Auction 105: Gray 23D 3 Slot Pay Station

[TelePlay]

While auctions with a reserve are "never" put up as a contest, an exception is being made here because of the condition of this rare phone. As part of this auction, the right is hereby reserved to cancel this auction completely with no winner if the auction bids DO NOT exceed the reserve, whatever that might be, when the eBay auction ends.

This phone started at $0.99 and less than a day later, with 3 bidders and 4 bids, it is up to $81.00. With just under 6 days left in this 7 day auction, it will be interesting to watch what happens, to see if the reserve is met and if so, how much over the reserve this rare phone will go. Being an item sold out of a collection, the reserve may be high and this phone may not sell. If so, this auction contest will be cancelled with no winner. Take a guess and you "may" be the winner.

The seller listed it as an "VERY RARE GRAY PAY STATION 23D BEAUTIFUL ORIGINAL CONDITION" with the item condition as "Used" and states "You are bidding on a rare piece of American History. This is a very early Gray Pay Station model 23D. In NEW WORKING CONDITION. This very early model is equipped with the extremely rare OST Outside Terminal Receiver and beautiful red and black rattlesnake cord. The receiver is still a beautiful black color and shines like new! There are a couple of cracks that have been professionally repaired so other than the small scars (pictured) it looks like new. The telephone has been professionally wired with a black cloth line cord with molex plug for today's modern telephone system. All other wires are original and in beautiful condition. The transmitter is a 329W with the original chrome in perfect condition (no signs of rust or pitting). The mouthpiece is also original Western Electric with the "star" in the center! All screws (mostly solid brass) are in perfect condition with NO WEAR! The telephone finish is in perfect ORIGINAL museum condition. The black shines like glass. The frame is made of a very heavy cast iron and has no flaws. The original 10L lock and VERY RARE copper and brass "crab" lock are in perfect condition. Both keys are included. This beauty must have been kept somewhere safe and out of use to still be such beautiful shape. YOU WILL NOT FIND ONE LIKE THIS AGAIN. DUE TO THE VERY RARE CONDITION OF THIS TELEPHONE A RESERVE HAS BEEN SET. IF THE RESERVE ISNT MET THIS TELEPHONE WILL GO BACK TO THE COLLECTION.".

http://www.ebay.com/itm/121193217869

Still another chance to either move up a rung or to get onto the -> Contest Standings <- list, you have to play to "maybe" win!

New members on the forum are always very welcome and encouraged to take a guess. After all, there are no wrong guesses, just one lucky one. It does pay to get your guess in early if you know the selling price. I will be watching guesses and helping members as the contest progresses to prevent crowding under Rule #3. With that said, have at it . . .

If you want to check out all of the phones that have been in past Auction Contests, click -> HERE <- (link works, really!)


S C O R E B O A R D

$   355.00 - Haf  ( 1 )
$1,017.00 - twocvbloke  ( 9 )
$1,400.00 - Kenton K  ( 4 )  -> WINNER - Final Selling Price $1,400.58
$1,685.00 - AE_Collector  ( 3 )
$1,826.00 - tallguy58  ( 8 )
$2,000.00 - WesternElectricBen  ( 10 )
$2,150.00 - zaphod01  ( 5 )
$2,295.00 - DavePEI  ( 6 )
$2,401.00 - baldopeacock  ( 9 )
$2,650.00 - kleinkaliber  ( 7 )
$3,000.00 - southernphoneman  ( 2 )
$3,500.00 - Russ Kirk  ( 13 )
$4,502.02 - TelePlay  ( 12 )
$6,001.01 - HarrySmith  ( 11 )




Early Morning Auction Status Changes

10-12-13    Listed  $      0.99
10-13-13    5 bids  $    81.00
10-14-13  12 bids  $   265.00
10-15-13  19 bids  $   400.00 ,
10-17-13  23 bids  $1,100.00 , ,
10-19-13  14 bidders, 27 bids $1,400.58  Ended 12:33:14 PDT

[Haf]

would take a guess at $355

Haf

[southernphoneman]

that's a rare one, $3000.00

[AE_Collector]

$1685.

Terry

[Kenton K]

1400 is my guess

[zaphod01]

$2,150

[TelePlay]

I'd like to thank everyone for playing so far, and for those guesses to come, in this "conditional" contest.

The phone is up to $160 now with a 5th experienced bidder being interested.  In the past, I've watched several "collection" items offered on eBay with reserves, usually candlesticks, and most of the time the reserve is never met. But most of them start with a high initial bid amounts and this phone started at 99¢.

These auctions seem to have constant bidding in small increments in an attempt to find the reserve. If the reserve is higher than what the potential buyers are willing to pay for it, the auctions ends without a sale. If the reserve is met, then the auction goes into a quite period until the end when the typical snipping bids show up.

I've seen these in poor condition go for a good chunk of change so it will be interesting to see what the market value of this phone will be if it sells. If it doesn't, then we'll know what the market is today and that it is lower than what the seller expected.

Should be interesting.

PS: You can change your guess in either direction by posting a new reply stating your new guess anytime up to a day or so before the auction ends.

[DavePEI]

$2295.00

[kleinkaliber]

2650.00                     

[tallguy58]

$1826

[twocvbloke]

$1017...

[baldopeacock]

$2401

[WesternElectricBen]

2000.00, if that isn't crowing anybody's vote.
Ben

[HarrySmith]

Look Nice, going high. $6001.01

[TelePlay]

$4,502.02