This weekend, I dropped off some garbage at the Trash Disposal site and noticed a Thrift Store warehouse in the complex. Out of curiosity, I went inside and discovered a huge inventory of discarded items that staff deemed wasn't yet worthy of the landfill.

Amongst the shelves of electronics, I saw what looked like a stereo amplifier.
It was a Rotel RB951--The outside casing was scratched and it was missing the cover for the power button. On the back, it was missing a speaker binding post which is why I suspect someone discarded it.

I inquired with the staff who informed me that there is no guarantee of functionality and if I was okay with that, I could buy it. Cash, no sales tax, no delivery, and no warranty.

This is what I bought (The iTouch was for testing)



I took it home, replaced the broken speaker binding post, hooked up a pair of speakers, and powered it up. The amplifier works and works well. Gain controls, mono bridging, clipping protection are all functional. Internals were clean and no signs of abuse or misuse.

Purchase price of the amplifier was $2.00
Replacement binding post from Radio Shack $4.49