No, seriously -- I need help - stop me, please

[paul-f]

I usually get comments like, "Why can't you collect something small like matchbook covers or cufflinks.  You could store hundreds of them in a small box and they wouldn't grow mold."

[Dennis Markham]

Funny you should mention match books, Paul.  Saw this photo on an on-line Estate Sale............

[Kenny C]

my unckle has a 10 gallon pickle jar full of those

[Phonesrfun]

Anyone needing help with their addiction to telephones is hereby invited to seek out a 12-step program in your community.  As a public service to help rid you of this nasty and sometimes costly habit, I invite you to box up your entire collection and send it to me.  This way, you won't have the phones around to tempt you into buying more.

[KeithB]

Some recovered suede feet arrived in the mail from Dennis Hallworth today, plus some miscellaneous small hardware I ordered for other projects.  The wife then asked if I was still expecting any other packages.  I told her yes, I was still expecting one smaller one (miscellaneous hardware) and one larger one (the 233G) but I didn't tell her what it was.

I asked this afternoon if she'd like another WE302 but painted darker red to match the fabrics in the bedroom.  She actually prefers the traditional black phones.  Darn it. 

[gpo706]

Keith - nice idea, but it aint her's! 

[Dave F]

Sometimes, the truth combined with a little logic will help clarify things.  The phones we are collecting aren't getting any more common as time passs.  Let's say, for example, that you bought a Pekin Red 302 today for $450.  What do you suppose it will be worth in 5 years?  How about 10 years?  The way I see it, all these classic phones will, at a minimum, hold their value over time, and most of the better items will eventually be worth far more than we paid for them.  It's not like a plasma TV or computer, which will quickly depreciate as technology races forward.  So, phone collecting is really a type of investing, and as a bonus we get to play with (and share with our friends) all this neat stuff.  This is why I never try to hide from my wife what I am buying.  I do get "The Look" sometimes when I shell out for an expensive phone, but I believe that, in the end, my decisions will be vindicated.   Now honey, please pass the potatoes.

[KeithB]

I'm the cook at our house, so I get to threaten her with no more dinners if she gets too fussy. 

[paul-f]

Sometimes, the truth combined with a little logic will help clarify things.  The phones we are collecting aren't getting any more common as time passs.  Let's say, for example, that you bought a Pekin Red 302 today for $450.  What do you suppose it will be worth in 5 years?  How about 10 years?  The way I see it, all these classic phones will, at a minimum, hold their value over time, and most of the better items will eventually be worth far more than we paid for them.  It's not like a plasma TV or computer, which will quickly depreciate as technology races forward.  So, phone collecting is really a type of investing, and as a bonus we get to play with (and share with our friends) all this neat stuff.  This is why I never try to hide from my wife what I am buying.  I do get "The Look" sometimes when I shell out for an expensive phone, but I believe that, in the end, my decisions will be vindicated.   Now honey, please pass the potatoes.

I sure hope you're right, Dave.  Like any "investment," we can expect ups and downs. (Certainly if my IRA is any indication.  )  The last few years have not been kind to our phone portfolios in general.  Some phone in particular have been hard hit.  Common wood wall phones were quite popular as decorating accessories in the 1970s and were coming down in price even before the economic collapse.  Most are really in the tank now.  Even A1s and blue 302s seem to be down.  Hope they recover soon! 

We all need to be working to spread the collecting bug to our younger friends and acquaintences to help shore up the demand for old phones.

[Dennis Markham]

I recall a few years ago a phone collector friend told me that wooden phones were dropping in value because those that remembered them from their youth were thinning from the population.  That may hold true also for the next generation of telephones.  I know that same collector of many many years began to sell his collection.  He said that he purchased most of them with the thought that they would be retirement income.  He began to sell off his lot probably three or four years ago and was doing quite well (eBay sales).  But hasn't sold anything in a while now I see.  Perhaps because the prices have begun to decline with the economy---like Paul indicated in his post.

Only time will tell if things turn back around.  Of course there are exceptions but for the most part it's a buyers market now.

[Dave F]

I sure hope you're right, Dave.  Like any "investment," we can expect ups and downs. (Certainly if my IRA is any indication.  )  The last few years have not been kind to our phone portfolios in general.  Some phone in particular have been hard hit.  Common wood wall phones were quite popular as decorating accessories in the 1970s and were coming down in price even before the economic collapse.  Most are really in the tank now.  Even A1s and blue 302s seem to be down.  Hope they recover soon! 

We all need to be working to spread the collecting bug to our younger friends and acquaintences to help shore up the demand for old phones.

There's truth in what you say, but I tend to take a slightly longer view.  Your stock portfolio might (as is mine) be down right now, but to me that is only an opportunity to buy more at a lower price.  I am betting that, over the long term, the trend will be upward.  If the stock market (and our country) are really headed into the crapper, there will be much more to worry about than simply how much money we have in the bank.  I think a day will come, sooner rather than later, when this downturn in the economy will be just a footnote in the history books.  So, in the meantime, I'll keep collecting cool phones, and I'll be eager to show every new addition to my wife.  If you know of a nice blue 302 at a yard-sale price, please tell me where it is -- I still don't have one.

[KeithB]

What color blue?  I have a 302 that I'll probably end up painting. 

[Doug Rose]

What color blue?  I have a 302 that I'll probably end up painting.  

Keith...while you're at it, you can paint me a Blue thermoplastic too. Like Dave....I am still waiting for mine to be found. Like Dave, at a reasonable yard sale price is preferable if not the only way I will ever own one.....Doug

[JorgeAmely]

What do you suppose it will be worth in 5 years?  How about 10 years?  The way I see it, all these classic phones will, at a minimum, hold their value over time, and most of the better items will eventually be worth far more than we paid for them.

Dave:
The problem is that the people willingly to pay a lot of money for these phones will be gone in 50 years from now. So I think these phones will drop in price. My kids like my collection, but I don't see then buying phones to add to my collection after I am gone. I see them selling the entire collection for $100 bucks, though. 

[Phonesrfun]

The thing about any common battery set is that they are still useable.  I think one of the things that have been a problem for the old magneto local battery sets it that they made fine decorations, but they are pretty much unuseable unless you convert them to common battery use.

I think technology and the behavior of the phonecos that still support copper wire is such that POTS service is going to disapear on us one day, and we will have the same problem as with the magneto phones.  We won't have any legacy systems to hook our phones to without some conversion or adapter. 

Jumping off my soapbox...