Bettini Cylinder Nightmare

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AmberolaAndy
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Re: Bettini Cylinder Nightmare

Post by AmberolaAndy »

Reading this thread now has me nervous about the two 78s I’m expecting from eBay. :? (I’ve never ordered individual 78s from eBay before...)

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Springmotor70
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Re: Bettini Cylinder Nightmare

Post by Springmotor70 »

Years ago a fellow St. Louis collector thought I should write an arcticle for MAPS - It was late 2002 and September 11th the following year had greatly altered things for travel, security and shipping. I purchased a fairly full carrying case of 2 minute wax on ebay - most of them early Edison gold-molded flat tops. I emailed quite a bit with the seller to make sure he could handle the proper packing requirements. One day while working at home I received a call from a west coast post office. It was the supervisor, they were calling the phone number to the addressee on a package that had been noted as unusual. The x-ray revealed what appeared to be a suitcase with rows of round cylindrical objects. They had already evacuated the post office and started procedures. I reassured them them of what was contained in the package and they terminated the emergency. When I hung up I thought to myself I should have asked about the size of the box...

It seemed like it still took several weeks to find the box delivered. It was in the middle of a harsh winter and I found the box barely larger than the original suitcase on my porch. Only a handful of cylinders survived and all of the flat tops were shattered. Gone was the chance to listen and see what recordings were hiding in there. I tried again and again to contact the seller by email or eBay but there was no reply. It was the early days of eBay and I ended up posting a physical letter to the seller and in many months finally got a the insurance slip. By that time I had given up and written off the experience. I am sorry for your Bettini loss, many of us feel your pain :cry:
"I think he was vaccinated with a phonograph needle"
My Old Boss 1923 - 2010

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Curt A
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Re: Bettini Cylinder Nightmare

Post by Curt A »

Those type experiences have resulted in my decision never to buy any wax cylinders that you cannot see first and take home with you. Even this can result in disaster, since a good friend bought a mint condition 6" Columbia cylinder at Orlando and carried it home with him... During the trip home, the boxed cylinder somehow shifted in the back of his truck and became the first thing to exit unexpectedly, hitting the concrete, when he opened the door... The box was fine, but it turned out to be an expensive one...
"The phonograph† is not of any commercial value."
Thomas Alva Edison - Comment to his assistant, Samuel Insull.

"No one needs a Victrola XX, a Perfected Graphophone Type G, or whatever you call those noisy things."
My Wife

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