Berliner 1894 Gramophone

[datamath]

Guys, many thanks for your help! I got my money back!!!

I appreciate your support!

Jose

Congratulations on your good fortune... Glad you asked here before it was too late.

You rock!!

BTW, guys, I'm interested in getting one . If anyone has one for sale, please contact me! Thanks and good day!!

[Curt A]

Jose,
Good luck with finding a real one, but be prepared to pay 8-10 times what you paid for the replica...

[Governor Flyball]

There are various logical telltale signs of fakery that often jump out.

The first tip off to me it was a fake was the reproducer placed on the wrong side of the Little Wonder record. But the clincher was the Berliner 1894 on the plaque!

[Inigo]

Glad you got free of it and could get the business to a halt. Original ones must be bought from serious collectors or dealers.
These early machines have been replicated extensively, but there are good replicas, a labor of love, and sold sincerely for what they are. Be careful with good replicas pretending to be originals!
And there are bad replicas like that one, that someone is trying to pass as originals, very sad.
I understand that this is difficult, but the best would be to be able to examine the machine in the flesh, accompanied by a knowledgeable advisor. Or buy from a trustable seller.
If I ever bought a machine like this one, this forum would be the first place where I would put a WANTED advert. To buy a thing such as this from people you don't know in eBay, with photos only, is as risky as buying diamonds...

[datamath]

Glad you got free of it and could get the business to a halt. Original ones must be bought from serious collectors or dealers.
These early machines have been replicated extensively, but there are good replicas, a labor of love, and sold sincerely for what they are. Be careful with good replicas pretending to be originals!
And there are bad replicas like that one, that someone is trying to pass as originals, very sad.
I understand that this is difficult, but the best would be to be able to examine the machine in the flesh, accompanied by a knowledgeable advisor. Or buy from a trustable seller.
If I ever bought a machine like this one, this forum would be the first place where I would put a WANTED advert. To buy a thing such as this from people you don't know in eBay, with photos only, is as risky as buying diamonds...

Thank you Inigo. I'll definitely take your advice. Lesson learned. It was ~almost~ a mess. Thanks to everyone in the forum!! You guys spared me from an expensive mistake! Thanks!

[Inigo]

I bet all of us have done something alike at some point, when you get that impulse to buy!

[Raphael]

Don't buy anything like this on eBay. Ever.

I strongly disagree with this blanket statement. There are many eBay sellers, including members of the TMF, who have successfully and satisfactorily sold genuine, rare machines on eBay. Crooks (or totally unknowledgeable sellers) can appear anywhere, anytime, at shows, on Facebook, etc. As advised by others here, a buyer’s due diligence is the keyword when making a substantial purchase.

Raphael

[smitharthur]

I strongly agree with your counterargument. Seen the eBay prices lately? Seen how difficult they are making the selling process? And, guess who absorbs the additional costs? Yes, the buyer.

[phonogfp]

Many years ago, my friend Tim Fabrizio and I hoped to prevent this sort of mistake through our book series, which clearly pictures many hundreds of different talking machines with proper original components (including all known variations of the Berliner hand-driven Gramophone).

Over the years I came to realize that such mistakes - for several reasons - would never be entirely prevented. Still, it pains me to see it happen. I'm glad this instance turned out okay.

George P.

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=15832&p=91754&hilit ... ire#p91754

[gramophone-georg]

There are various logical telltale signs of fakery that often jump out.

The first tip off to me it was a fake was the reproducer placed on the wrong side of the Little Wonder record. But the clincher was the Berliner 1894 on the plaque!

I'd think that anyone who has been in this hobby longer than about 15 min would have noticed the repro horn by the way the bell fits the cone.