Need some help/advice regarding my first rotary trimline

kwatter04 · January 13, 2012, 01:41:23 PM

So I just received this phone in the mail today from an eBay seller (note in the listing how it says "working"):

http://bit.ly/yPapEZ

I am very disappointed with this phone as it is most definitely NOT in working condition at all. The dial and the moveable finger stop are not oriented correctly, and there is no wall cord at all so it can't even be plugged in (see photos below). I can't even figure out how to take the mother-loving thing apart to investigate further!! I guess my question is this: Is it even feasible to try and get this phone into working condition? Or should I just contact the seller and try and get my money back? based on the ad and the pictures, would I have a leg to stand on as far as this phone being misrepresented? What do you guys think? any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

Kyle

Russ Kirk · January 13, 2012, 02:14:01 PM

I think it is nice phone and can be repaired. You might be able to pick up a mounting cord from another collector. If you are willing to to disassemble the phone and clean the dial it is a rather easy task. One other option would be to send the dial to Steve Hilsz for a quick $6 repair. But you would still have to take the dial out - not a big deal.

Here is some info from Steve Hilsz's site at http://www.navysalvage.com/:

http://navysalvage.com/dialrepair.html

My suggestion is to contact the seller, tell them of the misrepresentations and problems, and ask for a partil refund. Try to get $20-25 back. Fix the dial and buy a new mounting cord. You might be able to get that done for the $$$ you get back from the seller.

kwatter04 · January 13, 2012, 02:57:19 PM

Russ Kirk, you made my day!!!!! I have a couple of other phones that need dial work on them too. thank you for pointing me in the direction of Navy Salvage!!!! I think that they will be of great help to me!!! I'm still a newbie but I know from reading the forum that dial lubrication is tricky and that you can mess it up if you don't do it correctly. Just last night a friend was rotating the dial on my 1957 pink WE 500 and I had to yell at him to stop because I realized that the dial was starting to seize. I was not happy as it is one of my favorite phones!! I also have a NOS WE 565HDR+ with a completely seized dial!! there is now hope for my dials!!! It's kinda sad how excited I am right now!!! Thank you so much!!!!!

kwatter04 · January 13, 2012, 04:12:44 PM

Quote from: Russ Kirk on January 13, 2012, 02:14:01 PM
Fix the dial and buy a new mounting cord.

So I'm assuming that there is some special cord that plugs into the back of the phone? I'm really not familiar with the trimline at all

Argee · January 13, 2012, 04:57:10 PM

Its a proprietary modular plug that was used before the introduction of the modern version

TelePlay · January 13, 2012, 06:34:05 PM

Here's the modular line cord you want for this Trimline.

You can find them other places at other prices.

http://tinyurl.com/8yzq9hl

HarrySmith · January 13, 2012, 06:41:29 PM

I have a bunch of those line cords. I was going to cut off the Trimline plug to use them on other phones someday when I run out of regular cords. If you want one I would be willing to send you one for the cost of postage.
Also Steve is the best! He can fix any dial no matter what is wrong with it and he does it for only $6.00! He has done a bunch for me and I just sent him 4 more.

kwatter04 · January 14, 2012, 02:33:33 AM

Quote from: HarrySmith on January 13, 2012, 06:41:29 PM
I have a bunch of those line cords. I was going to cut off the Trimline plug to use them on other phones someday when I run out of regular cords. If you want one I would be willing to send you one for the cost of postage.
Also Steve is the best! He can fix any dial no matter what is wrong with it and he does it for only $6.00! He has done a bunch for me and I just sent him 4 more.

Did they come in the colors of the phones?? I would like a yellow one if possible. if that's not possible, then a gray one will have to do. I am so glad I found out about Steve. I really want to get my 565 working and the dial was the last hurdle..... I think it seized up from so many years of non-use. my only thing is now i have to get the dial out of the trimline so i can send it.... can anyone point me in the right direction as to how to do this??? I don't want to damage it! I also just sent the seller a message detailing my problems with the phone and politely asked for a partial refund.

GG · January 14, 2012, 06:45:44 AM

Occasionally you will see oldschool Trimline mounting cords on Ebay in various colors. Yellow is a bit more rare than some, but should eventually come up.

If I'm not mistaken, Trimline dials have a round wire-spring rather than a flat wire-spring, where the fingerstop acts to restrain the movement of the mechanism when the fingerwheel is removed. So the likelihood is that someone took the dial apart at one point and let it unwind, and this will be an easy repair. Alternately if the internal stop is broken, the dial could be replaced and the original yellow dial center reused on the new one. Trimline dials are not rare, they can be salvaged from otherwise broken Trimlines. In any case, Steve's the man to solve this one for you.

HarrySmith · January 14, 2012, 08:55:11 AM

The cords I have are all silver, no colors.
Steve repaired a trimline dial for me a some time ago. I do not recall the details but there was a trick to getting it out. I will see if I can remember what I did.

kwatter04 · January 15, 2012, 02:06:06 AM

this is the reply i received from the seller:

"The phone had dial tone when I plugged it into my home outlet the dial also seem to work ok .
As far as not having the wall chord that was not mentioned or shown in listing and you can buy one anywhere for next to nothing!
so if you want to send it back thats fine otherwise I would be willing to refund your PP account $ 7.00
Marty"

There's no way that the dial "work ok" when it's not oriented correctly. Apparently, to this guy, a dial tone means that it works. and I still can't figure out how he managed to plug it in without the "chord". whatever, I'll just take the $7 and call it a day I guess.

G-Man · January 15, 2012, 02:38:55 AM

Quote from: kwatter04 on January 15, 2012, 02:06:06 AM
this is the reply i received from the seller:

"The phone had dial tone when I plugged it into my home outlet the dial also seem to work ok .
As far as not having the wall chord that was not mentioned or shown in listing and you can buy one anywhere for next to nothing!
so if you want to send it back thats fine otherwise I would be willing to refund your PP account $ 7.00
Marty"

There's no way that the dial "work ok" when it's not oriented correctly. Apparently, to this guy, a dial tone means that it works. and I still can't figure out how he managed to plug it in without the "chord". whatever, I'll just take the $7 and call it a day I guess.

The Jerk you purchased your Trimline from is a liar since he knows fully well "you can[not] buy one [yellow cords] anywhere for next to nothing!"

Just check out another of his listings:

http://tinyurl.com/7c2bthm

It probably came off of your telephone!

I believe I still have a couple of boxes of cords (chords) that have the large modular plugs for early trim-style telephones. Unfortunately I'm sure that do not have them in yellow so either Harry or myself can send you a generic silver satin one at no-cost.

kwatter04 · January 15, 2012, 03:28:55 AM

Now i'm pissed. This clearly came off of my phone. new strategy.... I'm sending him another message demanding that he send me the cord. If he doesn't, I'm leaving negative feedback. Simple as that. He can take that $7 and shove it up his you-know-what. $21 dollars for the stinking cord when the phone sold for $30? what a joke. here is my reply to him on eBay.....

"The way I see it, when a phone is listed as "working", I should be able to take it out of the box, plug it in, and make and receive calls on it. In the case of the trimline, which requires a special cord, I would expect it to be included as part of a "working" phone. I can also tell just by LOOKING at the dial close-up that it is broken. I noticed how you currently have up for auction a yellow trimline wall cord that seems to me like it was probably taken from this phone to be sold seperately. It's a crying shame that this vintage telephone is practically being parted out so that you can make a few extra bucks. Here's my new idea about how to reslove this... send me the cord that was supposed to come with the phone, or I'm leaving negative feedback, which I think is more than fair given the situation. I'll get the dial fixed myself"

I also originally had a sentence at the end detailing the correct way to spell the word "cord", but I want that yellow cord, and I don't think that he would be too happy. I really should just say screw it and send it back, but I don't want this phone back in the clutches of this jerk!

jsowers · January 15, 2012, 09:49:36 AM

While I totally agree that you should be mad at this slimy seller, who sold a phone that was significantly not as described since it couldn't connect to a phone line and work, you may be in hot water for threatening to leave negative feedback. Here is something from eBay's policies you need to read...

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/feedback-extortion.html

I think if you can't get satisfaction from the seller, you need to open a case with eBay because this seller sold a phone he claimed was working that didn't have a way to be plugged into a phone line. And point them to the auction of the cord and plug, which will likely not sell at that price. An offer of what the shipping would be for the cord and plug might be a start. And you may want to apologize for the threat to leave a negative. Tell the seller you want to work with him to make it satisfactory for both of you. You're going to have to give a little to get a complete phone.

Phonesrfun · January 15, 2012, 07:15:00 PM

Interesting seller.

He may have you on that, since the photo in the original auction shows no cord at all, and was offered "as-is". Then he goes and sells the cord separately. I have heard of people who part out phones to make more money, but they don't usually lead the buyer to believe that it is working, and thus complete.

Now, to even make matters even crazier, he now has yet another yellow Trimline listed "With Chord" actually in the title of the auction!

If he is now so diligent to announce that this one which should have a cord actually has one, then why wasn't he so forthright in announcing that the one with no cord had none???

He also needs an education. He can't seem to spell very well.

See: http://tinyurl.com/77vapf5

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Need some help/advice regarding my first rotary trimline