HMV 102, the complete color range, the treasure trove !

[Steve]

But surely you need one in your bathroom as well?

[leels1]

I guess rarity doesn’t always equate to desirability or cost. I have the “set” although the red deluxe I had to refinish as the leather was so bad the only thing to do was leather paint it. It’s probably worthless to anyone but me now!

The grey and brown. I just liked the grey party due to its rarity but as I like the colour, to me it looks good, but then again… they all do.

€1000 is really a bargain. I’d like to think if I ever sold mine complete in a lot I’d get more than that, but then again how many people are ready to take on 6 102s in one go?!

[slammer]

Beautiful collection! UK pound 1000 for six units in apparently immaculate state is not a real big price. I do not understand why none of the big brands have revived the production of gramophones when there is a strong demand for these machines in the market. Probably this is the reason that cheap and substandard replicas are being sold as originals. These machines have a utilitarian and aesthetic function. These machines define a lifestyle and a value system. Now when organic, environment friendly and durables are thr buzzwords, I feel there will be a comeback moment for these machines in near future.

What big brands? To my knowledge none of the major players exist today and even if they did, the market for gramophones is miniscule and certainly not commercially viable.

Well, just wait for the collapse of civilization and we are back in business.

[Sherazhyder]

What big brands? To my knowledge none of the major players exist today and even if they did, the market for gramophones is miniscule and certainly not commercially viable.
[/quote]

Steve ! If you simply Google for new gramophones, you will find dozens of manufacturers on alibaba.com, and aliexpress. Then there are dozens of retail sellers and auctioneers on the eBay and gumtree. This means that there is a consistent and perennial demand for the gramophone in the market and the replica machine manufacturers are satisfying this demand.

[Steve]

I just liked the grey party due to its rarity but as I like the colour, to me it looks good, but then again… they all do.

The two less common colours: grey and brown are the only reason to buy a job lot like this in my opinion.

I've had both at different times but was pestered to sell my brown one a long time ago which I'd acquired from Ebay for £150. I suggested to the person who wanted to buy it that he'd have to give me £350 to prize it out of my hands, which unexpectedly he then did. What can you do?

I've kept the grey for the reason you said. I really like the colour much more than the brown which looked like any other faux leather case of the time. I'm not surprised either didn't sell well and were discontinued.

However today grey is very much in vogue and rather chic. Maybe finally it has found its time, albeit rather belatedly.

[Steve]

What big brands? To my knowledge none of the major players exist today and even if they did, the market for gramophones is miniscule and certainly not commercially viable.

Steve ! If you simply Google for new gramophones, you will find dozens of manufacturers on alibaba.com, and aliexpress. Then there are dozens of retail sellers and auctioneers on the eBay and gumtree. This means that there is a consistent and perennial demand for the gramophone in the market and the replica machine manufacturers are satisfying this demand.
[/quote]

Whatever new crapophones are being sold, the market has shrunk massively since a peak around the early to mid 1990s. In this millennia the prices have consistently dropped as a result. There are perhaps some areas where interest is holding better and prices are subsequently high: coloured HMV portables for example, but the underlying trend is undeniably downwards.

The reason for this is simple. When I started collecting in around 1990 most collectors were old enough to actually remember these things being used by grandparents and the like. They had an emotional connection to that era. Many collectors enjoyed the music from the period for the same reason. They were also retired and had money and time to spend indulging their hobby in-between juggling grandchildren and golf.

That generation has now sadly passed away. Their collections have filled sale rooms everywhere as their families don't want them. It's simple supply and demand. The amount of younger people interested, which was always incredibly small, is falling, not increasing. I don't believe that will change any day soon as the majority of the population would find the concept of using ancient technology a bit too alien and clunky. It's a niche novelty these days. It always has been but 30 years ago there was a lot more of us populating that niche market.

Not to wish to sound like the prophet of doom, but I said something similar along these lines in CLPGS magazine in 1997!

Anyway, I would add that none of the major manufacturers exist today, not even in name. The idea that a legacy manufacturer will, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, restart a major gramophone production is really quite fanciful.

Also,

[poodling around]

What big brands? To my knowledge none of the major players exist today and even if they did, the market for gramophones is miniscule and certainly not commercially viable.

Steve ! If you simply Google for new gramophones, you will find dozens of manufacturers on alibaba.com, and aliexpress. Then there are dozens of retail sellers and auctioneers on the eBay and gumtree. This means that there is a consistent and perennial demand for the gramophone in the market and the replica machine manufacturers are satisfying this demand.

Whatever new crapophones are being sold, the market has shrunk massively since a peak around the early to mid 1990s. In this millennia the prices have consistently dropped as a result. There are perhaps some areas where interest is holding better and prices are subsequently high: coloured HMV portables for example, but the underlying trend is undeniably downwards.

The reason for this is simple. When I started collecting in around 1990 most collectors were old enough to actually remember these things being used by grandparents and the like. They had an emotional connection to that era. Many collectors enjoyed the music from the period for the same reason. They were also retired and had money and time to spend indulging their hobby in-between juggling grandchildren and golf.

That generation has now sadly passed away. Their collections have filled sale rooms everywhere as their families don't want them. It's simple supply and demand. The amount of younger people interested, which was always incredibly small, is falling, not increasing. I don't believe that will change any day soon as the majority of the population would find the concept of using ancient technology a bit too alien and clunky. It's a niche novelty these days. It always has been but 30 years ago there was a lot more of us populating that niche market.

Not to wish to sound like the prophet of doom, but I said something similar along these lines in CLPGS magazine in 1997!

Anyway, I would add that none of the major manufacturers exist today, not even in name. The idea that a legacy manufacturer will, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, restart a major gramophone production is really quite fanciful.

Also,
[/quote]

Also what ? I was enjoying reading this - you can't just leave on an 'also' .............

[Steve]

What big brands? To my knowledge none of the major players exist today and even if they did, the market for gramophones is miniscule and certainly not commercially viable.

Steve ! If you simply Google for new gramophones, you will find dozens of manufacturers on alibaba.com, and aliexpress. Then there are dozens of retail sellers and auctioneers on the eBay and gumtree. This means that there is a consistent and perennial demand for the gramophone in the market and the replica machine manufacturers are satisfying this demand.

Whatever new crapophones are being sold, the market has shrunk massively since a peak around the early to mid 1990s. In this millennia the prices have consistently dropped as a result. There are perhaps some areas where interest is holding better and prices are subsequently high: coloured HMV portables for example, but the underlying trend is undeniably downwards.

The reason for this is simple. When I started collecting in around 1990 most collectors were old enough to actually remember these things being used by grandparents and the like. They had an emotional connection to that era. Many collectors enjoyed the music from the period for the same reason. They were also retired and had money and time to spend indulging their hobby in-between juggling grandchildren and golf.

That generation has now sadly passed away. Their collections have filled sale rooms everywhere as their families don't want them. It's simple supply and demand. The amount of younger people interested, which was always incredibly small, is falling, not increasing. I don't believe that will change any day soon as the majority of the population would find the concept of using ancient technology a bit too alien and clunky. It's a niche novelty these days. It always has been but 30 years ago there was a lot more of us populating that niche market.

Not to wish to sound like the prophet of doom, but I said something similar along these lines in CLPGS magazine in 1997!

Anyway, I would add that none of the major manufacturers exist today, not even in name. The idea that a legacy manufacturer will, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, restart a major gramophone production is really quite fanciful.

Also,

Also what ? I was enjoying reading this - you can't just leave on an 'also' .............
[/quote]

This is exclusively for poodling around. No one else must read this!

Also, it is conceivable, however hard it might be for us serious collectors to swallow, that there is a peculiar market out there for slightly oddball decorative tat. Yes, some people might like to buy a Crapophone, not because they believe its authentic (or care), not because they want to use it, not because they want to find out more on the subject or collect but simply because it is a decorative item that in the era of nostalgia for vinyl records they think is a "cool" item to have. It costs them £59.99 from their nearest IKEA store and that's that, job done. Will they ever seek out a genuine gramophone? Probably not. To them they have seen the same crapophone in a period TV drama or film and that's good enough.

Frank James and I once talked about contrivance to get an EMG featured in the background of sn episode of Inspector Morse (he who had a penchant for Mark 2 Jaguar cars, no doubt helping to raise the car profile in the process), thus raising the awareness of EMGs in general!

To be cont'd.............(poodling around exclusive)

[epigramophone]

So the majority of the population would find the concept of using ancient technology too alien and clunky, would they?
Many of my generation find the concept of using today's technology alien, frustrating and sometimes terrifying.
It is assumed, wrongly, that everyone on the planet has or wants internet access and a smartphone.
I am considering buying a new car. It won't have a CD player and possibly not even an owner's manual, because the manufacturers assume that everything will be stored on the smartphone which I do not have or want.

[Steve]

So the majority of the population would find the concept of using ancient technology too alien and clunky, would they?
Many of my generation find the concept of using today's technology alien, frustrating and sometimes terrifying.
It is assumed, wrongly, that everyone on the planet has or wants internet access and a smartphone.
I am considering buying a new car. It won't have a CD player and possibly not even an owner's manual, because the manufacturers assume that everything will be stored on the smartphone which I do not have or want.

For me personally modern tech is more bewildering than terrifying. If you've ever used (and I'm sure you probably haven't) one of those bank cards with a random number generating device thingy that gives you a new pass code every time you log on to Internet banking, you'll swear it's voodoo at work. How does your bank magically know it"s you instantly when there are no connections (even remotely) between the two devices and ond of them is not even connected online at all? Anyway, I understand your struggle and determination to go down fighting against modern technology.

I gave up fighting years ago, as soon as I realised there is no possible way of living with the same opportunities and choices as everyone else without fully embracing it.