VOLUME 18            DECEMBER 2001                NUMBER  12

RADIO MISCELLANEA -- DECEMBER 2001

From Antique Radio Classified for December 2001
(Copyright 1996-2001 by John V. Terrey - For personal use only.)

"Antique Radio Classified" invites its readers to contribute letters and information for inclusion in "Radio Miscellanea" and elsewhere in the magazine. "In The Marketplace" is based on information submitted by the businesses themselves. All topics should be of general interest and sent to A.R.C., P.O. Box 2, Carlisle, MA 01741. All material submitted should be verified for accuracy and may be edited for publication, which is not guaranteed. See the masthead for more details.

AWA Conference - Comments
Dear Editor,

Like most people I have to work, so I missed the first day (Wednesday), but took off from work on Thursday and Friday. I showed up for the flea market at 6:30 A.M. on Thursday morning. Since I was preregistered for a space, I didn't think there would be a problem. The "guard" at the gate said he didn't have the flea market space paperwork, and I would have to go inside to register when they opened. I asked when they would open, and he said, "7:00 A.M. or 8:00 A.M., I have no idea." The other "guard" said, "Hey, go get us some Krispy Kreme donuts since you have a lot of time." I responded to both appropriately. The AWA shouldn't have people at the gate who are uninformed or obnoxious.

Registration opened at 8:00 A.M. No one could answer why someone who is preregistered has to wait. No money needed to be exchanged, and on the first day of the meet, they had the paperwork outside.

Additionally, everyone I spoke with feels the flea market needs to be shortened to the weekends and that the general public should be admitted.

For now on, my vision of the AWA officials will be like a Krispy Kreme donut - full of fat and lard.

--Jon Kummer, Port Washington, NY

More on the AWA Conference

Just got back from Rochester this afternoon. Got there about 6 P.M. yesterday and enjoyed seeing familiar faces. The biggest disappointment was the hotel. I have had reservations since June. I received a note from Marriott that the hotel had been sold, but my reservations would be honored. I called two weeks ago to confirm and was told there were no problems. When I got there last night, no room. We ended up staying at the Marriott on the other side of town. I heard from many other attendees very similar stories. Very aggravating!

Other than that, the meet was a bit smaller than normal but bargains abounded.

--From an Internet posting by Donald Cochrane

I just got back, too... day trip, no hotel thank goodness!

I agree. Things seemed sparser than in the past but I wasn't far into things before the bargains were to be had... I also had a great time talking to many Internet contacts... and eBay doesn't include that in its dealings... there are a lot of nice people in our hobby.

So I left very happy, with a lot of nice projects for the winter.

--From an Internet posting by Keith Park

Muchow Auction - Comments
Dear Editor,

I read with interest your coverage on the recent Muchow radio auction - one of the most intensive and complex radio auctions ever accomplished. While I understand to some extent your criticisms of the event, several points must be remembered when deciding to "grade" the auction, as you have apparently done.

The job of any auction company is to work to disperse the contents of the consignor, first and foremost. The hall, the format, the days of the event, and the items to be sold were all the decisions of the consignors, with some input from Estes Auctions and me. If we were to have every item tagged as to order of sale, two results would have transpired, neither of which were acceptable. The setup, of which most everyone thought highly, could not have been the same, requiring us to have lots arranged by order of sale, since not all of the help had total knowledge of what every item looked like. This would also mean that we could not have the sale at Hemmens, since we would then definitely not have had enough room. I think the "AK Wall" was one of the coolest sights anyone has ever seen at an auction!

The fact that we did not have an all-inclusive catalog resulted from two situations - one, that the printer was very late with the product. When it was found that five pages of text and some photos were missing, there was no time to rectify the situation. Also, even then we did not wish to have an all inclusive list because this took away the ability of the Muchow family to add items later to the auction, which benefitted the buyers. Some of the great paper showed up during the setup! I am curious to know just what a "country auction" is compared to other auctions I have attended. In any case, this auction was conducted with professionalism and in my opinion was a great success. The consignors are happy, the buyers had a chance to buy great equipment, and I personally am very happy to have had the opportunity to work with the Muchows and Estes Auctions.

Though I am only a consultant for Rich, he has been great to work with and listens carefully to criticisms, for the benefit of all the attendees. Hopefully, this note will give you readers an idea of the total scope of such an endeavor. And if anyone knows of a radio-related "country auction" coming up, let me know, cause I'm a goin'! Thank you,

--Bob Dobush, Consultant, Estes Auctions

As we said in our report, Richard Estes "deserves accolades for an outstanding job of communicating and tabulating information during the auction." However, with a year to prepare and the knowledge that many from all over the world would attend, the additional cost of preparing and printing a comprehensive catalog would have paid for itself. More buyers might have come, and those who could not come could have placed more informed bids. And, the preparation of comprehensive catalog would not preclude displaying and auctioning the items in any order desired, or adding tems at the last minute.

I, too, would attend a radio "country auction" almost anywhere, and my use of the term was not meant to be derogatory. It simply indicates the difference between the auctions that we are all used to at estate sales and radio meets and a more comprehensive approach expected by long-distance attendees and bidders. (Editor)