Need help

[Greenhorn]

Started researching today and glad I found you. Can someone help me. I want to sell a Victor which was my grandparents...and I have no idea as to some sort of value. I am 60y/o to give some idea as to age.

It has a large green metal horn...a single speed control thingy on the top...it is oak....it winds up....good to mint condition as it's been in storage for years....plays perfectly...never been restored.

On the plate with the dog on it it says TYPE VIC III and the serial # is 35366

My computer skills are poor and I don't know how to post pictures, so that doesn't help, I know...but any help or direction will be very helpful.

Thank you.....Greenhorn....Rick

[Tinkerbell]

Pictures are always helpful here to determine actual condition (and authenticity and/or correctness) of components. If you desire guidance in posting photos, please indicate so... one of us will be more than happy to guide you through the easy process.

That said, please check out this website. It will be helpful to you in determining your machines value.

Start here: http://www.victor-victrola.com/index.html
Model specific: http://www.victor-victrola.com/Victor%20III.htm
Production volumes and rarity estimates: http://www.victor-victrola.com/Production%20Volumes.htm

All the best

[Greenhorn]

Thank you Tinkerbell...I just started searching today and oddly enough the site you referenced in the link is where I first went to. I saw their rarity estimates, etc....and I entered the information they requested. However, I don't think that site responds unless the information entered really triggers a bell with them. Just a guess though.

All I really wanted to know from that site was, and maybe you know: Is a VIC III the same as a Victor III...as that site calls is a Victor III. Hope I stated it correctly.

I'm going to see if I can find someone local who knows this computer stuff to help me post some pictures. In the meantime...I'm sure everything is authentic and not restored as it's been in the family for many moons. A distinguishing feature is the horn. It is 22 inches in diameter and looks like a big green flower type of thing...it has 11 sections to the flower.

So is a VIC III the same as a Victor III? Thanks again for your help

[schweg]

Yes, it's the same. I'm looking forward to seeing some pics when you can.

Steve S

[Greenhorn]

Thank you Schweg...that is good to know for starters. Tinkerbell said someone can help with instructions on how to load pictures. I think if the instructions are simple enough ( plain english is all my feeble brain can handle ) then I'm sure me and the misses can figure it out somehow.

We have a digital camera, and can take whatever pose would be helpful in order to find out more about this item and what the price range might be....as I haven't got a clue when it comes to value.

Thanks to the forum for any picture assistance you can provide.

Greenhorn

BTW: I only got my computer a year ago and know how to do basic stuff. Over that time...I've been active on a golf forum so I learned a lot on how to navigate over there...which is a great help here. However...it took me 4 months to learn how to post an avatar and I'm still not sure how to do it..I think I got lucky dragging it over or something...so go easy please with instructions.

[schweg]

Loading pics is easy. Take pics of the phono and load them into your computer. Then come to this post and look down under this text box where it says Filename has a blank box, then says Browse. Hit the browse button and find the pic on your computer, wherever you stored it. Choose it and the name will show up in the white box under the Browse box. Click "Add the file", and it'll do that, a window will appear to show progress. Once that is done, a line will appear that says Attachments, then the file name, then Place Inline... Click Place inline and your pic will appear whereever your cursor is place in this box I'm now typing in...

Just like that..

You can click on Preview to see how it looks, then submit to put it out there for all to see..

Steve

[Jerry B.]

When the Victor III was in production it was a large seller and second only to the Victor II in sales. Because of that, it is one of the more commonly found Victors today. On the plus side it has a good double spring motor and a very attractive cabinet. If a person is only going to have one disk machine with a horn the Vic III is an excellent choice because the price is usually reasonable and the motor is powerful.
The value of your machine depends on a couple of things. The condition of the machine must be in good original shape to get your best value. The other determining factor is the horn. The Vic III came standard with a metal horn and it could be one with a brass bell or an all black flowered horn. The optional horn for the III was an oak horn which came in two sizes. A Vic III with an oak horn is worth substantially more than one with a metal horn. I should say that there were many after market horns that were available for any Victor machine.
You mention that you want to sell your machine. I'm sorry that no one in your family wants to keep it. I have a nice collection but not one machine was previously owned by anyone in my family. It would mean so much to me to have something owned by a family member. Even a family photo with a machine would mean a lot. If your machine was owned and enjoyed by your family early in the 20th century, you should consider keeping it in your family. That's just my opinion and I look forward to some photos. Jerry Blais

[Greenhorn]

Thanks guys for the reply..it is very informative and helpful. No one in my family likes old stuff...and at the time of our passing they will simply sell it to the first person they see anyway...and will not take the time to research like I'm trying to do. I'd rather sell it to someone who cares...like professionals on this site or collectors club, or something.

Sounds like the horn may have been a replacement as it is certainly not wood, not black, and although I'm not sure of what a "bell" is, I can't see any brass anywhere on the horn. To my untrained eye...it looks as though it is lead with a green coating. There is a very, very faint sticker on the bell.

It's real hard to see...but I think the sticker says: T C T....and it looks like there's another smaller letter within the "c" but I can't make it out.

Does this sound like a replacement horn?

Read the posting pic instructions to the wife and I think we may be able to handle that....give us a week or so. Hopefully I won't post them on a site somewhere in China

Thanks for all your help....terrific stuff.....Rick

[Jerry B.]

I took a quick look at ebay and saw:
Vic V with metal horn and the current bid was $1325. (A Vic V is more valuable than a III if all things are equal)
Vic III with a nice after market horn and a "buy it now" price of $1300 (nobody jumped at the $1300 so it must be too high or the right person has not seen it yet).
Vic I with a brass bell metal horn and a "buy it now" price of $849 (also still available).
Vic II with a metal Victor horn with a current bid of $575.82.
*
Of the above machines, the closest to yours in value is the Vic II. You might want to watch that auction to get an idea what yours is worth on ebay. Don't forget to factor in ebay changes and I don't know what % they charge.

[Tinkerbell]

Don't forget to factor in ebay changes and I don't know what % they charge.

Listing and insertion fees vary by starting bid price and options selected (e.g., listing upgrades, photo options, reserve price fees).

Final value fees for auction style listings are 9%. Add on top of that what Paypal carves out for their chunk, and one can spend quite a bit to sell the item via Ebay.

My guess, however, is that Greenhorn/Rick would fair far better selling on Craigslist (or another free venue) since he has a low comfort threshold with computers (and garnering a fair price on Ebay requires enough technical savvy to compete with other listings with good photos and descriptions). JMO, of course...