Reply to Mike Grosser's letter about my price guide letter.

Mike,  Your last paragraph stated that the lady I talked to lied.  She
didn't.  She simply didn't know any better!  And I find that most people
who have just one box and have not been exposed to others, really truly
don't know WHAT the difference are between boxes, so they present things
from their point of view, based on (in this case) their lack of
experience.

You also stated that many boxes are restored which would improve their
value -- to that I say a big MAYBE.  I can't tell you how many boxes I've
seen that people have called 'restored' and are really just cleaned.  Not
to mention that there are MANY boxes out there that would have been
better off if no one had touched them; there are good 'restorers' and
there are some really bad 'restorers'.

So, if your Kim tells you when you talk to her that her box is perfect
because it has been restored, how do you know how good the restoration
(or repair) was??  There are grades of that, too!

I was taken aback by your idea to trick someone by planting a phony
'part' into the description of the box mechanism.  How do you think that
makes you look when you tell them you just put that in there for a
'test'?  While I, personally, understand WHY one might do that...how
would you feel if someone did it to you???  I wouldn't think much of
someone who did it to me.  I probably wouldn't sell you the box either!

We all have our own ideas about things and I don't know if there will
ever be an answer to the problem of price guides.  If someone could come
up with one it would be nice, but mechanical items are so individual, and
so much experience is necessary to give accurate prices.

When the general public becomes less greedy and acknowledges that their
13" Paillard does not command the price of a 13" Nicole key-wind, then
we'll be getting somewhere!

Enjoy!

Nancy Fratti - Panchronia Antiquities
PO BOX 210 - Whitehall, NY 12887-0210 USA
518-282-9770  or fax: 518-282-9800
Disc & Cylinder Musical Boxes - Musical Box Restoration Supplies