I heard a conversation between two hams recently where one was trying to talk the other into buying an amplifier. One can justify the purchase by considering it to be no (or little) money lost. In other words, ham radio gear holds its value well. As I look at my own radios, this is true. I have an Icom IC-706Mk2G and as long as it stays in good condition, I could easily sell it on eBay for upwards of $550, maybe $600. That’s about what I paid for it 15 years ago! The Kenwood in my truck would probably sell for more than I paid because they are hard to find. Judging by the trends I see on eBay, I could easily sell any of my Motorola radios and get back what I paid for them.
You certainly can’t say this about cars, appliances, computers, or most any other consumer products. It’s certainly not an investment in that it won’t MAKE money, but it does let a ham SPEND money and know that, if needed, the gear can be turned back into cash and sometimes at or above cost. An exception would be an antique collector’s radio, like a Collins. Such a rig might actually gain value over time.
So the moral is, I can play with my toys and not feel guilty about buying more! This is true for radios, antennas, some test equipment and accessories. I could probably get what I paid for my antenna tuner or analyzer and they’re about 20 years old.
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