PAL or NTSC?
There's essentially zero NTSC options, aside from me and TGrant. My decks are
in the marketplace. Tom has sparse stock, mostly Panasonic (and some Betamax and low-end stuff), but several of us have lost confidence in his repair quality due to needing costly re-fixes after only 2-3 years (aka, the AG-1980 money pit deck). You have to gamble on eBay, when decks are even available, and you're likely to lose that bet. Too many liars and video know-nothings, with ridiculous ideas of what "working" and "tested" mean. Once in a blue moon, Deter has some extras. And then you'll also see members taking my buy/use/resell advice, and reselling gear they got from me.
Be especially careful of the VCR/TBC
scammer in Houston, with multiple usernames. He's been on eBay for years, and they seem to always remove his negative feedback.
For PAL, there are some. I sometimes get PAL decks, but I'll also refer to VCRshop. I don't think his criteria is as strict as mine (or has any at all?), referring to
my A/B/C/F grading scale. So he has gotten some mixed buyer reviews in the past on this site, maybe VH, both in PM and on-forum. (I once got griped at for recommending him, and that specific deck was only so-so quality. Shoot the messenger?) Yet mostly fine.
What's wrong with this site's marketplace?
At least members of this site should know what's what for VCR quality, not a total random that bought a cruddy old deck from an abandoned storage locker auction. Essentially somebody looking to flip unknown condition (usually/likely trash) units on eBay/Craigslist/Facebook. Again, too many idiotic definitions of "working" and "tested" out there. (ie, Plugging in deck and seeing lights, or putting in old retail tape and seeing any quality image on a usually-tiny screen.)
Beware of shipping. Almost nobody seems to know how to pack a VCR well, and way too many VCRs are ruined in shipment. VCRshop is decent. I pack mine like portable safes, in heavy duty boxes, strategic padding, ask any of my past buyers. A few models of VCRs are near-impossible to ship without being damaged, such as the SR-VS20.
