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Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Over-sized Olympic ( #AtoZChallenge )


        Someday I might have a two car garage big enough for me to actually park my cars in--oh, wait!  I have that now except it's filled with stuff...








         There's a monster in my garage.  This behemoth has been there for the past twenty years.  My Tennessee friend Marvin gave this to me in 1989.  I brought it with me to Los Angeles where for many years it served as a place to put my television and stereo and have storage space underneath for record albums.  When my wife and I moved into our present home I brought this thing with me for lack of knowing anything else to do with it.

         Back in the early seventies when Marvin bought this it was quite the display piece to have in ones living room.  Marvin said he remembers it having a great sound and he used it for nearly twenty years.   I never used this stereo for its intended function, but it still works.  I tried it out back in December and the turntable sounded fine.  Since I still had a number of 8-track cartridges I tested the player and it also works though the tapes themselves haven't fared well being about thirty years old.

        This thing is not just huge, but it's heavy as one might expect.  I can slide it across the floor with some effort, but I don't know that I'd want to try to pick up even one end.  If someone wants this thing they will have to come and move it themselves.

          Perhaps I'll put it on Craigslist to see if anyone is interested.  I'll start with a price at first to see what the market might be like.  I've sold some rather odd things for pretty decent prices on Craigslist.  Once I advertised an outdated, but well kept set of Spanish language young peoples' encyclopedias asking $100.  It didn't take long to get a response.  A young man and woman in their twenties came by to pick them up.  Since they didn't appear to speak Spanish after my initial encounter with them I asked why they wanted the books.   They said they were making a movie and needed some books in volumes to create a library that looked like it might be in a lawyer's office.  They handed over my $100 without even trying to dicker the price down. 

          Maybe someone will be needing some retro-look props for some upcoming film.   Or maybe I'll have to call the city to have it picked up.  This old Olympic Home Entertainment system has seen its last days with me.  Now I need someone to take it off my hands.

           Did you or your family ever own a giant home entertainment console?    How much do you think I should ask as a starting price for this Olympic stereo system?     Any good ideas about how to get rid of this antique?   








29 comments:

  1. If and when you do sell it Lee I hope you get a good price. Great to read.

    Yvonne.

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    1. Yvonne, I'd even be happy if someone just carted the thing off, but to get a bit of money from it would be nice.

      Lee

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  2. Lee,

    I haven't a clue what you should ask for the Olympic stereo system but I think I'd start for no less than $300. I did a quick check on Google and this price came up. Whether or not it was for an Olympic brand or not I can't say for certain but if it's working and looks good then you'll probably find some collectors of vintage items willing to pay that amount. DH's parents has either a Magnavox or RCA stereo system similar to this and I always thought it was super neat. It can't recall my parents having one but they probably didn't considering they didn't have a lot of extra money when I was little. If you can't see the stereo you may wish to offer it for free to the first person who comes by to pick it up. Whatever you do with it, I hope you'll be happy in the end that you did it.

    Curious as a Cathy
    A2Z iPad Art Sketch of a big-eyed owl.

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    1. Cathy, maybe I need to research it a bit more. $300 would be really good. I'd be happy with $100 or $50.

      Just seeing this thing leave the garage will be kind of liberating.

      Lee

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  3. Wow, that's quite a beast! There might well be a buyer for it out there, either for a retro movie, or someone tired of small digital devices. ☺

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    1. Colin, if I had the space for it and the know-how, I'd retrofit this thing into something else maybe or upgrade the sound components and speakers. But I wouldn't know what to do.

      Lee

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  4. My family had a stereo system that went to me eventually. I don't remember if the cabinet is still with us, but I think the radio and tape player that attached to the record player I later added is somewhere in storage.

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    1. Carrie-Anne, I've got stereo units stored all around my house. Most are in almost new condition.

      Lee

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  5. My parents' early 60s era HiFi (what we called it) is still in their livingroom. I thought it had great sound too but I also haven't listened to any records on it since about 1980.

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    1. JoJo, yes, my parents had a HiFi that my mother would have playing almost all the time if she wasn't watching her stories on TV.

      Lee

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  6. My in-laws still have theirs in the living room. It's more for decoration but I believe it still works.

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    1. L.Diane, if one has the room these big units can make for a pretty cool look. It's fun.

      Lee

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  7. God, I'd build my decor around that thing...

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    1. CW, I could too, but my wife would have none of that I can assure you.

      Lee

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  8. I'm grinning because we have one almost just like it sitting in a storage unit we rent for $70 a month! It still works, too. Except to play the 8 tracks you have to wedge a pencil in it to keep the bloomin' things straight. First piece of furniture we bought when we got married 46 years ago! Can't bring myself to get rid of it. Thought of taking the insides out and making a blanket chest out of it.

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    1. Calensariel, how cool! It would do pretty well as some kind of chest or cabinet.

      Lee

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  9. We had one like that in our living room for years too. I think ours opened in the middle for the turntable. I almost thought the one in your picture was it! I'd ask at least $400 I think. The wood still looks good.

    Janet’s Smiles

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    1. Janet, the insides need a lot of cleaning from what I can see. I haven't totally removed the back to check. It would be so great to get $400, but I'm not going to count on it. But I can hope.

      Lee

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  10. You know, I've been reading your posts, Lee, but when I'm on my tablet, I can't seem to post. Anyway, here I am working on my big old desktop computer, trying to comment. I've been enjoying these posts! Since last July, I've been posting a once-weekly article for "The Year of Living Minimally," as I, too, try to sort out the clutter and recycle, repurpose, or toss out the stuff I no longer want or need. It's a process, and one that will continue for me even after I reach week fifty-two. Thanks for the posts!

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    1. Martha, not sure what the techie thing is, but glad you figured a way to get here. Cleaning the clutter never ends as long as we live.

      Lee

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  11. I've gotten rid of two of these systems in my lifetime, both times when clearing out my house for a big move. Everything always sells at your price if you're willing to wait...but if you're in a hurry, just put it out for a "base price or best offer" (obo) and see what happens.

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    1. Patricia, I'll probably be willing to wait in order to experiment some. I've had it this long so I guess a few more months won't matter that much.

      Lee

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  12. Wow! Nice console. We had one, but not near as elegant. I would call an antique store to see what they would offer, then add 30-50% for your selling price. You could even search antiques online. Or, I would start at at least $500.
    My Mister once traveled 50 miles for an overhead camper offered for $600. He and the owner met at a Tavern to transact the deal. An hour later, the owner said "Oh, just take the dang thing" and everyone was happy ;-)

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    1. Diedre, now you're making me fell optimistic. I do like that old style of furniture. Would it be Spanish or something? It does look kind of elegant.

      Lee

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  13. Looking at this took me back to my childhood and times spent at my nan's house she had a unit that looked very much like that.

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    1. Jo-Anne, Those big units used to be fairly popular. Now they make them so much smaller.

      Lee

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  14. Oh wow, I haven't seen one of those in years! Made me think of how our television sets used to look more like furniture too. Is there a theatre group in your area? Sometimes they take retro items to use as props.

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    1. Trudy, there are probably a lot of theater groups but the question is how much storage do they have. This thing is big--and heavy.

      Lee

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  15. Yes! My parents got one of these consoles back in 73 I believe and it sat in our one living room for years. The sound was excellent and held the records with a great turntable but no 8 track. For a long time it was just something that was moved from one home to another after my mom had to leave her home in 1991. To say it was heavy was an understatement. I always though I would convert it into a bar by placing the liquor bottles where the records would go and take out the turntable and place in it glasses and other things for a bar. In the end, this didn’t happen and I sold it for $50 in a garage sale which really saddened me.

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