I couldn't agree more, Ray. I've mentioned the example of paying more than $600 for my Caruso picture disc and finding them going for $300, $150, $170 just a few years later on eBay. (I also paid $120 for Study In Blue without the album in pre-eBay days, which we all know was way too much.) When the things we seek are hiding in boxes in attics or even out on display at the one antiques shop we haven't yet visited, it is functionally nonexistent from the supply-vs-demand perspective. (Availability is the key factor, as opposed to quantity actually produced, etc.) I like the Bear Family Vogue repros, but strictly for the novelty of them being more playable than the originals (45 rpm, no real damage being played on modern gear, plenty more of them out there, etc.), and I would never consider them replacements or substitutes for the real Vogues in a collection whatsoever.
Wurlys, on the other hand, especially the 1015, are much more known to the general public (as opposed to collectors of either records or jukes) than items like original Vogues, and the general public serves a different need when they buy something like that, one that can be served better by a newer and more reliable repro than a finicky old original that needs maintenance. I find the repros in gamerooms and that sort of thing, bought by people with no interest in collecting or even buying more than a single jukebox, so when there were no repros, those customers increased demand while supply of originals was zero-sum (they weren't going to make any more of them that people knew of). I haven't followed prices of 1015's on eBay in years, but I have a friend who rebuilds jukes in Victoria, TX, who hasn't mentioned any significant drop in value of rebuilt 1015's (his favorite) that couldn't be attributed to the economy. The 1015 isn't just a machine, it's a cultural icon known widely to the general public, and is probably a misleading example of what happens to originals' value when repros come out. I doubt we'll ever see repro Idelias in the numbers we've seen 1015 repros (CD and otherwise), if we ever see them at all, and I doubt they'd make any change in original Idelias' value if we did. My point is that collectors still seem to want the real thing, and the real thing is still pretty darn rare, even if eBay has helped a lot of real things come out of hiding. Best, Robert ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: "Antique Phonograph List" <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, February 19, 2006 9:09 PM Subject: [Phono-L] Vogues, WurliTzers, etc. > Albert: You are right that Vogue prices has sharply declined for most of > them. I blame eBay for this effect, rather than reproductions of them. > Before eBay, Vogues were a fairly uncommon item. Now you can buy them, > except the few rare titles, readily on eBay. I don't know if most > collectors would have any interest in the repros anyway. The price drop is > a perfect example of the supply vs. demand principle. The demand for them > has remained fairly constant, while the supply has dramatically increased, > so the price must go down. I would not be surprised to see the same thing > happen to most of the 5000 series Blue Amberols, as more and more are > showing up on eBay. We have already seen the effect with Edison Standards, > Homes, and other common machines. > > Ray
