Has anybody here ever bought stuff at one of these bargain stero sales that travel from town to town offering huge discounts on name brand stuff? I see them every now and then, but have never been to one.

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" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles

No, I consider those "companies" to be fly by night operations. As a matter of fact, they say that up front.
Buyer beware.

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83 SD

84 CD

I've always thought that to be the case, but I've never actually been to one. As the old saying goes, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

Has anybody here actually been to one of them?

__________________
" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles

I think you should go, and report back

Usually they feature stuff you'd normally find in the Pep Boys bargain bin, but sometimes you can luck out and get a Blaupunkt for half price. They charge you something just to get in the door, so it's not always a great deal.

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1984 300TD

Back when I was a rent a cop, I worked a show. Just like a circus, at the end of the weekend, off they went, counting their money.
I can't imagine how long a $35 cassette receiver (yes, that was a long time ago!) would last.

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83 SD

84 CD

I probably will do that. It sounds too good to be true, and so it probably is, and yet I am drawn to it like a moth to the light . . .

__________________
" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles

From what I saw (went to one a few years ago), a lot of stuff was junk not usually marketed to the US from brands you've never heard of. I once bought on eBay a very crudely made, but usable and surprisingly good-sounding MP3 player, new in the box, for $1.00 with no compact flash card installed. If you have an income of $1000 a year (and a lot of people in this world do, and many would like to have an MP3 player), this is probably a very good deal.

A dirty trick that some Chinese contract manufacturers do (and sometimes they are actually permitted to do this) is to basically build a very similar item with a different appearance, identification marks, governmental approvals, etc, and sell into markets that the "real" manufacturer is not interested in or has no presence in. These can be diverted into the US. No warranty, of course, but considering that they may be made on the same assembly line by the same people with the same parts suppliers as the "real" products, this can be a good deal if the price is very right.

The truly name-brand items I saw were "demos", last year's models, units from out-of-business dealers or open-box items, many with no warranty and not great prices considering this.

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86 560SL
With homebrew first gear start!
85 380SL
Daily Driver Project

http://juliepalooza.8m.com/sl/mercedes.htm

That's kinda what I thought. I guess it's something akin to going to a garage sale. Caveat emptor.

__________________
" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles

Been to one.....




The stuff that they were selling was off brand, or older equipment.




The prices were not too bad though.

__________________
-Justin

91 560 SEC AMG - other dogs dd
01 Honda S2000 - dogs dd
07 MB ML320 CDI - dd
16 Lexus IS250 - wifes dd

it's automatic.

Been to several over the years...

...like others' experiences, it's mostly off-brand junk, with prices too good to believe.

Flashy looking items, with names like KENMOOD, JVL, and Sansua!

There may been a diamond in the rough somewhere that could be had, but I didn't have deep enough pockets to absorb that risk.

These days, you can do just as well at Fry's, Best Buy, or whatever...actually better, since there will be someone there when you return one with a problem.

Consider that these "travelling shows" gained popularity back when the only option for decent car audio were the specialty shops...and the current monster electronic stores back then hadn't been around long enough to establish credibility in that market.

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2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

It's been several years since I went to one of these.The "brand" name stuff they had was all "refurbished" merchandise.AKA you bought it,it didn't work and was returned.Maybe there was a bad solder connection or other minor problem and they repaired it.There are laws to prevent this once sold item from being resold as new.These usually come with warranty.
The prices I saw weren't all that good though.There are companies that sell refurbished items in bulk to flea market vendors,independent shops,etc.I think you have to get a case of a specific item but the prices are cheap if you get them at "wholesale" level.
I think the person who talked about "door buster" prices at large retailers had the right idea.Many times companies such as Fry's actually sell a few items below their cost knowing they will make it up by the other things you will buy at regular price while you are there.It might be last years model...but who cares if the price is right!

So, it sounds like you're pretty much all saying, "You get what you pay for." Is that correct? . . . . That's what I figured. Thanks for saving me a trip. I don't think I'll bother, even if there MIGHT be a bargain there to be had.

__________________
" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles

Dee, if your looking for a Bargain, I strong suggest e-Bay. There are many deals to be had, and usually the sellers are pretty honest about what they have listed.


Or look at your local Best Buy for deals on open box items. I picked up a really nice Pioneer Unit with Bluetooth for my little sisters car for $150, marked down from 300ish. Or, if you know someone that works there, the Employee Discount is fairly substantial.

__________________
-Justin

91 560 SEC AMG - other dogs dd
01 Honda S2000 - dogs dd
07 MB ML320 CDI - dd
16 Lexus IS250 - wifes dd

it's automatic.