View Full Version : BBC Equipment Sell Off
Techno Commander
12-07-2012, 08:04
Just a "heads up" that PP Auctions (http://www.ppauctions.com/sales.php)are selling off a lot of ex BBC equipment prior to their moove "up north". Anyway, loads of speakers (hi fi & monitor), amps, mini hi fi systems, digital & analogue recorders, studio equipment & furniture.
Spotted lots of 1210s, Sp10s and an EMT.:eyebrows:
Please don't bid against me :)
Val333
Val
Please don't bid against me :)
You buying the whole lot then? :lol:
Quite a few of the items are quoted as being new and unused, still in original boxes.
Paying far too much for the licence methinks :steam:
sq225917
12-07-2012, 12:06
Quite a few of the items are quoted as being new and unused, still in original boxes.
Paying far too much for the licence methinks :steam:
Absolutely right...
Times like this I hope that would live in UK.. :)
phoenixpete
14-07-2012, 21:55
Loads of lovely stuff there :stalks:
I don't suppose they would post your winnings?
Shame it is in the centre of London with no parking nearby.
How would you get stuff home?
Fatsiuyau
17-07-2012, 21:09
No description of condition of the items being sold? Got my eyes on those lovely LS3/5a:D
Daniel Quinn
18-07-2012, 13:22
Whilst there does appear to be an awful lot of equipment, to be fair to the BBC i would point out that the world service and Bush House have historically been funded by the foreign office budget, and will be until next year. The change in funding is one reason for the move from Bush House, which being on the strand and adjacent to the royal courts of justice is prime real estate.
no licence fee money paid for this equipment and the bbc costs 50p per day per person , a bloody bargain compared to sky. I just wish they did'nt pay clarkson or shearer, but you cant have everything .
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so were does the foreign office budget come from ermmmm let me think taxes so its still our money that has paid for this "overstock" :steam:
no licence fee money paid for this equipment and the bbc costs 50p per day per person , a bloody bargain compared to sky. I just wish they did'nt pay clarkson or shearer, but you cant have everything .
Defending the indefensible...but then you are a lawyer ;)
Daniel Quinn
20-07-2012, 12:49
so were does the foreign office budget come from ermmmm let me think taxes so its still our money that has paid for this "overstock" :steam:
you can bash the pilarks in power in perpetuity , I was merely defending the BBC which after the NHS is the finest public institution in the world .
sq225917
20-07-2012, 19:16
Agreed there.
tannoy man
20-07-2012, 19:42
THE ISSUE BBC bosses accused of fat cat pay rises
Whether the public likes it or not, the BBC takes ?139.50 from all households who watch television. From its ?3.4 billion annual licence fee income, the broadcaster gave its 10 most senior executives pay increases averaging 16% last year ? more than five times the rate of inflation. Jana Bennett, left, its ?director of vision? (that?s TV to you and me), saw her pay packet soar by ?103,000 to ?536,000, including a ?23,000 bonus. Jenny Abramsky, the outgoing head of audio and music (aka radio), took home an extra ?90,000, including a ?19,000 bonus. BBC bosses also get gold-plated pensions: Abramsky will leave the BBC, after almost 40 years, with a pension pot of ?4m ? believed to be the biggest in the public sector.
I Found this on't Web, it's a bit Old but I'm Sure It's Much Worse Now;)
I don't even watch the BBC... or terrestrial TV at all. Bastards! :(
Quite a few of the items are quoted as being new and unused, still in original boxes.
Paying far too much for the licence methinks :steam:
So do you also get angry for every missile or post-it note that isn't used by the MOD?
A daft outlook IMO.
If there weren't cuts to be made, I'm sure they wouldn't necessarily be wanting to move everything and sell everything. Their hand has been forced as far as I'm aware.
It would be false economy to not buy in bulk too. Probably cost the same to have too many as it would to buy fewer.
Life is not as simple and black and white as people think.
so were does the foreign office budget come from ermmmm let me think taxes so its still our money that has paid for this "overstock" :steam:
Maybe you think everything should be by an on-demand supply structure? where everything the government uses is actually stored and controlled in another country like china?
Buying in bulk will also mean better prices so say 40 left over as spares when you've bought a few thousand will save you lots and lots of money!
What do you do when one brakes? Pay full price for a single unit?
Such short sighted and simplistic thinking...
Pete The Cat
20-07-2012, 20:26
While I'm sure that it has imperfections as all institutions and companies do, and it should be subject to challenge and justification, I think the BBC is quite special and we would all be poorer without it.
Pete
The BBC are worth every penny in my book.
Paying far too much for the licence methinks :steam:
Oh yes. Just like the government being somewhat profligate with our money, that's how it work(ed) in the world of broadcasting.
The waste is (was) shocking.
back to the auction - 4 days to go on many things and prices are already looking like you can find better bargains on eBay..
I've seen very nice LS5/9s on eBay sell for £750 and those in the auction are at £650 already which is £897 with 15% fee and then 20% VAT on top. £900 is a regular price on eBay for LS 5/9s and top dollar £1500 eBay price for them will be reached when bidding gets to £1100 which it might in 4 days time..
Not sure there will be any bargains any more than buying from eBay.
I don't think they will be any bargains of the better quality stuff.
Expect to see most of the good stuff drip fed onto ebay over coming months/years.
Far east love a bit of BBC history.
Seems to you have to give a deposit before you can bid over £200 too.
I don't think they will be any bargains of the better quality stuff.
Expect to see most of the good stuff drip fed onto ebay over coming months/years.
Far east love a bit of BBC history.
Not too sure there will be much profit to be had.
Remember watching an auction for liquidated Meridian gear from a bust dealer on a similar auction. Was straight on to eBay but knowing what they'd won it for I could see that profit was marginal and it didn't sell for over 6 months! Just tied up their cash in the end..
See how much those old powered Keith Monks speakers go for... Unkown to the great unwashed including me as I don't remember coming across the domestic passive "Elf" model, but apparently a cheap-n-cheerful sound which may mean rather good if set up in a domestic system on decent 20 - 24" stands and with a proper preamp able to drive remote amps.. loads of them so shouldn't fetch much???????
Lodgesound
22-07-2012, 03:47
Looking through some of these lots you can see that the bidders are mostly greedy folk who think that they will make a massive profit buying this equipment and then as has already been said simply shoving it on ebay.
The bidding is sky high on most of the lots with still 4 days to go. The reality is that most of this machinery will sell at this auction for what the current second hand market will stand and that's BEFORE you add the commision and VAT to the final bid price resulting in a 35% overpay-factor if you are not VAT registered.
As has already been said an example is the Rogers LS 5/9's..............an excellent pair can be had for around £700 and that's often with amplification (the BBC used them with Quad 520 f's). The only exception perhaps are LS 5/8's which in good condition with amplifiers now sell for at least £3000 a pair and more often than not nearer £4000.
The market is so super-saturated with poor quality domestic open reel tape machines now that even at around £1000 the Studer A 810's and A 807's will ironically be a bargain as they simply wipe the floor with domestic machines being offered at the same price. Again no profit to be had though once you factor in commission.
sq225917
22-07-2012, 07:46
Yeh those EMT's will be available on ebay for more than 5k in a weeks time, just watch. The thing is, if no one buys them from the dealers who buy them to sell on then they'll stop trying to turn a profit on stuff like this and leave them alone.
The UK is cash poor right now, so I reckon much of this will go abroad.
Looking through some of these lots you can see that the bidders are mostly greedy folk who think that they will make a massive profit buying this equipment and then as has already been said simply shoving it on ebay.
The bidding is sky high on most of the lots with still 4 days to go. The reality is that most of this machinery will sell at this auction for what the current second hand market will stand and that's BEFORE you add the commision and VAT to the final bid price resulting in a 35% overpay-factor if you are not VAT registered.
As has already been said an example is the Rogers LS 5/9's..............an excellent pair can be had for around £700 and that's often with amplification (the BBC used them with Quad 520 f's). The only exception perhaps are LS 5/8's which in good condition with amplifiers now sell for at least £3000 a pair and more often than not nearer £4000.
The market is so super-saturated with poor quality domestic open reel tape machines now that even at around £1000 the Studer A 810's and A 807's will ironically be a bargain as they simply wipe the floor with domestic machines being offered at the same price. Again no profit to be had though once you factor in commission.
Don't see how you can say that bidders, with 4 days to go are greedy folk? How can you judge their personalities by the bids? Is it in their user names?
High bids would tend to mean surely that they are NOT buying for profit and buying at the full price for their own personal use.. Low prices would indicate room for profit.
? 3K for ls5/8s? I've seen them sell on ebay with their Quad amps for around 1500 on eBay. (sorry, no pound sign for this post! Seem to be with a US keyboard layout for now..)
Just watching some things and Emporiumhifi won this (which actually kind of ruins my above post assertion!) :
http://www.ppauctions.com/lot_closed.php?l_id=15575&id=67&search=&cat=all&perPage=20&sort=2&thisPage=1&account=no
I don't understand that...
Some Harbeth LS3/5as (can pick them up for £700 on eBay) a Techy 1210 (£150-200 on eBay) and other sundries that don't add up to much.
Yet they pay £1076 after fees and tax! I don't see where the profit is (and I doubt they checked it all over in person, the Harbeths could be bashed to buggery).
Am I crazy or are some hifi business just not actually that business savy or do I not understand perhaps an overseas market that they tap in to directly by exporting?
P.S. For future reference of past prices on this sale, click on the link above but change the "15575" part in the url. The '75' part is lot 76 (starts from 00) so you can work through by adding a new number in its place..
Preco F500 for £330 after fees etc! I've seen the higher model F1000 sell for £100 on eBay from a dealer.... daft.
I'll stop posting now.
Lodgesound
25-07-2012, 15:13
I rest my case - your points are entirely fair Nat but seeing these silly prices people are just going daft - honestly the bulk of this stuff has absolutely negligable commercial value now especially the editing systems and hardware players - we have these things called computers now which is why the majority of this equipment has absolutely no use in production chains anymore.
I rest my case - your points are entirely fair Nat but seeing these silly prices people are just going daft - honestly the bulk of this stuff has absolutely negligable commercial value now especially the editing systems and hardware players - we have these things called computers now which is why the majority of this equipment has absolutely no use in production chains anymore.
I thought your case was that it was lots of greedy people buying to sell for profit?
EMT 950 just sold for £4950 x 1.386 = £6860! Hahaha untested, abused BBC machine for £6860.. some stupid or naive people out there that's all.
I don't see that they are greedy though in any way. Look at the winners and they rarely are the same people winning. Lots of individuals buying single lots on the whole.
There is possiblilty of profit in the Studer D730s as they CAN sell for close to £2k if you wait long enough for a buyer. They've been going for about £1100 total but it's a long winded way of making that £8-900 profit that does tie up your funds (unless you have a lot of funds free and it doesn't worry you). Also with the RL906 actives - hard to sell but can sell for £1200 or so, at least on ebay.de.
Just more long winded that simply finding everyday bargains on ebay in the first place.
As regards to stuff being obsolete - in technology terms that's true regarding computers etc. but in terms of running a studio but you don't want everything relying on that PC, a single point of failure for the whole thing! That's why CD players and hardware players are still a good idea IMHO.
The desks are still all good and will provide many 10s of years of good service yet in either home studios or whatever. Small commuity radio stations will want such things too. In fact, the desks with in built consols look to be some of the best buys in the auction, probably because of the space needed to take them away..
I have it on very good authority that some small studios using computers only may be having a tough time of it. One such, who got rid of all their analogue stuff, have branched back into preparing analogue masters from digital originals for vinyl cutting. Theyre up to the necks in work I'm told and yet a couple of years ago, they were on the verge of closing... maybe a lot of this analogue stuff may have a fresh and genuine use again...
Lodgesound
26-07-2012, 20:49
I agree about the desks etc. entirely. As regards running a studio unless you are backed with corporate money or are a "named" studio there is almost no money in it now - you can only offer services for free realistically as no client will spend money on anything now in a small operation.
I stand by what I originally said - these prices were being artificially inflated as they are uniformly (and suspiciously) much too high on the technical equipment.
I used to be involved in redundant equipment disposal years ago when prices were a little more realistic.
Lodgesound
26-07-2012, 20:57
Regarding analogue mastering you are completely right but you need very high end machines now that are well maintained to do that kind of work - it's also a way over-saturated market now with artists only willing to pay around 150-200 pounds for a master tape.
Ok. I agree about the prices. ten years ago the stuff worshipped on here was being chucked into landfill when it went wrong and our fantastic engineer who loved working on and building valve gear left the industry and is now probably retired and glad to be out of it I suspect.
And Stewart, I take it all back and eat my hat!
Look what I've found on eBay now:
Ex BBC July 2012 " EMT 948 Turntable with 949 Arm, BBC Serviced & Maintained (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ex-BBC-July-2012-EMT-948-Turntable-with-949-Arm-BBC-Serviced-Maintained-/280930271063)
Yes, our friend from Hart Audio trying to get people to buy a lesser EMT 948 for £6,000, a high EMT 950 price ! A-hahaha. Probably not even picked it up yet and using the BBC auction photos..
He bought this: http://www.ppauctions.com/lot_closed.php?l_id=16647&id=67&search=&cat=all&perPage=20&sort=2&thisPage=1&account=no. At £4200 after fees etc no wonder he's trying to get his money back AND make profit on the much too high price he paid..
Same guy who picked up some bronze speaker cabinets for £500, bunged some drivers in and asked £10,000 for them within several weeks. (See the Thread: http://theartofsound.net/forum/showpost.php?p=304695&postcount=1)
So yes, some greedy (part crazy, surely?) people did buy afterall..
For any wanting to look at the results of the SECOND auction during the week, here's another link you can use:
http://www.ppauctions.com/lot_closed.php?l_id=21661&id=71&search=&cat=all&perPage=20&sort=2&thisPage=1&account=no
Change the number 21661 in the url to go through the lots (there is some anomaly in that 21660 gives lot 3892 and 21661 is lot 2001 (where it starts)).
I missed an Apogee AD1000 for £80 after fees which is a shame, though it was missing the power supply. Would have been fun to modify etc..
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