Edison C-19 , need pricing advice.

[nwfantasy]

I have a difficult task that I hope to find some help with here. My father recently passed from cancer and my mother needs to sell he Edison Disc Phonograph C-19 S#SM-135648. It is in original condition, mahogany finish, excellent working condition with the typical wear and occasional chips and dings you would expect from home use. The vertical disc storage strips are in good condition as well and the piece includes 10 working discs. How might I find a fair price and means of sale to my mother who lives in Washington state?

[martinola]

Hello nwfantasy.

I'm sorry to hear of your father's passing. You are dealing with what each collector must secretly dread: one's family having to dispose of a collection.

The two obvious ways of finding a buyer are through ebay and craigslist. They both have their benefits and drawbacks. Personally, I haven't been too successful offering stuff on craigslist. Ebay reaches a wider audience, but they do take a cut of what you get. Before you go that route, you might try contacting or joining the Oregon Territory Antique Phonograph Society (OTAPS)

otaps.org/index.php

You might find that they have some suggestions.

The added complication is the size and relative fragility of the machine. It's not something that somebody would likely ship. The costs would be quite high, perhaps even higher than the value of the machine itself. You're probably better off selling it as pick-up only.

While I think of the C-19 as one of Edison's best performing Diamond Disc machines, (I love mine), they were a big seller and consequently don't command a lot of money today. If you open an ebay account, you can research completed listings of C19s/C-250s in the advanced search mode. You'll want to look for the completed listings in that resulted in a sale, as there are always unsold ones for high prices that probably never will sell. I'd expect that you'll find them in similar condition in the $300 - 400 range.

If you do list it on ebay, post a lot of good photos, wide and close-up. I'd also describe each record, as every once in a while there will pop up a really rare one that will drive up the sale price.

Lastly, you might consider keeping it yourself. Properly tuned-up, they offer the best sound that the acoustic recording process could offer. I get a great deal of pleasure out of mine. Mechanically, it was Edison's best machine with the biggest horn (excluding the really rare Edisonics). Boards like this exist as resources for new owners of old phonographs. If you keep it, we'll be here to help. In any case, good luck to you in what ever you decide to do.

Regards,
Martin

[larryh]

While I was reading a different message I see this question has been pretty well answered. The range of prices of those machines can be great. Personally mine was purchased for 25.00 at a local auction. that of course is unusual. A C 19 in Kansas just sold for 245 or so. It was listed twice and the first time it only went for about 150. For some reason the person that purchased it didn't pick it up and it ran again and the seller lucked out with higher bids the next time.

I see a C 19 in oak not too far from me that was on craigs list for 100.00 a few months ago. It ran along time but finally someone picked it up. Lots of people on ebay ask a lot of money but more often than not the range or less that was given turns out to be about where they land. It is partly dependent on the condition, amount of records, ect.

Good luck with it. Sorry about your loss.

Larry

[nwfantasy]

Thank you for your responses so far they have been very helpful.