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E-Bay Listing - Home Improvement or Phone Disaster?

Started by Slal, August 27, 2014, 10:59:54 AM

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poplar1

#15
Quote from: Slal on August 29, 2014, 12:57:03 PM

Finally, kind of overlooked is how much a phone like this is worth.

Compared to most of the other listings I saw, he has a nice phone.  The colors seem to match, no replacement caps, HS, dial, & so on.

Starting bid a tad high or about par for the course?

I might have taken a chance on it for say-- $65.00-- but maybe that's unrealistic since I've only been into this hobby since March. ; )

$175 starting bid?! I'd say $65 is too high for a faded aqua blue 500D with damaged (albeit intentionally) housing and defective finger wheel. $30 maybe for the handset, handset cord, dial. and base.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/281422440624
"C'est pas une restauration, c'est une rénovation."--François Martin.

unbeldi

I have noticed that particularly the aqua blue 500s in very good condition have pulled rather high bids this year. It used to be that only Finlover could get $200 to $300 for his almost mint set, and that was what a year or two ago?

Slal

Only thirty?  That puts my estimate off by  >100%  : 0 !

Maybe phones are more expensive in central Texas for whatever reason.  Antique malls & flea markets all have rotary at around 65 or so.  "Retro phone - 50's or 60's - $65.00"

Anyway, good to have a baseline.  30 to 35 for 'garden' variety phones ; 200-300 if want one that's been professionally restored & looks new out of box. 

Collectors' value on colors probably different than retail.  Pink, aqua, and red seem to go for more than black, beige, or green.  Snag an authentic dark gray one for $65 and that's "find of the month" material? ; )

Thanks everyone, for replies and photos.  Helped correct some errors had in notes.

--Bruce   

Phonesrfun

Quote from: Slal on August 29, 2014, 12:57:03 PM
Something else I noticed was the ringer.

Shouldn't the brass tension arm (or whatever the part is called) be up against the gray metal frame?  Otherwise seems like left gong would be loose & might not sound as good.  Hard to explain so attached an illustration.


No, because that brass fitting is part of the volume control for the ringer.  It rotates all the way to the stop for the softest ring volume.  Then, if you pull out on the tab of the brass fitting to clear the gray frame, the gong rotates one final notch to where both gongs touch the clapper and prevent it from ringing.  This was a mechanical way of silencing the ringer, and it could only be done by opening the phone, so presumably only by an installer.

The ringer shown in the photo has the ringer volume in the silenced position.

Even in the silence mode, the ringers sometimes vibrated a bit.
-Bill G

Kenton K

Quote from: unbeldi on August 29, 2014, 03:00:49 PM
Quote from: Kenton K on August 28, 2014, 11:23:54 PM
I believe that 58 was the time they started embossing dates. My `6~58 light gray has an embossed receiver piece, but stamped handset and transmitter piece.

I don't think so.  All colored handsets and housings until 12-59 had ink stamps.
What's up with these incorrectly dated ones with a molded mark, we have to find out about by collecting data.
There was someone on the forum here who also cataloged the ink colors used throughout the 50s.

Can you show a picture of the "embossed receiver piece" ? 

Here is my pic. The stamp reads 6P58, and matches the dates on the rest of the telephone.

poplar1

Plastic caps for F-type handsets were made for a short time and include "6-58P" through "4-60P" embossed dates.
"C'est pas une restauration, c'est une rénovation."--François Martin.

unbeldi

Quote from: Kenton K on August 31, 2014, 12:14:28 AM
Quote from: unbeldi on August 29, 2014, 03:00:49 PM
Quote from: Kenton K on August 28, 2014, 11:23:54 PM
I believe that 58 was the time they started embossing dates. My `6~58 light gray has an embossed receiver piece, but stamped handset and transmitter piece.

I don't think so.  All colored handsets and housings until 12-59 had ink stamps.
What's up with these incorrectly dated ones with a molded mark, we have to find out about by collecting data.
There was someone on the forum here who also cataloged the ink colors used throughout the 50s.

Can you show a picture of the "embossed receiver piece" ? 

Here is my pic. The stamp reads 6P58, and matches the dates on the rest of the telephone.

Ah.. those are the caps, and yes those stamps I am familiar with.
I thought with "receiver piece" you meant the element itself.
We were talking about the handset and housing dates though, I thought.

Kenton K

Quote from: unbeldi on August 31, 2014, 09:39:28 AM
Quote from: Kenton K on August 31, 2014, 12:14:28 AM
Quote from: unbeldi on August 29, 2014, 03:00:49 PM
Quote from: Kenton K on August 28, 2014, 11:23:54 PM
I believe that 58 was the time they started embossing dates. My `6~58 light gray has an embossed receiver piece, but stamped handset and transmitter piece.

I don't think so.  All colored handsets and housings until 12-59 had ink stamps.
What's up with these incorrectly dated ones with a molded mark, we have to find out about by collecting data.
There was someone on the forum here who also cataloged the ink colors used throughout the 50s.

Can you show a picture of the "embossed receiver piece" ? 

Here is my pic. The stamp reads 6P58, and matches the dates on the rest of the telephone.

Ah.. those are the caps, and yes those stamps I am familiar with.
I thought with "receiver piece" you meant the element itself.
We were talking about the handset and housing dates though, I thought.

Yes, totally. It seems I was having trouble thinking of the word cap.

Ken

Kenton K

Quote from: unbeldi on August 29, 2014, 03:00:49 PM
Quote from: Kenton K on August 28, 2014, 11:23:54 PM
I believe that 58 was the time they started embossing dates. My `6~58 light gray has an embossed receiver piece, but stamped handset and transmitter piece.

I don't think so.  All colored handsets and housings until 12-59 had ink stamps.
What's up with these incorrectly dated ones with a molded mark, we have to find out about by collecting data.
There was someone on the forum here who also cataloged the ink colors used throughout the 50s.

Can you show a picture of the "embossed receiver piece" ? 

I do have a housing and handset with a embossed 59, no ink stamp. Very late run, 11-59 dates.