(Trying to) Protect An Eagle

[phonogfp]

I hope you post some pictures of this one George as I'd love to see this lucky survivor.

I thought you'd never ask!

The Eagle itself is a conventional early type with plate-secured spring barrels. But the lid has an added retailer decal for the Ohio Graphophone Company in Columbus. Yes, that's all it takes to excite me...

I won't clean this up until I finish work on a friend's machine, but here's what the lucky Eagle looks like tonight:

...And I underestimated the eBay seller. After I sent my last message above, he responded:

Definitely was not intentional I think you for everything and I will be much more careful in the future

This might mean, "Sure, sure, I'll just say whatever the old crank wants to hear..." or it might mean he has seen the light. In either event, they all lived happily ever after.

George P.

[TinfoilPhono]

Nice one! I almost bid against you on that one because I loved the decal, but I decided to let it go. I'm glad you got it. It was a bargain, though given the shipping that is perhaps relative.

[fran604g]

How many Eagles does this one make?

Cheers,
Fran

[NateO]

Congratulations, George! That's really a nice Eagle. You really should buy a lottery ticket- it took some extremely good luck for that to arrive in one piece!

[HisMastersVoice]

Glad it arrived unharmed!

When I want to make sure a seller acknowledges my shipping/packaging request, I wait until they respond before I send payment.

[phonogfp]

Nice one! I almost bid against you on that one because I loved the decal, but I decided to let it go. I'm glad you got it. It was a bargain, though given the shipping that is perhaps relative.

Thanks for not bidding, Rene. You probably saved me a lot of money, because I bid ridiculously high on it.

How many Eagles does this one make?

Cheers,
Fran

Eight, if you don't count the BS. But they're all different in one way or another...

It's lucky I don't have a "thing" for Victrola 210s!

Glad it arrived unharmed!

When I want to make sure a seller acknowledges my shipping/packaging request, I wait until they respond before I send payment.

Now that's an idea... I may be too anxious to demonstrate my good intentions or ingratiate myself instead of being the hard-ass my friends know me to be... I like that tactic - - thanks, Brandon.

George P.

[Raphael]

Well, this whole subject has been beat to death on the Forum for years, and this is the latest installment. I am not saying this in a disparaging way, by any means. I do think, however, that bidders on eBay should take into consideration whether or not the seller has specific knowledge of shipping antique phonographs. Same goes true for music boxes, clocks, etc.
What does rankle me though, is when buyers state they’ll never buy on eBay because of prior bad experiences. That’s kind of like saying you’ll never fly again because your last 3 flights were delayed.
I take a lot of pains to ship properly and still there are occasional screwups. A few weeks ago an HG suffered a bent drive shaft. Even the buyer says he cannot fathom how I could have packed it any better. Fortunately Wyatt came to the rescue and a week later the machine was running great. Back to the drawing boards for shipping those heavy mechanisms.
Today I crated a B-375 Edison and it is traveling from here in Ft. Lauderdale to Washington state. About as far as you can go within the continental U.S. It was a project that I’ve done many times before and I learn a little bit each time.
My friend and neighbor, Wayne Robbins (Victrola Monkey) has the shipment of huge Electrolas down to an art form. I myself wouldn’t know how to move one 10 feet without his guidance.
Bottom line, be careful who you buy from, check their feedbacks, and if they usually sell Beanie Babies or similar bric-a-brac, consider the odds, and maybe have them take it to a professional packer.

Raphael

[phonogfp]

Raphael,

You're right - - it's foolish to swear off eBay because of an unpleasant experience with a buyer or a seller. Ebay's not one person, and judging that behemoth in such a simplistic way would be much like refusing to eat in a local restaurant chain because of poor service in the same chain 1000 miles away.

I consider it incumbent upon me as a responsible buyer to do exactly as you suggest, and check out what a seller usually deals with. If it's Beanie Babies or the like, I offer packing suggestions, as I did this time (but only after I had paid, as Brandon pointed out!). I've done this dozens of times over the years without a problem. What happened this time was, I thought, entertaining enough to share.

Fortunately, it all work out alright (except for a copy of Amberol Record Special K).

I'll certainly be bidding again on eBay in the not-too-distant future.

George P.

[zenith82]

I'll save my comments on the packing job since I would just be echoing what everyone else said.

I just wanted to chime in and say that dealer decal is really cool. I'm amazed by little things like that as well. A few years back, I was trying to negotiate a deal on a Cheney machine that had a very decorative local dealer's decal under the lid. Honestly, the decal is the only reason I was interested in the machine, which was quite run of the mill otherwise. The deal ended up falling through and I've not seen another example of that particular decal since.

[NEFaurora]

George P. .....You Phonohoarder...you.....lol...

)

Tony K.

Edison Collector/Restorer