The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Here we go again. Seller is parting out a XII and claiming no reserve in all three descriptions!! Funny how the starting bid for the three parts together is $1349.97. Maybe I don't understand what no reserve means.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Very-rare-resto ... 2a466c316b

In this case, I'm guessing "no reserve" is simply a sales pitch, equivalent to infomercials asking "How much would you expect to pay? But wait..." Had the starting bid been at 10 dollars for each item with no reserve...

Should that turntable have a gold plated edge? It looks nickel?

Mr Grumpy wrote:Should that turntable have a gold plated edge? It looks nickel?

Nickel is correct. Just like a Victor VI.

I'm thinking of buying the turntable and holding it hostage. What would he do with the remnants?

Garret

When the brake rubs on the edge of the turntable, the edge will be nickel. Real gold plating would wear too quickly. Jerry

Haven't seen a complete XII on the market recently, but under recent market conditions, his asking price for the cabinet is probably high for what I\'d be willing to pay for both the cabinet and the motor. I think I paid $200 for a serviced motor, and probably another $200 for a complete (minus one door) but in need of restoration XII (got the motor because it was a steal, and it would probably cost me that much to restore the motor in my XII).

I have to agree. Mine cost me $500 at auction and the only thing wrong with it is two missing feet. A VV IX brought $120 at the same auction so someone else knew what it was. I don't know if holding the turntable hostage would work, it's probably shared with a few other machines unlike the other two parts. Maybe he won't part it out if none of it sells.

The cast iron turntable was used for the early VV XII, VTLA/early L-Door, Victor V, and Victor VI. It's the motor that is unique.
Harvey Kravitz

I'd actually argue that the uniqueness of the motor actually hurts its value. I picked up my second one for very little, because apparently there was no one out in the world of ebay with a case with no motor. And how many people are going to by one just on the hope they find an empty case? I purchased my second motor because it would probably cost just as much to repair the motor for my machine as it would to buy the motor. I think in this instance, the whole is actually greater than the sum of the parts. I could be wrong, but I don't see a huge market for the separate parts.