The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Lucius1958 wrote:

beaumonde wrote:It's such a pain to be a seller on eBay these days. He must be a masochist. Unbelievable.

Most likely, he's an incurable optimist: he still hopes he'll find someone rich enough (and stupid enough) to meet his price........

I always assumed that he got burned on it, spent something obscene on it, and is determined to try to make his money back on it. After listing this thing over and over for at least a year and a half now, I figured that not only would have he figured out that these things in good condition sell for $250-300 (it's not like there aren't several on ebay on any given day), but he probably got several emails telling him that.

Even if I just wanted to make a killing on something, unless I had a lot of money into it, any profit is better than relisting the thing over and over and over again, and paying ebay listing fees.

There is an antique store in Las Vegas where an Edison Diamond Disc Phonograph has been for sale, with a high price, for several years.

There is an antique shop about 20 miles from me that had an "Eagle" Graphophone back in the 1990s. The thing was virtually perfect - - nice shiny steel, flawless decal on the lid, reproducer in the original cardboard box, and the original horn in very nice condition. All there and pristine. But it's a consignment shop, and the owner of this Graphophone wanted what at the time (1995) was a ridiculous price for it. I'd look at the thing sitting in a glass display cabinet and wish the seller had more sense. Not that Eagles are that hard to come by, but this one was so nice - - and complete.

Well, six years passed, and I started seeing 10" conical horns selling for upwards of $100 at Union, Wilmington, and Wayne. That set me to thinking... I stopped by the shop, asked the person on duty contact the seller, and after some haggling, we made an arrangement. The seller - even after six years - dropped his price by only $50, but I finally had the chance to bring it home and sell my lesser example.

A month or two later, a collector from about 50 miles distant was visiting, took one look at that Eagle, and said, "HEY - YOU BOUGHT THAT AT THE ----- SHOP!" He'd been looking at it for years too, but the price had scared him off just as it had me. But he recognized it as soon as he saw it. I was fortunate in that I attend phonograph shows, so realized that the escalating price of good 10" conical horns actually brought the price down from "exorbitant" to merely "high retail." I don't mind paying retail for a really nice example.

But the seller waited six years to make his profit! He obviously has a day job - - and he'd better hang onto it!

George P.

Speaking of Eagle, I think they are great little machines. My Eagle was one of my favorite phonographs in my collection. I can't put my finger on why I liked it so much. It was in pretty good condition and was all original which helped. Unfortunately, I had to sell it to prepare for our second child. It surprised me when it sold for more than $600. Here are some pictures

I am always amazed at the outrageous prices at the San Diego antique shops. I don't recall
the specific brand but there was a shot-out portable for $300 at one of the stores.
They do serve a purpose though. When I have a machine for sale and someone compares the
prices to the antique stores, it seems like a bargain.

SonnyPhono wrote:Speaking of Eagle, I think they are great little machines. My Eagle was one of my favorite phonographs in my collection. I can't put my finger on why I liked it so much.

Eagles are a particular favorite of mine, too. I currently own 5 of them - all different. (I smell an article on the way...)

Your example was a nice one - - I'm not surprised it went so high. Condition is important, and to an experienced collector, it's difficult to fake nice original condition.

Years ago, a dealer friend was selling me a suitcase Home. He had two examples: a very nice brass mandrel example, and a slightly later nickel mandrel example that was in virtually new condition. It's so nice, it's spooky. It almost looks completely reproduction, it's so new-looking, yet it's 100% legit. My friend couldn't easily decide which one to sell and which one to keep. He wound up keeping the spooky one. You just can't find that condition as easily as another brass mandrel example.

George P.

beaumonde wrote:It's such a pain to be a seller on eBay these days. He must be a masochist. Unbelievable.

Apparently he believes his problem is that his price was too low....doesn't sell at $1800...solution....raise the price another thousand:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Antique-VICTOR-VICT ... 5644c80762

We were looking in a very large antique store in Houston today and spotted 2 repro phonos. The tag said works very well $595.00. It would be funny if it wasn't sooooooooooooo sad.