Classic Rotary Phones Forum

POLL RESULTS:   NO 5  ---  YES 3

New forum members are very welcome and encouraged to take a guess. After all, there are no wrong guesses, just one lucky guess. No one knows the winning bid on any auction until it ends. However, it is important to get your entry in before someone else grabs your guess.

My one and only New Year's resolution was to not do anymore auction contests with phones that have a reserve. So, here we have, listed yesterday in a 7 day auction with a reserve, a seemingly very old Western Electric Potbelly candlestick with a cracked OST receiver (see photos). Got a tip on this listing from Fabius late last night and 1) didn't have time to work up a contest, and 2) didn't want to out a phone that might be flying under the radar. Well, radar got it so here it is as a contest. It was listed for a mere $9.95 plus $18.05 for shipping. Overnight it received 3 bids and was up to $1,500. Right now it has received 7 bids from 6 bidders and is up to $2,370.00 - and yes, the reserve has not been met. So, the seller thinks it is worth more but how much more and will a buyer think it worth more than the seller's reserve. With that said, once again the question is, who best knows what this phone will sell for when the auction ends?

The seller listed it as a "RARE Western Electric Pot Belly antique telephone" with the item condition as "Used" and " - - - " with the auction listing description as "Up for bid is an extremely rare, quite possibly one of a kind, 1896 Potbelly desk stand manufactured by New York Telephone. Equipped with a Western Electric type 229 transmitter and long pole receiver.  Notice the unique, turned down steerhorn switchhook.  Original nickel is 90% intact, with fading around the switchook. Engraved in transmitter, "The American Bell Telephone Company PAT'D in USA NOV 1 92"

This exact phone is listed in Richard Mountjoy's "100 Years of Bell Telephones" on page 69. In the photo, the phone is equipped with a WE 101 long pole receiver..  The receiver is cracked (see pictures).  The phone does not have the base cover. Most operating companies of the time used all Western Electric equipment, however, a few opted to manufacture their own equipment. As Mountjoy points out on page 66, "One of the operating companies which had decided to "go their own way" and develop and manufacture desk telephones was the New York Telephone Co.  Beginning in about 1895, a series of desk sets were manufactured in the shops of the New York Telephone Company which possessed several novel features.  Such features included a one-piece base and handle, turned down switchhook, and cast brass construction." This desk set is a must have for any collector of the rarest telephone equipment, and is a beautiful example of the very rare practice of non-Bell manufacturing. "

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271730725267

NOTE: we will use a 5% gap rule between guesses to prevent crowding. As such, guess gaps of 10+% can be split. I'll help with these as the auction goes forward and guesses are entered. As always, the guessing window ends 24 hours before the auction ends so get your guesses in at least one day before the auction ends.

It's another chance to move up a rung or to get onto the CRPF -> Contest Standings <- (http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=4198.0) list,

     . . . for as twocvbloke said,   ---> "You gotta be in it to win it !!!" ;D "

If you want to see the phones of past Auction Contests, click -> HERE <- (http://s1331.photobucket.com/user/CRPFACL/library/?sort=4&page=1)


S C O R E B O A R D

$   3,500.00 - kleinkaliber  ( 3 )
$   3,850.00 - Mr. Bones  ( 2 )
$   4,800.00 - poplar1  ( 1 )
$   5,005.00 - Kenton K  ( 3 )
$   5,500.00 - Fabius  ( 2 )
$   5,800.00 - Sargeguy  ( 6 )
$   7,575.00 - tallguy58  ( 9 )
$   7,777.00 - Fabius  ( 7* )  ( * revised guess )
$   8,500.00 - HarrySmith  ( 5 )
Final bid of $9,350.00 did not exceed the reserve price
$   9,500.00 - wds  ( 4 )
$ 10,100.00 - Kenton K  ( 8* )  ( * revised guess )
$ 11,111.11 - TelePlay  ( 10 )


Early Morning Auction Status

01-04-15      Listed      $         9.95
01-05-15      3 bids      $  1,500.00
01-06-15      7 bids      $  2,370.00
01-07-15      9 bids      $  3,050.09
01-08-15      9 bids      $  3,050.09
01-09-15    11 bids      $  5,100.00
01-10-15    16 bids      $  6,333.77
01-11-15    18 bids      $  8,100.00
01-11-15    10 bidders 19 bids $9,350.00 (did not exceed reserve price) Ended at 19:30:01 PST

$4800

$5500

$5,005

$3850.00, please.

Best regards!

$3500

$9500

$8500.00

I'll try $5800

Increased rapidly but reserve still not met, at $5K.

01-04-15      Listed      $         9.95
01-05-15      3 bids      $  1,500.00
01-06-15      7 bids      $  2,370.00
01-07-15      9 bids      $  3,050.09
01-08-15      9 bids      $  3,050.09  ( reserve not met )
01-09-15    11 bids      $  5,100.00  ( reserve still not met )

Still time for a revision so $7777 please.

I'll make a quick revision at $10,100 if it is still possible.

Ken

$7575

With the current high bid being a little over $6,300 and the reserve still not meet, I put a one day poll on this contest asking a simple question:  Will It Sell?

What do you think?

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=13406.msg140276#msg140276

With 24 hours and 5 minutes to go, I'll take a flyer on $11,111.11  (seven aces).


And for all those who did not take part in the poll, did not cast their vote so can't see the results, of the 8 that did vote, 5 said no, it won't sell and 3 said it will sell.

Well, I guess the poll was right and I should not have violated my New Year's resolution of putting items with a reserve into an auction contest. The bids for this Pot Belly Candlestick didn't reach the reserve so the contest is hereby cancelled with a big thanks to all who played.

The phone started at $9.95 and the bids ran up to $8,100.00 over the first 6 days of the auction. It stayed at $8,100 until about 15 seconds before the auction ended when the last bid came in pushing the bid price up to $9,350.00. That was not enough to exceed the reserve which for all we know could be close to 6 digits.

Since the final and high bid did not exceed the reserve, this contest is hereby cancelled with no winner declared. But, while we don't have a contest winner, we do have the market value on that phone.

Thanks again for playing.