A Edison Chalet for $1600 ?????

[Victrolacollector]

This Edison Chalet sold for $ 1600.00 and had 40 bids. What was so significant about it?


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Edison-Diamond- ... 7675.l2557

[gramophone78]

What was so significant about it?


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Edison-Diamond- ... 7675.l2557

You mean other than being in the wrong section of our forum..?? .

[barnettrp21122]

I was there at the auction, and the mahogany Chalet was in typical average condition, not pristine by any means. Two absent bidders drove the price up while everyone present just sat there in awe! Adding the hefty buyers penalty and tax, the unit came close to 2K!
Bob

[stevenhman]

I'm not familiar with disc machines, but this one is somewhat close to me and looks similar, says "A100"?

http://greensboro.craigslist.org/atd/5759930053.html

What was so significant about it?


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Edison-Diamond- ... 7675.l2557

You mean other than being in the wrong section of our forum..?? .

I actually like posts just discussing ebay/CL items not being in that forum, or if there was a subforum in that... subforum specifically for discussing items on ebay/cl that'd be nice.

[52089]

I'm not familiar with disc machines, but this one is somewhat close to me and looks similar, says "A100"?

http://greensboro.craigslist.org/atd/5759930053.html

That A100 started life with legs and a shelf, all of which has been "amputated". Not uncommon for that model. The Chalet/B19 was designed as a table model, i.e., it never had legs.

As for why a Chalet/B19 would be worth more than maybe $200 or so, I have no idea. They are not found every day, but are not rare by any stretch of the imagination.

[Victrolacollector]

In the future, I suppose I should post in the Ebay section of the forum. However, this is not an alert to a sellers listing etc. The topic was concerning phonograph values, and why such machines would even go for such an amount. Prices like this tend to cause uninformed sellers to think the machine is worth thousands, and in some event buyers may think their machine was worth this amount. Yes, there is a age old legal caveat, let the buyer beware, but is this really ethical?

Last year I serviced a Victor Victrola VV-VI, and the guy paid 800.00 for it, he thought it was worth that. I had to humbly inform him it was probably worth 200-300 tops (even in serviced condition). His eyes sunk back.

There can never be a definitive price guide that is purely accurate. They are just that a "guide". I have seen decrepit machines in antique stores on occasion with weathered finishes, missing or incorrect hardware, and in poor mechanical condition. Many of these machines are off-brand or run of the mill typical Victor consoles that should sell in their condition for $ 25.00-100.00

Last month I was in the antique shop in Crown Point, Indiana (about 30 miles southeast of Chicago), and I spotted a new arrival without tags, it was a Edison Standard with a reproducer missing the stylus and horn. The crank was hard to turn, the gears did release power, missing a belt etc. She said she don't know anything about them, and went on to talk to me like im some young fool, and tell me its a old record player that they used back in the day (moving her hands in a winding motion). She said it must be worth alot, I will sell for 1,000.00. I told her thats the problem you dont know about it. I told her $ 200.00, and I will still need to clean the motor, maybe replace the mainspring, rebuild the reproducer and clean the case, make a belt etc. I told her even paying her $200.00, I would spend easily $ 200-250 in parts, and would still have a machine worth 450.00-500.00 even if the machine was in great condition.

Bottom line there needs to be more education on machines and values. I commend each of our members for their dedication in the parts they play in this hobby. We are all learning and passing on knowledge to others.

[Jerry B.]

All it takes are a couple of good egos for an auction to zoom past a reasonable price. Looks like a $200 to $300 machine to me. Jerry Blais

[Victrolacollector]

All it takes are a couple of good egos for an auction to zoom past a reasonable price. Looks like a $200 to $300 machine to me. Jerry Blais

That's what I was thinking, I paid $350.00 for my rouge one on e-bay, and about $300.00 for a Natural finish one back in 2005 with 50 good common DD's included.

[Damfino59]

Actually lot #361 was sold in house. Somebody REALLY wanted this B19. Maybe it was housing some of the missing Romanov jewels?

I paid around $275 for my mahogany stained B19. And if/when I do sell I won't be as lucky.

[marcapra]

I sold my B-19 a couple years ago on the forum for $300. I think Jerry is right. Two competing bidders who obviously don't know the antique phonograph market were bidding against each other and $1600 was the result. That's why people like to sell stuff in auctions! Sometimes you win, and often you don't.

I don't think this post is in the wrong section. As I understand it, the Ebay/Craigslist forum is for alerting buyers to ads for upcoming or unsold items. The purpose of this post was primarily to discuss phonograph values rather than alert someone to a item for sale.