Are old hifi mags and brochures worth keeping?
I've been having a loft clearout, and I've got a box of What Hi-Fi mags from 1987 to Mid 1989, and a load of glossy brochures and literature from various manufacturers around the same time. I used to write off to them for that sort of stuff in my teenage years (pre-internet, of course). Does anyone know if they're worth anything... or likely to be in the future? There isn't much on ebay of this vintage to use as a guide. Just want to know if I'm sitting on tomorrow's Antiques Roadshow exhibit, or a worthless pile of paper.
Hang onto them. Old hifi mags are always thoroughly entertaining to read (provided you like hifi of course!). Getting any money for them on ebay or the like would be an achievement but I'm sure you could manage it with some effort to list what's in some of them.
If you want to rehome them for a small amount maybe you could email a place like Steve's Hifi to see if they could make use of them.
Have to confess I recently cleared out my loft and chucked away a huge pile of back issues from the mid-1990s. 
Always held onto mine for a time, however, got the attic converted and, like Andy they had to go.........
moving to a new house shortly (hurrah!). she who must be obeyed is giving them the evil-eye... (unhurrah)
hmmmm.
Thanks for the replies everyone. The old literature does make for an interesting read. I'm currently scanning all the old brochures to pdf, so might stick them on a website when I'm done. I've already contacted www.classicsansui.net - they were interested in copies of the brochures I had.
Andy Clough:Have to confess I recently cleared out my loft and chucked away a huge pile of back issues from the mid-1990s.
That is clearly unacceptable! 
You need to be referred to a disciplinary hearing 
Big Aura:moving to a new house shortly (hurrah!). she who must be obeyed is giving them the evil-eye... (unhurrah)
hmmmm.
Guess what wont be going to the new house
I have a few boxes of What Hi-Fi back issues in my parents loft. Don't have the room for them in my place (new build houses, tch) and my folks are quite keen for me to get rid of them, but it feels like a shame to chuck them all away.
There must be about 20-ish years worth of mags there. There's even copies of VTV 
Torres09:Guess what wont be going to the new house
Big Aura:moving to a new house shortly (hurrah!). she who must be obeyed is giving them the evil-eye... (unhurrah)hmmmm.
As long as I'm allowed to move, I think it's probably a sacrifice worth making. In any case, I'm getting new speaker stands and a new a/v cabinet (may make one myself, tho...).
Have to admit I keep all my back issues, but I also scan them in so they are chuckable if necessary.
Never know - I may be looking for some secondhand kit in the future and having the original review could come in very useful!
At the end of each year I have a sought through and have to admit end up throwing alot away.
I recently tried selling some at a car boot sale, no luck never even got picked up, very dissappointed I thought i could be onto a winner there.
Cherry pick the issues that have reviews of 'legendary' or classic hifi equipment to sell on ebay and recycle the rest.
Back when I used to buy hifi mags regularly I usually passed them onto friends or left them at work for colleagues to read (this was back when hifi was popular amongst young blokes with a bit of cash to spend).
The only interest I would have in vintage hifi mags would be if I had vintage hifi equipment. (It would be nice to have a handful of the relevant issues that contained the original reviews.)
Looking at really old hifi mags would be amusing for a little while - from a historical point of view - but a handful of mags from each decade would be more than enough as a collection. Beyond that it gets a bit sad or strange. (A local millionaire recluse used to have a house where every room was piled high with old newspapers.)
Better yet is what the Gramophone.net archive has done with all their old issues. Superb effort and a wonderful resource.
If instead you had bought lots of movie and TV related toys from the 1980s and kept them in boxes instead of mags then you would probably have enough to retire on soon. (1980s kids are approaching middle age; and affluence; and nostalgia and will soon want to buy all their old toys again.)
In a word NO. I keep the WHF mags for a few months a then they have to go. The main reason being is they just keep clutering up the place. Like most people her I used to keep the mags for years and years, with other mags as well like Classic Cars etc. In the end it's trying to find a place for them all. I to tried to sell them as well but no takers at all, so the hifi mags along with the car mags went to the big storage place in the sky (the tip). Its pointless kepping anything over say 6 months, they just take up so much room. Room which could be better used, so as the storing of wine, beer etc.
Miggs.
Started off saving them, then when I was told "what are you keeping them for!", got rid of them. Well, saying that, I am proping up the underside of the bed in the spare room with them, as broke the main support bar when painting the ceiling and standing on it.
Save the best ones, especially if you are in them in the letter section, then recycle the rest. Save the planet and the tree's.
I do - I've kept all my WHFI S&V mags from January 2004. Handy if you need to cross-reference an item(
.
Leema Pulse MKII-S; Naim CD5i MKII; Denon TU-260L MKII; MA RS6 speakers; Pro-ject Xpression 1; loads of different cables...
Formerly known as plastic penguin