English phone on CL.

[Greg G.]

I don't know anything about these, but it seems to be a reasonable buy.  Non-ringing doesn't really deter me if that's the only thing wrong with it.  It appears to be a 30s-era phone from the handset style, but again I don't know English phones.  Did they have coiled cords back then?

http://seattle.craigslist.org/kit/atq/1705215143.html

[AE_Collector]

Many phones on Craig's List and ebaY are advertised as "doesn't ring" but in many cases they just don't have the ringer connected properly.

Of course some makes of North American phones have frequency ringers in them so they aren't going to ring without major modifications or ringer replacement.

Terry

[Jim Stettler]

It is well worth the $30. I would probably spend up to $60 and feel I got a good phone that I could resell if needed to get my money back.  I think show resell would be up to $100.00.-$120.00.
Easy sell at $65.00.
JMO,
Jim

[LarryInMichigan]

Briny,

That phone is not English but Norwegian.  I believe that the emblem on the front is that of Telegrafverket which was the monopoly phone company in Norway.  It is worth much more than $30, especially since it appears to be in great condition.  I would buy it in an instant.  Also, it probably does not ring now because the ringer is connected between one line side and ground.  I quick wiring change will likely fix that.

Larry

[Greg G.]

Ok then, as soon as I get a response from the seller as to its availability, I'll make a trip to Poulsbo.  It's a bit of a drive, but a scenic one involving the ferry.

[Greg G.]

Heard back from the seller just this morning, it's still available, so I asked if I could come out and take a look today or tomorrow.  Because of the slow response, I have a feeling seller is using a library email account, which isn't surprising, Poulsbo is out in the boondocks.  But then again, not everybody checks there emails 10 times a day like I do.

[LarryInMichigan]

Briny,

Just for fun, ask the seller if he/she and/or his/her spouse ever drive out to any of the places where you normally are.  A year and a half ago, I wanted to buy something (not a phone) from a seller from craigslist, but I didn't feel like driving all the out to where she was.  A friend suggested that I ask her if she ever comes out this way, and it turned out that her husband passes right through my neighborhood on his way to work, so we arranged to meet right around the corner from my house.

Larry

[Greg G.]

After my experience with my first apt. phone, I'm hesitant to tell anybody how far I'm coming.

When I got my first Apt. phone, I made the mistake of telling the seller I was coming from Seattle (they were in Vancouver, WA, 3hr drive).  I kept her up-to-date on my arrival time and met her at a Costco.  Originally she asked $100 OBO, so I offered her $80.  She then said she would rather keep it if she didn't get $100.  Moral of the story is I shouldn't have told her how far I was coming because she probably figured I was anxious for the phone and wasn't going to walk away after driving that far.  I hate to say she was right.  My mistake was clueing her in.  Lesson learned:  Keep my mouth shut next time, and be prepared to walk away, there will be other phones.

[LarryInMichigan]

If this seller is way out in the boondocks, they will not have so many local buyers, so they will be more likely to be willing to go into the city.  Anyway, even if they want to charge you $10 more, it might be worth it to save yourself a long drive.  For me, it would be worth it, since I work by the hour, and the driving time would cost me.

Larry

[Greg G.]

They had at least one, it sold.    I looked up Poulsbo in Wiki, it's not at all "boondocks".  (I've never been there, obviously).  It also has a large Norwegian/Scandinavian population, which would explain the Norwegian phone.