Anyone here just have bad luck getting a certain machine?

[Henry]

I do not know your location but there has been one at the antique phonograph and other stuff in Rail Road Pa. The shop is just before the rail crossing coming from I-83 head head west on the road to ?? sorry I am 80 and I will have to look the town up it is between Timonium rd exit in MD and before York PA Just after the rest stop. I must leave now but I will post later to day.
Allen
p.s. Say Allen sent me

This is the place: https://www.antiquemalls.com/pa/railroad/17355/18496

[AmberolaAndy]

What I hunt for is rare, coveted by collectors and ridiculously expensive. I'm referring to the Columbia Grafonola lions head combination phonograph and Regina disk player. There were some made without the Regina attachment which seems to bring the price down from the stratosphere. I had three chances to buy one and two were repair projects. The first one disappeared in a puff of smoke and the second one I was out bid. The third was in Texas which might as well be on the far side of the moon. I think about it as my white whale when I look everyday for another chance to own one. Credenzas are easy to find in my part of the world so one should turn up for you. I saw an 8-30 near me on Facebook Market place today, but he wants $700. It does look perfect. Good luck.

Yeah, I’m hoping to find one in the $300-$400 range. Even if it’s going to be a project, I know where to source parts if I have to. It just has to have the horn and the iron/potmetal parts of the horn and I can take care of the rest.

[Django]

I don’t generally look for a single machine. I look at machines in general and if I like something that I find and can fit it in, then I have a new treasure. A Credenza is a great machine, and I was happy to find a nice, early one, and in this case, I was looking for one. Then I found a nice VV-8-12. I will keep both, but I find the 8-12 to be more appealing than the Credenza. It is more compact, has nice legs and sounds great. My point is to be open to alternatives. Sometimes the treasure that you find was not the treasure that you sought, or something like that. The pictures don't do either machine justice. Please excuse my shameless self promotion, I just set them up yesterday. Good luck.

[orthofanatic]

I know the feeling. I'm currently looking for an Orthophonic machine myself, and as much as a smaller machine such as the Consolette or VV 4-40 would be plenty fine, I still really want the Credenza if I can find one at a reasonable price/condition. I was searching eBay the other day and this looks to be still available, and in Omaha, NE!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1920s-Victor-R ... Sw-LldUCJE

The seller is asking a high price, but it looks to be in very good condition, plus it comes with 100+ records already. Maybe worth an email to the owner to see if they would work with the price.

I do not know your location but there has been one at the antique phonograph and other stuff in Rail Road Pa. The shop is just before the rail crossing coming from I-83 head head west on the road to ?? sorry I am 80 and I will have to look the town up it is between Timonium rd exit in MD and before York PA Just after the rest stop. I must leave now but I will post later to day.
Allen
p.s. Say Allen sent me

@A Ford 1, I myself am looking for a Credenza and live in the Reading, PA area. Do you know if its still available and what price/condition it was in? Might be worth a drive down this weekend.

[zenith82]

I know it's not very comforting and others have said it, but Credenzas turn up on the East Coast with regularity. To the point that the price on them has come down considerably. A nice one can often be found for $500 or less if one is patient. I paid $150 for mine.

I say this not to rub it in, but to make a point. From the number of Credenzas seen today, I would wager that the majority of them have survived. They were originally sold across the country, so there's likely one or more in hiding within a 50 mile radius of your area. Be patient and be vigilant and you will find it. Don't give up the hunt!

I know the feeling. I'm currently looking for an Orthophonic machine myself, and as much as a smaller machine such as the Consolette or VV 4-40 would be plenty fine, I still really want the Credenza if I can find one at a reasonable price/condition. I was searching eBay the other day and this looks to be still available, and in Omaha, NE!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1920s-Victor-R ... Sw-LldUCJE

The seller is asking a high price, but it looks to be in very good condition, plus it comes with 100+ records already. Maybe worth an email to the owner to see if they would work with the price.

This one is almost as high as they were selling for in the mid '90s to early '00s before people realized how many of these machines survived. I'd want to look at this or any Credenza in person to make sure there are no pot metal issues before making an offer. With this one, I already don't like how a pin is being used to hold the lid open.

[AmberolaAndy]

I know it's not very comforting and others have said it, but Credenzas turn up on the East Coast with regularity. To the point that the price on them has come down considerably. A nice one can often be found for $500 or less if one is patient. I paid $150 for mine.

I say this not to rub it in, but to make a point. From the number of Credenzas seen today, I would wager that the majority of them have survived. They were originally sold across the country, so there's likely one or more in hiding within a 50 mile radius of your area. Be patient and be vigilant and you will find it. Don't give up the hunt!

I know the feeling. I'm currently looking for an Orthophonic machine myself, and as much as a smaller machine such as the Consolette or VV 4-40 would be plenty fine, I still really want the Credenza if I can find one at a reasonable price/condition. I was searching eBay the other day and this looks to be still available, and in Omaha, NE!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1920s-Victor-R ... Sw-LldUCJE

The seller is asking a high price, but it looks to be in very good condition, plus it comes with 100+ records already. Maybe worth an email to the owner to see if they would work with the price.

This one is almost as high as they were selling for in the mid '90s to early '00s before people realized how many of these machines survived. I'd want to look at this or any Credenza in person to make sure there are no pot metal issues before making an offer. With this one, I already don't like how a pin is being used to hold the lid open.

I’m glad you can get Credenzas for a reasonable price where you’re at. But that eBay listening seems to be typical of what I run into in my area. A couple of months ago the last one that showed up on Craigslist somebody wanted $1200 for it! And the last Credenza listed before that was a year ago and it was in Lincoln, and it was a price I was willing to pay but there was no way anyone was going to take me there to get it. The Credenza is currently the machine I’m actively looking for since I have a limit on what I can buy when it comes to machines, so I want to reserve that space for the best machines I can get. Funnily enough, in 2016 and 2017 I couldn’t find any Edison cylinder player in the local antique stores and then came 2018 and I found 3 of them. And earlier this year I finally found an external horn disc machine. So maybe 2020 will be my year to find a Credenza close and affordable enough so who knows?

(Btw I will also be satisfied with a Viva Tonal 810 or 820, or a Brunswick Cortez)

[marcapra]

I've got a beautiful Viva-Tonal 800, but I'm in So. Calif. Marc.

[Django]

I have been having better luck with the Facebook Marketplace than with Craigslist or Ebay. My VV-8-12 was found on Facebook. I came across the Credenza locally at an old Grange. I may be wrong, but I would expect to find a Credenza in an area with large, older homes and in an are that had good financial success during the mid 1920s. I know that some people have something against Facebook, but I find it to be a useful tool and unlike Craigslist, you can see things about the person that you are dealing with. Good luck.

Another option is to place a wanted ad in your local paper, on Craigslist or on Facebook Marketplace.

[AmberolaAndy]

I have been having better luck with the Facebook Marketplace than with Craigslist or Ebay. My VV-8-12 was found on Facebook. I came across the Credenza locally at an old Grange. I may be wrong, but I would expect to find a Credenza in an area with large, older homes and in an are that had good financial success during the mid 1920s. I know that some people have something against Facebook, but I find it to be a useful tool and unlike Craigslist, you can see things about the person that you are dealing with. Good luck.

Another option is to place a wanted ad in your local paper, on Craigslist or on Facebook Marketplace.

Speaking of the 8-12s, how do they compare to an 8-4? Maybe I should make a new thread about that one day.

[epigramophone]

A few years ago I was offered an Edison Opera by a highly respected fellow collector. Although I could afford it I talked myself out of it, because at £4,500 it was more than my first house cost in 1969.
I bought a Triumph instead, but I still regret passing on the Opera and I still want one.