[Sean Williams]

Oh dear, are we still harping on over "not being able to compete with dealers"

Simple business plan - buy at an affordable price and sell at a profit.

If the domestic market will not support the sort of prices that dealers pay at auctions, then thats our hard luck for not attaching the same value as our overseas friends do to their collections.

If the set was really worth expending the sort of time that often happens when restoring an early set (lets face it the main gripe is relating to the sort of set that attracts audiophiles) attach the sort of hourly rate it would cost to do the work, I am betting that a cabinet refurb costs much more than the hammer price of a 50% PX4.

Lets all be a bit honest here, we are all too happy to be on the recieving end of a bargain, and are not willing to pay the going rate for hard to get parts.

At the end of the day a private individual will always be capable of beating a dealer - they have no need to make a profit - a dealer will not pay above the market price.

It's not rocket science.....