The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Has anyone ever bought phonographs and records on Etsy? How are they? edisonplayer.

I don't normally look thru Etsy but one day a few years ago when I didn't have anything else to do, I looked to see if they had anything interesting. What do you know I found a Hilton speed indicator on an Edison Type A green case standard. It didn't have a reproducer but I only really wanted the speed indicator. The price was around 400$ which is a little high but one does not come across a Hilton indicator very often. To top it off it had free shipping so I bought it. It came within a week well wrapped as you would hope and to my surprise it was in like new condition. I did some light cleaning, found an original horn and its one of my favorite machines. The only thing is I haven't found anything worth buying since. You never know.-Mike

Etsy is a portal, not a selling entity itself. In other words, it provides a place where private parties can advertise their wares--mostly arts and crafts and the like, but other stuff does show up there sometimes. Saying "Etsy is good" or "Etsy is bad" is a bit like saying "eBay is good" or "eBay is bad"; the experience will depend on the individual seller. My experiences with the few things I've bought through Etsy (none of them related to phonographs) have been OK.