[Jukebox-list] ADMINISTRIVIA: Flame wars and insults - price disputes, et...

[Jjmscf at aol.com]

Very well said.We should be glad anyone is willing to go through the cost and 
trouble to make repro parts.Some cosmetic parts are nearly impossible to find 
good originals of because the original materials deteriorate from age,heat 
light and moisture.Like Seeburg C pilasters,Wurlitzer 1015 plastics,etc,etc.Also 
painted glass parts like pricing glasses,Seeburg SS 160 front and side 
glasses,etc.Sometimes you can luck out and grab a good original of certain parts on 
ebay at a cheaper price but a lot of times if it's a real popular part the 
bidding at the last minute will exceed a repro price.And then there's the waiting 
for one to show up in the condition you want,you can't tell the real 
condition from the pictures,you ask questions but you still end up with something 
you're not happy with, waiting for the auction to end ,waiting for them to ship it 
out and some are much slower than the usual suspects or getting outbid at the 
last minute and waiting for another one. It's often better to just get it 
from one of the usual suspects and pay what they want.
 
I thought I could get away cheaper on ebay recently when I needed a selection 
receiver for a box I bought missing one and watched 4 or 5 bidding wars and 
got involved in 1 bidding war which thankfully I gave up on. They all went well 
above what I finally purchased one from Bill Butterfield for. And I think the 
one I got is the cleanest one I've ever seen.Much better than the ebay ones.  
 
I have also  found it's better to stick with the usual suspects like Victory 
glass for the manuals.They sell AMR manuals and they  better quality than a 
copy sold by someone on ebay.I had a nightmare with one guy taking 3 months to 
send 3 manuals I used Buy It Now to purchase that taught me a lesson to stick 
with Victory Glass.
 
Before people thrash the people that have the parts they should remember that 
for most of the usual suspects it is their source of income. They have to 
live off selling this stuff.And it costs lots of money to get parts made as Jay 
said. Plus it costs lots of money to get and store parts machines for original 
parts and wait for someone to request the part.
 
And as Jay said this is no place for the dealers to flame the cheapskates 
either.
 
J.C.
 
In a message dated 8/20/2007 2:16:37 PM Eastern Daylight Time, jay at west.net 
writes:

>Let's keep this list a friendly place.  It's primarily a place to 
>exchange information, find parts, etc.  Postings like "This guy is a 
>cheapskate, he wants parts for nothing!",  "This guy is a ripoff, his 
>prices are too high!" don't belong here.

>The reality is that original 50-year-old jukeboxes aren't being made any 
>more.  Tooling costs for reproduction parts vs. the quantity made are 
>such that these parts are going to be substantially more costly than the 
>materials involved would warrant, particularly for decorative items.

>Sometimes it takes a while for hobbyists to realize this.  If you have 
>shopped online and are looking for a better deal, then say so.  "I've 
>checked the usual sources and am looking for something less expensive."

>If you are one of the usual sources, don't get upset.  When the person 
>can't find the item cheaper, they'll be back as long as you haven't made 
>an enemy out of them.

>Hint:  Sometimes it is more expedient to buy a second box than just the 
>parts one needs.  Then you can sell the parts you don't need, often at a 
>sum greater than you paid for the box.  You may have to wait a while and 
>expend some effort to find such a box.

>Hint 2:  Good, fast, cheap.  You get to choose two.  The third will not 
>be optimum.  If you want something good and you want it cheap, you may 
>have to wait a while.  If you want something good and you want it now, 
>be prepared to spend more, sometimes a lot more.

>Further personal attacks regarding this issue are not welcome here.





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