I had to chuckle at the bit where you were talking about Thrift Shops but showing a clip from a SkyFi Audio video! For anyone none the wiser, they'd have a bit of a shock if they went into a charity shop expecting a walk of McIntosh gear like that. Sadly, these shops are mostly full of absolute crap these days and you'd be VERY lucky to find anything even half-decent in them any more. I was surprised you've had such bad experiences when buying from Japan as the Japanese sellers are famous for packing so well. I bought a turntable from HiFiDo in Japan and it was incredibly well packaged. I suppose it depends on whether it's a commercial seller/ dealer or just an individual. In general, most people have no idea how to package HiFi components for shipping, sadly.
You're right, thrift shops are not what they used to be, mainly because of the internet. But still, if you're lucky, you may find a shop chock-full of McIntosh and Accuphase gear for couple of quid :)) That must've been some stroke of luck, because every single time I bought something from Japan, it was a disaster. Except for maybe one time when they packed it rather well. Exactly, they don't have an idea how to package HiFi components or they just can't be bothered to do it properly.
Nice starter! Looking forward to part 5. 😀
Cheers. And you know what? Me too :)
I had to chuckle at the bit where you were talking about Thrift Shops but showing a clip from a SkyFi Audio video! For anyone none the wiser, they'd have a bit of a shock if they went into a charity shop expecting a walk of McIntosh gear like that. Sadly, these shops are mostly full of absolute crap these days and you'd be VERY lucky to find anything even half-decent in them any more. I was surprised you've had such bad experiences when buying from Japan as the Japanese sellers are famous for packing so well. I bought a turntable from HiFiDo in Japan and it was incredibly well packaged. I suppose it depends on whether it's a commercial seller/ dealer or just an individual. In general, most people have no idea how to package HiFi components for shipping, sadly.
You're right, thrift shops are not what they used to be, mainly because of the internet. But still, if you're lucky, you may find a shop chock-full of McIntosh and Accuphase gear for couple of quid :))
That must've been some stroke of luck, because every single time I bought something from Japan, it was a disaster. Except for maybe one time when they packed it rather well. Exactly, they don't have an idea how to package HiFi components or they just can't be bothered to do it properly.