1957 Frigidaire set in Charcoal!

[launderess]

I'm Sorry, But Must Have Missed Something.

Not sure what "big dogs" anyone talking about running with. Seller originally stated the set was priced at $850, then a few days later the amount was 2k.

If I see something in a shop with a price tag that says one thing, however upon another person expressing interest the price is increased that is not only immoral but illegal in many areas.

Once again sellers of what was one step away from being chucked to the curb for salvage made themselves a nice sum by pitting members of this group against each other. This is one of the reason I rarely bother anymore. If the "big dogs" have so much lolly and savoir faire, let them sniff out deals on their own.

 

[rickr]

Hey Joe!

Well these are rare to be a set yet, and to be in colour. I have this same set with a mint green washer, and candy pink dryer, and I thought that was the only set of these around in any colour but white. Guess a few of these are still out there somewhere. Who would have thought...

 

[mixfinder]

Dog Fight

Let it sort out how it will being glad for the buyer.  Unless someone has a horse in the race it seems pointless to inflame the dialogue.  A choice piece of real estate often ends up in a bidding war and so it is with this charcoal Frigidaire set.  There is absolutely no way to insure the price would not have drifted upwards without a word from anyone on this site.  With no established protocol for selling used, vintage and estate items morality may not be applicable to seller,  buyer or spectators.

[this post was last edited: 4/28/2011-14:56]

 

[kic]

If you're gonna play with the big dog's...

don't piss like a puppy

 

[macboy91si]

 

"The only ones upset are those who thought they might buy them for $200.00 or so."

 

Maybe not $200 or so on this set per say, but it is nice to secure something for a reasonable rate. I think the crap really hits the fan when you find something (anything) that you really want, and you and seller agree on the price (whether it be $20 or $500) and then someone else gets wind of the item and starts throwing money at the seller and he backs out of the deal. It then becomes you vs. Mr. Moneybags. The point is not really the dollar amount as everything is worth something different to everyone, but how people don't stand up to the deal they made with you. It may be illegal or whatever, but really, whose going to stop it? THAT ticks me off, nothing more. Someone not holding their end of a deal ignites me like nothing else. So yes, if I found a set like this and manage to secure a $200 price from the seller and someone with say $2000 showed up and started trying to outbid a "sold" item, then I would be upset, but not as much about the money because there's always someone with more money than you. Part of finding things is negotiating a price that you can live with and the seller thinks is reasonable. In some sides of the coin, this set is worth no more than $200, and on the other side it is a coveted machine. How much is paid for the set is no indication of how much they will be loved or restored, money is only the trump card that people try to use to get what they want. Also just because we are collectors of appliances in no way means that we are entitled to them over anyone else. Think of all of the old cars that many would consider classics nowadays that are sold for basic transportation or scrap whereas a collector would be taking it to a show in a few years after a restoration. Doesn't "feel" right, but it happens all the time entitlement aside.

 

The term "Big-dogs" did make me chuckle a bit, I don't know why but I just imagined a scene from Resorvior Dogs where the group is walking down the alley, they're coming for that set, you better watch out!

 

-Tim

 

[runematic]

Tim, I tend to agree with some of your points.  In my store, I sometimes have people see a SOLD sticker on an appliance and they will ask if they can buy the item anyway.  I always say no, someone else has already purchased it.  Then they'll offer more money & say they'll take it along today.  Again, I'll refuse.  Some folks are astonished that I won't take more money.  I usually then say, "what if YOU had this on hold and someone else came in and took it out from under YOU?  How would you feel?"  Some people get this, others will walk away in disbelief that I wouldn't sell them said sold item.  I'd be po'ed if that happened to me & I damn well wouldn't do that to someone else.

 

As far as the set in question, if I was interested in this set, I wouldn't have posted info on this site.  That is asking to lose the set.  It always amazes me how some folks (and not just here, but other collector sites as well, but I see it here more often) who are not going to even attempt to purchase what's for sale will contact the seller and gush and gush about the item and supposed rarity, how it's really collectible, etc and now the seller thinks they have a pile of gold.  That really screws the person who wanted to buy said item at a reasonable price.  Value is extremely subjective.  An item is really only worth what someone is willing to pay for it TODAY.  Tomorrow it could be worth a lot less (or more if the right person happens to appear).

 

I am mostly a bottom feeder.  I'll sometimes try to pony up decent bucks if it something I truly want or is truly extremely rare.  Believe me, I do without some things to try to further the collection.  $2000 for this set?  Not me.  $850?  Again, not me.  BUT THAT'S ME.  Again, value is subjective.

 

[mixfinder]

Dogs From a Different Pound

Offering to pay more than the asking price before there is an agreement to sell said item is one thing.  To have entered a verbal contract to sell an item for an agreed price and then upsell it to another for more money is a completely different issue.  I have had it happen to me and it made me mad leavingt me with no recourse.  I have also agreed to buy an item and arrived on site with the cash to find it was already sold to another, another maddening situation.  Craigslist and classified sales often pit naive sellers against rogue buyers (pickers)  the likes of which they aren't savvy to deal with.  If I abscond with an item worth $2,000.00 from a seller who let it go for $50.00 there is a moral piece that I have work through as well.  All discussions bring us back to buying in an arena where the mores of the seller, over which we have no control, set the peramiters for negotiation.

 

[macboy91si]

Set in Question

I loosely use this set as an example, but it's more the larger point of seller honesty. I'm not pining for this set at all, I knew it would be out of my resources from the get-go with as many bigger collectors there are here. Just so people know, I'm not whining because I didn't get the set, I didn't want it, I didn't pursue it. I just see this happen all the time anymore, and I've had it happen to me and frankly, it sucks. I don't even think I started this topic of conversation, but I certainly have something to contribute.

 

Todd, I am with you with for the mostly being a bottom-feeder in terms of price. There have been a few instances where I would gladly give all of my money that I had for something, luckily I haven't because I'm impulsive. I would never try to knock someone off of something by offering more than someone else paid for it. I think people that do this should have it done to them a few times to see how it feels. In terms of people contacting the seller with no intent to purchase I'm still unsure. I don't know if people do that thinking that they are merely informing the seller of what they have or if it's their way of feeling like they've asserted their knowledge (kind of like a power trip). I do agree that in either case it can drive up the price when the seller gets big-headed about it.

 

Example: I called about a pink Westinghouse 25 set here in Kentucky a few months ago. I made my offer 1st and then the calls started coming in about them. My considered offer was quickly abandoned for other offers. He called me back and told me that he had several other inquiries and that we would need more money for the machines. I told him my offer stood, but that was all that I could afford to spend. I spoke with some friends here about it and I almost upped my price, but in the end I didn't. A friend of mine was pursuing them after I was out of the market and had went as far as to arrange a pickup about the time that the machines hit the club. The seller got greedy again and I don't think my friend was able to arrange pickup. A few weeks after that, when we were both no longer interested, I received an e-mail from the original seller asking if I would still be interested. I made him a lower offer than previous and did not hear back. I believe he still has them. He didn't pay anything for them, they were in his basement when he bought the house. The situation has been very successful for him in the screwing people business

. The person that was going to buy them was coming in from out of state and had made plans in advance, and the seller had no regard for that at all. The funny part is he would have come out ahead by selling them to even a low bidder, he had nothing invested.

 

-Tim

 

[defoedude]

Why do I think David Lavoy is lying through his damn teeth?  There is no way in hell there would have been an $850 price tag on those washers?  Please post a screen shot (<span style="text-decoration: underline;">NOT A COPY AND PASTE</span>) of the email because I find this pretty "odd"

 

[surgilator_68]

Ethics

There are two sides to this. I'm not taking either side simply because I've been on both.

Ethically speaking I have to agree with Tim. Being raised in the south with old fashioned values I was taught that you are only as good as your word. Many deals were sealed for decades by a simple hand shake and a mans word.

Several of my cars were bought that way. I remember I went into the dealer and told the owner I wanted this car but wouldn't have the money for 2 weeks. He handed me the keys, a license plate, shook my hand and said I'll see you in 2 weeks. I was back a week and a half later with the money. Sure if I didn't pay for it or bring the car back it would have been grand theft, but I didn't sign anything. It was my word that he took. I bought a few more vehicles from him the same way.

When I bought my house in Ga that deal was settled over a cup of coffee and a hand shake even though the builder knew I wouldn't have the money for another 4 months. He also made several thousand dollars worth of additions and modifications to the house for me. He had other offers, one that was for several thousand more than what I was willing to pay but he declined the offer because he had a deal, on a hand shake and my word.

Now if you want to go to the Contractual Business Law side of things....

In both examples neither the seller or the buyer were obligated to complete the deal. The reason for this is because there was no "consideration" or show of "Good Faith" for the other party. Meaning there was no deposit, no exchange of money and no contract signed. Technically you do not have to sign a contract BUT you must make a "consideration" or show "Good Faith" to the other party in order to have a legally binding contract and you better have a paper trail; money order, cashiers check. The amount of that deposit does not matter, it can be one dollar or one thousand. Even then you are still able to back out of the deal but you may not get your deposit back in it's entirety. Legally a seller is entitled to keep a percentage of a deposit for the "hardship" of the canceled contract unless it is stipulated that no refund is given if canceled. Also if the item in question has gone down in value between the time you entered into the contract and the time it was canceled the seller could win a claim against you for the difference in value. That usually doesn't happen unless you are dealing with big ticket items or something odd. Of course laws very from location to location but this is basic business law. Your mileage may vary. If there is a loss of oxygen in the cabin, oxygen masks will drop down in front of you.

So depending on your moral system the seller of the Friggin pair (oops I mean Frigidaire pair) could have upheld the original deal. Contractually he was not obligated to do so. Had he upheld the original deal who is to say the buyer would have fulfilled his end of the deal? Nothing really except someone's word. Even if a deposit was made there is no guarantee the sale would have been completed. It would however make the seller a little more at ease knowing that the buyer was serious.

From personal experience with members of this club, I think a deposit should be required from anyone selling anything. I can't count the number of times we have held something because someone had professed their undieing love and need for something only to hear one excuse after another as to why they can't follow through with the deal. So now we're stuck with a machine that we don't want, taking up space we don't have and turning away other offers because someone said they would buy it. And why do we keep doing it.....because I have to look at myself in the mirror and I better like what I see looking back. However I am getting tired of hearing about the moon not being in the proper alignment, the 28th cousin who has a hang nail on their 12th toe or the 4 feet of snow on the ground in Florida in the middle of summer. Be serious people, if you want something than put your money where your mouth is.

OK....I'm done ranting!

 

[surgilator_68]

For the record....

I have no claim in these machines. I'm simply showing you that there are two sides to everything. You have to decide where you stand.

Another example is from my first job. I asked my boss for an advance on my pay and he told me no. He said that in order for me to get paid, I have to work. That is the contract, that is how a business operates. However, if you want a loan from me personally, I'll give you one. So me being the smart ass that I am, I asked for twice the original amount and he gave it to me out of his pocket.

 

[combo52]

1957 CHARCOAL FRIGIDARE PAIR

Thank you Jason for your very good legal analysis of contracts, this is one of the many reasons why it is so good to be in buniness together with you.

 

I am not sure what all the fuss about this washer and dryer is about. When I first saw them I was very excited as this pair is probably one of the most rare and valuable pairs that I could imagine. An agent-friend contacted the seller and was told he would like to get $850.00 for the pair, we made no offer to buy. After we though about it I had him re-contact the seller and the seller said he had an offer of $2000.00. I don't see where anything went wrong and $2000 is far closer to what these machines are worth than $850. I hope that someone from the club gets them, as it turns out I may end up with a Charcoal pair anyway.

 

[mickeyd]

JASON, YOU ARE AMAZING.

'

 

[tlee618]

Wow John, that is great news, please keep us posted!!

Terry

 

[jetcone]

Yes John

please keep us posted- amazing what is turning up after all these years.

 

[sudslock1]

Sold!

Someone bought them before the sale so I guess someone really did want them that badly. Well I hope whoever got them enjoys them.

 

[supremewhirlpol]

Maybe I'm missing the point here, If the color of the machine is what makes it so rare, just get a white set and have it professionally painted Charcoal Black. Have the name plate changed, etc.

PeterH770: Interesting choice of words!! Sooooo tell me, were YOU the one who caused the price increase? You get those crap dryers replaced yet? YOU must make the BIG bucks in YOUR line of work!

 

[peterh770]

No, I didn't even bother trying for this set. It's too far away and I knew that there are others who would have the ways and means of going for it. Last thing I got was the Hamilton dryer at a bargain basement price because no one went for it. That is my kind of deal! I am a member of this "mile high club" ($1K+ for a machine) four times over in the hayday. Those days are done for me. Besides, this was an estate sale, not an auction. When there are no rules, anything can happen (and obviously, it did). Caveat emptor...

If I am lucky, my crap dryers will be replaced this week! I found a great financing company with which to work. But I am getting Dexter dryers. So phase one is beginning! Besides, if I made the big bucks, would I suffer those dryers all this time?

No, I do not make big bucks. I make enough bucks. The unrecovering economy and the new GA immigration law is seeing to it that my dream of being a laundry tycoon is on hold.

 

[mixfinder]

Scullduggery

Photo shop/paint shop, I wouldn't start bidding on the set when John and Jason post the first pictures of their Charcoal set. I agree with paint it if you've got it, pocket $2,000.00 and do your gray laundry.

 

[peterh770]

...paint it if you've got it, pocket $2,000.00 and do yo

... and curse a blue streak when the paint starts chipping and flaking off, discoloring from water and detergent drips and spills. The Frigidaire colors were baked into the porcelain. Painting does not compare.