The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Well, unfortunately, most of us will never know "What would a knowledgeable collector expect to pay a knowledgeable seller in a private transaction?" because they are, umm, private. Informed decisions, need objective data.

Clay

I think what 52089 is saying is that the guidelines posted are good, but transactions between two knowledgable collectors are more than likely going to be the most realistic and uniform. At least that's my take on it. Take a look at the Yankee Trader section's SOLD listings and you'll get a pretty good idea right there on some "fair market prices". I find myself having to move stuff when something else I want comes along and so far, I've had great luck using the YT section here. I price what I've been selling accordingly and (hopefully) reasonably so it moves and finds a new home quickly.

No matter what the situation, there are certainly variables, which is why price "guides" tend to fall out of the realm of reality pretty quickly. A perfect example I can think of are Credenzas, they used to be $1200-1500 all day long not too long ago. I've seen many for lots less recently, yet others still selling for $1200. The last one I bought came from a collector and it was $250 needing nothing but a good cleaning. At a recent auction, there were THREE Credenzas, two of them went for just over $100 each, one had a brass reproducer (electric motor) and the other was a nice clean crank version. The other one brought around $400 and was no nicer than the other two, all of them were ready to display and really nice. I would have bought the two $100 ones, but I had my sights set on a couple of others I had expected to sell for MUCH more than they did. I went home happy yet puzzled. Lots of collectors were at this sale. Some things went ridiculously cheap (an XVIII went for $900, for example) while others went for what I would consider "retail", like Victor Vs with Oak horns for close to $3k, other stuff went sky high. Many of us at the sale were all puzzled by it all.

Sean

That sounds like an auction I wish I had attended Sean!

A good brass Orthophonic reproducer by itself should bring $200 to $300.

But I guess it is always the same with auctions. To get the right price for something the right people wanting it have to be in the room. Of course when they aren't is when the bargains happen. I hope you picked up some from your wanted list.

Clay

OrthoSean wrote:I think what 52089 is saying is that the guidelines posted are good, but transactions between two knowledgable collectors are more than likely going to be the most realistic and uniform. At least that's my take on it.

Yes, Sean (and Clay), that's basically what I was driving at, the keyword here being knowledgeable. We've all seen Craigslist ads for a $5000 VV-XI, and we all know someone who paid way too much for something. These transactions don't take place when both parties have knowledge and experience.

Also, when I said "private", I meant person-to-person as opposed to retail. I've done many "private" transactions where I'll gladly talk about what I bought or sold and for how much, though I probably won't say who the other party was.

I wish there were a publication that carried reports of sale prices at phonograph shows and auctions, but I don't know of one. I used to get a radio collector publication (I have let the subscription lapse and can't recall now what is was), and it was very helpful.

Clay

FloridaClay wrote:I wish there were a publication that carried reports of sale prices at phonograph shows and auctions, but I don't know of one. I used to get a radio collector publication (I have let the subscription lapse and can't recall now what is was), and it was very helpful.

Clay

Clay,
You can get a post and pre sale price on Steve Stantons auctions in November. Just give him a call.

FloridaClay wrote:I wish there were a publication that carried reports of sale prices at phonograph shows and auctions, but I don't know of one.

The closest that I know of today is the service offered on Victor-Victrola.com. He offers an appraisal for $20 which is useful for an unknowledgeable owner who is looking to sell a Victrola and wants to make sure that he/she receives fair value. The appraisals are based on recent auction sales (live auctions and ebay) and he has quite a large database of prices. The service is only available for Victor products and is probably not useful for most collectors, who already have a pretty good idea of pricing. I know that on a few occasions the service has helped the seller describe the Victor properly and receive appropriate bids at auction (more than if it it had been improperly described).

Collectors in general have a fairly good idea of the value of items in their collection. I know that I have paid too much for certain items, and received bargains on others. I figure that it all averages out in the end and I don't have any regrets.

The old adage of "buy the best" works with phonographs too. In 2008 when the economy tanked, nearly all phonograph values tanked too. The exception was the truly rare and desirable pieces whose value seemed impervious to the blood bath in the general economy. I wish that I had heeded that advice!

Hello,
If you go to www.liveauction.com you will find a site that compiles listings for up coming auctions and also what everything sold for. To see the final selling prices you need to register with the site, it is free. Then you type in Victrola in the search engine and up comes all the Victrolas that have sold at auctions complete with pictures and selling prices.
Pete

flashpanblue wrote:Hello,
If you go to http://www.liveauction.com you will find a site that compiles listings for up coming auctions and also what everything sold for. To see the final selling prices you need to register with the site, it is free. Then you type in Victrola in the search engine and up comes all the Victrolas that have sold at auctions complete with pictures and selling prices.
Pete

Thanks for the tip Pete. I will look into that.

Clay

Don't know if you know about this site, but it is kind of neat. You can sign up (free) and an email will show up in your inbox every week with detailed info about what went down on eBay for the week, the most worthwhile being all completed phonograph related sales.

http://www.collectorsweekly.com/electro ... =completed

I have subscribed for quite awhile. It gives you a feel for what is happening out there and the direction things are going (for awhile now, slowly up).

Clay