But I have done very well even in my small West Texas town at finding used gear, vintage and modern, at good prices and in situations where you can "check it out personally" before any money (and no shipping) changes hands.

You guys need to get some fresh air away from the keyboards, and hit a few thrift stores and estate sales. In the NICE parts of town.

Another great tactic, pester friends and family members (the older ones) about old stuff they might have "laying around". Most are happy to donate gear to budding audio fans. Even if it's broke, the repair might be simple. My brother-in-law supposedly has a garage full of "broken" stereo speakers, sometimes it could be just a bad connection, but there they will sit, he "is not into fixing stuff", he just gets new ones. And not at best buy.

Military base nearby? Keep an eye out, ours has a big "garage sale" out at their rec camp several times a year, where the public is welcome. $80 brought a pair of Klipsch KG-2's, Kenwood receiver, cassete recorder, and cd player used, but all in factory cartons with all remotes and manuals. The cd player needed a "rubber band" for the tray mechanism, and I literally ran it for months with one till I bought a rubber belt locally. Everything else worked great, the KG's are my computer "monitor" speakers now.

You have better odds getting out and beating the bushes locally for old gear. Ebay, although I use it too, SHOULD NEVER BE YOUR PRIMARY SOURCE of old hifi. Oh yeah, and pawn shops have the cheapest used cd's, but the most expensive, beat to shit band gear I've ever seen. The ones in SC near Charleston's bases are full of great hifi gear though.

Hit the streets guys, and save some money for building speakers, cause most of the old classic drivers never match worth a darn, and your imaging with them will suck. Those great speakers "that just need refoamed", pass them on by, you will be better off in the long run. Sam

oh yeah, and there was the time I choked at an auction locally for about $25K worth of late model Macintosh HT gear. wife said I could spend $5K. musta been 110 that afternoon in there, my heart was pounding, and I was sweating like I would die. you see, I had witnessed this lady bidder make mince meat of a bunch of other bidders, and she was winning every damn auction. so after the bids went over $300, it was down to me and the lady bidder from hell. back and forth, in 100 increments. then I raised her to like $2500, a big jump. back and forth some more, and I caved in at $3K and let her win. never did figure out what I would have done with it anyway, and the repairs if needed could have been pretty costly. BUT IF I HAD STAYED HOME, that lady would have "won" for under $300...