In Slovenia you can't get new CRT monitors for at least 10 years now. There is a used market. It's pretty small and usually there is nothing interesting. All the monitors I have I've bought some 5-10 years ago. Should have around 20-30 in my storage - sizes from 12" to 22".

Yup, depends on the country. Also not everybody is interested in late CRTs, I'm not for example. I just let 3 monitors go to junkyard because 17" super VGAs (that have seen plenty of use) is not my thing. I like older mono stuff (green/amber MDA/Hercules) and I'd love to get my hands on working and not completly dim CGA (or even better, EGA) monitor. These are rare in Europe. In fact most CGA monitors I've seen come from industrial machines and have either dead flyback, badly burned-in screen, or usually both at the same time.

So it all depends on what you mean by "CRT monitor". Just like saying "old PC" can mean a 286, or older for me, but a P4 or even something like Bulldozer for younger people.

15 years ago the computer recycle bins were full of CRT monitors near me in Ohio. My friends would try to “forget” to take home thier 19” displays after lan parties. Even my Dad, who still uses a computer with an E8400 cpu and a printer with an LPT port (“but I still have ink for it!”) got rid of his CRT by 2010. You could buy replacement LCD displays for $90 that were bigger and clearer than the old fuzzy glass tube.

But now days, the monitors are rare. They are either burried in the dump or in someone’s collection or so far in the back of the closet that there’s no telling how long it will be until they see sunlight again.

kixs wrote on 2023-03-25, 11:59:

In Slovenia you can't get new CRT monitors for at least 10 years now. There is a used market. It's pretty small and usually there is nothing interesting. All the monitors I have I've bought some 5-10 years ago. Should have around 20-30 in my storage - sizes from 12" to 22".

Not new, i dont think are brand new crt, i but new ones from late 90 to late 2000 are still in good shape most of them if not very used

Deunan wrote on 2023-03-25, 13:04:

Yup, depends on the country. Also not everybody is interested in late CRTs, I'm not for example. I just let 3 monitors go to junkyard because 17" super VGAs (that have seen plenty of use) is not my thing. I like older mono stuff (green/amber MDA/Hercules) and I'd love to get my hands on working and not completly dim CGA (or even better, EGA) monitor. These are rare in Europe. In fact most CGA monitors I've seen come from industrial machines and have either dead flyback, badly burned-in screen, or usually both at the same time.

So it all depends on what you mean by "CRT monitor". Just like saying "old PC" can mean a 286, or older for me, but a P4 or even something like Bulldozer for younger people.

CRT monitor is a crt monitor, dont mind cga, ega, vga, 80s, 90s, 2000s, whatever i say. All have a same propertie that a tft not, that define all, can have custom resolutions you want and hardware can

I read a lot of people here about difficult to get a crt, and they need to use a crappy TFT for retro use and that why my suprise, i believe in USA will be much better than in spain, etc

douglar wrote on 2023-03-25, 13:43:

15 years ago the computer recycle bins were full of CRT monitors near me in Ohio. My friends would try to “forget” to take home thier 19” displays after lan parties. Even my Dad, who still uses a computer with an E8400 cpu and a printer with an LPT port (“but I still have ink for it!”) got rid of his CRT by 2010. You could buy replacement LCD displays for $90 that were bigger and clearer than the old fuzzy glass tube.

But now days, the monitors are rare. They are either burried in the dump or in someone’s collection or so far in the back of the closet that there’s no telling how long it will be until they see sunlight again.

No LCD will replace crt ever, is a hardware reality

You can get them dirt cheap in the USA as well. Unfortunately the same (or same type) people that inflated the retro gaming market, the comic market, and various other collectible markets are now moving into other areas. So they buy up whatever cheap items they can to create a false sense of scarcity.

skaarg wrote on 2023-03-25, 15:01:

You can get them dirt cheap in the USA as well. Unfortunately the same (or same type) people that inflated the retro gaming market, the comic market, and various other collectible markets are now moving into other areas. So they buy up whatever cheap items they can to create a false sense of scarcity.

Until mid 2000s every office, house, working place, factory, etc etc etc have a CRT screen

Spain in mid 2000s was like 40millon people...

2023 people that love retro computers, use CRTs etc how much can be in spain? 50-100 thousens?? 1% of population?

Even if we buy 10 crt screen each i think is still impossible to buy all

And still is plenty of amstrad, commodore, spectrum screens, and of course millions of 15khz TVs

I dont know USA, but i feel like.. so different???

CRTs are easy to buy. They are often given away for free even. The problem is getting one with high resolution and refresh rate. Like something that can do 1600×1200@85. And also shipping. They are big, heavy (around 20-25kg at 17") and difficult to package safely so you have to go and pick them up in person.

RandomStranger wrote on 2023-03-25, 16:02:

CRTs are easy to buy. They are often given away for free even.

Only if you happen to live in an area where they are readily available. I live in a decent sized city in Canada (~1 million people) and in the past year I've only seen a dozen or so CRT monitors available for sale locally.

The most common CRTs I do see are old Commodore monitors (e.g. 1701/1702). Those typically sell for $150+. The more desirable ones with Trinitron tubes and larger screens tend to command a premium ($300 to $500).

Other CRTs like monochrome or other non-VGA models tend to be even harder to find. I ended up having to have a few of those shipped because they are simply not otherwise available locally.

Ten years ago, you'd find CRTs for sale at local thrift stores for ~$10 a pop. These days you won't find any.

theelf wrote on 2023-03-25, 15:52:

Even if we buy 10 crt screen each i think is still impossible to buy all

And still is plenty of amstrad, commodore, spectrum screens, and of course millions of 15khz TVs

I dont know USA, but i feel like.. so different???

Consider yourself fortunate and take advantage the fact they are still readily available where you live.

Shponglefan wrote on 2023-03-25, 16:10:

Only if you happen to live in an area where they are readily available. I live in a decent sized city in Canada (~1 million peop […]
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RandomStranger wrote on 2023-03-25, 16:02:

CRTs are easy to buy. They are often given away for free even.

Only if you happen to live in an area where they are readily available. I live in a decent sized city in Canada (~1 million people) and in the past year I've only seen a dozen or so CRT monitors available for sale locally.

The most common CRTs I do see are old Commodore monitors (e.g. 1701/1702). Those typically sell for $150+. The more desirable ones with Trinitron tubes and larger screens tend to command a premium ($300 to $500).

Other CRTs like monochrome or other non-VGA models tend to be even harder to find. I ended up having to have a few of those shipped because they are simply not otherwise available locally.

Ten years ago, you'd find CRTs for sale at local thrift stores for ~$10 a pop. These days you won't find any.

Most of the crt i havein my collection i buy with shipping from other areas of spain, i live in a small town

But even if is a town, this last year i pick more than 20 CRTs from homes, office etc to shell over internet too

i dont know usa, here in spain shipping heavy thing inside country is cheap

Shponglefan wrote on 2023-03-25, 16:30:

theelf wrote on 2023-03-25, 15:52:

Even if we buy 10 crt screen each i think is still impossible to buy all

And still is plenty of amstrad, commodore, spectrum screens, and of course millions of 15khz TVs

I dont know USA, but i feel like.. so different???

Consider yourself fortunate and take advantage the fact they are still readily available where you live.

Still cant believe in bigger country than spain, like usa, situation is worst than here

RandomStranger wrote on 2023-03-25, 16:02:

CRTs are easy to buy. They are often given away for free even. The problem is getting one with high resolution and refresh rate. Like something that can do 1600×1200@85. And also shipping. They are big, heavy (around 20-25kg at 17") and difficult to package safely so you have to go and pick them up in person.

Trick, put the CRT in a plastic bag, like the ones for garbage

find a box the CRT fits inside and have some small empty space in corners, left, right etc

Put a little piece of wood in bottom.of box and crt on top of wood

fill with aseemble foam

Never will get broken in shipping, and is fast to pack and cheap

The most popular one for me would be a Sony trinitron with a flat front of the tube, not bigger as 17 inch and preferably a 15 inch.

They are nowhere to be found here in the Netherlands or pretty expensive. The bigger ones pop up but are too big and still expensive. Have a DELL 15 inch now with Sony tube but not the complete flat one.

Lots of others can still be found but i don't want them.

meljor wrote on 2023-03-26, 10:21:

The most popular one for me would be a Sony trinitron with a flat front of the tube, not bigger as 17 inch and preferably a 15 inch.

I spent $600 on the 14 inch version in 1992. It was worth it at the time. That or the 15 inch version would tempt me to pick up a CRT.

TVs still easy to find around here (for reasonable prices, or free outside trash bins in (exploited-)tourist places like around Comacchio where hardly anyone knows a dump even exists) but definitely down from... last year, in fact many people were selling theirs for 10 € just so that you could sell it to an electronics store to collect govarmint™ subsidies for DVB-T2 receivers!

Computer monitors have always been disadvantaged (What tech product was a luxury in the 80s and 90s, and still not truly ubiquitous until give-or-take the netbook age? + moving target of standards + one man can usually move almost any of them to the trash) but still you can get a fair deal with patience and/or luck, between office clearances (but only really if you already have a foot in there) or just passionate owners on classifieds, see my Flatron 776FM 😀

I'd say it was a couple of things.
USA and similar large consumer countries benefit from cheaper prices meaning things like CRT's were replaced much quicker then smaller countries meaning CRT's became less common earlier.

I remember talk of countries that were going to start charging for disposal of CRT's. I'm not sure if that ever happened but you bet that would have gotten a lot of people to clear any that would have otherwise been left in the garage, loft, or wherever.

CRT's definitely still exist, maybe just not on ebay, In fact it's harder to give them away then get them. I suspect people want them shipped and the people with them don't want the hassle to pack them (myself included)

3 years ago I got 10 of them off a singe person on freecycle clearing out a storage unit. I only wanted 1 but ended up with 2 and said I'd take whatever was left once his lease was finished. 2 weeks later he contacted me saying no one else came so I ended up with all of them!
1 dead one was given away on Facebook to be used as a movie prop
2 were given away free here My CRT haul and giveaway (UK only)
2 were given to a friend.
The rest sat in storage for about 6 months when finally I took another dead one to the recycle centre and the rest went to someone off Facebook market place for £20