Price trends for mechanical music have a great effect on all of us.  I
have collected coin-operated player pianos since the late 1960's, with
what my friends and family refer to as a sickness.  Often a piano would
come up for sale and the "sickness" would show up, as I had to have
another one.  Space became a problem so I added another 5,000 square
feet of warehouse space.  All I had to do was fill it up and I did.
There are many pianos I paid too much money for, and I have sold some at
less than I paid for them.  But there are some I have done quite well
with.

In today's market the Internet has opened a lot of doors by
disseminating information, and it has also brought a lot of pianos onto
the market that collectors may not have known about.  It is amazing to
me that so many Seeburg cabinet model "L's" have come onto the market.
Some other rare treasures have shown up also.  It appears that almost
every week another Regina music box comes up for sale.  Some are
bargains, but some bring what I would consider high prices.  The higher
prices, I think, are paid by first-time buyers or newer collectors who
were exposed to these instruments on the Internet.

It has always amazed me that at local auctions the homemade-type
nickelodeons with all the plastic parts sell for more than an original
nickelodeon would cost.  It appears that exposure to the public is a
good thing and auction fever doesn't hurt.  At one time I had a list of
Wurlitzer Violin Flute Pianinos.  Several more I did not know about have
since appeared on eBay.

Are prices really declining?  Yes and no.  I think it depends on the
right place and the right time.  Is eBay a good indicator of what a
mechanical music machine is really worth?  The listing is only for a
limited number of days, and what percentage of the population actually
sees all the listings?  I personally cannot come up with a large amount
of money in the limited time that some items are listed; I usually lose
those deals.  So are prices declining because of lack of exposure or are
prices still holding,when a mechanical music machine is at the right
place for the right time?  Anytime you have to sell something in a hurry
with limited exposure, then the price will be low.  If it is left on
sale for a decent period of time with plenty of exposure, but no one
buys it, then the price is too high.

Don Teach

P.S.  As always, I am looking for Seeburg H rolls.