telephone restoration and sales

[Babybearjs]

I thought I'd drop this in. I have a small collection of telephones, and related equipment and parts. I have restored several of my phones and wanted to sell them on EBAY, but found the market flooded with the very phones I wanted to sell online. After talking to several people, the question remains..... is it really worth the effort? if someone buys a phone for $10.00 and puts $30.00 worth of labor, parts and time into the phone- can the phone be sold for $50.00? with the advent of the cell phone all the rotary phones out there have taken a back seat to technology.... Plus, there are so many of the phones out there, how many people really want these old phones? yes, art deco does have its place, but what is the phone REALLY worth.... and Who is willing to pay the right price.... I have been asking some antique dealers around the Nampa ID. area and some are say they wish they had some old phones... so, is there a market for rotary phones? or is it only within the collectors clubs??? is taking a WE 302, or a AE40 and cleaning it up, testing it, replacing old cords and making it usable again really worth it? this has been a frustrating thing trying to find a market for old phones. it seems like everyone wants things for free.... or at least less then a legitamate value.... so how do you all feel about this subject???  john

[Greg G.]

I thought I'd drop this in. I have a small collection of telephones, and related equipment and parts. I have restored several of my phones and wanted to sell them on EBAY, but found the market flooded with the very phones I wanted to sell online. After talking to several people, the question remains..... is it really worth the effort? if someone buys a phone for $10.00 and puts $30.00 worth of labor, parts and time into the phone- can the phone be sold for $50.00?

If you restore commonly found vintage phones with the idea of making a profit, or as you mentioned, even breaking even on the cost and labor, you're going to be very frustrated.  Especially on ebay where buyers have to factor in the cost of shipping to their decision to buy a phone.  I have about 18 phones that I'm going to try to sell at the upcoming phone show in Washington.  I haven't kept track of what I paid for them, but I know I'll be taking a loss because their going to be priced to sell.

I only do this for fun.  I've polished up and bleached out a few phones in my collection, but I don't intend to sell them.  I tend to get attached to them after spending a lot of time and effort getting them functioning and polished.

[GG]

Personally I'm glad that this hasn't become an "investment hobby" yet, because IMHO that just kills the spirit of everything it touches.  Understandably the really rare stuff tends to go into the stratosphere, but rarity is a legitimate basis for anything to command a high price. 

Babybearjs, the reason folks here put the labor in and buy/sell/trade stuff, is much the same as for automobile enthusiasts or any other hobbyist subculture: we think it's cool, we enjoy rescuing things that would have ended up in landfills or scrapyards, we get a mischievous satisfaction from making things work again that are in some cases older than we are. 

The blunt fact is that any dial phone made after about 1928 is going to sound better, both receiving and transmitting, than any cellphone in America today.  The ergonomics are better: the receiver fits on your ear, and you can balance it on your shoulder (OK, E1s and suchlike possibly excepted : - ).  There is no battery to go dead or to wear out and be replaced.  It works during power failures and after natural disasters.  When you call 911, the operator knows exactly where to send the police, firefighters, or paramedics, even if you can't say anything more than "Help!" 

It's a pleasure to use for long conversations: if you and your friends are all properly equipped (with dial phones!), you can talk with them for a couple of hours at a stretch and never get interrupted by the technology.  The very best creative brainstorms always develop about 45 minutes to an hour into a conversation and continue for another hour or two: you can do that in person or with a dial phone at each end, but you can't do that with a cellphone or even a cordless. 

Now think of how that applies to long talks with far-away family and close friends you've known since forever-ago.  Think of how it applies to dating, new romances, and the love of your life when you're away on business travel or at college or on a military base preparing to go overseas into harm's way. 

We would say that today, the real technology: that which enables you to have long conversations without even thinking about the technology; has taken a back seat to flashy gimmicks that only get in the way. 

So we stick with the thing that's worked for a half-century or more, and will keep working for another half-century or more with just a bit of maintenance that we can do ourselves using nothing more than a screwdriver. 

And by the way, dialing a ten-digit number takes about fifteen seconds.  That's only ten seconds longer than keying it on a keypad, and less time than it takes to do it with an "app."  I'll happily take fifteen second to dial if it means I can talk with someone for hours if we choose. 

[Doug Rose]

I have been a collector of telephones for over 30 years. I do sell phones on eBay to offset my childdren's ever rising college education. My youngest is now in her last year and receiving her Masters. That being said, you CAN make a nice living selling phones on eBay. Being a collector is a hindrance as you keep the best ones for yourself. Selling a working phone in nice displayable condition in profitable, but you will not retire on it.

Consider that most phones on eBay for the non collector are extremely high in price and polished to an unnatural finish. Looks great as art, but its not a phone. Nice phones that "have not been tested" is a huge gamble for the uninformed. On the low end; beaters in poor condition that need a huge time investment with no guarantee you have more than a parts phone are options for stock.

Selling phones with an honest guarantee with plenty of pictures to show the inside as well as the outside is the way to go. Show the flaws, don't hide them. Your feedback is your advertising. After you get a working phone,  sell it,  ship in promptly on payment and pack it better than perfect. Medium Priority Flat Boxes are a gift from God. Strong as a tank and fairly reasonable US shipping and affordable shipping outside the US.....Doug

[trainman]

Well said GG. I hate talking to my Mom, She only has a cel lphone.  Seems I usually get her while driving, so she either has to call me back, or pull over. My Dad needs new batteries for both of his cordless phones.

People seem to shout while on cellphones. I bought a new cordless, and since it's so small, I have to hold it just right or my ear coveres up the receiver and I can't hear. Not tomention it's hard to hold it on your shoulder. My 302 works better, anyway. Now, if you can find a way to make a 302 cordless using the same handset....

I grew up with a TT Trimline, and I rather use the older phones. I don't have a cell phone, but need one now, because pay phones are disapearing.

[HarrySmith]

I sell phones on ebay and on craigslist. I buy them cheap and restore them to nice clean working condition. They are not works of art but they work! I find I can get a better price on craigslist as the buyers are local and do not have to worry about shipping. I sell my 500's on ebay for $48.00 plus $12.00 for medium flat rate shipping. Total of $60.00 is not unreasonable and all my buyers have been very happy. A year or so ago I had a bunch of NOS color change kits for AE 90's. I bought a bunch of junkers from Terry, cleaned them up and installed the new plastics. I spent a total of about $200.00 on everything and I sold them for $99.00 to $150.00 each. Sold 8 phones for about $900.00, $700.00 in my pocket minus my labor was a good haul! I put in opening bids on ebay for old phones at $9.99 or less with reasonable shipping costs and then I forget them until I recieve notice I have won. I got several phones for ony 99 cents plus $10 - $16 shipping. Spend a couple of hours cleaning them and sell for $48.00 is not a lot of profit but it is a profit. I also sell other things on ebay and as long as I can double my money I consider it a good sale. I have sold items on ebay for a higher price than the exact same item being offered at the exact same time, I credit this with presentation. I take as many pictures as I can and I research the items to provide info in my description. I have gotten emails from non buyers just to tell me how impressed they were with my research and descriptions. I also maintain a 100% feedback with over 600 transactions and I am a power seller and a top rated seller so that helps also. Bottom line is I enjoy the phones, making an old piece of junk work and shine again gives me some satisfaction. Plus I can add phones to my collection and so far about break even.

[Dan/Panther]

Babybearjs;
I've found for the most part right now is not  a good time to sell anything, other then very high end items. Just no money. I recently sold an Imperial With Oak subset, a real nice phone, I had a Reserve of $150.00, lowered it to $75.00 when it didn't sell the first time, then had to go to the 3rd bidder to get someone that wanted a second chance offer. I was very disappointed. I should have kept the phone.
D/P

[Babybearjs]

well, thanks for all the feedback. yes this Hobby has its moments. I just won another WE302 for $10.00+ shipping.  just like the otghers I have, I could recover my money by setting the price at $50.00 once all cleaned up and working... this was the starting price when I was trying to sell here in idaho... though I know my 307's would get a better price if shown.... for now, they are keepers. just not ready to part with them yet... even though I have more then 3 and they have all been converted to CB usage. here in idaho, they all seemed to ring, but when I was in corvallis where phil mc carter works.... they  barely rang... phil attributed it to the switching equipment..., now that I'm back, I'm hoping for the same results.... also, just a side note... Radio Shack remerchantised their stores again and discontinued the crimping tool we use on the spade connectors for the phones... does anyone know any other sources? if I loose mine, I'll have a hard time replacing it at the price I paid....        John

[Greg G.]

It works during power failures and after natural disasters. 

The old phone system did, but not today's hodge-podge system.  If it's plugged into a phone modem from a cable company phone service, when the power dies, so does the phone.  That same setup will also go down when the internet does, power or no power.  I know from experience when I had my land-line through Comcast.  I now have a POTS land-line through Quest, but even then, I've heard that there's some "innovations" that could make it go down.  In the good old days of Ma Bell, it was taken for granted that the phone would still work because the phone company had back-up generators to run the phone lines. 

I know that you know all this, I'm only saying for the sake of those who aren't aware of how the best phone system in the world was destroyed and secure American jobs went overseas when they broke up Ma Bell and Western Electric ceased to exist.  The Rape of Ma Bell should be required reading for all phone collectors.  I'll get off my soap box now.

And by the way, dialing a ten-digit number takes about fifteen seconds.  That's only ten seconds longer than keying it on a keypad, and less time than it takes to do it with an "app."  I'll happily take fifteen second to dial if it means I can talk with someone for hours if we choose. 

Phone trees are a kick when I can dial instead of pressing a button, except if it's # or *. 

[Greg G.]

well, thanks for all the feedback. yes this Hobby has its moments. I just won another WE302 for $10.00+ shipping.  just like the otghers I have, I could recover my money by setting the price at $50.00 once all cleaned up and working

John

Clean them up and then sell them?!  How could you do such a thing to your babies?!!  You cold-hearted so-in-so!!   

[Sargeguy]

Selling on eBay is tough right now.  I would try consigning them to a dealer or getting in touch with decorators.  Many people don't care if they work or not.