Those Old Electronics – Not As Valuable as You Think

There is a wonderful rule that you can follow if you are trying to maintain some semblance of organization in your life.  It’s called the “one in one out” rule.  It works like this:  every time you buy something new you let go of something old.  The same is true for electronics as with any other purchase.

We do seem to love to buy the latest gizmo, gadget, television, cell phone, laptop, and so on.  After all, the latest must be more efficient, more fun, more powerful than the old one. Some electronics have changed a lot over the last few years.  Unlike televisions, which seem to be getting larger and larger, sound systems have gone from that massive stereo system you had back in the day (and maybe still have) with amplifier, cassette desk, CD player, turntable and huge speakers, to today’s tiny Bose speaker that you use with your phone to listen to music.

I learned of another example recently.  Remember back in the 1980s when drum machines were introduced? There was so much excitement in the musical community and many musicians set out to learn how to program these amazing new machines to play drums. I don’t suppose many drummers were super excited about the new invention. Anyway, I digress as usual.  Fast forward to 2021.  If you want to be able to practice or write music and don’t have a friend who’s a drummer, you might go out and buy a drum machine.  Well, I have to tell you, they are now the size of a guitar peddle.

Where am I going with all of this?  Well … when one (he who shall remain anonymous) buys a new drum machine, one must let go of the old one. That’s just the way it works. Apparently one may think that the 1980s piece of equipment is a valuable vintage item that someone will pay money for. Huh?  It looks to me as though it belongs at the recycling depot.

Apparently, deciding the value of such vintage items requires one to reach out to fellow musicians to see what they think.  The response from one such friend might go something like this, “That thing, there’s just no way it’s worth anything. Just go and Google it. It’s worth less than what it weighs…”  Sadly another friend might encourage you to post it for sale because surely someone will realize it’s “collectible” and give you what you think it’s worth.

The lesson here, I believe, is that your old electronics are likely worth very little.  Giving them away, instead of sending them to be recycled or trying to sell them unsuccessfully, would certainly be a much better idea, so please do consider that if it is at all possible.  However, don’t use that as an excuse to hold onto them “just in case” someone comes along one day and realizes your “vintage” electronics are worth something to them.

The good news in the example above is that one can give away two pieces of equipment in exchange for that one new Beat Buddy Mine 2 drum peddle.  Music to my ears.