The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I am not terribly far from the Wayne show, but I its not exactly easy to get to for me. The times I have gone I have found the prices are ridiculously high for machines. $2500 for a Victor V with a straight brass belled horn in typically average, nice shape, for example. $1750 for a BKT in equally average shape. I got a couple parts at good prices. This was a few years back, are prices any more reasonable? I would hope that a collector event would have collector prices, not antique store prices. Maybe its more about non-collectors attending. Maybe I got there too late?

I don't buy machines but I do buy records, small parts and supplies. I find that prices are decent, though with gas as high as it is I've sometimes paid more to travel than to buy.

I never miss the Wayne show. It's a little over a 2 hour drive for me, but I always have fun catching up with collectors, TMF members and just looking through "stuff". Getting there when the doors open certainly gives an advantage. I think more items change hands in the first hour or two. I don't go looking specifically for machines, but more just to browse through records and parts. There are always good deals to be had, but for me, it's more for the social aspect and the hope that I'll find a record I've wanted for a long time, that usually happens!

Sean

I think like any show you attend you will always find items that are high priced and items that are great deals. Sometimes it just takes a little negotiating. .

Rich Gordon

If all the prices are that high, it must be a show and not a sale. I've been a buyer and seller at shows and sellers must be competitive to make a sale. Let's hear from past or present sellers from the Wayne show. If you're an absolute bargain hunter, a show might not be fore you unless you deal late in the show. I drive 2500 miles each way to Union and I don't go for bargains. Every year I find good value on the good stuff that you only see at a sale. Jerry

As far as machines go, I think I've seen a lot of higher end stuff there- when space is limited a dealer is more likely to take a Victor V that he can sell for a good sum than a VV-XI that he's just going to make a couple hundred bucks on. That isn't to say that there aren't some bargains to be had but it isn't a flea market.

Some of the best bargains are in the record bins, if you've got the time to dig through discs you can come home happy. There are surprises too - I've got one of the early Victor electrolas with a recording function & a dealer had the cardboard sheet which gave the new owner suggestions on how to make their first record.

I'm planning to go (first time)...

I am curious if it is really worth the extra admission to do the 8:30 AM early-bird ticket ?

As far as pricing goes, being so close to NYC, I would not necessarily expect to find bargains, particularly on machines that have value as "objets d'art", ie: external-horn machines: the prettier, the pricier.

Perhaps that's just my jaded view of antiquing here in the NE/Mid Atlantic...

At any rate, I'm looking forward to it... in forty-some year of "collecting", this will be my first Talking Machine meet...

De Soto Frank wrote:I'm planning to go (first time)...

I am curious if it is really worth the extra admission to do the 8:30 AM early-bird ticket ?

As far as pricing goes, being so close to NYC, I would not necessarily expect to find bargains, particularly on machines that have value as "objets d'art", ie: external-horn machines: the prettier, the pricier.

Perhaps that's just my jaded view of antiquing here in the NE/Mid Atlantic...

At any rate, I'm looking forward to it... in forty-some year of "collecting", this will be my first Talking Machine meet...

I think it's worth paying a little extra to get in at the start....by the way, the doors open at 8am, not 8:30!
Watching the dealer setup is an experience in itself, as the room is empty with nothing but tables set up in rows. In about twenty minutes nearly everything's set up and humming.
I've lately mostly gotten small accessories, repair parts, a few blue amberols, diamond discs and regular dance records, but still there's been some happy exceptions. I found a swell mahogany Amberola V fresh from an estate at a fine price, and there's usually some wondrous items you're just happy to see being offered, whether you can afford them or not.
Let a dealer know if you're genuinely interested in any machine, and if it seems too high, ask again on your way out. You never know what might happen!
Bob
Bob

I can only speak for the shows I've attended but I wouldn't go if I couldn't get in at the same time as the dealers. I think it's well worth the extra but I'm looking at it as a serious buyer. Jerry

I've been there 3 times and always enjoy it. There are higher and lower priced items and machines, but usually things make more sense to buy there than on eBay. There's always an advantage being able to touch something and see it up close, not even talking about not having to ship something. Always a great selection of records. I've never been there in the morning, because I have a 3 hour drive to get there. Otherwise I wouldn't mind the extra pay.

Hope to meet some more forum members in person again.

Andreas