The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Ha... no bids at that price, not surprising given that the value of the machine has been significantly compromised because it has been taken completely apart and reassembled by a ham-handed amateur.

I'm sure people have been watching this, but as soon as the listing ended with no bids at 3500, the seller reslited it in a shorter (I think) 24 hour auction at 3000. that one just ended as well with no bidders.

I'd still be willing to bring this machine to Union if someone steps up to the plate and buys it. It would need to get to me or fairly close but I'd bring it at no charge from Oregon to Union. Jerry Blais 541-990-0781

Hello, perhaps this is been suggested already, but going through the 3 separate threads related to this auction, I noticed the following. On March 22, list member Slaton wrote, "I gave what I thought was a fair price given the missing parts and the large shipping charge I will need to incur......for transparency, I offered 2800 dollars...he said not enough...I bought my complete and original Amberola IIII for 3'500 dollars...maybe the price should be higher? If you all think it shoud be higher than 2800 dollars, let me know and I will go higher if needed to save this machine..."

Isn't it likely that the Amberola III seller has access to these public posts and set the price for the complete machine based on this post? That price turned out to be too high, based, I guess, on the fact that the machine apparently has been refinished and is missing a few parts. Still, if I were the seller, and knew that a member of this board was so desperate to save this machine that he would buy every part to accomplish this, I would probably relist it whole at the price that same list member had paid for his complete Amberola III.

Just a thought from a new list member who has followed these posts with interest.--Mark

Right, but it still hasn't sold.

Although it has been relisted yet again tonight, another 24 hour auction, with a starting price of 2500 and the warning that...

"LAST CHANCE THIS WON'T BE ON AGAIN "

.

The Amberola III plays the 4-minute cylinders only.
My feeling is that it could bring over 2K if the seller had ever considered a lower start.
There's quite a bit of bidder and collector fatigue involved with this whole affair, and at this point I'd rather not know what happens to this unlucky machine.
B.

An Amberola III in this condition is easily worth $2500. Somebody please buy this one and put IT and US out of our misery. If it doesn't sell, the seller will part it out AGAIN, and we will AGAIN be "treated" to incessant whining about it here. I'd buy it if I didn't already have one.

Hurrah! It sold for $2600, a fair price and it won't be parted out. With a proper expert restoration, which won't be cheap, the purchaser should still be able to get back the purchase price plus cost of restoration without problem.

Anybody here the lucky owner?

Well, the seller ended up learning an expensive lesson about greed. Originally she promised to give the cabinet to whoever won the parts. The individual parts sold (completed auctions) at a combined $3052.99. But then she reneged on her promise and demanded $500 for the cabinet.

So she had final bids for over $3K, and presumably since the auctions ran their full course she had to pay eBay's final fees on those sales. After all that screwing around, in the end, she got $2600.

She's out about $500 simply because she decided not to abide by her promise.

Karma.