is it common to "strip" components, repair and resell ?

[weps]

i've been looking over some of the older gear on ebay lately. some of the stuff goes for cheap enough that i wonder how there could be a profit. i also noticed a lot of buy it nows on carver, nad, and others in that category. it started my thinking that if i bought something, i'd probably have no idea what was supposed to be inside. as long as it looked to be working and didn't sound like ass, i'd probably be happy.

any chance some of this stuff is being fixed up with ultra cheap parts just to work and then sold "as-is"? or is this one of those things where no one is going to bother because there is so little potential for profit.

what do you think?

[billbillw]

I don't know about stripping components or anything, but it is common to pick up non working items, fix and resell. I've done this quite a few times. You gotta really know what your doing though. There are very few pieces that are actually worth the effort to fix up. You have to have a good idea of what is wrong, and how expensive the parts are to fix them. Some older components just can't be replaced, so you have to re-engineer things for newer parts.
In general, Audiokarma.org is the place you want to go if you are interested in that type of thing. They live for that **** over there.

[danger boy]

unless the outside condition of the vintage unit is really bad.. it's not profitable to strip it and sell the parts separately.. unless of course it's rare.

there is profits to be made on vintage gear in good working and looking condition. I know a couple guys that do it on the side.. and do ok.