Mechanical Memories Magazine

Coventry '07
Well, I think everyone had a good time, and many have remarked how much they ' re
looking forward to the next event. Jeremy was in charge of the venue this time, and I
think it was almost as good as we'll ever get, although it did seem to shrink once we
sta11ed filling it with machines. With over 270 lots entered in the auction, this was our
biggest so far, and we had a good selection too . Machines on offer ranged from
mundane to desirable, and there should have been something for everyone.
We had a really good selection of Bryans machines this time, including a few of
the rarer models which not surprisingly did well, including a Double Decker which sold
for £1600 and a Worlborl making £1500. Spares did well too, with some of the bandit
parts selling for quite extraordinary prices. And I think we broke the record again with
old pennies, 1000 selling for an incredible £52. There were a number of 'star' lots,
which seemed to attract little interest though, and I was pa11icularly disappointed that
the Mills Hi-Top Cowboy didn ' t sell.
On the whole, sales were disappointing. We struggled to sell allwins for much
more than £300, and it was surptising to see some nice BMCo allwins selling for far
less than most of us would have expected. Bandits attracted a similar lack of enthusiasm
too, although the Little Duke did well selling at £1050. Some of the reserves may have
been a little unrealistic, but I think the overall problem was a reluctance to buy. As a
result, the auction moved at a very slow rate which was no doubt initating for us all,
least of all me. I'm sure the icing on the cake was that tosser pulling the plug on the
laptop just as we were about to pay out, which really slowed things down ......... Sony!
There are no doubt various economic reasons for the apparent reluctance to spend
money, but I think there are two fundamental problems: First, those of us who have
been collecting for some time now have all the allwins and bandits we want. Second,
and perhaps more importantly, there are not enough newcomers joining us . Anyway, I
shall discuss this further next month.
Now the really bad news! A number of machines which did not reach their
reserves were later sold privately after the auction , and I wonder which pa11 of 'there is
to be no buying and selling in the carpark' was not fully understood. If vendors were
prepared to sell at a lower price, then they should have entered their machine at a lower
reserve. I've tried desperately to get the message across that Jeremy and I are running
these events for the good of us all, and t1ying to keep premiums as low as possible.
When we hear of machines selling privately, thus avoiding paying a meagre 5%
commission, it rather feels like a kick in the teeth. However, I should like to say
thankyou to the vendor who sold his machine after the auction, and was honest enough
to pay the commission, although it does seem unfair that only he should pay. I just
wonder whether the new owner of a nice Sega Hi-Top feels really chuffed that he saved
himself twenty quid.
Page 4