# Who will take old CRT TVs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 19, 2011, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-take-old-crt-tvs/606749 "2011-12-19T16:32:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-take-old-crt-tvs/606749/21 "2011-12-19T22:22:01Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > ETA: I’m just surprised that there is ZERO demand for free ones. It seems like there are enough poor people in this state and in this economy that can’t afford a flat screen, but their old TV isn’t working. For them its a choice between a CRT and nothing, and my two that work perfectly will end up in the crusher.. They would still need a converter box to use it (or a vcr/dvd player/game console). If they don’t have a converter, then it is just a huge paperweight. ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-take-old-crt-tvs/606749/22 "2011-12-19T22:35:04Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > ETA: I’m just surprised that there is ZERO demand for free ones. It seems like there are enough poor people in this state and in this economy that can’t afford a flat screen, but their old TV isn’t working. For them its a choice between a CRT and nothing, and my two that work perfectly will end up in the crusher.. It’s really not that surprising because Tube TVs are incredibly reliable, there are TVs from the 70’s that still work just fine, even some from the 50’s and 60’s. So you have a low failure rate combined with massive numbers of people ditching their tube for flatscreens like yourself, and poor people whose TV is broken+arcade machine enthusiasts are going to be vastly outnumbered by people trying to give away CRTs. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-take-old-crt-tvs/606749/23 "2011-12-19T23:08:54Z")
I don’t think there’s zero demand, just that the supply is a couple orders of magnitude. Probably many folks who can’t afford to buy a replacement TV know someone who has a CRT sitting around in their garage that they are happy to give to a friend. ---
**Author:** ![eno801](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c2a13f/32.png) [@eno801](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eno801)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-take-old-crt-tvs/606749/24 "2011-12-20T17:24:18Z")
i always laugh when I see folks trying to sell tube tvs on craigslist for 200-300 bucks. unless you’re talking a mint superfine pitch sony widescreen xbr9XX series not the 970 you are loco :D. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-take-old-crt-tvs/606749/25 "2011-12-20T17:48:11Z")
Call local nursing homes and homeless shelters. I’ve gotten rid of TVs for friends that way, and a couple of them even offered to pay a nominal sum. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-take-old-crt-tvs/606749/26 "2011-12-20T19:07:02Z")
Post a curb-alert on CL if you’re going to put them out there. I know several people, including myself, who had success selling old tube TVs on CL. ---
**Author:** ![Serendip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@Serendip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serendip)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2015, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-take-old-crt-tvs/606749/27 "2015-11-11T20:07:36Z")
Salvation Army in VA takes TVs as long as they are no older than 2005 or no more than 10 years old ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2015, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-take-old-crt-tvs/606749/28 "2015-11-11T20:31:57Z")
And this thread is already 4 years old. But to address the seeming paradox of poor people not wanting a free TV, think about it for a minute. There are lots of people who, if their TV broke today, wouldn’t have a couple hundred bucks to spend on a new flat screen TV. But did their TV break today? No it didn’t. It’s still working. And even poor people sometimes scrape together a few hundred bucks to get themselves a new TV, and when they do the old one goes in the closet. So if their new TV breaks do they start looking on Craigslist for a 20 year old CRT? No, they’ve already got one of those in the closet gathering dust. Or if they don’t they’ve got 10 friends who also have mouldering but still working CRTs. CRT sets have been pretty much completely replaced by flat panel displays over the last decade. And they weren’t replaced because they broke, they were replaced because people bought new ones even though the old CRT ones still worked. And so we have a flood of literally millions of working CRT sets dumped onto the market. Anyone who wants a free CRT tv already has one. That leaves 999,999 free CRT tvs out there. The poor don’t want your free CRT tv for the same reason you don’t want your free CRT tv. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2015, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-take-old-crt-tvs/606749/29 "2015-11-11T20:37:04Z")
> [@Serendip](#): > > Salvation Army in VA takes TVs as long as they are no older than 2005 or no more than 10 years old Damn, what am I to do with my 8 year old TV mfg. in 1995. My brother also has a 15 year old TV but it was mfg. in 2011. ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2015, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-take-old-crt-tvs/606749/30 "2015-11-11T20:37:28Z")
In CA there’s an electronics recycling fee built into the sale of new items, so you should be able to take your old TV (or whatever) to a municipal facility to recycle it for free. ---
**Author:** ![Malden\_Capell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malden_capell/32/5274_2.png) [@Malden\_Capell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malden_Capell)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2015, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-take-old-crt-tvs/606749/31 "2015-11-11T21:16:46Z")
Try Amibay? Retro video gamers are thirsty for old CRTs as they are better than HDTVs. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2015, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-take-old-crt-tvs/606749/32 "2015-11-11T22:21:12Z")
My niece recently _sold_ an old Trinitron (maybe 32") to somebody on OfferUp for $50. I would not have believed it if I hadn’t seen them fork over the cash. As P.T. Barnum (allegedly) said… ---
**Author:** ![Malden\_Capell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malden_capell/32/5274_2.png) [@Malden\_Capell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malden_Capell)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2015, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-take-old-crt-tvs/606749/33 "2015-11-11T22:24:27Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > My niece recently _sold_ an old Trinitron (maybe 32") to somebody on OfferUp for $50. I would not have believed it if I hadn’t seen them fork over the cash. > > As P.T. Barnum (allegedly) said… The Sony Trinitons are among the most-prized of late-made CRTs. ---
**Author:** ![Disgruntled\_Penguin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@Disgruntled\_Penguin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disgruntled_Penguin)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-take-old-crt-tvs/606749/34 "2015-11-12T00:41:09Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > My niece recently _sold_ an old Trinitron (maybe 32") to somebody on OfferUp for $50. I would not have believed it if I hadn’t seen them fork over the cash. > > As P.T. Barnum (allegedly) said… > [@](#): > > Men, women, and children who cannot live on gravity alone need something to satisfy their gayer, lighter moods and hours, and he who ministers to this want is, in my opinion, in a business established by the Creator of our nature. If he worthily fulfills his mission and amuses without corrupting, he need never feel that he has lived in vain. This one? ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-take-old-crt-tvs/606749/35 "2015-11-13T06:50:21Z")
Check and see if your big box electronics store (i.e. Best Buy) will take them. Some states require them to accept CRT TVs for recycling free of charge. Otherwise, if you live in an at least semi-urban neighborhood just put it on the curb with a sign that reads: **FREE!** (works!) and I guarantee it will be gone by the end of the day… ---
**Author:** ![nate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nate/32/13085_2.png) [@nate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nate)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-take-old-crt-tvs/606749/36 "2015-11-13T16:24:12Z")
I have an 27" HD (1080i) CRT that I need to get rid of. It doesn’t have HDMI but has component inputs and built-in digital tuner. The picture is great, probably better than any flatscreen, but it weighs a ton and takes up a lot of room. I wonder if someone would buy it for cheap on craigslist. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-take-old-crt-tvs/606749/37 "2015-11-13T17:12:19Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Check and see if your big box electronics store (i.e. Best Buy) will take them. Some states require them to accept CRT TVs for recycling free of charge. Otherwise, if you live in an at least semi-urban neighborhood just put it on the curb with a sign that reads: > > **FREE!** > (works!) > > and I guarantee it will be gone by the end of the day… My in-laws tried that a year or two ago. The next morning, they found that somebody had cut off the power cord and left the rest of the TV behind. The moral of the story is that you might want to take a quick look at scrap metal prices first, to make sure the TV isn’t worth more dead than alive. ETA: I’ve found this out the hard way myself. Once, my fridge died, and I dragged it out to the curb to make room for the new one. (Yes, I took the door off.) The scrappers stripped it right on the spot. The various plastic components (bins, insulation, trim) were strewn all over my front lawn. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![slash2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@slash2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slash2k)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-take-old-crt-tvs/606749/38 "2015-11-13T17:14:29Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Check and see if your big box electronics store (i.e. Best Buy) will take them. Some states require them to accept CRT TVs for recycling free of charge. Otherwise, if you live in an at least semi-urban neighborhood just put it on the curb with a sign that reads: > > **FREE!** > (works!) > > and I guarantee it will be gone by the end of the day… In my neighborhood, you’d have better luck with a sign that reads: **Ten dollars!** At the end of the day the free stuff will still be sitting there and the stuff with a price tag will have disappeared. (No, you’ll never see the ten bucks, but the stuff will be gone 😃 ) ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2015, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-take-old-crt-tvs/606749/39 "2015-11-17T22:40:20Z")
The local Goodwill still takes them … and _sells_ them if they work. Digital-analog cable/OTA converters are still out there in _large_ numbers. The place I get my haircut, for example, uses one for their analog CRT TV. They aren’t junk yet. In our area, Goodwill doesn’t care if they work or not. They consider it helping the community to take even broken ones, which get recycled or whatever. I don’t know if this is nationwide, but I do know that Goodwills in two _very_ far apart states do this. In California, certain such places take them but charge a mandated recycling fee. (Got rid of my last CRT device earlier in the year at a Goodwill. Miss the old so-and-sos.) ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-take-old-crt-tvs/606749/40 "2015-11-18T01:48:23Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > The local Goodwill still takes them … and _sells_ them if they work. > > Digital-analog cable/OTA converters are still out there in _large_ numbers. The place I get my haircut, for example, uses one for their analog CRT TV. > > They aren’t junk yet. > > In our area, Goodwill doesn’t care if they work or not. They consider it helping the community to take even broken ones, which get recycled or whatever. > > I don’t know if this is nationwide, but I do know that Goodwills in two _very_ far apart states do this. > > In California, certain such places take them but charge a mandated recycling fee. > > (Got rid of my last CRT device earlier in the year at a Goodwill. Miss the old so-and-sos.) No, electronics recycling is free in CA at municipal facilities. I have no doubt there are places that would like to charge you for the privilege, butyou needn’t pay. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-take-old-crt-tvs/606749.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-take-old-crt-tvs/606749.md?page=3)