most folks get rarity and desirability confused.
Rarity is component of desireability, not the other way around! Same with
age, condition, etc.
Mark Oppat


"Dan Busetti" wrote in message
om...
"Frank Dresser" wrote in message
...
"Robert Casey" wrote in message
...

Being "rare" isn't significant to me. A rare radio implies that they
didn't sell too
well, because of bad style, engineering, or just too expensive for
what
it did.
I have a web page showing the "common" easily found radios that I own.
http://www.geocities.com/wa2ise/radios/common.html

I like my radios "well done" :-)


Well, sellers sometimes like to say a mass produced item is rare, not
because it didn't fit a market or wasn't a good deal for the money, but
because "it probably was ahead of it's time:".

Frank Dresser

The obvious reason for claiming anything "rare" is to increase the
selling price. Rare suggests hard to get, not found in every
collection- thereby invoking supply/demand dynamics. Case in point: I
have a Zenith tabletop, model 5G537. It uses chassis 5A02, the same as
console 5G572. According to Zenith records, only 4000 chassis were
built. An unknown number were put in tabletops compared to consoles.
In the big scheme of things for Zenith, this model is rare. Can I
legitimately advertise it as rare? Sure. Compared to other chassis
like 6B03 found in 224,000 portables (like 6G601 variants). Does that
make my 5G537 worth $500? Probably not. But at least I can PROVE
rarity based on facts, not on a hope, guess, limited experience, or
dream.

"Mark Oppat" wrote in message
...
most folks get rarity and desirability confused.
Rarity is component of desireability, not the other way around! Same
with
age, condition, etc.
Mark Oppat



Yeah, rarity and desirability are hardly the same thing. If the
practical people of the past wanted to pay for, or keep, any mass
produced items -- they would not now be rare!!

Of course, collecting isn't practical, it's emotional. I have several
old radios, mostly boatanchors. They all still work as well as they did
about 50 years ago. I'm sure the many people who made these radios
common thought they were a good deal for the money. I'm also sure the
original boxes and packing materials would now be worth more than the
radios they once contained.

Frank Dresser