does anyone know if Phoneco is still in business? I checked their web page and it was as slow as mollases ans I'm wondering if they are even still open... last word was they were trying to liquidate their inventory.... any updates on this vendor?
Quote from: Babybearjs on November 28, 2022, 05:40:32 AMdoes anyone know if Phoneco is still in business? I checked their web page and it was as slow as mollases ans I'm wondering if they are even still open... last word was they were trying to liquidate their inventory.... any updates on this vendor?
They're still in business but, they did sell off the building finally. They moved everything in trailers.
The website has been failing for sometime but, they still take phone orders and Mary still answers the phone (most the time). (606) 582-4124 CST Ask and she'll send ya a catalog.
The problem I had with Phoneco was that I ordered stuff on ebay from them and NONE of it was in the condition represented. NOS Dial was scratched up cords were faded discolored (partially bleached?). I know they have been around for a long time but need to accurately represent the condition of products and when they are scratched , damaged or discolored then say so.
They also made copies of Automatic Electric pay-phone housings and stamped them "Western Electric Company, Inc."
Mike
yes , I felt like the Pink cords I ordered that were partially "bleached" were in fact dyed and the dye did not "take" to some areas of the cord equally (or at all) . I think it was an attempt to get rid of a lot of white cords at a "premium price" because they were now "pink" from a cheap dye attempt.
Posted this morning on the TCI Listserv: Wisconsin couple has tens of thousands of old phones — and nobody to buy them |
Joel Shprentz (https://groups.io/g/singingwires/message/168686)
11:46am #168686 (https://groups.io/g/singingwires/message/168686) Barry Adams reported in the The Wisconsin State Journal on Phoneco owners Ron and Mary Knappen moving their telephone inventory from their downtown Galesville building to trailers and barns on their farm property. Photos and a video show the extent of their collection.
https://madison.com/news/local/phoneco-wisconsin-telephones-knappen-business/article_90116a8a-734c-11ee-a555-f74104c683cf.html (https://madison.com/news/local/phoneco-wisconsin-telephones-knappen-business/article_90116a8a-734c-11ee-a555-f74104c683cf.html) |
I too have had very mixed results dealing with them. Ordered a bunch or curly handset cords and half were so brittle the coating came apart during install.
Seems their stock will sit as the phone collecting community (which is not that big) is leery.
Unfortunately the newspaper article is behind a paywall, and can't be accessed by outsiders.
Quote from: ReneRondeau on November 12, 2023, 10:45:19 AMUnfortunately the newspaper article is behind a paywall, and can't be accessed by outsiders.
I was able to open and read the article.
Maybe they could host a phone show and sell some phones and parts to collectors. Not at $125 for a 302 that you can buy for $20 on eBay!
Attached are 3 pdf files which contain the complete article.
Pages 1-10
Pages 11-20
Pages 21-29
Once I disabled my "AdBlocker" software for the article page, it allowed me to read (and print) the article.
Here is a link for anyone who is having trouble accessing the article or the PDFs.
https://archive.ph/wlca5
I am simultaneously fascinated and horrified. I can't stand the thought of all those phones ending up in a landfill, but that probably is what will happen. Even if they can pull off a miracle and get those phones out of the warehouse in time to save them, they will still just be sitting in trailers on the property. They should not have waited this long to deal with this issue.
If I had a bottomless pit of money, I might offer a lump sum to buy everything and then hire a crew to go through them and organize them and see what is worth saving. It is a shame that most likely they eventually will be gone forever.
Yeah it seems they had a 'crew' of ~40 employees picking over this stuff for years and selling it, and from what others have said of the quality being less than desirable recently whats left might be quite picked over and of little to no value. But who knows? Anyone within driving distance its probably worth a trip there.
Wow. How times have changed. I did a lot of business with them in the early 1980s. They had a lot of nice phones at cheap prices. I bought many AE40's that I got into working order and sold to friends, and friends-of-friends. That made me start thinking that I'd like to open a store selling antique phones for (then) modern use. I never did, but someone else did very soon thereafter. They didn't last long -- even then there wasn't much interest among the general public. Most people weren't enchanted by the idea of using a 1940s phone for everyday use.
I still have one or two of their AE40's in the garage, and a nice-looking but cobbled-up payphone in the kitchen, wired for use. But it no longer dials out on my VOIP line, and I have no reason to answer calls on it. It's just a novelty to amuse occasional guests.
Who could have imagined how the telephone landscape would turn upside down?
Part of their problem (in my humble opinion) is that they got so successful in the 1980s and 1990s that they raised their prices to indefensible levels. When I went back to them in the late 90s to inquire about some phones, I couldn't handle the prices.
Given their ages, the lack of interest, and the deteriorating storage, I suspect those remaining phones and parts will all end up in landfill. Such a pity.
As with any collectable item there is also that element sellers thinking something is worth a fortune just because "it's vintage". Despite their age, there are hundreds of thousands of black WE 500C/Ds kicking around. So while they are antiques, they are not rare per say.
Something is only worth what people are will to pay for it.
Quote from: AL_as_needed on November 13, 2023, 02:38:35 PM...So while they are antiques, they are not rare per se.
Vintage would be a more accurate description.
Antiques are items aged over 100 years.
:)
Quote from: AL_as_needed on November 12, 2023, 05:54:58 AMI too have had very mixed results dealing with them.
My own experiece is that I have made some purchases through ebay phoneco listings without realizing the seller and happy with the results. I have had better prices calling up Mary in a 'wonder if PhoneCo has it" moment as well. If I could visit I would for sure.
For me this is heart breaking. They helped me get into this hobby almost 20 years ago. I always valued their knowledge if i had questions on restoring my earlier phones and bought several parts off them both from their website and ebay. Some parts I couldn't have found if it wasn't for them.