New Side Gig

[dnestler]

I'm an electrical engineer with an obsession for fixing broken boomboxes. I started rescuing boomboxes last year and began modifying them by adding bluetooth and a 3.5mm audio jack also. I've decided to start selling some as a little side gig. I made a website and etsy page. I'd appreciate yall's thoughts on the website and the modifications! Take a look and let me know what you think.
I enjoy the repair work a lot more than the modifications but I think people will use these boomboxes more if they have bluetooth.

www.songbirdaudio.net

 

[Cpl-Chronic]

Nice finish to the site...Uh it took a few seconds for the opening page to load...wasn't sure if the link was broken at first. I would suggest a 'loading...' gif or flash opener to let the visitor know to wait for the page to load...

 

[Northerner]

Nice idea. I do similar work on my own boxes. I looked at your site and your prices. They’re pretty high but if you factor in the number of hours that go into them it’s not so bad. I’ve sold a few for a profit (to make cash to buy others lol) and I know if I factored an hourly labour rate I’d be on a massive loss lol. Good luck to you

 

[dnestler]

Ya it's a tough thing to price. The main factor is the absurdly high price I have to pay for boomboxes that don't even work. They aren't so easy to find for steals at yard sales anymore. So I sell a boombox for $450, etsy gets $30, shipping costs me $40, I have $30-40 in materials in it, and I paid $100 for it broken. That leaves me with a couple hundred at best and 6 hours of work. It's tough to justify selling for any less but I also haven't sold any yet so I probably need to come down some! If people would only stop selling broken boomboxes that "just need a new belt" for outrageous prices then there would be some wiggle room. I'll keep hunting for those steals though! I got the RX-5150 for $1 at a yard sale, and a got a few other great ones for a couple bucks, but that was a while ago...those deals are getting rare. Thanks for the input though...i'll probably lower my prices soon.

 

[Northerner]

Yeh I agree, tough to price. The definition of the financial value of something is what someone is willing to pay for it, regardless of what went into it. They don’t always match sadly. I think your plan to test the market is best, lower them and see what sells. It’s a good thing to breathe new life into these things

 

[goodman]

This restoration and mod is very good idea.
You give second live of these good old boomboxes.

Do you think to replace this big metal switch with another and smaller?
Something like this:

 

[JPAudio]

Good Looking boxes there!

 

[blu_fuz]

Hard market to sell for big prices on non-"grail" status boxes. Have you sold any?

 

[dnestler]

Yes goodman I am thinking about replacing the large metal toggle switch with a rocker or something smaller like you have pictured. I worry that the toggle sticks out too far and could get broken easily. However, it looks more original since it's metal and keeps with the feel of these things better so i've so far kept it as is. I'll probably change soon though. And no, blue_fuz I haven't sold any yet...i'll probably lower prices soon. I haven't gotten that many hits on my etsy page so waiting for traffic to pick up a little bit first. I've started an instagram account songbird_vintage_audio and am starting to get a little more traffic as a result. We'll see! Thanks yall.