The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

My worst buy was one of my first. I still thought Victrolas etc were rare, especially in my neck of the woods. So when I saw an upright advertised by some antique store 450 miles away I drove there and bought it for $80 I think (they had it listed at $100). I did not realize at that point that the motor was missing major parts, it had previous bodged wood repairs, and everything turned out to be covered in poly. It was an off-brand, a Royal Talking Machine upright, and I was never able to properly identify and find the missing parts. For a while I thought about cutting it down to a record cabinet, but before my recent move I simply put it to the curb. I learned that not every project can be completed and not to buy off-brands that are incomplete and not in working condition.

Andreas

Once I bought an Edison Army Navy phonograph from a guy in the northeast. He sent a few pictures that were hard to see, but assured us the machine was “ missing the door” but otherwise complete. We bought it, had a friend drive it down, and it was a piece of absolute junk. The straps were falling off, the whole front was a replacement, the guts were wrong. You wouldn’t have spent $50 on it . Didn’t even have enough hardware to part out...lost a pretty penny and had to junk it. Never again will we buy anything sight unseen from someone we don’t know. You can’t trust everyone to be honest!