The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I'm sure most of the members of this forum have spotted Firebottles' Victor P on Ebay? Having recommended to a fellow member that it might be worth investigating (the condition is beautiful) I note it's rapidly ascending in price. I seem to recall that knowledgable members of this forum quoted a Victor 'P' at about $1000 when oldtoysandvans came here seeking a value for his $75 example off CL.?

Is the current example over-reached already or did I misinterpret something?

Well I will tell you the Victor P I had I sold on ebay for $900. But it was missing the $1000 record hold down

LOL! So your machine was only worth the same as a bog standard record hold-down? Wow.

Maybe it's time for me to flog my new old unused stock of them.....one at a time, of course!

Firebottles always has super clean machines and his ebay post are full of high quality pictures. As a result he gets higher prices, above market even for clean ones in many cases.

Bidding has gone higher than I would have expected, but this P does appear to be in very fine condition. When I saw Victor P's at shows a few years ago before prices cooled, they usually seemed to be in the $1200 range for a machine in very good to excellent condition.

Well it made over $2200 in the end!

This just goes to prove that condition is critical to value, something some of our learned talking machine experts rarely emphasize in their glorious books or reviews of significant specialist sales.

Steve wrote:Well it made over $2200 in the end!

This just goes to prove that condition is critical to value, something some of our learned talking machine experts rarely emphasize in their glorious books or reviews of significant specialist sales.

Hello Steve:
I own the complete series of one pair of collaborators' books, and I feel they've taken great pains to explain how value is assigned according to item condition, rarity and the vagaries of the antique and collectables market in general. I don't see how they could be more reasonable in their approach, and feel it unfair to lump all such reference books together in one statement.

I agree that published realized sale prices of recent live auctions can be misleading, due to the lack of info regarding the true condition of an item when it sells. Again, though, whether in person or on any online auction, it takes just two final determined buyers to drive up the price.

As I've mentioned in a previous thread, I feel the dealer who lists these machines has superb pictures, tantalizing descriptions, and what appears to be excellent customer satisfaction, judging by his posted return policy and 100 percent feedback. There are plenty of customers who want just the type of merchandise the dealer presents and are willing to pay above what many would consider market price for it. I don't consider myself one of these, preferring to find an occasional unpolished gem or overlooked bargain.

Good pictures and thorough descriptions will make any item more appealing, in my opinion, wherever you see them.
I sometimes watch my own Youtube videos to marvel at how nice my machines look and perform!

Thanks for reading! I hope everyone here gets some happiness today with this great hobby!
Bob

barnettrp21122 wrote: I own the complete series of one pair of collaborators' books, and I feel they've taken great pains to explain how value is assigned according to item condition, rarity and the vagaries of the antique and collectables market in general. I don't see how they could be more reasonable in their approach, and feel it unfair to lump all such reference books together in one statement.

Thank you, Bob! Your check is in the mail...

George P.

Hello Steve:
I own the complete series of one pair of collaborators' books, and I feel they've taken great pains to explain how value is assigned according to item condition, rarity and the vagaries of the antique and collectables market in general. I don't see how they could be more reasonable in their approach, and feel it unfair to lump all such reference books together in one statement.

Actually Bob, I think you might have missed the words "some of" in my earlier post. I certainly wasn't lumping all books in one statement. I'm actually more disturbed by Christopher Proudfoot's total lack of explanation for prices realised in recent sales, when the condition has been the most vital issue. IOW, you can't simply state that 'x' price is cheap for Item A compared to 15 years ago, if Item A being discussed was incomplete with a repainted horn and incorrect soundbox. This lazy journalism has found its way into saleroom reviews reported by CLPGS for some time now.

The Roger Thorne sale, the Ron Armstrong sale and the Don Watson sales in the UK are typical examples of poor collections being reviewed without reference to the sad state of many items.

Hello Steve:
I own the complete series of one pair of collaborators' books, and I feel they've taken great pains to explain how value is assigned according to item condition, rarity and the vagaries of the antique and collectables market in general. I don't see how they could be more reasonable in their approach, and feel it unfair to lump all such reference books together in one statement.

Actually Bob, I think you might have missed the words "some of" in my earlier post. I certainly wasn't lumping all books in one statement. I'm actually more disturbed by Christopher Proudfoot's total lack of explanation for prices realised in recent sales, when the condition has been the most vital issue. IOW, you can't simply state that 'x' price is cheap for Item A compared to 15 years ago, if Item A being discussed was incomplete with a repainted horn and incorrect soundbox. This lazy journalism has found its way into saleroom reviews reported by CLPGS for some time now.

The Roger Thorne sale, the Ron Armstrong sale and the Don Watson sales in the UK are typical examples of poor collections being reviewed without reference to the sad state of many items.