Whos up for a Yacht Race?

[Tallone]

Who's up for a Yacht Race?

Found a few goodies this weekend. The first buy may turn out to be the best. I picked up the board game below for $5. I bought it because it appeared to be in very good shape, the maker is a company I never heard of, and it is pretty old (1961). When I got home and checked it out, it turns out that famous game producer, Parker Brothers, bought this game from the original maker, Saturday House, the same year Saturday House came out with this game. I have seen the Parker Brothers version of the game sell on ebay anywhere from $30 to $100. I am hoping this original version will do better than that.


I got the West Point pennant from the same guy (paid $1 for it). He was an older guy (probably in his 70s) who attended West Point. This pennant is in such good shape I'm not sure it dates to his school days but I can't find another pennant with this design. I'm hoping to get $20 - $30 for it.


The items below came from an old guy who liked to restore old electronics. I paid $10 for the bell and hope to get $50 or more for it. One of the cool things about it is the maker's label which has the maker's phone number on it. When was the last time you saw a 2 digit phone number?!


think I paid a bit too much ($100 for all 5) for the old radios. I think 3 of them work but, with the exception of the little black one, I don't think any of them is worth more than $25 - $30. The little black one is made by a rare company called Meck. It works and might bring $50 or perhaps a little more. I might keep the red one just because I like the look. The large black one, by the way, is an old ham receiver.

 

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[war-digs-it]

Even when they don't work, they just look cool! My favorite is the red one, looks like a lunchbox.

 

[Baltimore]

I think your best bet with the radios is finding the right people to buy them. I sell a lot on etsy, and it has taught me that people will buy things for way more than they are worth simply because they look cool, and those radios definitely all look cool. For example, I feel like if those were all shined up in a touristy antique mall or a hipster-y antique shop they'd bring $50 each, easy. I've never sold at any places like that myself, but I've been to them before and aesthetics like those old radios have drive the price way up. I think you did great, nice job!

 

[CladSpends2]

First of all, nice buys, 2nd, I am no radio expert, but I think the red one may be your best one. I have seen the colored bake lite go into the triple digits. Check it out before you let it go too cheaply. I would imagine someone like Diggummup will be along shortly and give you the real scoop. That may not be bake lite, but it still may be your big winner. Good luck with them.

T.

 

[Tallone]

The red radio is my favorite. It is made by Emerson and the case is in very good condition but I don't think it is bakelite. I did the rub-and-sniff-for-formaldehyde test on the red one but got no smell at all so I think it is just regular plastic. I don't know if it works because there is no power cord. One of the cool things about it is the back looks just like the front (minus the knobs and tuning scale) and flips down to expose the innards. I haven't checked the others to see if they are bakelite or normal plastic.

I think these radios would look nice polished up but I am always hesitant to mess with the finish on antique/vintage items except to wipe the dust off. By the way, the large, black radio (the ham receiver) has a metal case and the paint is missing in a few spots.

@Baltimore - I think you may be right about selling in the right place. I have never used Etsy so I don't know anything about it. I don't know what an antique mall (or similar place) might charge to put something there on consignment. I know many auction houses charge the seller 30% so I would be concerned that most of my profit would be eaten up with fees.

 

[Baltimore]

@Baltimore - I think you may be right about selling in the right place. I have never used Etsy so I don't know anything about it. I don't know what an antique mall (or similar place) might charge to put something there on consignment. I know many auction houses charge the seller 30% so I would be concerned that most of my profit would be eaten up with fees.

Yea, I made the suggestion a bit blindly, I am the kind of person who would buy those and figure out the sale later. I honestly have rarely sold in any kind of brick and mortar store, and the only selling I have done in a physical situation is clothing on consignment. I think the hard thing about finding a top dollar place to sell would be finding a place that doesn't require a lot of commitment. Antique malls require a monthly fee and some kind of inventory, selling to antique stores usually kills profit because they have to sell the item too, and while etsy is great it does require a very good photo setup and a big inventory. Unfortunately people don't take your etsy store very seriously if you have under 100 items, unless you have something they desperately want. Its great for selling things to people who want retro stuff and have money to blow, but its not like ebay where you can put a handful of things up and expect to make any sales. I think theres probably some people on here who are better at finding places to sell antiques then I am, lets hope they chime in.