Phonographs I would love too own, but can't afford

Discussions on Talking Machines & Accessories
Post Reply
User avatar
Jwb88
Victor II
Posts: 400
Joined: Mon Jul 27, 2015 10:41 pm
Location: Riverside, California

Re: Phonographs I would love too own, but can't afford

Post by Jwb88 »

I'd actually like a new custom model, something along the lines of this EMG, only with a bigger horn :D
Attachments
emg.jpg

melvind
Victor IV
Posts: 1313
Joined: Sun Mar 08, 2009 12:23 am

Re: Phonographs I would love too own, but can't afford

Post by melvind »

Hailey wrote:I am one of the minority that is concerned about a return on my dollar once the day comes that I disperse MY collection. Of course we all like to find that diamond in the rough, yet when I do acquire and pay up for something nowadays, I do so with keeping in mind the concept of investment.
I don't see how you can think of phonographs as investments. The prices have fluctuated several times while I have been collecting for the last 22 years. And, after the last big drop a few years ago things have never come back and it is unlikely they will. The good and rare stuff keeps its value. The everyday and common stuff does not. I have some of both, but I certainly and not going to get all crazy if I can't get what I paid for them. Someone else will be doing that for most of them after I'm gone anyway.

Rather than what I wish I could have, I will add a list of 3 machines I sold in the past that I wish I still had and will likely not be able to replace now that I am retired. Now to be fair, I got better "stuff" for the money those machines brought me and I don't really have room for them now. So no real loss. But, nothing else I have ever sold means to me what these did.

Edison Amberola III
Edison B-375 Diamond Disc
Vic VI

User avatar
gramophone-georg
Victor VI
Posts: 3984
Joined: Mon Jan 20, 2014 11:55 pm
Personal Text: Northwest Of Normal
Location: Eugene/ Springfield Oregon USA

Re: Phonographs I would love too own, but can't afford

Post by gramophone-georg »

melvind wrote:
Hailey wrote:I am one of the minority that is concerned about a return on my dollar once the day comes that I disperse MY collection. Of course we all like to find that diamond in the rough, yet when I do acquire and pay up for something nowadays, I do so with keeping in mind the concept of investment.
I don't see how you can think of phonographs as investments. The prices have fluctuated several times while I have been collecting for the last 22 years. And, after the last big drop a few years ago things have never come back and it is unlikely they will. The good and rare stuff keeps its value. The everyday and common stuff does not. I have some of both, but I certainly and not going to get all crazy if I can't get what I paid for them. Someone else will be doing that for most of them after I'm gone anyway.

Rather than what I wish I could have, I will add a list of 3 machines I sold in the past that I wish I still had and will likely not be able to replace now that I am retired. Now to be fair, I got better "stuff" for the money those machines brought me and I don't really have room for them now. So no real loss. But, nothing else I have ever sold means to me what these did.

Edison Amberola III
Edison B-375 Diamond Disc
Vic VI
I have two regrets that I sold:

Victor E rear mount

An all steel Columbia Europa outside horn machine.
"He who dies with the most shellac wins"- some nutty record geek

I got PTSD from Peter F's avatar

Hailey
Victor III
Posts: 541
Joined: Tue Jul 23, 2013 2:44 pm
Location: Missouri

Re: Phonographs I would love too own, but can't afford

Post by Hailey »

melvind wrote:
Hailey wrote:I am one of the minority that is concerned about a return on my dollar once the day comes that I disperse MY collection. Of course we all like to find that diamond in the rough, yet when I do acquire and pay up for something nowadays, I do so with keeping in mind the concept of investment.
I don't see how you can think of phonographs as investments. The prices have fluctuated several times while I have been collecting for the last 22 years. And, after the last big drop a few years ago things have never come back and it is unlikely they will. The good and rare stuff keeps its value. The everyday and common stuff does not. I have some of both, but I certainly and not going to get all crazy if I can't get what I paid for them. Someone else will be doing that for most of them after I'm gone anyway.

Rather than what I wish I could have, I will add a list of 3 machines I sold in the past that I wish I still had and will likely not be able to replace now that I am retired. Now to be fair, I got better "stuff" for the money those machines brought me and I don't really have room for them now. So no real loss. But, nothing else I have ever sold means to me what these did.

Edison Amberola III


Edison B-375 Diamond Disc
Vic VI
You answered your own inquiry. “The good and rare stuff keeps it’s value. The everyday and common stuff does not”.
That is my entire point. Years ago, as I came to a crucial point in my collecting, I looked around me and made a decision. I sold everything in the collection that I was confident that within a weeks time that I could go out and replace. The money was then used to finance the stuff that was, and still is, considered rare. I never was one to concern myself with keeping up with the next collector or with how many of something that I had. So, my volume went way down, while my value went way up. And, to this day, I enjoy my collection more than I ever did, and I can assure you that it has been, and still is, an investment.

User avatar
Django
Victor IV
Posts: 1691
Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2017 7:31 pm
Location: New Hampshire’s West Coast

Re: Phonographs I would love too own, but can't afford

Post by Django »

I never thought of this as an investment. I love the machines and being able to hear music and sounds from a century or so ago on machines that are more than a century old. I love having all those interesting and useful machines around me. They please multiple senses. My collection has a few semi-rare machines, but mostly more common, but desirable examples. If there value went to zero and no one else had any interest in them it wouldn’t change how I value them. I can see my common Humpback Victor with it’s Nickel Hawthorne and Sheble horn from my seat and it brings me joy. That is what matters to me. An M Class Edison is cool, but the little Humpback strikes a chord with me that M Class does not.

User avatar
Wes K
Victor I
Posts: 186
Joined: Sat Jul 05, 2014 2:26 pm
Location: Northern Oklahoma
Contact:

Re: Phonographs I would love too own, but can't afford

Post by Wes K »

If I or someone down the line from me gets a good return on this this stuff, that is just an added side bonus, but not the main reason why I have anything collectible. What matters is that interests me, and the pleasure from finding, fixing, operating and showing/demonstrating the machines to others. At no time have I ever considered the financial aspect of any of this, beyond can I afford it. Some people spend their money on beer and cable TV for entertainment, I spend mine on antiques, and after the weekend is over, I still have something to show for my money! Just my 2 cents!


Anyway, an Opera or an Amberola 1A. Honestly, I would much rather have the 1A mechanism in the Opera cabinet, that would be the best of both worlds, even if it is a mutt!

Hailey
Victor III
Posts: 541
Joined: Tue Jul 23, 2013 2:44 pm
Location: Missouri

Re: Phonographs I would love too own, but can't afford

Post by Hailey »

It seems as though others are a bit disturbed by my admission of investment as one of the aspects which I take into consideration as I build my collection. At every turn, I have also highlighted the significance of continuing enjoyment of collecting and following the hobby. Interesting...

User avatar
Django
Victor IV
Posts: 1691
Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2017 7:31 pm
Location: New Hampshire’s West Coast

Re: Phonographs I would love too own, but can't afford

Post by Django »

Hailey wrote:It seems as though others are a bit disturbed by my admission of investment as one of the aspects which I take into consideration as I build my collection. At every turn, I have also highlighted the significance of continuing enjoyment of collecting and following the hobby. Interesting...
It is not a judgement. Investment probably should be considered when spending and collecting. From my perspective, it is about whether or not it has that value to me. I buy what I like or what interests me, if I can afford it. I am conscious of the return on my investment, but that doesn’t drive my decisions. That said, I don’t like to pay top dollar or overpay either.

User avatar
Edisonfan
Victor V
Posts: 2095
Joined: Wed Jan 07, 2009 4:37 pm
Personal Text: Invention is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration
Location: Frederick Maryland

Re: Phonographs I would love too own, but can't afford

Post by Edisonfan »

Obviously eBay is NOT the best place to buy phonographs.

User avatar
Django
Victor IV
Posts: 1691
Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2017 7:31 pm
Location: New Hampshire’s West Coast

Re: Phonographs I would love too own, but can't afford

Post by Django »

Edisonfan wrote:Obviously eBay is NOT the best place to buy phonographs.
It can be good. Sometimes you hit it right.

Post Reply