't make sense after ebay costs since I love the machine. And I feel this is a rare piece; restored by the TEAC factory. And finally, I don't even want to sell it, and this could be part of the reason I listed it high, too. Off Ebay I'd sell it for $725 if someone in CA wants to pick it up.

Sorry if the price offends some people. But I put a lot of thought into it and a little emotion (I don't want to part with it. ;) )
Click to expand...
Friend,

I'm sorry if drawing attention to this listing embarrassed or offended you. I understand sinking a lot of dough into an older unit to restore it. Sometimes you should try to amortize or write off some of that cost, if you really want to sell the machine. Alt, there may be another user or buyer who may come out of the woodwork and pay your asking price on a moment's notice.

Part of the equation might be to weigh how much restoration costs vs. the likelihood of keeping the unit a longer time. This helps to amortize the cost of repair if you keep it, & realistically you may have trouble recoup all restoration costs in a resale.

No judgment. Just logically speaking. I understand & have seen both sides. Partly is the reason for the DIY spirit here, but there's a whole other cost on that side. I see the ultra-high prices on some listings. *Some are artificially high for no reason & not restored*. Then I see many of them relist again & again.

$450 for a fully restored unit with a new head might be reasonable, but finding someone to pay that much might be more dubious but not impossible. I never said nor implied "rip off". We may have discussed the technical details of this repair previously, so I feel for you & I see the value there.

You're the type of seller who should stand your ground, w/$450 on the high side of the market. Maybe try to determine how much of your sale listing is monetarily or emotionally motivated. Upside is the higher asking price may enable you to hang on to your restored device longer, as long as the vingage analog market stays where it is. However, you may get that money if you hold out & find the buyer who seeks the restoration value aspect of the unit. That's totally feasible.

I don't have a crystal ball, or anything. ;) I don't think that a small number higher *up to unreasonable* asking prices can artificially inflate the market. I've seen the market creep up a little, perhaps. The jury's out on that, I think, but I think there's room on the higher side for a truly restored device that seems reasonable.

$750 original listing price seemed unreasonable, $450 more value priced, but that's must MO. Not being judgmental. YMMV.

Good luck!

:spank::eek:;)
 
A Reel Person said:
Friend,

I'm sorry if drawing attention to this listing embarrassed or offended you. I understand sinking a lot of dough into an older unit to restore it. Sometimes you should try to amortize or write off some of that cost, if you really want to sell the machine. Alt, there may be another user or buyer who may come out of the woodwork and pay your asking price on a moment's notice.

Part of the equation might be to weigh how much restoration costs vs. the likelihood of keeping the unit a longer time. This helps to amortize the cost of repair if you keep it, & realistically you may have trouble recoup all restoration costs in a resale.

No judgment. Just logically speaking. I understand & have seen both sides. Partly is the reason for the DIY spirit here, but there's a whole other cost on that side. I see the ultra-high prices on some listings. *Some are artificially high for no reason & not restored*. Then I see many of them relist again & again.

$450 for a fully restored unit with a new head might be reasonable, but finding someone to pay that much might be more dubious but not impossible. I never said nor implied "rip off". We may have discussed the technical details of this repair previously, so I feel for you & I see the value there.

You're the type of seller who should stand your ground, w/$450 on the high side of the market. Maybe try to determine how much of your sale listing is monetarily or emotionally motivated. Upside is the higher asking price may enable you to hang on to your restored device longer, as long as the vingage analog market stays where it is. However, you may get that money if you hold out & find the buyer who seeks the restoration value aspect of the unit. That's totally feasible.

I don't have a crystal ball, or anything. ;) I don't think that a small number higher *up to unreasonable* asking prices can artificially inflate the market. I've seen the market creep up a little, perhaps. The jury's out on that, I think, but I think there's room on the higher side for a truly restored device that seems reasonable.

$750 original listing price seemed unreasonable, $450 more value priced, but that's must MO. Not being judgmental. YMMV.

Good luck!

:spank::eek:;)
Click to expand...

Haha. Damn, I tried to delete my response, how did you do that? As I mentioned, it did sell at $799 just a few days ago. If you look here or here (I'm not sure which link shows the sale).

But yes, this guy bought it at my asking price, but then wanted me to ship it, so I had to cancel. I wrote "local pickup only" in the auction because I don't want to ship it, and I think it's something people should see in person and test themselves. So at least one person was willing to pay what I asked. Yes, it took six months, but it happened. If someone in California does that, I might have a sale. If not, I will just keep it. I love it! Yes, some of the high price is emotional (I don't really want to sell it, and this did play a part in pricing it high). I don't think that's the case with flowerpot guy, but I don't want to speak for him more than that because we could be wrong about him (e.g. since some people spoke for me here and were wrong about me). Maybe flowerpot guy just loves his gear and doesn't want to part with it, but would for an offer he couldn't refuse. That's what it came down to for me. Maybe I will just de-list it, because even when I got the $800 bid I was pretty sad.
 
Lol. IIRC, I paid about $250 for a Fostex X-15 4-track in 1986 or so. That's about $550 in today's dollars, so $799 isn't terrible for a much better machine I suppose...:eek:
 
For you, in your case,...

Given the selling price, I probably would have shipped it!

There are ways to pack such a device to withstand the rigors of shipping. ;)

:spank::eek:;)
 
A Reel Person said:
Given the selling price, I probably would have shipped it!

There are ways to pack such a device to withstand the rigors of shipping. ;)

:spank::eek:;)
Click to expand...

Probably.
But don't you think this is something the buyer should see in-person?

I was worried it would be damaged in shipping. And Ebay doesn't protect sellers very well. Or if there was anything he didn't like about it, returning it would be such a hassle and risk damage. For those reasons I thought in-person was the only way to go. Plus I love it and felt sadness when it sold. So I probably won't relist it, or if I do maybe higher. lol
 
4tracker said:
Probably.
But don't you think this is something the buyer should see in-person?

I was worried it would be damaged in shipping. And Ebay doesn't protect sellers very well. Or if there was anything he didn't like about it, returning it would be such a hassle and risk damage. For those reasons I thought in-person was the only way to go. Plus I love it and felt sadness when it sold. So I probably won't relist it, or if I do maybe higher. lol
Click to expand...

Wow. This was an old post of mine! Sorry if I offended you in any way. And I wasn't comparing you to Flower pot in any way. That guy seems lost. You... not lost, just attached. The thing is, these 244's are all over the place and sell for low prices from what I have seen. You could sell yours for a more reasonable price, grab another, even if it needs work, and put a little elbow grease into it yourself. Get it running, and then you have one. Easy as that! They come around pretty cheap. I bought mine from HR member the Ghost of FM for $50. It had had a problem with the headphone amp. I got that fixed and then put new belts and idler tires on myself. It runs and sounds great now.
And about having someone have to come and see it before they buy it....????? I don't understand that. If someone was willing to shell out $800 for a used Tascam 244, then they must of known what they were getting. Thats the part that doesn't make sense to me. Thousands of items are sold on ebay without being seen in person. People usually know what they are getting when they bid, according to the item description.
Anyway, good luck with the sale. But if you don't sell it soon, just keep it and keep using it till it needs another servicing ;)
 
j.harv said:
Wow. This was an old post of mine! Sorry if I offended you in any way.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the apology and no worries.

I'm not offended at all. Some of the guys on the first page jumped to conclusions about character or motivation, and that was annoying, but I'm over it. Back to 4-tracking. :guitar:
 
I recently bought a Teac 144, supposedly working, for about $150. It arrived non-working ... the seller refunded my money in full and allowed me to keep the unit. I decided to send it to Tascam to bring up to spec ... they quoted about $500 to get it rolling. So, just adding this info here to this thread.

$500 seems like a lot, but I figured it's getting harder and harder to find any 4-track cassette that's working properly. I'd rather spend $500 for something refurbished than take my chances with another one at the normal $150-$250 for "working" units.

The thing is, if I were to sell the unit, I would expect maybe $250-$450 ... you don't always get what you put into it, and you're always taking a risk with old gear. I actually don't have the unit back yet ... Tascam is taking some time with it!

And to the seller of the unit in this thread ... I hear what you're saying ... sellers are free to ask what they wish, and someone just might buy it. But my opinion is that you might want to consider a "fair" market price, not one based on your own emotional attachment to the item. eBay has become something of a "gold standard" with regard to pricing esoteric audio gear, and keeping a unit up for sale for months at an inflated price is not really great for the community that is interested in these older things. $450-$500 would be a 'reasonable' inflated price. $800 is kind of nuts man! Just something to consider.
 
lonewhitefly said:
I recently bought a Teac 144, supposedly working, for about $150. It arrived non-working ... the seller refunded my money in full and allowed me to keep the unit. I decided to send it to Tascam to bring up to spec ... they quoted about $500 to get it rolling. So, just adding this info here to this thread.

$500 seems like a lot, but I figured it's getting harder and harder to find any 4-track cassette that's working properly. I'd rather spend $500 for something refurbished than take my chances with another one at the normal $150-$250 for "working" units.

The thing is, if I were to sell the unit, I would expect maybe $250-$450 ... you don't always get what you put into it, and you're always taking a risk with old gear. I actually don't have the unit back yet ... Tascam is taking some time with it!

And to the seller of the unit in this thread ... I hear what you're saying ... sellers are free to ask what they wish, and someone just might buy it. But my opinion is that you might want to consider a "fair" market price, not one based on your own emotional attachment to the item. eBay has become something of a "gold standard" with regard to pricing esoteric audio gear, and keeping a unit up for sale for months at an inflated price is not really great for the community that is interested in these older things. $450-$500 would be a 'reasonable' inflated price. $800 is kind of nuts man! Just something to consider.
Click to expand...

I agree with almost all of that, but someone did buy it from me at $800, so how was the price nuts? That's what I can't understand. You talk about the market, but in a free market someone did purchase it at my asking price. So maybe the market ranges from $100 to units not working to $800 for units restored by TEAC? I collect coins, for example, and there's a huge range based on condition. Maybe this is true of 244s and we just don't know because ones fully restored don't hit the market often. I'm just presenting a counter argument here and really don't know, but if someone bought it I don't see how the asking price was off. Unless you think the buyer wasn't legit, but he had almost 400 purchased with 100% feedback. Remember that after ebay fees and shipping costs (I listed free shipping), I would have gotten more like $650.

Let's look at it from a different perspective. Say I was a business that bought old units, had them restored, sold at a profit, rinsed and repeated. You know from personal experience the cost involved ($500 in your case, and it would have been $650 had the guy not refunded you). Now imagine for your business you wanted to turn a profit. Factor in shipping, ebay fees, your time, etc. To make all the effort worth your time you'd have to charge a lot. Now, I am not trying to run a business like that, but if I were $800 would be low for your unit. After all the fees that's a small margin. You'd be out of business shortly selling it at $250-400.

Yes, it's bad for buyers of old gear. Maybe that's why people get mad at flowerpot guy. Because they want to buy the gear cheap. I get it. Maybe he's running that type of business; I don't know. But I don't get mad when seeing what looks like a high price. Even with flowerpot guy, I just assume he either is attached to the gear, has money put into it, doesn't really want to sell/care if he sells, etc. We really don't know. He could be a great guy who is asking his price for a reason.

By the way, the fact your unit arrived "non working" is exactly why I don't want to ship to the guy who bought mine. Local pickup only makes sense for items like this. There's too much weirdness on ebay, and also a buyer should inspect the gear because buyers of vintage gear can be particular and have different opinions of "mint", "good" condition, etc. You don't want to be shipping a 100lb unit back and forth. That just adds to damage and financial loss.
 
lonewhitefly said:
I actually don't have the unit back yet ... Tascam is taking some time with it!
Click to expand...

I had the same issue, and had to wait about 5 months to get it back. This was because on the old unit the transport panel had a few loose buttons, and they didn't make that part anymore, so they had to wait for a unit to come through the door for parts and switch it out. Expect problems like that if you asked for it factory spec...some of these parts don't exist, and they might have to wait for a unit to come through the door. What you get back from them will be a fantastic machine and a rare one. I have never heard a 4-track sound as good as this one TEAC refurbished for me.

Are you within distance to go there or did you have to ship it? I'm like 2hr drive so it's not so bad for me.
 
If I look at what I've spent on gear that was supposed to be working or broke down very shortly after, spending a lot more up front on stuff you know works is often (or at least sometimes) the better route. I have one tape deck out of about 8 that works like it did when it was new. And that's a Nagra IV-S I sent in to be overhauled at a major expense. The bill sucked, but I have a machine I can trust, and you'd have to write me a big check to take it off my hands.
 
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