FOR SALE: VV III - INQUIRE - SOLD

[Raemsl]

I am selling this for a friend, whose father bought this machine when he owned a phonograph repair store in LA in the 50’s and 60’s. I am not a professional seller or a talking machine enthusiast, but completed some basic research to accurately describe and value this item.
This is a Victor III. The brass plate reads “VIC III 2129A”.
This machine has an Spear Point Horn in a dark finish. I do not know if this was the upgrade available for the VIC III or added later. The Horn has been repaired as shown in the photos.
The cabinet is in very good shape, probably better in person than it appears in the photos. It does not appear to be the “Golden Oak” finish as it is dark. I understand that identifying other oak finishes is a matter of debate and best left to the experts. I see no repairs to the cabinet.
The cabinet has a seller’s label as pictured, which reads, “SO. CAL. Music CO., Los Angles, Cal.”
The original green felt was replaced. The metal piece that connects to the wood horn to the tone arm (see in photos) was replaced by an authentic reproduction.
The machine plays very well. I am happy to answer any questions about this machine.
I decide to join and post on this forum as I prefer to sell directly to enthusiasts who will appreciate this machine. I will ship to the US for $100, but of course would prefer pick up in Seattle. I see that machines like this sell for a variety of prices on Ebay and have some idea of what this is worth; however, I prefer that the market set the price and that you submit an offer if you’re interested. Please contact me a [email protected].

[FellowCollector]

Hi There, A few very gentle comments that may help with your selling this...the goose neck (curved piece that the reproducer attaches to) is on backwards and the Edison record mounted on the turntable would be damaged on this machine if played with a steel needle. The goose neck can be removed by carefully unscrewing the slotted nickel plated "screw" and then simply reversing the assembly so that the goose neck and reproducer are on the left side. Most any of the earlier acoustically recorded laterally cut 78rpm records (Victor, Columbia, etc.) would be appropriate to mount and play on this. Kind Regards, Doug

[Raemsl]

Thank you for taking the time to send these suggestions. We will make the changes and post a photo. I'm glad that I listed the machine on this board. Karen

[Curt A]

Karen,
Several points on this machine: the horn is in bad condition and needs complete restoration. The base and mechanical parts are also in need of restoration, so please do not get your hopes up comparing this machine to one in excellent original condition or one that has been restored. Please understand that considerable time and work would be necessary to bring this up to a presentable condition, so you have to be realistic on the price if you want to sell it. Most of us do not want to value your item for you, so offers are not a way to bring this to the market, unless you put it on eBay with no minimum and see what someone would pay for it.

I am not in any way diminishing or downgrading your machine, you just have to understand the process that is necessary to have this compete with collector grade machines. So, the best way for you to approach this is to get with whoever owns this and see if you can come up with a "reasonable" price that you might expect to get. Once you do that, you need to be open to negotiations based on your asking price. Just for example, let's say you think this is worth $5,000 - you will not get any responses, so a reasonable range has to be determined by you, or you will think that someone is trying to take advantage.... An unrestored machine, which is not in original condition, is not going to bring the money that another machine which has had hours and hours of labor, searching for original parts and spending the necessary money to bring it to good working order will bring as a restored machine. Just some thoughts for what they are worth...

[Curt A]

"I am not a professional seller or a talking machine enthusiast, but completed some basic research to accurately describe and value this item."

No one would expect you to be an expert, but what basic research did you do to value this... and what price range did you come up with? This needs to be established and the value range you have in mind needs to be stated before anyone will express a "yay" or "nay" on it ...

[Raemsl]

Thank you for the suggestions. A similar machine sold yesterday on Ebay for $1,851. That machine's horn looks in better condition than our machine, but the seller says the machine is in non-working condition. Our machine works. My friend decided that $1,500 would be the lowest price he would accept with an additional $100 for shipping in the U.S. I have sold items on Ebay and have an excellent rating. My email is kstrege at MSN and I'm happy to answer questions. Karen

[JerryVan]

Karen,

The condition of the horn and cabinet woodwork & finish is far more important than whether it works or not. Not working is easy to fix, but you only have original finish once, and when it's gone...

Best wishes on the sale of your friend's machine. Thanks for participating here.

[ambrola]

Karen,
1500.00 is a steal for a wood horn 3. I would put it on eBay if no one here is interested.

[gramophone78]

Thank you for the suggestions. A similar machine sold yesterday on Ebay for $1,851. That machine's horn looks in better condition than our machine, but the seller says the machine is in non-working condition. Our machine works. My friend decided that $1,500 would be the lowest price he would accept with an additional $100 for shipping in the U.S. I have sold items on Ebay and have an excellent rating. My email is kstrege at MSN and I'm happy to answer questions. Karen

Karen,
Please don't think you must post an asking price as long as you post "inquire". You have posted a way for those interested to contact you and it is your business as to what you are willing to accept.

You also do not need to explain where or how you gained your research to anyone.

I too agree with member Amberola.....if no one is willing to give you the amount you have now posted on this forum.....I would recommend Ebay or even your local Craigslist. There are many on your local CL who are not collectors that would love to own one machine.
Hope this helps.