VINTAGE OLD FASHION BELL SYSTEM TELEPHONE

[Perry]

Could this be serious?
http://tinyurl.com/vintage-telephone ( dead link 03-31-21 )
"PERFECT FOR THE COLLECTOR OF OLD FASHION TELEPONES"

[BDM]

Reminds me of the clueless sellers with $10 radios, pricing them at $30K. D/P knows what I'm talking about.

[Steve]

Looks like he's normally a Buyer not a Seller. his name fits him on this auction though.

[Dennis Markham]

Being that I'm a trouble-maker (sometimes), I sent this comment/question:

The collector of old phones probably wouldn't pay more than $30-$35 for that phone.  What makes yours so valuable?  Am I missing something??

We'll see what kind of response it brings.  (The Ad says it is perfect for the collector of old fashion telephones).

It reminds me of a guy I knew once upon a time.  He put a sign in the window of his junker asking $2,000 when it may have been worth a couple hundred dollars at the time.  His theory was that a sucker is born every day.  You never know, he said, someone may pay that much.  His name was not P.T. Barnum.

[Dennis Markham]

The seller posted my question and his answer on the listing.  I guess that's what the phone is worth to him.

Ebay loves people like that.  The listing fee is based upon the asking price AND the Buy It Now price and it doesn't matter if he sells it.  He/She still has to pay a listing fee.

[Perry]

I guess that answers my question, then. I though that maybe it was just a floating decimal point, and that he had intended to ask for a $50 BIN (still too high for that phone, I think).

[Konrad]

The answer is very simple, he owes his drug dealer $3,200.

[JimH]

Oh boy.  Someone else set this guy off.  Check out his auction now!

[Steve]

Dont be so hard on the guy. hes offering free shipping!

[bingster]

Auctions like this get mention on the radio forum, too.  Everybody remember those humongous stereo consoles from the 1960s and 70s?  They took up a whole wall because they were so long.  They sound good, but they're so big nobody wants them, and for that reason they're practically worthless.  A person would be lucky to get twenty bucks for one.  Anyway, there have been auctions where people think they're worth a fortune, because they're so nice, or because grandma had one, or because they remember listening to Christmas music on them when they were kids, or... the list is endless. 

Anyway the poor, deluded fools will post one of these behemoths for thousands of dollars, and kind advice from experts bring about the exact same responses.

"There are none so blind as those who will not see."

[HobieSport]

I guess "deluded" pretty much sums it up well, Bingster.  I've just never seen anyone go ballistic on Ebay like that.  Scary.  It actually reminds me of the tactics (and poor language skills) of scam artists.  Great great grandmother?  Should the buyer care?

[Perry]

I guess most of the 302s were owned by someone's grandmother or grandfather, but that wouldn't translate to an increased value unless that (great)grandparent was really famous. I wouldn't point that out to this guy, though. He will eventually see that his phone is not worth what he thinks it is.

[McHeath]

Oh wow!  I've got to stop myself from pressing the BIN button!   Stop me!  Someone help!!   Such a GREAT deal!  His great-gramma owned it! 

Stop me before I BIN again!

[HobieSport]

Heath, you are getting sleepy...sleepy...
Just think of the free shipping...
Don't ask any questions that might upset or insult the seller.
Just push the oh-so-enticing BIN button NOW.
Make his great great grandmother proud.
After all, the phone is "ORIGINAL" and RARE!!!
(He yelled, in giant capital letters.)
Hey, it's also a Deco Lucy Phone!  I've never seen one on Ebay!  WOW! L@@k!!!!!
Great photos and description also.
And just in case you're worried about provenance, here are pictures of the seller and his great great grandmother:

[McHeath]

Yer tempting me, and I thought you were my friends.

It either buy this phone or eat for the next 6 months, hmmmm.