Like bikes, there are deals to be had if you know what you are looking at and have patience. About 15 years ago I was in a Goodwill and heard the sound of a good stereo system coming from the back of the store. I went back there and saw a nice KR 7400 Kenwood receiver (65 WPC) and a pair of AR two way speakers, all for $35. I jumped on it. I am still using the Kenwood (with different speakers). Remarkably, it has never been in for service. The only thing at one point that happened was on the tuner the cord slipped off a pulley. I popped it open and it was easily fixed. The speakers needed refoaming ($75) soon after I bought them. The Kenwood should have the tuner aligned, but that's about it (all the lights and switches still function perfectly). One reason I think the Kenwood has done so well all this time is that it came from the factory with a slow start circuit which causes a delay when you first turn it on, but also brings the voltage up more slowly than a typical switch.