Description

My name is Jerry Svoboda; for many years I have sold vacuum tubes at amateur radio hamfests in the Buffalo-Rochester-Syracuse area of upstate New York (I am an Extra Class ham radio operator). I have sold tubes via eBay in the past, feel free to check my reviews. As the years pass, the number of people, including hams and antique radio aficionados, looking for vacuum tubes is slowly diminishing...as this has occurred, I have accepted a number of donations of tubes, often from a surviving spouse. I would like to make these tubes available to the public at minimal cost, so you will see that my prices will beat most that you see online. The price you see is your price for one tube. No additional discounting is done for multiple purchases. Here is the way I sell tubes: The tubes I sell on eBay are all tested and register GOOD on an emission tube tester after a one minute warmup. I presently use three testers: an Eico 635, a Heathkit IT-3117, and a Knight 89XY 142/143. Tubes with any detectable shorts are discarded. I am unable to honor requests for matching, transconductance measurements, or specific brands. Despite this, some audiophiles are customers because the prices are so good. All tubes are retested before shipping. If the buyer does request a specific brand, I will keep that in mind when filling the order but I cannot promise to honor such a request. Some of the tubes are new and some are used, the price is the same. I am unable to honor requests for new tubes. The best test of a tube is the circuit designed to receive it. Remember, too, that individual tubes of the same type all testing good on a tube tester of any type may function differently in a given circuit or radio. A 6CL6 used as a driver in a transmitter is a good example of this. I will ship a tube of the style I have available. 6L6, 5Y3, and 6AR5 are different tube types . Many tube types were made in more than one style and version. For example, some tubes were made in a metal style and then later GT and GTA glass styles. These are equivalent electrically. Similarly, there were sometimes progressively more modern versions (type suffixes A, B, or C, for example) that are also direct drop-in equivalents electrically. If you wish to specify a specific style or version of the listed tube, I will keep that in mind when filling the order, but I cannot promise to honor such a request. The 6146 family of tubes is an exception to this and would be listed individually by their specific suffix (if any) as people have such strong feelings about the different performance and equivalence of the 6146 sub-types. G style tubes will also be listed separately. A substitute of a different tube type will not be made unless the buyer is first contacted and agrees. All tubes will be boxed, though the box brand may or may not match the tube brand you receive. Some boxes have been repaired. The box will be labeled correctly to match the tube within. The tube will nearly always have a discernible type mark visible, though some markings are very faint and need special lighting and/or magnification to see. In rare situations, I have attached a label to a tube in which the type mark is missing or extremely faint. The tubes have been judiciously cleaned as needed. Be aware that further cleaning of glass tubes (with Windex or anything else) will sometimes immediately remove the type mark and more often removes the manufacturer's name. Any visible corrosion on tube pins has been removed with a Dremel 428 rotary brush. Any bent pins have been straightened. Some repaired boxes can be opened at only one end. A few of the boxes are handmade from card stock. Boxed tubes will usually be shipped in a padded envelope, usually not an additional box (except for larger orders at my discretion), which would increase your shipping cost. The envelope will have four FRAGILE labels on it; a box would have six such labels. The recent USPS price hikes are certainly discouraging to tube sellers and buyers, as it makes margins very small. I have yet to have a tube arrive damaged in shipping but I'm sure it will happen someday. The nice thing is that eBay offers world-wide exposure and allows holders and seekers of unusual tube types to find each other. Only one customer in the Far East never received her package from me after waiting months; eBay refunded her money because of their International Shipping program, but I felt very bad for the buyer. Buyers with USA addresses pay the same flat rate of $5 for shipping, regardless of the size of the order or their location. International orders are shipped only via the eBay International Shipping service, the shipping rate being set by eBay for those. Why don't I see a picture of the tube(s) that I am buying? Selling tubes is already time consuming and a bad way to make money unless exorbitant prices are charged. Taking pictures of each tube adds to this burden and would discourage me from offering this service. I am trying to put tubes back into the hands of users rather than have them end up in a dumpster as thousands of tubes do when their owners die. I have always considered tube sales to be a public service to the ham and antique radio community. I sell and ship only tubes that I would use in my own equipment. The golden rule is followed here. I try to under-promise and over-deliver. Return Policy : Refund or replacement will be provided if your tube arrives broken or dead. I cannot provide a replacement or refund if you think your tube is not testing as strong as you would like on your tube tester...my tube testers are properly calibrated. Remember that even most new tubes do not test full scale and many of the tubes that I sell have had some use. Please do not try to return your purchase as non-working and then send me the bad tube you are replacing...I make an invisible mark on your purchase that can detect such attempts (yes, people are known to try this). Again, if you are doubtful, read my reviews. I have many more tube types in stock than are listed on eBay. Check back often because more types are being added. You can feel free to message me with any type requests and I can reply whether I have them in stock and what they would cost. If you send a list, I would quote you a price for the group...however, all such custom orders would be done only through eBay by my posting the group as a single eBay item available only for purchase by the requester (no outside-of-eBay sales to eBayers). My goal is to have people happy with their purchases and to have good tubes available to them at a minimal cost, no matter where they live. To God be the glory!