Archive of the former Yahoo!Groups mailing list: Mellotronists

Berniewrote:

Holy cow puddles!! Some poor sucker paid $11,110.56 for that rickety
piece of furniture.

--- InMellotronists@ yahoogroups. com, mark kasian <easle12@...> wrote:
>
> someone just bought themselves the world's most
> expensive headache.

 

---

 

Hi Gang,       Wow ! Never thoughtthat beastie would sell for so
much, especially in its unrestored condition.Hopefully, it will function
as well as the Chamberlins historicallysound..... I wish the new owner
the best of luck.....He( she) will needit.....
 

This brings to mind an example I wish to share.  Nowthat all prev.
Chamb. records are out the window, a new barhas been set , to a level
beyond most avg. keyboard owners/players.
 

As many of you might know, I've been an Edison historian/collector
well over 30 yrs. Coincides closely to myorig. M400 purchase.
Edisonian items could be had very reasonablyin the70s-80's.
 

....However, in 1994 ,  a unethical/rude newcomer withno historical interests,
only those of financial gain , came on thescene, and started buying
early lighting artifacts for 6-10X prevailingprices.  Once word spread,
everyone scrambled to buy stuff  whilestill "affordable. " Then eBay
began in 1995, and fed the frenzy still further.
 

Result, many collectors were driven-out because they couldn'tafford
to acquire new material.  Too manyexamples to give here, but imagine
trying to afford $5-6K for orig. Edison lightbulb from 1883, when they
orig. sold privately for $300-400 .
 

Does that make the item REALLY worth that much  ? Nope, only its
intrinsic value, which is minimal. After today, will all Chamberlins
be sold for 5-figures, unrestored or working?  Could price themselves
out of the mkt,  "In Search Of TheLost Dollar."
 

Maybe I'm full of it, or worrysome, or whining, whatever.
"But time will tell, of prices thatfell,a short short time ago....."
 

Regards, -- Jerry Korb  (JKMK6 suddenly worth sixfigures, heh-heh! )