A red Columbia 202, a sad sight to see

[nostalgia]

Yes, they are rare, this is actually the first one I have seen coming up for sale here, but to me...this one looks beyond repair. One can never repair the cover and make it look close to decent, as I see it. What are your opinions? It is also missing the record album.

[epigramophone]

All the more sad because this is the final version of the 202 with the HMV 270 Series side wound motor, made up to 1937.
Unless there are areas of the case covering missing it is probably saveable, but the album will be hard to find.

[Steve]

Forget it and move on. It's way past the point of worrying about. There are better examples out there. Don't waste your time on it. Columbia portables either have to be in exceptionally good order or have an amazing provenance to ever sell them on. A restored one won't be worth a bean and it'll take up so much of your precious time, better spent elsewhere on anything else. Just look at the pathetic pittance the recent "rare" 113's have sold for. If they were HMV's of that quality they'd be selling for £400!

I recently witnessed a conversation between a guy hawking around a black 202 and a dealer. The guy wanted £50 for it. The dealer said no on the basis it was a Columbia and he couldn't sell them. "Everybody wants HMV's, I can't sell Columbias", the dealer opined. "Give us £40 for it" the guy pleaded. "No, I can't sell Columbia's", the dealer insisted. He looked at me hopefully. "Do you want it?" If I didn't already have two black 202's, I might have been tempted. "No, thank you", I added. "£30?" For Pete's sake, I put him out of his misery and left with another 202, I now don't know what I'm going to do with!

[Steve]

All the more sad because this is the final version of the 202 with the HMV 270 Series side wound motor, made up to 1937.
Unless there are areas of the case covering missing it is probably saveable, but the album will be hard to find.

There was a quite decent black case 202 with that motor for sale recently in Bristol on Ebay. Rather typically these days it was being offered unreserved by a charity shop. It made all of £47 with a box of records. If it had offered postage I might have gladly bid substantially more for it.

[nostalgia]

I am sorry to say, I doubt there are so many better red examples out there (here), Steve. I have never seen it for sale here, and some weeks ago I visited the son of the biggest Columbia collector in Norway (now deceased) and he had no red Columbia 202 in his big collection.
But you are also right, it would never be any money in saving it, no doubt about that.

The seller asked £ 110 for it in his ad, but would there be room for negotiation, and why even think about negotiating over this machine that well...is as we all can see close to a wreck.
Enigmatic talk, yes. I will give an update soon.

[Inigo]

I've been always tempted by these gramophones, the 109/112/201/202 but not arriving to buy one. All them I've seen herein had the appearance of having issues with the tonearm base or any other parts. Nevertheless I once owned a late Spanish Columbia model, with a great sound, kind of copy of an hmv102, which I later traded for a flamant 113a, which I love. It's the only Columbia I own.

[nostalgia]

I bought it!
I told the facts about the machine to the seller, the missing record album etc...and the price was immediately lowered to....£ 8, delivered 3 km from my doorstep, where I met the seller.

It became a no brainer, taking into consideration there is a winding handle, a complete needle tray ( that I miss on a black close to mint 202), and of course...there is a sound box.
But I would never have bought this machine for more than £20, really, but what I experience often, is that the price is lowered immediately when I get in touch, and in particular during the summer, when
people tidy garages etc.

I will see what I will do with it, it really looks miserable,,,if I will only use the donor parts or not.
The seller said he would look for the record album, along with some 78 records, he also felt could be somewhere in his crowded garage.

One should never say never, one never knows what a miserable start will end up with, really.

Three days I bought an average looking Odeon Orator for a fair price, also ending up with 50 rather hard to find records of far more monetary value than the gramophone...

[epigramophone]

Another one saved, and the missing album may yet be found. I had a similar experience with this Paillard which was on eBay.
The record album was missing, but the seller had listed a collection of records separately. In one of the pictures I recognised the album and told the seller, who reunited it with the machine, which I then bought.

[nostalgia]

That's a good looking Paillard, Roger.
Ane yes, one never knows...it doesn't hurt to contact the seller, if no one else wants it...