Opera Value Opinion

[kirtley2012]

i would buy it regardless of condition however that is impossible on a teenagers budget!!

[USlakeside]

Seems like a lot of work would need to be done, plus shipping parts around and so on. Thanks for the feedback. I was hoping to bring it back to life, but I think I will need to pass.

[USlakeside]

Thanks for the feedback. If anyone wants the contact for the Opera, PM me. I can't take it on.

[rodpickett]

This has beeen available to us locally for a few weeks and nobody around here had an interest. She was initally thinking about $3500 - $4000. Since there was no interest by collectors here, she put it on Craigslist, as follows:

This is a very rare and sought after Edison Phonograph. I had it restored in 1998 and it appraised at $5900 at that time. It also comes with records. It worked up until 3 months ago and the man that restored it for me said that eventually the spring would bound up and have to be replaced. This in is not a costly repair. I am asking $4500.00 please cal three one seven 626 three four one seven.


As stated previously, even at $4500, it would take a lot of $$ to make it right.

[USlakeside]

I'm sure there are people that would pay 6000.00. I can also assume others would pay 600.00. Since you would would not buy it "unless it's cheap"......what's cheap??. Again, it really is what is agreed by both parties and both walk away happy with the deal. I'm under the impression that uslakeside prefers to re-sell and therefore it would be in his best interest to buy it as "cheap" as he can. Again, this is only my opinion.
Other forums (like radio) discourage offering values on items to members asking

True I do like to resell finds that I fix up. I found a Edison business phonograph that probably would have never been brought back to completion and working order if it had sat in the antique store (where it had been for 15 years). Same thought with this Opera. Buy, have **properly** restored within reason (financially), and put back out for collectors who have the resources to pay for that kind of machine that may otherwise never be put back into the collector stream. I think its helpful for people who are trying to collect. Honest restorations etc.

[USlakeside]

Also, I think its not helpful to discourage valuation questions. For starters, how do you learn about the hobby if your just starting out? You can get burned easily. Ebay is not always a realistic gauge of value because of a wide, wide range of variables on evan on an Edison Standard. Certainly no book out there right now has accurate pricing since the recession, and as seen on the forum, values change and people want to know why. Auctions in other hobby areas are often half the retail value of an item, but this isnt always true for retail of phonographs. There are collectors who collect for the object, regardless of cost, and then there are others who have to keep cost in mind if they are working with limited budgets and plan to move items out of their collection possibly later on. Everyone has a unique style of collecting. For me, yes I want to know values because I resell. Had I not found several of the machines I have found, they would never end up in collections of people who now love those machines. My EMG find is a prime example. I have never seen someone so happy about a new phonograph I was able to sell them!

[OrthoSean]

My EMG find is a prime example. I have never seen someone so happy about a new phonograph I was able to sell them!

Amen!

Seriously, I never dreamed I'd own an EMG and it's now the only machine I play often. The fiber gear in the motor self destructed a couple of weeks ago, though, because the governor bearing was loose on one end and I was afraid to tear it apart and it was running OK as it was. Thanks to another member here, I have a replacement gear and turntable shaft on the way. This is a great forum and I have met several great people through here that I'm proud to call friends.

Sean

[kirtley2012]

My EMG find is a prime example. I have never seen someone so happy about a new phonograph I was able to sell them!

This is a great forum and I have met several great people through here that I'm proud to call friends.

Sean

the wonders of the internet!!