The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/clt/1175752620.html

John M

Thats quite a buy if its as good as it seems to look!

the seller is a non-responsive idiot. the machine appears incomplete if you look closely - there doesn't appear to be a tonearm, reproducer or crank, at the very least. I emailed the guy, asked him about that, whether it was electric or wind-up, whether it was working, whether he had more photos and where he was located. he responded back with three words, "wind up" and a slightly more specific area of philadelphia where he is. I wrote back again with the same questions, let him know that if he didn't have photos, I could just come see it. he wrote back telling me to email him saturday about "new pics." so I again wrote him, told him I could come before that being that he's only 10 minutes from me (told him where I live), and just askded him again if he could provide some basics because I didn't want to waste the trip if the thing was incomplete. his response: "where are you coming from". I told him specifically, and I haven't heard back from him since.

and I thought that the majority of buyers on craigslist were flakes (can't tell you how many times I've had people ask for more information, more photos and details, only to never hear back from them again after providing; or worse, there have been occasions where I've come home early from work or during the day to meet someone who not only doesn't show up, but never follows up and doesn't even answer the phone when called to find out what was going on). some of the sellers are even more annoying.

And he somehow managed to use a picture of a desk as a second image in his Victrola ad! DUHH!

Sorry for the aggravation, Brian, but one never knows until one checks it out. I picked up a 'Concert' ('Opera' type) from a CL listing a couple of years ago, as well as my Shell-O-Phone, so it isn't all bad news!

John M

JohnM wrote:And he somehow managed to use a picture of a desk as a second image in his Victrola ad! DUHH!

Sorry for the aggravation, Brian, but one never knows until one checks it out. I picked up a 'Concert' ('Opera' type) from a CL listing a couple of years ago, as well as my Shell-O-Phone, so it isn't all bad news!

John M

those are great finds for craigslist. I know some other people have had some luck with the site as well, as have I - both buying and selling. and you do meet some interesting people. I sold an oversized antique oak icebox some months ago to a couple who were opening a vintage sort of bar/restaurant in brooklyn and were going to actually use it and another by installing the proper cooling systems... I thought that was great.

but that site is beyond hit or miss... I'd say for every one positive contact or transaction there, I've had about 10 utter wastes of time. then again, you can't complain that much because it's free. still, though, it can be frustrating dealing with someone who's "selling" something but seems put out whenever anyone expresses any interest in buying what they've got, you know?

brianu wrote:I'd say for every one positive contact or transaction there, I've had about 10 utter wastes of time. then again, you can't complain that much because it's free. still, though, it can be frustrating dealing with someone who's "selling" something but seems put out whenever anyone expresses any interest in buying what they've got, you know?

Not to sound cynical, but based on my personal experience, I'd say that's a better than normal average. I've contacted an even dozen craigslist sellers in my (SF Bay) area over the past few years, and all turned out to be flakes. Ten never responded to my inquiry, yet the ads continued to run for several weeks or months after I told them I may be interested. (In all cases, I simply asked for more information and better/more photos, etc.)

The other two were evasive in their answers, at best. One didn't know what the model was. While I could see the Victor logo, and easily recognize that it was a small Orthophonic model, I couldn't tell from the photo if it was a VV-4-3 or a VV-4-7 (I would have been interested had it been a 4-7.) I told the seller to look under the lid, near the turntable to see if the MFG's name plate was still attached. He told me that he was unable to look under the lid because the lid was locked (???) and he didn't have the key handy (!!!); so that's as far as that one went.

The other was a rather nice looking VV-2-55. I wrote to the seller and told him I would be interested, providing it was in working condition. He wrote back and said "Yes! It's in excellent condition for its age." In this case, I made arrangements for the seller to bring it over to my place, which he did a few weeks later. Overall, I noticed quite a few rust spots, and most of the gold color was gone from the sound box and tonearm. There were also a few hairline cracks in the tonearm back bracket, but nothing too bad.

I asked the seller if I could try it out and he said sure. So, I gave it a few turns of the crank, released the brake, and listened as the spring exploded a few seconds later.

I looked at the seller and said, "when I asked you if it was in working condition, you said, 'Yes!'" He mumbled something I couldn't hear and asked me if I would still be willing to take it. I told him no, so he drove away with it.

great story... I've had a couple of similar encounters, although I've always gone to the machine - funny that he not only brought it to you, but then had to leave with the machine along with the tail between the legs and whatnot.

BY THE WAY, I was just wondering whether anyone may have attempted to contact, or made contact with, the seller of this credenza? I still haven't heard anything back from him. just curious.

One must wonder in a case like this whether the seller is elderly and has health problems or some degree of dementia. I'm speaking seriously. I once spent a week cat-and-tailing an older guy in CA about an Omega vintage watch strap buckle that I needed to return, and could tell that he really wasn't all there. It was very sad, talking to him on the phone one could tell that there were significant vestiges of knowledge, and he clearly had a lot of old watchmaker's/accessories stock, but he could not remember what I told or e-mailed him from one day to the next.

I've found sometimes it's can be worth it to ride absent minded sellers. I had spotted what I thought was a badly mucked up victor on ebay several years ago. It had a brake I needed to complete my Vic 1 (it was the pre-bullet brake version). Well I had been quoted at least $100 for an original brake, and I figured there had to be some parts worth parting out on the machine, whatever it was. I won the auction for something around $100. Paid the seller within hours of the auction. A month passed, and nothing. Bombarded the seller with emails. Filed a complaint with ebay (which was found in my favor since they never responded...I could have taken my money back, but I wanted the damn parts more!). After about 3 months, I finally got the sellers phone number from another disgrunted buyer. So after about 4 months, I finally got my winnings. Not only did I get the brake I needed for the Vic 1, but I got most of a Victor P-3 (albeit turned into a franken-phone, and an extra hole drilled in the case...seems they wanted to turn it into an internal horn machine).

In the end, the seller was just criminally disorganized, and seemed changed his email address and phone number without ever notifying ebay.


Oh, and decided against parting out the P-3 as well. Still trying to hunt down a couple of parts...but almost complete

Now this thread reminds me of a movie I re-watched a couple of nights ago -- Memento