I was delighted to get a nice compact FedEx box yesterday — it was the late model Vibroplex Original De Luxe bug I won recently on eBay.
This one was something of a mystery. It's one of the Maine-era bugs with the stick-on ID label. That immediately is seen as a detractor. The key looked fair and the description was glowing. But look at the photo — the chrome looks flaws, or dull. I think people were a bit afraid of it!
Another “detractor” was the fact the key had black finger and thumb pieces instead of the correct red ones. That's a $10 hit right there to correct that.
The key is a shining example of how a photo will help or hurt your eBay sales; in this case, I found that the dullness on the base of the key was simply DUST! The chrome was perfect on the base, its only dusty! I cleaned it up and the key is absolutely a wonderful piece of work!
Had the seller cleaned it up and polished it a bit before the auction, I suspect he could have doubled his money on the auction. I'm not complaining as I actually was the beneficiary of his one-bad-photo shot in the listing.
This key is ultra fast, even with the big weight and even with my homebrew “bug tamer.” I had to add on my extension pendulum on it to give it some extra weight, which helped. It operates as smoothly as a new key, pure and simple.
I've got several other keys I'm waiting on to arrive. One I'm most curious about is the crappy looking one I gambled on — it's an Original Deluxe that needs either a new base, a good cleaning, or both. Not sure which yet, I might be sorry I bought this one.
I have a 1945 Vibroplex Original I'm also waiting on. This key has the new style damper and frame, but the old style posts. It needs a weight screw and the proper thumb and finger pieces.
A real steal of a key — a non-bug one — was a Speed-X morse code practice set. I already own one, and it uses the standard oval Speed-X key that mounts on a metal base with the oscillator. It's a really nice key for a code practice set. The standard oval Speed-X key will sell for more than the practice set, making it an interesting deal! No one wants the practice set, but they'll pay double the price for the key minus the oscillator! Funny!
There are some nice keys in auctions that will be ending over the next couple of days, and I hope to keep an eye on several of them. Wish me luck!