The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I moved this off the other thread as it doesn't apply to it.

Sean, The machine on Carsten's site is NOT a Deca Disc but one sold by the Ristau brothers’ Atlas Sales Company. Look again at the site. They bought out what was left of DD and pulled out the horn, changed the grill and put in an amplifier with an electric pick up grafted on to the acoustic tone arm.

As to the topic of what something is worth. If somebody had a Victrola XI in mahogany for ten grand, I would say they didn't have a clue as to what they have. The item that I want to buy is a lot more than what I am asking for this and it too is the only one left. There is no way I can afford to buy it without selling this and that's just the way it is. Am I happy about the DD leaving, no. It's like the "missing link" of the juke box world. What's it worth? Who knows. I used to not buy Catalin radios for a buck at garage sales because they didn't interest me. Everybody has their own opinions on collecting. I think paying five grand for a plastic radio is crazy but I don't knock the buyer or seller for the transaction. I bought my Orthophonic Credenza right out of the original owners living room complete with all the albums filled with all great title late 20's VE's. These people actually had great taste in music, a rarity in all my travels. The machine was absolutely mint. The records were never played. At the time they wanted an unheard of $500 for it which was about three times what it was worth. They wouldn't move on the price. Nobody bought it. I looked at it and it was worth it to me and today it is one of my prized pieces. What somebody is willing to pay for an item is what it is worth to them. If you want my DD , it is out there for sale. It might not be available again till I'm cold in the ground. If it is worth it to you, then you bring it home , if not, you don't. It's not a Victrola XI or a mint Credenza. It's a one of a kind and would be a prized piece in any collection.

earlyjukeman wrote:Sean, The machine on Carsten's site is NOT a Deca Disc but one sold by the Ristau brothers’ Atlas Sales Company. Look again at the site. They bought out what was left of DD and pulled out the horn, changed the grill and put in an amplifier with an electric pick up grafted on to the acoustic tone arm.

Ah, I see that now. I stand corrected.

earlyjukeman wrote:As to the topic of what something is worth. If somebody had a Victrola XI in mahogany for ten grand, I would say they didn't have a clue as to what they have. The item that I want to buy is a lot more than what I am asking for this and it too is the only one left. There is no way I can afford to buy it without selling this and that's just the way it is. Am I happy about the DD leaving, no. It's like the "missing link" of the juke box world. What's it worth? Who knows. I used to not buy Catalin radios for a buck at garage sales because they didn't interest me. Everybody has their own opinions on collecting. I think paying five grand for a plastic radio is crazy but I don't knock the buyer or seller for the transaction. I bought my Orthophonic Credenza right out of the original owners living room complete with all the albums filled with all great title late 20's VE's. These people actually had great taste in music, a rarity in all my travels. The machine was absolutely mint. The records were never played. At the time they wanted an unheard of $500 for it which was about three times what it was worth. They wouldn't move on the price. Nobody bought it. I looked at it and it was worth it to me and today it is one of my prized pieces. What somebody is willing to pay for an item is what it is worth to them. If you want my DD , it is out there for sale. It might not be available again till I'm cold in the ground. If it is worth it to you, then you bring it home , if not, you don't. It's not a Victrola XI or a mint Credenza. It's a one of a kind and would be a prized piece in any collection.

I'd completely agree with you on that. I'd love to own a machine like that, but I don't have the luxary of that kind of money to throw around at the moment. I'll still stick with my orginal statement though that rare in some cases doesn't always mean big bucks, especially now, the market for *most* phonographs has dipped quite a bit. In the record world, there are lots of examples of rare that still aren't going to sell for more than a few bucks. It happens. I certainly wasn't saying your machine isn't worth your price, if there's only one known, then how do you determine it's value? There really isn't an easy answer.

I have a similar Credenza story. My early Credenza with brass reproducer and albums, instructions and even tags came from it's original owner in 1997. It's as close to mint as you'll ever see (a few TMF folks have seen it and can attest). The owner was in her early 90s and moving to an assisted living place. The estate cleanout people didn't want the machine and neither did a local radio guy because she was holding out for $400. Even at that time, it was a great price I gladly paid. I'm sure many of us have overpaid for something just to have it. I know I've paid premium prices for super clean original machines. My VV-130 is another perfect machine bought from the original family just a few years ago. They wanted $1000. It was filthy, but at the same time I could tell it had been well looked after and the fact that it had "everything" with it (albums, records, key, needle tins, record duster, sales receipt, manual - everything) made me reconsider. I got it for $800 in the end, a little high still since I've seen 130s and XVIIs going for $500 or less lately. To me, it was worth every cent and I'll never part with either it or my Credenza.

Have you contacted Jasper about your machine? He certainly has the resources and he has a couple of Gabels machines. It seems like this would be the perfect setting for your Deca Disc machine.

Sean

I agree with you guys. I don't see anything wrong with paying more than "market" for something that's very nice. The rarer something is, the more difficult it is to establish what that market price is too. One also needs to ask the question, "Do I want to pay a premium now and have that item or do I want to take the chance that one like it, as nice may not show up again for another 5, 10 years...

Only problem I have with paying a premium for something is that my funds get depleted faster making it more difficult to anything else that comes along without selling something first.