Ekco Radio
 

Hi,

Should anyone be interested, I spotted this Ekco Radio in the Furnish Charity Shop in Dawes Road, Fulham, yesterday. However the Manager, Jackie, was not working

It has slight damage on lh side on front of Case.

Today Jackie emailed me advising:-

"Unfortunately I am able to sell it until it has been PAT tested.
It does work and the cost is £150"

A wondering if she has made a mistake with the price as it appears rather a lot.

Regards - Mike

Re: Ekco Radio
 

I know I am a bit tight but personally if I were interested in such a set it would be for less than £20

Sets similar to this regularly get banged down for a tenner at BVWS auctions.

Cheers

Mike T

Re: Ekco Radio
 

£20 max if it is from a charity shop.

Re: Ekco Radio
 

Yes, that is a ridiculous price, especially given the veneer damage at the front which will be difficult to fix.

I don't object to charity shops getting as much as they can for items - they are fundraising after all. However, many seem to be encouraged by 'central office' to charge top dollar for everything, which results in stock hanging around for months before going to 'recycling' i.e. the skip round the back. Some of the small charities seem to adopt the opposite approach which causes their stock to sell very quickly, resulting in happy customers, no warehousing costs and a steady income.

I suppose there are plenty of people in Fulham with more money than sense, so maybe they're hoping to take advantage of that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgysRim_zT4

Re: Ekco Radio
 

£20 is the price I would have in mind.

Re: Ekco Radio
 

Given the cosmetic condition, £20 would be pushing it. I would think twice at £5. There's a lot of skilled work needed there.

Re: Ekco Radio
 

I have to say that charity or no charity I make an offer for anything that I might be interested in this sort of shop if I think it's too expensive - they can only say no. Personally, I wouldn't even give twenty quid for that radio, sorry.

Re: Ekco Radio
 

£15-£20 would be about right though I might pay slightly over the odds in a charity shop if I didn't mind considering the excess cost as a donation to their cause.

Note that this is an AC/DC set with a red/black-coded mains cable and so can't properly pass a PAT test IMHO. Most sensible charity shops would chop off the mains cable and sell it as a decorative piece.

It looks like someone's just fitted a new mains plug (c/w wiring instructions card still in place).

Nick.

Re: Ekco Radio
 

I hope this is the right price, because I got given one last year!
Seriously though the performance of mine far outweighs it's appearance, a lovely set and due to be installed in the conservatory.
£10 to £20 though is a true valuation.

Re: Ekco Radio
 

I think they look at some other expensive radio with no knowledge base and think it's all the same! You wouldn't do that with crockery or silver. Otherwise it's a try-on:shrug: I sought to buy a mid fifties projection TV in a Henley-on Thames "Antique" shop once [2" crt and mirror]. He wanted the price of a pre war TV that he'd seen on the Antiques Road Show that weekend8-\

Dave

Re: Ekco Radio
 

I owned and restored one of these some years ago. As a price guide, I paid £3 towards the end of the day at the NVCF.

Re: Ekco Radio
 

Its frustrating to see such pieces offered for such extortionate prices, charity or not.

It has more chance of being preserved when offered at a reasonable price. Also how on earth is anyone supposed to get into this hobby if we start seeing prices like this for low value sets in need of restoration!?

Thankfully there are still cheap sets out there, but everytime someone jacks up the price it encourages others to do the same. I went to several car boot sales this year and found multiple sellers of 78s asking £2 a piece!

Re: Ekco Radio
 

"Offered" is the key word here. The asking price is unlikely to be realised. Certainly, no experienced restorer would pay more than a few quid for such a set. A newcomer might be persuaded to part with more money, and hopefully enjoy the restoration, but as said newcomer gains experience he/she will come to know the 'proper' prices to be paid.

It also annoys me to see sellers offering items about which they clearly know nothing, yet they blithely describe such items as "collectable", "rare", "sought-after" and so on. Sellers are clearly doing five minutes' research on eBay, seeing old radios being offered at ridiculous prices, and thinking that there's a market and assuming that any old radio is going to be valuable. All we can do is ignore such items, and keep circulating details of such attempted rip-offs so that this community can avoid the purveyors...

Re: Ekco Radio
 

Is Fulham "a trendy to live in" part of London? (I've no idea being a country boy)
If so, that is probably reflected in the asking price.

Re: Ekco Radio
 

Hi, in no way would I would describe Fulham as Trendy, more like working class.

I thought the Radio interesting due to its age, although pretty standard in appearance.

I checked back with Jackie in case the price was a mistake (thinking it should have been £15) but she replied £150 is correct, advising:-

"The radio is in fine working order, I was truly amazed at how it sounds.

I have had a fair bit of interest in the radio, and after some research they can bring in £150 especially from collectors."

Regards - Mike

Re: Ekco Radio
 

Sadly this attitude is very common among nonspecialist dealers, including charity shop managers.

Re: Ekco Radio
 

Jeeze....save me from penny pinchers who mend their socks using recycled tooth picks and hair picked up from the floor....It's a charity shop...charity is about giving, good luck to 'em.

Lawrence.

Re: Ekco Radio
 

That's not the point Lawrence. Yes, if they can indeed find somebody willing to pay £150 for such a radio then fine, more money raised for a good cause. That's unlikely though - the radio will sit on a shelf for months being poked and prodded, gradually deteriorating, before being marked down to £75 then £30. If they're lucky it will eventually sell at that price, but it's equally likely that the manager will switch from "it's worth £150" to "it's junk taking up space" and chuck it in the skip round the back.

Re: Ekco Radio
 

There is an easy way of checking true values, go to ebay, enter the item you are interested in the check the 'sold listings' box on the left hand side at the top, that is what someone actually paid for one - assuming they have actually sold one.

Peter

Re: Ekco Radio
 

Very true, Peter, and at least one shop in Didcot I frequent actually does this.

However, it's all too easy to be fooled by optimistic start prices, and also other "similar" items' sold prices (e.g. a round Ekco went for £750, so this one's got to be worth £150, right?).