Valves! Crazy!

[Barrymagrec]

Signal valves in any moderately competent circuit will not wear out faster with one type or level of music compared with another. Output valves however are a different kettle of fish, any output valve running effectively in class AB, which is most not using a simple Triode Class A topology will draw more current and therefore age faster as the volume increases.

Guitar amplifiers will often be run harder than HiFi amplifiers and so output valve life may be considerably shorter.

This is a bit of a simplification but true in most cases.

 

[Vinny]

Not as much as I had anticipated - the 3 duds sold for £291, the pair that measured as new from 1955 made £531

 

[Tony L]

The duds making that has me totally baffled. I’m not surprised in the slightest about the ‘55 pair, I was actually expecting more.

eBay is a remarkably odd place. Back when I used to sell there (mainly vinyl, though some hi-fi) I quickly realised the best approach was to describe very well with good pictures and just list everything as a £1 no reserve auction. Some of the better stuff never makes what you want/expect, but other stuff I’d thought was junk that would fall through at a quid or two goes through the roof for no apparent reason. I made crazy money on some stuff! I bet the valve seller is just as surprised as we are!

 

[Vinny]

the ‘55 pair, I was actually expecting more.

Me too - even more than double that.

I bet the valve seller is just as surprised as we are!

I suspect not - alibossa from Queensferry has been selling every kind of valve, week in, week out for as long as I have had any interest. Most is pre-used, a lot seemingly junk.
As you say, price doesn't always make sense.
He must have landed a small stash of black plate RCA 5751, branded Pinnacle (number correct? - near to ECC83), about 4 years ago, and listed a batch of 6. I got those for peanuts - £8-10-12 each. I suspect that he must have worked out what they were afterwards (Lord alone knows what they'd sell for now) and offered them in pairs, but with a start price, if memory serves, and they made a lot of money over several weeks.

For me, the biggest puzzle is where the hell does he keep getting old valves from, pretty much week in, week out?

 

[lawrence001]

Perhaps a massive stock purchased from an old radio shop closing or a collector passing away, plus the patience to drip feed them to the market over a long period.