Vintage Lighting Misinformed Sellers

Les

Les

Well-Known Member
Seems like we have had a few threads lately discussing online auction finds, and how disillusioned the sellers must be. From the $1,500 pair of Altman 3" fresnels (now listed at $175), to the nearly $1k chrome Strand fixtures.

I clicked on this gem only because of the $500 buy-it-now price.

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"Very Very rare Kleig spot light circ 1911. Perfect lens no chips or fungus all parts functional. Kliegl Bros was founded in 1896 and grew to be the largest stage lighting company in the world. The company closed in the 1990s. The design of the bulb was so perfect it is still available today as the exact design is still used in modern movie lights. Light is in untouched "Barn find" condition. This light was literally found in a barn just ouside of Hollywood California."

The only thing worse than a seller asking for $500 for a unit which isn't even properly dated in the first place is trying to convince a potential buyer that they're getting something similar to a modern piece of equipment. Because you know, those 1911 Kliegls were perfect. Source what?

I'm just glad it doesn't have any fungus. I hate having fungus on my lights.

If you're near Cali, you might want to pick it up. Shipping is $150.
 
Only $500? Does it come with the asbestos wires? Such a deal! :rolleyes:

My favorite is the 3 junk stage plugs. You know, the ones with the horrible strain reliefs. Two 3 pin and one 2 pin. Only $50! (shipping is extra) Someone actually made an offer, but it was declined. Maybe the seller is holding out for top dollar.

I guess if someone is foolish enough to buy this junk, the seller has every right to offer it.

VINTAGE STAGE 2,3 PIN LIGHT LIGHTING PLUGS 2P&GMC LOT 3 | eBay

crap.JPG
 
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I don't think the sellers are misinformed. I think they are hoping some collector hits the bid button without doing his homework first thinking he has some "rare" antique.
 
JD said:
I don't think the sellers are misinformed. I think they are hoping some collector hits the bid button without doing his homework first thinking he has some "rare" antique.
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Hopefully, someone who is into collecting things like that knows how ridiculous the price is. Or at least checks somewhere like CB to see how "rare" it really is.
 
Les said:
Seems like we have had a few threads lately discussing online auction finds, and how disillusioned the sellers must be. From the $1,500 pair of Altman 3" fresnels (now listed at $175), to the nearly $1k chrome Strand fixtures.

I clicked on this gem only because of the $500 buy-it-now price.

proxy.php


"Very Very rare Kleig spot light circ 1911. Perfect lens no chips or fungus all parts functional. Kliegl Bros was founded in 1896 and grew to be the largest stage lighting company in the world. The company closed in the 1990s. The design of the bulb was so perfect it is still available today as the exact design is still used in modern movie lights. Light is in untouched "Barn find" condition. This light was literally found in a barn just ouside of Hollywood California."

The only thing worse than a seller asking for $500 for a unit which isn't even properly dated in the first place is trying to convince a potential buyer that they're getting something similar to a modern piece of equipment. Because you know, those 1911 Kliegls were perfect. Source what?

I'm just glad it doesn't have any fungus. I hate having fungus on my lights.

If you're near Cali, you might want to pick it up. Shipping is $150.
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I sent the seller a question, asking him if the purchase price included the asbestos-covered wires.... :) I haven't heard back, yet.
 
Its funny because many people who dont work with these lights or dont know what they are or want them for decorative purposes are willing to spend a ton of money on what they do see as "rare" or "valuable."

If only I could convince the higher ups that some modern lights were worth *gasp* $500 or more!? "what does it do direct the sow itself?"
 
My personal favorite is the beat up Intellabeam on eBay for $1900. It's been listed for over a year. Xander, it does happen, you just have to keep an eye out. I passed up a 48/96 Express for $800 plus shipping Buy it Now on eBay about a year ago. Listed by a pawn show that clearly had no idea what they had. Still kicking myself for not jumping on it right away.
 
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Synchronize said:
I passed up a 48/96 Express for $800 plus shipping Buy it Now on eBay about a year ago. Listed by a pawn show that clearly had no idea what they had. Still kicking myself for not jumping on it right away.
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OUCH.. Even I would have done it, despite not being able to spend $800 and not having any need or way to use or store such a marvelous console.

oh well though, we're all kicking our selves for something...
 
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esmphoto said:
OUCH.. Even I would have done it, despite not being able to spend $800 and not having any need or way to use or store such a marvelous console.

oh well though, we're all kicking our selves for something...
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I don't know that I would call it a marvelous console, it's pretty dated this days, but would still be perfectly fine for a conventional only rig. That being said I did think it was the best thing ever when we got one my senior year of high school. It was nice to be rid of the 23 year old 24 channel mantrix.


We still have some of the 2p+g plugs that are similar to that at work and you couldn't pay me to take any more of them.
 
Les said:
..."Very Very rare Kleig spot light circ 1911. ...
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One would hope that even the most casual reader of ControlBooth would recognize and know that there was no such ERS fixture prior to ~1933. Ellipsoidal Reflector Spotlight-Ancient History - ControlBooth . In fact, the model 1368, which this appears to be, is listed in the Kliegl Bros. catalog as late as 1965, a far cry from 1911. Do auction sites have a mechanism/policy for reporting false/misleading representations? How about a policy involving selling items with known carcinogenic properties (asbestos)? Caveat emptor.

Les said:
The only thing worse than a seller asking for $500 for a unit which isn't even properly dated in the first place is trying to convince a potential buyer that they're getting something similar to a modern piece of equipment. Because you know, those 1911 Kliegls were perfect. Source what? "The design of the bulb was so perfect it is still available today as the exact design is still used in modern movie lights."
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Yeah right; good luck finding a 2M/T30/1 2000W incandescent mogul bi-post lamp today.
 
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rustystuff said:
I sent the seller a question, asking him if the purchase price included the asbestos-covered wires.... :) I haven't heard back, yet.
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And note that there look to be only two soft fuzzy white wires, not the three that we're more accustomed to seeing more recently. Since there are only two instead of three, you should be able to get the price down by 1/3. Everyone knows the number of wires is directly proportional to usefulness. :)

I'd like to see a LP90 electronics tower show up on there for a couple hundred bucks. Would make the LP90 control surface I have be useful, though I don't know where I'd use the thing. There's a guy with a full LP90 setup for too much money, and the other year there was an tracking-backup-pair LP90 and an MLP90 lot for not too much money, but they'd take up too much more space and be overkill.
 
One thing about ebay is that the prices are always over inflated. Its not just with stage lighting. I have thought about purchasing a car or motorcycle from the site but there was always a 10-20% markup compared to craigslist or classified sections. But some of these sellers watch Storage Wars and American Pickers and they think they can put a huge price tag on it and make big bucks. Don't bid, don't buy, give them a reality check.
 
sross01986 said:
One thing about ebay is that the prices are always over inflated.
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I don't know about "always." I find stuff on ebay quite often. But for every deal I find, there's 50 I pass on because the price is too high. I've found several different auctions for one item my dad wanted for a range of $25 - $250 (same exact collectible). The thing with ebay, CL, any or used item site is that you have to have patience and educate yourself about what's out there. And as an occasional seller, if I list something for 10 times what it's worth and some chucklehead buys it, too bad. I'm not holding a gun to their head.
 
xander said:
Why can't I ever find the misinformed sellers that go the other way? Like an old Express(ion) for $300 or something. :lol:
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It happens all the time. You just have to know the art of creative searching on eBay. For example, I've picked up deals on Leprecon equipment by searching leprechaun, lepercon, and leprecan. Misspellings mean that less people see the item while searching. Less people seeing the item = less competition. If there's something you really want, try spelling it phonetically and do a search.

And don't forget about the little check box that says "Include description" under the "Search" button that shows up after you do your initial search. Checking that and searching again will bring up more results. If you get too many hits, you can use the categories on the left of the page to limit your search.

My last find was an ETC Remote Focus Unit I picked up for $23. The seller looked at the ETC logo and listed it as a "TC Remote Focus Unit". An easy mistake to make. It does look like "TC".

etc-logo.jpg

My theater doesn't have ETC dimmers, so I have nothing to plug it into. I don't even know if the darn thing works, but for $23, it's worth the gamble.

So if you want a replacement lens for your $500 1911 Kliegl spot light with asbestos wires, you won't find it listed under "Kliegl", but you have 7 hours left to grab one listed under "Klieg"!

Vintage Klieg Spotlight Lens - 4 1/2" Diameter - Clear Concave | eBay
 
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techieman33 said:
I don't know that I would call it a marvelous console, it's pretty dated this days, but would still be perfectly fine for a conventional only rig. That being said I did think it was the best thing ever when we got one my senior year of high school. It was nice to be rid of the 23 year old 24 channel mantrix. .
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Well maybe Marvelous wasnt the right word, not well suited to a lot of things, but all i work with are conventionals anyway

rfu for 23$!? Lucky duck now i'm jealous, gonna start getting creative with my ebay searches!

I like to watch the time ending soonest auctions you always see some low or no bid items slip by that are interesting with 5 or less min left on them
 
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DrPinto said:
Only $500? Does it come with the asbestos wires? Such a deal! :rolleyes:

My favorite is the 3 junk stage plugs. You know, the ones with the horrible strain reliefs. Two 3 pin and one 2 pin. Only $50! (shipping is extra) Someone actually made an offer, but it was declined. Maybe the seller is holding out for top dollar.

I guess if someone is foolish enough to buy this junk, the seller has every right to offer it.

VINTAGE STAGE 2,3 PIN LIGHT LIGHTING PLUGS 2P&GMC LOT 3 | eBay

View attachment 5860
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I know this guy, he deals mostly in vintage audio gear.
 
rustystuff said:
I sent the seller a question, asking him if the purchase price included the asbestos-covered wires.... :) I haven't heard back, yet.
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I heard back from the seller today, and this is the response: "the asbestos covered wires are part of the historical originality of the light...it will remain on the item."

No, I'm not kidding.....
 
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