Thread Number: 39803
New prices for vintage machines |
[Down to Last] |
|
Post# 589599 , Reply# 1   4/15/2012 at 10:37 (4,390 days old) by bendixmark (Winchester Mass)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
     
I would gladly pay that for some of my favorite machines.I wish I could get a new 57 kenmore like the one I have,its so wonderful to have and use I almost couldnt put a price on it.That was a lucky day the day I found that at the dump in one piece not dropped. |
Post# 589603 , Reply# 2   4/15/2012 at 10:55 (4,390 days old) by RevvinKevin (Tinseltown - Shakey Town - La-La Land)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
2    
|
Post# 589607 , Reply# 3   4/15/2012 at 11:09 (4,390 days old) by k1rod (Scottsdale, AZ)   |   | |
This post has been removed by the member who posted it. |
Post# 589610 , Reply# 4   4/15/2012 at 11:11 (4,390 days old) by k1rod (Scottsdale, AZ)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
     
I would. If I were to come across a brand new still crated LA806, I would pay $1500 for just the washer. I really don't care much about dryers. |
Post# 589611 , Reply# 5   4/15/2012 at 11:17 (4,390 days old) by akronman (Akron/Cleveland Ohio)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
     
My budget would NOT allow it, but I'd do my best to pay like that for a New In Box matched set 70's GM Frigidaire 1-18, window lid washer and gas dryer. And at that price, I better get the poppy red, eh? I can't imagine another machine I'd pay that for, used but repairable and working and under $200 is more like it. |
Post# 589612 , Reply# 6   4/15/2012 at 11:19 (4,390 days old) by xraytech (Rural southwest Pennsylvania )   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
     
|
Post# 589690 , Reply# 7   4/15/2012 at 16:14 (4,390 days old) by pdub (Portland, Oregon)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
5    
about what you say online about prices, and what you'd pay.
I'm definitely not trying to be mean and know how much we all love our vintage machines and what they mean to us. It's just that people selling these machines tend to do their research online these days and when they find that a lot of people have posted that they would be willing to pay a high price for something, the seller will adjust his or her price accordingly.
I'm only saying this because I hate to see the prices go up over speculation.
Again, not trying to say the original poster doesn't have good intentions and of course I do not mean to be offensive in any way.
Carry on....
|
Post# 589737 , Reply# 8   4/15/2012 at 18:52 (4,390 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
2    
Not to sound harsh but one has to agree with the previous poster.
Many times NOS sets or units do appear and either at the offered price or as the number becomes bid up you start to hear comments as "Pdub" stated. Years ago when the Internet including eBay and this site was young it *may* have been possible to nab NOS things on the cheap, but that ship has sailed. Well at least as far as washers, dryers and dishwashers seem to be concerned. The only way possible now to get something along those lines at a good price is to either seek them out privately such as at a shop or estate sale, and or perhaps close a "BIN" auction on fleaPay before anyone else bids. Even then the latter does not always work as sellers are often bombared with messages basically calling them a chump for letting things go cheap. If they will just cancel that sale ..... will offer .... And so it goes. Finally there is this: before *I* paid serious funds for any "NOS" washer or dryer would either want some sort of written promise or be able to kick the tires in person. While the odd still new in crate unit has turned up more often there has to be a story behind why a washer or dryer has sat sitting for a decade or two, and one wants to hear it. Also consider there is a skill and knowledge that goes along with waking up an appliance that hasn't been used in a generation or two, including NOS washers and dishwashers where seals may have dried out. Too many think just because an appliance is NOS or otherwise untouched they can simply install it as if it was nothing and put the thing into service. |
Post# 589741 , Reply# 9   4/15/2012 at 19:09 (4,390 days old) by Kenmore71 (Minneapolis, MN)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
     
Some perspective....
Below is the original invoice for the purchase of MY Maytag 806 pair from May of 1967. According to the CPI inflation index, adjusted for TODAY's dollars, it would be $3,654. That would buy a TOL Miele pair or more than pay for a SQ FL washer and dryer at current prices. So, perhaps the price of a well-made quality appliances has remained somewhat constant? |
Post# 589771 , Reply# 10   4/15/2012 at 20:17 (4,390 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
     
Many great makers of laundry/major appliances saw what was coming and got out for that and other reasons.
Problem was if they continued to build "them like they used to", things wouldn't break down and or need replacment as often. That means sales would be largely restricted to new homes/construction and or the whims of Madame should she decide to chuck out perfectly good appliances simply for redoing a part of the house. OTHO rising costs of labour and materials meant prices would have to rise. Something would have to give. White goods are called major appliances because they are supposed to last >10 years. Good luck with that today. |
Post# 589859 , Reply# 11   4/16/2012 at 05:17 (4,389 days old) by PhilR (Quebec Canada)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
     
I'd probably consider paying top $$$ for brand new vintage appliances too if they were still made locally and if they came with a full warranty and easy to find replacement parts!
On a second thought, maybe not! I don't care much about that!
And this reminds me that people pay high prices for "retro-style" modern appliances (mostly kitchen appliances, I don't recall seeing disguised laundry appliances like that!). I don't understand that as these appliances are easy to spot by anyone as "fake" and they are the exact opposite of what I like! I mostly like old appliances that don't look too old. I'm not a big fan of rounded (or "pre-Sheer Look" to Frigidaire fans!) appliances... Maybe if Big Chill did an exact copy of a 1958 Frost-Proof Frigidaire, I'd be interested in getting one or two. And I'd buy a few spare parts too! But I don't think this is ever going to happen!
|
Post# 589982 , Reply# 13   4/16/2012 at 16:13 (4,389 days old) by Kenmoreguy64 (Charlotte, NC)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
1    
While I totally understand where Patrick is coming from, we shouldn't stiffle ourselves into whispering because of a hypothetical situation which may or may not ever happen. We are essentially saying that if we quiet-down on saying what we'd pay, that we want to buy low, and sell high (presuming we at some point have a machine that we want to sell). Well, things often don't, or shouldn't, work that way. We naturaly want to get what we think our machines are worth when selling, but we don't want to pay what they're worth in buying? That's a bit lopsided.
In all realities though, there aren't scores of sellers out there lining up with many NIB machines, just waiting for us to get into bidding wars. We are talking about influencing a market that doesn't exist. Even if there were a number of machines available, those who talk now would often not be buyers when the situation comes to the nth degree. Distance, funds availability, the desirability of the actual available product, etc. will all be factors in how each of us would ultimately respond to a new machine. So what's the worst that happens? Say some seller somewhere does have a new GE set - a mini-basket FF set, AND they read this and think it's worth four figures. They advertise at $2000. Will the machines sell? Maybe if someone here wants them, but I doubt anybody actually anties up. If they do sell, then that's what they were worth and the seller deserved to have that money. If they don't sell, what happens next? The seller lowers their price until someone is willing to pay. That's how the market works. Would the machines sell for more than they would if there was no apparent market for a 30-year old new washer? Maybe a little, but we the buyers would be getting what we want and the seller would get some money for being lucky enough to have such a treasure. BUT, that said, if one of us was the seller, would we be glad that some people knew that these had value? ABSOLUTELY, otherwise we'd be selling for nothing just like we expect to buy for nothing. I think in today's reality where "vintage" everything is well known to many, the few of us on here yapping about what-if's isn't going to change the minds of many. There simply aren't that many new, unboxed machines clamoring to enter our collections, and thanks to ebay, etc. many people are aware already that buyers exist for vintage anything. I've been a member here for 4.25 years. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I remember Robert's new '57 Kenmore, his '61 GE, Greg's KM set, and perhaps one or two others. That averages to one a year? Gordon |
Post# 589992 , Reply# 14   4/16/2012 at 17:10 (4,389 days old) by roto204 (Tucson, AZ)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
1    
I think you, Patrick, and Laundress have valid points. I have seen (and sometimes inadvertently caused) situations where someone ramped the price because they thought they had a goldmine, just because they had a bunch of old stuff, some of it in rather crunchy condition. But in the world of new-in-box, my experience is limited to a Sunbeam electric knife, and surprisingly, it didn't command a king's ransom. :-)
Part of the issue is that collecting can be so deeply emotional--it's emotional to find something amazing that you know you won't see everyday, and it's emotional to want to make it yours, and it's emotional if the deal falls through, and you get disappointed. We've all been there--whether it's a simple, impersonal outbidding on eBay, or the deeply frustrating Craigslist person who offers something up to someone else at a different price after indicating you could purchase it.
In the logical realm, you're absolutely right that the market should sort things out. It works both ways; if you have something less rare up for bid and/or in less than pristine condition, the price drops, because it won't move. The possibility exists that the seller won't relent, and then the item goes into the trash; that's heartbreaking, but it's the nature of the universe. We've seen it with the few Maytag sets that go for a kajillion dollars, and Lord knows why. That's fine, too, because the sellers are entitled to their decision to sell high, and so long as they have room to hang onto that set, they can afford the luxury of time. Rather like the $100,000 glass of lemonade at a kid's lemonade stand, where his reasoning seemed oddly sound: "I only have to sell one."
I've also seen "meh" items get driven up to high prices because there were a few people who really wanted them. That's the agony and the ecstasy of the free market. It can be a supreme pisser, but sometimes I have to remind myself to not be so myopic, and focus on the fact that there is a span, not an instant, to this hobby, and that something else super-cool might come along (and usually does).
It's all in the name of the thrill of collecting. There are times when you discover something awesome, and it's yours for a song. There are those other times that we scratch our collective heads over how something so mundane could command such a selling price. It comes and goes in waves in all different arenas; I've noticed, for instance, that the thrift stores overprice items to see if they can get some extra coin; if it doesn't move, they drop the price until it does, because 20% of something is still superior to 100% of nothing. But you take a risk at passing something up at $100 when you know it's only "worth" $50. If someone else disagrees, it might not be there the next time you happen by. It's all the thrill of collecting, Vegas-style. :-)
Given as how the thrift stores and Craigslist used to overflow with machines we ignored that now we'd be thrilled to drag home and play with, I think there's an intensified scarcity that's making stuff harder to find, and more difficult to find cheaply. Some people follow the vibe and shoot for the stars when they create an asking price. But isn't it great when someone does their homework and offers things up here, instead of just trading them in to Sears so that they can become a Toyota? I'd hate to suppress our approachability and amiability as a group.
Zooming back to the new-in-box question, though, those'll always command a high price. They just do, because--well--imagine being owner #1 on something from 1958! Wow! Talk about emotional connection. It's yours, and has never been anyone else's, even if you do have to replace the hoses just to use it. Those items are in a class by themselves the way a 98-point show car is not the same as a second-owner Oldsmobile, no matter how well-cared for it is. And no, I don't think there's a market for those NIB items alone, but there will always be a mechanism for determining their value, as people decide how much money covers that unique connectedness you derive from something that old, but new. |
Post# 590005 , Reply# 15   4/16/2012 at 18:02 (4,389 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
     
Someone just bought an NIB Maytag wringer.
I bought a NIB 65 Norge conventional 4 years ago ($275) and an NIB 54 Blackstone Dryer ($300) right after that. Not sure but John & Jon's glass fronted 55 Easy ($265) was also an unsused Demo. I'll have to ask. It would be interesting to know who in the club has purchased an NIB and for how much. |