I am wondering what this family Victrola VV-XVI SN-100601(G) is worth and approximately when it was made. I tried to look it up, but came up empty handed.
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It was introduced in 1906 and made until 1921. They ranged from $200-$750 when new. Only the rich could afford them. Depending on model and condition, they range from $500 to over $5000 today.
RCA started to make these around 1906 and they were very expensive when they first came out. My grandmother had one in her home that we loved to listen to.
Today they are worth quite a bit of money depending on the make, model, and the condition of the piece. The lowest range they sell for is around $400 which is not in very good condition. However, this one looks like it is in good condition and you might be able to ask $3000 to $5000 for this.
This link has a nice history about these pieces:
www.victor-victrola.com/
The other posters here are quoting what people are asking for these lovelies--which are very high prices. Unfortunately, when you look at actual SOLD prices, what people are paying, the values are very low. I feel bad if I am bursting your bubble, that is not my intent.
Pershaps where you are there are SOLD values in these thousand dollar ranges, but where I am, and in most places in the US, you most likely will not get more than $300. I think the highest SOLD price I have seen in the past few years is $350 and it was for one that was pristine AND came with the music.
The reason the values are so low is there has been a huge increase in the number available as people age and are breaking up their grandparents, parents, and even their own collections. The market is flooded with these players and they have become a dime a dozen item in some markets.
Two years ago I was helping a friend sell off some pieces and he had two horns from the Victoria. When his uncle had them appraised in the 1970s, they were valued at several hundred dollars (for just the horns). When I did my research and told him what they were worth today, he was devastated.
My best suggestion to you is to talk to a vintage/antique dealer in your town and find out how much it would cost to buy one in your town (be sure that it is an apples to apples comparison to yours--so if you have one that does not work and has a damaged case, you will only be able to compare the value to one that is the same, not one that is pristine and working.)
What you learn will be retail value. You can expect to sell yours at 1/4 to 1/2 of retail if you are selling it on your own.
My hope for you is that you are in a high demand, low supply area and can realize more for it than someone like me who is in a high supply, low demand location.
Post back what you learn!!
PS...the most money to be made from these pieces is taking them apart and selling the pieces. That may seem blasphemous, but people who own machines and want to keep them going want true pieces for repair and they are willing to pay big bucks for those pieces.
Knobs sell for $10 each, the Victrola face-plates sells for $15 and up, the cranks sell for $12 and up, original screws can sell for $20-30 for a group of them! The motors can sell into the hundreds of dollars. Just something to think about!
I wholeheartedly agree with Pghgirl about the true value of these and the difficulty in selling one.
In my area it would be difficult to sell for $50 and then it would be to refurbish it entirely and modernize the 'player' to play 'normal' records or CD's.
Most people just do not have room in their homes for a decorator item that may have no useful function other than just for 'display'.
Here is a 'problem' that most people are not aware of - here is a quote from Victrola site:
"Please be aware that Victors and Victrolas will only play shellac (not vinyl) 78 RPM records made prior to the 1930's. They can not be used or adapted to play records, tapes, CD's or media of any type produced after the 1930's."
Not very many homes have room for this type of antique.
If you check out this site and look at some of these beautiful, working pieces and check the asking price you will see that high prices suggested by others is far from accurate. Most of these also have a supply of shellac records which are sometimes difficult to find.
www.victor-victrola.com/
If you would like an appraisal you can also check out this site but I have no idea what they might charge for this service.
www.victor-victrola.com/
You can always Google for images and click on any item to see if it sold or is for sale so you can see how other people are listing their players.
www.google.com/
You can also see Google shopping to see other listings on different sites.
www.google.com/
Here is a site that has items that have sold over several years.
If you look at some of these you will find that Victrola's like this sold for a lot more money several years ago.
This does not mean you should not ask for whatever you feel your player is worth because you may live in an area that has a higher value than some other areas.
I would suggest you list it on local sites like Craigslist, OfferUp, LetGo, Nextdoor.com or any other site that you can list it as 'pick up only'.
Start your price high and lower it if no one shows an interest.
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