- CRT TVs are still “produced” in China
- Yours for around $35 / £26 / AU$49 plus much more for shipping
- Consider CCTV monitor rather than big screen TV, unfortunately
It’s been years since I’ve seen a cathode ray tube (CRT) TV in anything other than video games or 1970s sci-fi movies, but the technology still has fans, especially among retro gaming enthusiasts, because the pixel art of old games was really designed for the soft image of CRTs.
Of course, these people usually rely on the second-hand market – but at least one Chinese manufacturer seems to be selling them as “new” products… sort of.
The company, called Goodwill, was discovered listing CRTs by Redditor Parking_Constant_960. And the more they discover, the stranger it all becomes.
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Want a CRT TV for around $35?
crt from r/crt/comments/1sybfqr/a_rare_curiosity_new_crts_being_made
Goodwill’s super cheap CRT TVs: What’s the story?
The TV offered by Goodwill is neither big nor expensive: it has a 5.7-inch screen and a list price of 239 yuan, or about $35. This of course does not include shipping costs, tariffs or other costs. But this remains a minimal price, even for a small screen.
Are these old TVs? Apparently not. Our intrepid Redditor contacted them and were told that these TVs were currently in production, although it was unclear if that meant the TVs contained newly manufactured CRTs or if they were designed to house existing machines from older models.
As another Reddit user, Zeag, explains: “The last time I saw such ads, it turned out that they were old tubes repackaged in new shells. It would be a nice surprise if real new tubes were made.”
Not likely, Silver_Towers replied: “They make them from old tubes, I worked in the casino industry for cabinet display cases. No one on earth makes tubes yet. The infrastructure and equipment is gone, they are ALL old pieces and in new housing at best.”
Parking_Constant dug deeper and found even more TVs, this time in larger sizes, as well as images showing warehouse shelves filled with CRT screens.
More info on the GOODWILL mystery crt from r/crt
Communication with the company wasn’t great – an AI bot was handling the conversation – so Parking_Constant, who lives in China, promised to investigate further by ordering one of the TVs and seeing what was going on. In the meantime, the most likely explanation is that these are TVs made from NOS tubes: new and old stock.
NOS is a term used to describe original, unsold products that have been in storage. They are familiar in electric guitars, where NOS pickups are valued for their vintage sound, and NOS parts are common in the vintage car market.
I hadn’t encountered NOS in the TV world, but the TV market is very focused on new technology rather than old technology.
Even more on the mystery of good will. On Taobao, I haven’t found a way to get this AI robot thing to give me more information, even though I’m 100% sure they have at least NOS color TVs somewhere in their stock. from r/crt
Whether new hits or NOS hits, it’s fascinating to see that CRT TVs are still in production as that term applies in this case.
But if you’re a gamer looking for a vintage CRT display, you might be better off opting for a different kind of goodwill: a charity or thrift store. These Chinese CRTs may be dirt cheap, but shipping them from China – assuming the supplier is even willing to do so – will be extremely expensive due to their likely weight.
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