Phonographs I would love too own, but can't afford
- Jwb88
- Victor II
- Posts: 401
- Joined: Mon Jul 27, 2015 10:41 pm
- Location: Riverside, California
Re: Phonographs I would love too own, but can't afford
I'd actually like a new custom model, something along the lines of this EMG, only with a bigger horn
-
- Victor IV
- Posts: 1313
- Joined: Sun Mar 08, 2009 12:23 am
Re: Phonographs I would love too own, but can't afford
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.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.
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
- gramophone-georg
- Victor VI
- Posts: 3995
- 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
I have two regrets that I sold:melvind wrote: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.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.
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
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
I got PTSD from Peter F's avatar
-
- 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
You answered your own inquiry. “The good and rare stuff keeps it’s value. The everyday and common stuff does not”.melvind wrote: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.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.
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
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.
- Django
- Victor IV
- Posts: 1693
- 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
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.
- 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
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!
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!
-
- 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
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...
- Django
- Victor IV
- Posts: 1693
- 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
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.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...
- 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
Obviously eBay is NOT the best place to buy phonographs.
- Django
- Victor IV
- Posts: 1693
- 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
It can be good. Sometimes you hit it right.Edisonfan wrote:Obviously eBay is NOT the best place to buy phonographs.