I would never advise anyone to collect anything as an investment. Any hobby
should be done for the enjoyment, not for financial gain. I figure that if I
lose some money along the way, it's no different than spending that same money
on skis and lift tickets, golf clubs and greens fees, or whatever other
hobby other people choose to enjoy rather than to be collectors. We choose how
to
use our discretionary income.
However, that said, phonographs and many other things can indeed hold value
and actually increase in value substantially. I deal in vintage watches and
I'd GLADLY buy back many of the watches I sold ten years ago at 50% more than
the original selling price. And I have many phonographs that I'm very, very
glad to have bought when I did. Some have more than doubled in the past
decade.
The key with ANY collectable -- phonographs, coins, watches, whatever -- is
to buy the best you can afford. This was drummed into me by my mentor in the
hobby in the 1960s, repeated frequently in more recent years by noted
collectors like Ray Phillips, and proven true time and time again.
Where eBay has led to declines in values is on the most common items. The
Internet has made it vastly simpler for people to find such things, so the
person who wants a Standard or Home can take his pick out of hundreds of
offerings. There's far more supply than demand and prices have sunk as a
result. Many
peripheral things have gone the same route -- the Edison 'old couple'
postcard used to be devilishly hard to find if you trawled antique shows. Today
they're so common on eBay that prices have plummeted, anyone who wants one can
get one -- or a dozen.
But at the higher end it's another story. Want a Class M? A Columbia
Graphophone Grand? An Edison Excelsior? A Zonophone B? Good luck! They're out
there,
in the case of the Class M even in quite substantial numbers, but try to
find one to buy! These rarely come on the market, which means they are scarce
enough that demand outstrips supply and prices have been rising steadily.
There's no guarantees that this will continue, of course. You never know
what any market may do. But for the time being, the market seems strong.
Witness
the disposition just last year of the famous Dave Heitz collection. LOTS of
very high-end machines, priced at top retail levels. Most of the collection
was gone within a couple of weeks, the rest within a matter of months. People
were lining up to get the rarer things. I regret not having bought his Edison
H coin-op. I've never seen one for sale beforee, and who knows when I'll see
another? If you covet such a machine, you may be hunting for a long time --
and paying up when you find it.
Of course, not everyone can afford to spend $15,000-$30,000 on phonographs.
But even in the lower ranges it pays to focus on the best possible. I'd rather
have one Victor B than ten Victor II's for example. Better to invest in a
good original-finish Opera than a dozen restored Standards. For some people
quantity is the focus -- that's how I started collecting -- but ultimately, at
least if you have any concerns about potential appreciation, quality is the
key.
My two cents..........
