The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

EDIT: This seller seemed to have been misinformed regarding the machine they are selling. The seller has since changed the listing to describe the correct (mahogany) finish, rather than making the previous claim that it was fumed oak. Some sellers should probably do more research on their item before they make false claims, which could get them in legal trouble. Now, I will send a message asking them to correct the other deliberately false information in their description, i.e. "debuted in 1909", "world's first tabletop internal horn phonograph (in bold)", "fewer than 5,000 made", and "very few have survived". I would think if they got this close with the current information in the description, that they would also be capable of finding the correct information with a simple Google search.

This is a nice machine, even though it's mahogany. I believe a VV-XVI is a collection staple, so if the price goes lower, someone should hop on it!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Circa-1918-Vict ... SwtnpXkV~l

P.S. I think whoever bought this item would be very displeased to find out that their Victrola was not fumed oak, that there were almost 200,000 XVI's produced, that it is not a tabletop machine, and that they actually were debuted in 1906 (but this version of the XVI was not debuted in 1906 or 1909). So, with that being said, I will leave my original comment below this (for viewing, and I do apologize for the joking nature of the post), and I will be glad someone will not buy this item under false pretenses.



Look at this!! So many things wrong with this

Would be a nice addition to a collection though, if the price goes much lower.

The only thing fumed is the seller's brain.

What does the Titanic have to do with anything!?! My goodness...

Benjamin_L wrote:What does the Titanic have to do with anything!?! My goodness...

It's meant to make you think about how fortunate this machine is, having survived the sinking... If it had been made six years earlier and shipped from Southamton to New York on the Titanic, it would have been lost to history...

Fewer than 5,000 of them made! That's why the serial number is 169,009....

And it would sure look nice on a table top.

" The finish on the cabinet is original and is very nice." ?!?!
The seller must be seeing a different machine than I am...........!

Dale

The best thing to do with any seller who may have a shaky description, is to send a Friendly note of what is wrong with the listing to the seller. Do not link it to a chat site like this, I think it is kind of defamatory to link to listings, and make fun of the seller,it should be done privately. Sometime someone on one of these groups is going to get sued, and don't say I did not tell you so when it happens. It may seem funny to many of you but it is illegal. I have been tempted to sue a few people on these groups myself, but what use would it do.

edisonphonoworks wrote:The best thing to do with any seller who may have a shaky description, is to send a Friendly note of what is wrong with the listing to the seller. Do not link it to a chat site like this, I think it is kind of defamatory to link to listings, and make fun of the seller,it should be done privately. Sometime someone on one of these groups is going to get sued, and don't say I did not tell you so when it happens. It may seem funny to many of you but it is illegal. I have been tempted to sue a few people on these groups myself, but what use would it do.

I have personally found that a friendly note to a seller explaining what they really have usually results in some variation of "get lost". I have long stopped trying to educate sellers who generally will only sell one machine in their lifetime and have no interest in accuracy.

Defamation is not "illegal" as there is no criminal penalty, but civil suits can be brought. However, defamation requires deliberately providing false information, and proof that that misinformation resulted in damages. Stating that a machine is not correct - when that is true - is not defamatory.

Standard disclaimer applies.

I sent them a note about the type of wood and they were very grateful for the info. They also asked me my opinion on the price and I stated I thought they were at least $200 to high. They have not yet changed the price.