I have been trying to buy a couple of 302's to fix up and the prices for ones without a cracked shell have been hovering in the $35 or more price range plus shipping.
Back in the summer I was able to purchase for (with some patients) for around $20 plus shipping. Am I just witnessing the cyclical effect of prices for these phones (low in the summer, peaking in late winter ?)
Unfortunately, I am in the middle of Central PA with no major towns nearby (Harrisburg is 1.75 hours away, Pittsburg 3 hours, Altoona (not that it is "major") 1 hour. I also because of location, don't have access to any flea markets local, so ebay is about it.
Just blowing off some steam, but I really don't want to spend $45.00 on a phone that needs another $20 - $30 worth of parts/repairs just to get it back into acceptable shape.
I've noticed a TON of phones that are way overpriced. I assume it's a case of novices seeing the sums brought in by the uber-restorers, and believing theirs just must be worth the same. I dunno. People are still coming up with some really great bargains, but it seems they're few and far between.
A tale of Two Phones...
I watched 2 1952 302's sell on ebay today. One went for $ 18.00 and the other went for $228.50. No rhyme or reason, the two phones were almost identical as near as i could tell. It's just the fickleness of the people buying on e bay I guess.