Bought a $60 'refurbished' VCR off a guy in Lansing and I'm here to say skip the cheap ones
I know everyone in this group loves a deal, but I have to push back on the idea that any old VCR is worth grabbing if the price is low. Three months ago I drove out to Lansing to meet a guy from a listing, and he swore his $60 refurbished unit had a fresh belt and a cleaned head drum. Got it home, threw in a tape of my parents' wedding, and it ate the ribbon about 20 minutes in, which wrecked the tape and cost me way more than the player ever did. I called him back and he basically shrugged and said it worked when he tested it, which I now know means he ran one tape for two minutes and called it good. The kicker is I passed on a $140 unit from a shop because I thought I was being smart with money. So now I'm out the $60, a gas tank in my Corolla, and a family tape I can't replace. If you're shopping for a VCR, what's your cutoff price before you just walk away?