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Looks like another great machine is being dissected for parts.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-Victor ... SwjdFem1CD

That's a real shame.

Sad.

It would be great if 1 person bid just the starting bid on all of the parts and got them all. Maybe he would stop this but I doubt it.

He's already up to $400 on the parts with six more days to go , what is the machine worth unparted ?

The parts for the III totaled nearly $1400.00 and there was no reproducer and he said the case was refinished. The back bracket was only fair. I don’t think that he would have done that well if the machine was sold as a complete unit. That doesn’t make it a good thing, but if it is simply a business decision, then he did well.

There is nothing wrong if he finds a working machine at an Estate Sale, and is able to resell it for a not excessive profit to someone who will appreciate it.

I think there is a moral issue if he's parting out a working machine - it's destroying history. Go ahead and part-out one that's irreparable or already missing parts. But not a working machine.


He's not much different to building developers who buy historic architectural buildings with the intent to demolish and put up bland rubbish in their place. In my city, developers buy buildings with historical overlays and still knock them down. Finally the Government cracked down and fined one developer, and are making him rebuild the historic building he demolished. But he's fighting the order as he had the potential to make several million dollars profit with the intended development.

Just greedy P.O.S.

AudioFeline wrote:There is nothing wrong if he finds a working machine at an Estate Sale, and is able to resell it for a not excessive profit to someone who will appreciate it.

I think there is a moral issue if he's parting out a working machine - it's destroying history. Go ahead and part-out one that's irreparable or already missing parts. But not a working machine.


He's not much different to building developers who buy historic architectural buildings with the intent to demolish and put up bland rubbish in their place. In my city, developers buy buildings with historical overlays and still knock them down. Finally the Government cracked down and fined one developer, and are making him rebuild the historic building he demolished. But he's fighting the order as he had the potential to make several million dollars profit with the intended development.

Unfortunately, it's the undisputed truth that once someone owns something, they can do with it as they please. Hopefully at least a lot of other machines are getting repaired with these parts- that's *almost* a win.

For myself, I made a pact with myself long ago to refuse to get emotionally invested in things I can't control. Life's too short.

But think about this: If someone can get more for a machine by breaking it up than he can selling it whole- is that a problem with the person parting the machines out- or the hobby?

It's not just this hobby, but others, as well. I was told years ago by a tractor collector that people were buying complete, good tractors and parting them out to make more money. It's just human nature at its best (or worst)... greedy, with no respect for history or anything else. One guy does this with machines, while another makes crappy candles and drink cups from Edison cylinders and another makes liquor cabinets, etc. from restorable uprights... Why do you think that the mob decided to steal valuable cars and run them through their chop shops...? MONEY... (the "LOVE", of which, is the root of all evil).

Actually, when you get right down to it, a lot of this stuff went to junkyards and scrap drives and we weren't aware of it... Now, we ARE aware of what happens to certain things, because of the internet... In the end, it's just "stuff" that you can't take with you...