17 Feb
2010
17 Feb
'10
4:13 a.m.
Tim Shoppa wrote:
The business sense in dealing with something that
hasn't been made
in decades (or indeed more than half a century) is contrary to most
business rules of thunb. To have a profitable resale business as a rule
of thumb you have to be able to turn your inventory over several times
a year. Anything not sold after a few months has to be slashed in price
or simply thrown out to make room for the new stuff. The tube resellers
have to work differently - their stock is already decades old. It's not
a business I'm in but I can appreciate some of the challenges. I think
the business world of tubes has seen some tumultousness recently, what
with the US Govt unloading huge stockpiles of many tubes and the de-
nationalization of Eastern European/Russian factories, but may be
stabilizing a bit.
Well I would say since the late 1970's since that is when
every thing when transistor in a big way. I have the need for
the odd audio tube, since I like power audio amplifiers with
no feedback. I suspect tube re-sellers make a slow profit
since tubes unlike computers that need a 2-3 year market turn over.
Tim.
I got looking at a 1T4 tube the other day and it is marvel
of good old mechanical engineering.
Ben.