SCHUBERT EDISONIC ON eBAY… (in 14 Separate Auctions)

[US PHONO]

If you check what he quotes for international shipping on the cabinet - its about $37, there is 1 bid for $7.99. Does the seller have to respect his shipping quote, as to ship this cabinet international is way more than $37! May be a spoiler to get a friend like in Greece to win the lot for a few $ and expect it delivered to Athens for $37

[pughphonos]

I was at church this morning when this sale ended at 11:00 a.m. Central, and therefore wasn't able to see what the bids were just before the sale ended. Is there any way to find the winning bid prices for concluded E-bay sales? I can call up the one link that Valecnik posted, but don't know how to access the others.

[Phonolair]

You can search "Completed Auctions" to find if, and for how much any eBay auction end at.
Best Regards, Larry

[Edisone]

I bid the reproducer up to $126, but let some other person have it for $128.50 (a cheap price, if the diamond is good)

[Valecnik]

The total was around $400 plus an additional $128 for the reproducer. Half the $400 was the grill which someone bought for $200.

[brianu]

I mentioned that I was in touch with this guy for a bit during the auctions. he's very close and he seemed semi interested in my offer to buy everything from him (except for the reproducer) so that I could reassemble it, but he wouldn't give me a price and instead wanted me to say what I'd pay. so I offered him 150 cash (which I thought was more than fair, given the considerable time and effort that restoring this would involve because of what had been done to it) and said I could pick it all up whenever. that didn't seem to be enough, so I asked him again if he had a number in mind, because I figured we could probably work something out. instead, he accused me of being greedy because he felt my offer was too low and said that he was just going to go ahead with the auctions. I figured, fine, so be it. then, after the auctions ended, he sent me this message through ebay's system:

"So, the items you offered a "more than fair" $150 for sold for $400 (the grill alone went for $200), plus I still have a few parts that I haven't had a chance to list yet. Looks like you were just as greedy as you say I was, trying to lowball the parts from me. Plus, I only have two small items that didn't sell today to "trash" according to you because I am obviously too stupid to relist them. I feel good that the parts are going to good homes to restore other machines. You can respond with more hating so you can feel good about yourself too."

when you wonder who it is who does this sort of thing to these machines, well, that's who. and that's that I guess.

[pughphonos]

Brianu, the man is clearly mentally disturbed. I'm both glad that you contacted him and tried to do what you could to get a hold of that machine and restore it--but sorry that you had to experience his nastiness directly.

He can try to justify what he did every which way. His final talking point is that the parts are now helping restore other machines. Well, I'm sure that pretty much all that will occur now will be upgrades for those other machines rather than replacements of missing parts (either through direct sale to a Schubert owner, or indirectly through other dealers who will eventually sell to Schubert owners). For example, someone might have bought the doors because they were better preserved than the doors they had. But if this butchery had not occurred, that buyer would have eventually had their own doors restored if they cared enough. Therefore, this sort of sale only permits a group of people to engage in some convenient and aesthetic--but largely unnecessary--upgrades. I am not criticizing the buyers, ultimately; the seller is the criminal. As much as he tries to justify it, he took a fully-functional Edisonic and eliminated it from the universe. It does not "live on" in the machines that have absorbed its parts. What now becomes of the parts that will be replaced? It will be interesting to see if we now get a second wave of Schubert Edisonic parts appearing on E-bay in the weeks ahead--offered by those who bought from this man this weekend. If we are lucky--as some of those now "extra" lesser parts might end up in the trash.

One can at least hope he is a criminal with a guilty conscience; he very well may be.

[Valecnik]

I got a similarly snotty reply from him via eBAY before the auctions ended. I politely told him that I'd not bid as a matter of principle on parts cannibalized from a perfectly functional and complete machine.

His reply in part, "Strange you don't care enough about your machines to purchase parts that they need. Doesn't matter I've got plenty of other bidders who think differently".

Never responded. Better things to do than spar with twits like him.

[pughphonos]

Well, this clown doesn't realize that he's personally insulted some truly "Big Dude Collectors" (Brianu, Valecnik, etc.) with long memories. The story of poor Schubert Edisonic serial #3398 now passes into history, but our interest in his fella will go on. Kinda like that Filkins woman (E-bay scammer) who was on Judge Judy a few years ago; it's always interesting to keep an eye on them as karma gets them sooner or later.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZY3UKeDZqv8

[EdisonKiller]

It seems that I have developed a small, but very ardent, fan club on the forum. I thought I’d save Brianu the trouble of reposting my emails and photos by addressing the fan club directly.

Yes, depending on who you are, I am The Butcher, the dirtbag, the criminal, the butcher, the cannibal, the butcher, or the twit. After reviewing this list, I now wish I had gone with the user name The Butcher instead of EdisonKiller.

It is a shame that this small group of arrogant, self-righteous self-appointed Guardians of Historical Phongraphs that live in the perfect world atop Mt. Arrogance reflect poorly on the rest of the fine members of the Talking Machine Forum, but as typical of The Arrogants, if any other person doesn’t totally agree with their narrow viewpoint on a subject that person clearly has no merit in life. They also assume that anyone who finds an old Edison in a filthy flea market building 10 years ago and pays $100 for it automatically knows that it is actually a treasured Holy Grail of machines worth $1,000. Ah, to be so perfect.

Some comments for my individual fans:
To Harvey Kravitz (Phonofreak) – thank you for the fleas from a thousand camels that your old country curse sent my way. I’ll be listing 3 Flea Circuses on eBay shortly. Be sure to tell all your friends in the Flea Forum to boycott my auctions. I also appreciate the new teeth. I needed new dentures, and your curse for all my teeth to fall out made it look like a natural cause, so my new dentures were covered 100% by insurance. I also need a new car, so if you could put in an old world curse for a tree to fall on it tonight so insurance will buy me another one I would appreciate it. All my love, the Dirtbag.

To Edisone – I appreciate you running up the price of the reproducer in my auction, helping to satiate my alleged greed. I can’t tell if you are a member of the lynch mob or a voice of reason. I’m shocked you admitted to the haters that you bid in my auction. Be careful, your “friends” will turn on you like a pack of jackals.

To Pughphonos – You by far are the most interesting of the haters. Your hypocrisy is especially compelling. You join right in with the haters in several of your posts, then run off to church. I guess your church doesn’t preach “love they neighbor” or “Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor’s Schubert”. I hope while you were at church you were praying for the deliverance of all of you tortured souls in my fan club, because when I am in Hades playing cricket with the Devil’s Minions I don’t really want the company of your crowd. Us sinners don’t play well with the self-righteous. AND, besides attacking me, you insult the rest of your collector community, by implying that people who bought the parts from me, such as the doors, didn’t really need them, they were just too lazy to refinish the doors they had. Really? There is absolutely no possibility in your narrow mind that the machine they were restoring was found without doors? Of course not, that wouldn’t fit in with the current self-righteous tirade against anyone with an opposing viewpoint. You also are obviously the sycophant son-in-law of either Brianu or Valecnik, with your public feeding of their ego, declaring them “Big Dude Collectors”. Maybe this weekend I will grab my basket of rose petals and join you throwing them down at their feet as they walk through their Edison kingdom (right after attending church, of course). Your desperate desire for recognition and approval from the Big Dudes is so very sad. Just in case you don’t know: “Sycophant: a person who uses flattery to win favor from individuals wielding influence”. I guess their power doesn’t extend to influence over the forum, since an infidel like myself was allowed access with a blasphemous user name. I’m glad you pointed out their power to me. I have no idea how I survived 76 years without their guidance, but I’ll surely hang on their every word going forward. Love, your “mentally disturbed criminal”.

Last, but not least, to my two new best friends Brianu and Valecnik. When I first received your emails about the machine I parted out, I did feel bad (even though as the Devil I shouldn’t have feelings) about breaking up what turned out to be a treasured machine, and even apologized to the collector community. It was only after your continued attacks and arrogance and assumption that all people must inherently know a treasured machine when they come across it did I withdraw my apology and go unrepentant. Brianu can deny his greed all he wants, but offering $150 for all the parts is the same greed he accuses me of. I would like to thank Valecnik for introducing me to this forum, telling me I needed to consult this loving group for a “solution” to “my problem”. Now I can hang out with my new friends, and see who the next person is that they are targeting a boycott of, so I can alert that person and help them, since that’s what a forum is for, helping like-minded individuals, correct? Oh by the way Brianu and Valecnik, a lesson for you in eBay auctions is that the bid price means nothing until the absolute last 2 minutes of an auction, when the real bidders arrive. That’s why Brianu’s early offer of $150 was totally inadequate.

I’m really excited about being the inspiration for 4 pages of conversation and love fest. What’s the record? I’m hoping that this post inspires at least another 5 pages of spirited supportive conversation.

My plans for the future are to log in daily to the forum and add my input to as many of the haters’ discussions as possible. Since you have seen your way to fill this fine site with your venom about me, I intend to stay active in discussions, and be the opposing voice that won’t be silenced by the self-righteous. Since you have made it your obsession to vilify me and attempt to disrupt my eBay auctions, and according to Pughphonos your “interest in this fella will go on”, I can only assume you will continue to act this way going forward. Therefore, I will make it my obsession to keep irritating the heck out of you in return. Love they neighbor.

I’d love to chat more but I’m off to an estate sale to buy another Edison machine to dismember and sell for parts. Bye for now. The Butcher.