Since we have all seen the listings where an item is being sold, with a box, and perhaps a suggestion that the item is New-in-box, New-Old-Stock.
Question for you guys that actually have a NIB type item: Does it perform like you would expect from a brand new in box item, even though it is 30 years old? Ok, I should probably qualify the question with the following; I am presuming that mechanical wear items that are prone to age deterioration such as belts and foam surrounds and battery foam might be fubar. What I'm interested to know is if the item still has that brand new smell, that unblemished look, that smooth silky feel to the controls, the positve snapping action of the switches, and does it operate electrically 100% WITHOUT oxidized controls?
Starting first, let me say that I do have a handful of BNIB or at least I believe they are since I didn't purchase them 30 years ago therefore can't claim witness and knowledge of this fact. However, I believe they are because the sellers that I obtained these items from were selling off multiple supposed NIB items and not a single item seller who claims it was found in a basement unused someplace.
I also have a bunch of boomboxes that are very very mint looking, and appear to have minimal wear/tear if any. I could see someone trying to pass these off as minty or even BNIB if they could somehow find a trashy carton someplace to accessorize it.
What I have discovered: To me, the BNIB items all performed flawlessly, I noticed no staticy controls like you would on a used 30+ year old boombox. (The same was observed in high quality home stereo systems too). The controls were all silky smooth, no grabby, chattery, and sloppy feeling knobs or sliders. If you couldn't see the difference, you could definitely hear and feel the difference. That suggests a couple things to me. #1, when stored in the original carton, with plastic bag and dessicant, the controls do not oxidize like one stored in the environment, #2, the "feel" of the controls is directly related to the amount of wear the machine has under it's belt and #3, even though the electronics are all solid state, electrical "wear/tear" does occur with use since the ones I took out of the box all did seem to perform better than their used counterparts. That means that the electronics that were subjected to frequent thermal cycles and dynamic electrical signals did take a toll.
Question for you guys that actually have a NIB type item: Does it perform like you would expect from a brand new in box item, even though it is 30 years old? Ok, I should probably qualify the question with the following; I am presuming that mechanical wear items that are prone to age deterioration such as belts and foam surrounds and battery foam might be fubar. What I'm interested to know is if the item still has that brand new smell, that unblemished look, that smooth silky feel to the controls, the positve snapping action of the switches, and does it operate electrically 100% WITHOUT oxidized controls?
Starting first, let me say that I do have a handful of BNIB or at least I believe they are since I didn't purchase them 30 years ago therefore can't claim witness and knowledge of this fact. However, I believe they are because the sellers that I obtained these items from were selling off multiple supposed NIB items and not a single item seller who claims it was found in a basement unused someplace.
I also have a bunch of boomboxes that are very very mint looking, and appear to have minimal wear/tear if any. I could see someone trying to pass these off as minty or even BNIB if they could somehow find a trashy carton someplace to accessorize it.
What I have discovered: To me, the BNIB items all performed flawlessly, I noticed no staticy controls like you would on a used 30+ year old boombox. (The same was observed in high quality home stereo systems too). The controls were all silky smooth, no grabby, chattery, and sloppy feeling knobs or sliders. If you couldn't see the difference, you could definitely hear and feel the difference. That suggests a couple things to me. #1, when stored in the original carton, with plastic bag and dessicant, the controls do not oxidize like one stored in the environment, #2, the "feel" of the controls is directly related to the amount of wear the machine has under it's belt and #3, even though the electronics are all solid state, electrical "wear/tear" does occur with use since the ones I took out of the box all did seem to perform better than their used counterparts. That means that the electronics that were subjected to frequent thermal cycles and dynamic electrical signals did take a toll.
It was complete with OG plastic around the radio, foam ends from packaging, and power cord. This radio is fully functional on both cassette decks and everything works like a new radio should. A true time warp 
Even the radio didnt sound all that great. Now this one showed absolutely no signs of previous use at all, but Im sure some parts just deteriorated from time. I displayed it for a while, but it now sits in the box because I never played it after it betrayed my trust 
