Re: 20 ways to loose money on your house...

In message , G&M writes

Or had ever been further east than Southend

In article , Simon writes

When I was out testing council flats and houses other bad taste items were:

Brass Georgian dimmer switches Brass Georgian sockets Ceiling fans the above not too bad in large properties but overstated in a small place.

The other put-offs in the council estates were Syringes. isopropyl swabs, burnt teaspoons and drugs paraphernalia Blood and other body fluids splatted around the place Human faeces in the stairwells

If you're put off a property by the 'wrong' type of socket, you must have a very large choice in a buyer's market. To change the whole lot for standard plastic ones costs relative pennies, and maybe even 'free' by selling the old ones on Ebay etc.

"Z" wrote | When I was out testing council flats and houses other bad taste | items were: | Brass Georgian dimmer switches | Brass Georgian sockets | Ceiling fans | the above not too bad in large properties but overstated in a | small place.

I installed a brass light switch ('victorian' and dolly, not dimmer) yesterday. It does look a little 'expensive' for the flat because if it was originally wired (even in victorian times, ha ha) it would have been black bakelite on a wood pateras, but my excuse is it matches the brass and 'opal' glass wall light I did at the start of the year, I'm not trying for authenticity, and as the place was first built in about 1890 it's not like putting period feechers into Nelson Mandela House Peckham.

Owain

Does anybody buy this sort of crap on eBay. I've removed a housefull of these from the place we're renovating - large but they still look silly - and assumed they would end up in the skip.

I've seen secondhand backing boxes on Ebay. ;-) Didn't see if they sold, though.

I'd have thought brass sockets in good condition would find a sale - most things do.

The only 'brass' and satin chrome sockets I really liked were the original Crabtree 'Classic' range. I don't like the shiny sort with fancy borders - but some must otherwise they wouldn't be made.

I'm amazed at what sells on Ebay. A faulty Tivo just made over £100!

On Tue, 17 Aug 2004 09:29:01 +0100, "Andy Luckman (AJL Electronics)" strung together this:

But when I try to sell working equipment on eBay no-one wants it, go figure.

Do you set a reserve? This seems to put people off bidding - even although it is a realistic one. They prefer to hope for a bargain, but will usually bid up to that same realistic price. Strange, but true. Once someone actually bids, another will too, and then they compete.

In message , "Andy Luckman (AJL Electronics)" writes

So you missed the one where someone sold an X-box box for ~£100

and no, I didn't mistype that

On Tue, 17 Aug 2004 13:35:14 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)" strung together this:

Not usually, unless it's something expensive. I just put £2100 worth of Panasonic PC telephone equipment on with a £20 reserve and got absolutely nothing. It'll probably go in the bin now.

What was the carriage costs? This often put people off.

Also, 2100 quids worth (presumably new cost) sounds a large amount. Would have been better splitting this into smaller units (if possible). Many don't want large amounts of gear, especially if it's all the same. With electronic components, most who have bulk supplies split them up. A manageable amount of one type of transistor (say) of perhaps 50 will make the same price as a thousand.

On Wed, 18 Aug 2004 10:24:57 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)" strung together this:

Erm, £8 IIRC.

It was a small unit, all packed up it came to

I think you were unlucky. Unless it really was something of limited appeal.

You only have to spend a while looking to see the sort of junk some will buy. I have found it useful to pass on my valued items of test equipment and camera accessories that don't get used anymore. Quality items don't seem to achieve their worth, but a least thay will be used and appreciated, instead of gathering dust!

Yes. Of course, some have unreasonable expectations. They replace a bit of test gear that cost the earth many years ago with the modern small battery operated and much cheaper version, but think that original price still has some relevance.

I just happen to collect good looking old test gear. ;-)

Haven't got a spectrum analyser that will do up to a couple of hundred meg spare for extended borrowing have you?.

Unfortunately no. As you've probably found any half decent one makes a fortune on Ebay.

In message , IMM writes

Amazing what you can get as a prize nowadays. Was it at the Colchester WI annual fete?