Mediterranean Blue Model 500

[Dennis Markham]

Was anyone from the forum the winner of this Mediterranean Blue 500 today?

It stayed at $12 and some change most of the week and just started jumping up this weekend.  It looks like it might be a bit yellowed.

http://tinyurl.com/dav7av

[McHeath]

Not me, but it would be nice to find one of these colors.  Is this a good price it went for?

[Dan/Panther]

Every day I foillow my search for telephones yet it seems many slip by. What search do most use to catch it all ?
D/P

[Dennis Markham]

Dan, I just search the three telephone categories.  All under Collectibles>Radio,Photograph,TV,Phone>Telephones>1940-1969.  Then the other two categories are pre-1940 and 1970 to Present. There is another one for corded telephones that I forget to check.  You can set up some preferences in your "My Ebay" page to save searches.

[Dan]

Here's another blue one.

http://preview.tinyurl.com/another-blue-one

I think this will sell higher because of the presentation.

I know the discoutinued early soft phones are rare (1953-1957 blue, rose beige, oxford gray, brown), but it would seem to me the new colors for 1957, white, light gray, and aqua especially, would be even more rare because they would only be produced in soft plastic from 1957 to  may-june 1959, a period of 2.5 years.

Pink and red ones seem to pop up  more often, while white and gray don't.

[Dennis Markham]

Dan/Panther, to add to what I wrote earlier (I neglected to complete the thought), I go to the specific category and then click the drop-down box (Sort by:) and select time:newly listed.  Then I browse all of the phones that were listed since my last visit, putting those that I find interesting in my "watch" column.  Being that I don't have a life, I may do this several times a day.  And I still miss some.

Dan2, you are right about the presentation.  Also the one that sold earlier today for $130 was not billed as being Mediterranean Blue as the seller did not know.  I think he used the term "dark turquoise".  It had the potential of flying under the radar---poor photo, poor description.  But looking at the counter nearly 1,000 people looked at this phone.  I still think that if one were to remove the handset caps on this phone and see how blue it is inside, the seller was lucky to get $130 for this phone.  The seller of the second phone, that you posted knows phones.

[bingster]

I was hoping for a bargain on the blue one.  Around twenty seconds out I put in a bid of 90 something, and was excited to see it come up as top bid.  I was only on top for a few seconds, though.

Dan, the best way to not miss something is to not use searches.  I go through the entire Collectibles>Radio,Photograph,TV,Phone>Telephones category.  I don't go through the date sections, because half the people out there have no clue how old various telephones are.  I sort the whole category by newly listed and check for new ones every single day.

I also occasionally check Electronics>Vintage Electronics>Telephones and Electronics>Telephones & Pagers>Corded Telephones, but half the time I forget these two.

[bingster]

I still think that if one were to remove the handset caps on this phone and see how blue it is inside, the seller was lucky to get $130 for this phone.  The seller of the second phone, that you posted knows phones.

I think the color in the photos may be way off.  The grey cords are showing up as an odd sickly green.  I'm assuming of course, that the cords are indeed grey, and not green.  They look more grey in the photo of the bottom, though.

[Dennis Markham]

Bingster, you are right about things getting listed in improper categories.  Case in point is the latest Mediterranean Blue.  I had seen it earlier.  I recognized the seller.  I knew he has the tendency to put his model 500's in the Pre-1940 category.  So when I went back to find it I went to that category, then Newly Listed and lo and behold there it was.  

[Dennis Markham]

Good point also about the color.  Sometimes photos don't accurately represent the actual color of the phone.  Sometimes we take a chance.  It's always nice to ask for a photo of the inside of the cap...that cap placed next to the exterior of the phone can sometimes tell the story.

[AET]

I always do 'rotary phone' do your searches bring up more than that, because it only brings up about 2 pages usually with 200 listings per page.  Maybe 3 now and then.

[bingster]

Searching the entire category brings up 2310 auctions spanning 12 pages (at 200 per page).

[AET]

Searching the entire category brings up 2310 auctions spanning 12 pages (at 200 per page).

WOW, much better then haha.  I'll be doing that from now on!  Thanks guys!

[benhutcherson]

Just as a side note, Ebay has spent a lot of time and money "fixing" their search system the last couple of months.

If you use "the new search experience", which is the only option you will have after next month, there's a possibility that, depending on your geographic location, you may not see certain items.

Heck, even using the classic search, sometimes items don't even show up.

Unfortunately, I think that the writing is on the wall for the Ebay that we've come to know and love, as the powers that be continue to do everything in their power to turn Ebay into a glorified Amazon.com. Enjoy it for now, however understand that it may only be a limited amount of time before buying and selling unique items is even feasible on Ebay.

[McHeath]

So what's up with e-bay?  I know exactly nothing about the inner workings of the online auction world, is there some force driving a change?