Estes Auction Trip: Part 3

I am now back home in Milwaukee, WI after a very productive time at Estes Radio Auction in Burbank, OH. I actually only spent about 3-hours at the auction due to the fact that, by that time, I had already spent more than twice as much as what I had planned to. There were so many fantastic items that it was very difficult deciding what to pass on. The drive back was fairly uneventful with one exception. I ended up contributing to the Indiana state economy via a speedking ticket. The good news is the fact that it has been quite a few years since I have gotten a speeding ticket (somewhat surprisingly) and because the ticket was obtained in a state other than my home state, there will be no demerit points against my license. I have now had a little time to rest and was even able to list a few of my auction purchases on eBay. If you are interested in seeing some of my finds, take a look at my website at http://www.simplyspiritsales.com/ where there is a link to my current eBay listings. This trip was well worth the time and effort and I am always amazed at the outstanding offerings that I find at Estes. My next trip if planned for November 8th to attend the Kalamazoo, MI Radio Swap Meet with my lovely wife. I will update my blog as that radio show approaches. Stayed tuned....

Estes Auction Trip: Part 2

I am now near Burbank, OH for the night. The trip went quick and smooth although it did rain most of the way here. The great thing about the rain is the fact that I do not have to clean my windshield every time I stop for gas. Speaking of gas, I have not seen such low gas prices in a very long time. I had a chance to take a look at the items, which will be auctioned tomorrow, and I must say that there is a very large selection of nice treasures. I have also done my research in order to try and figure out what some of the items are worth. At this point, I am quite tired and therefore will probably just relax for the rest of the evening as much as possible. It can be hard for me to relax with such a fantastic auction right around the corner. By the time I submit my next blog post, I will have all of my treasures safely in my van and will part way back to Milwaukee. I plan to stay in Elkhart, IN tomorrow night after the auction. We will talk again soon. Have a great evening. Peace, Patrick

10/25 Estes Radio Auction Trip: Part 1

Well, I have decided to go on another adventure before the Kalamazoo, MI radio swap meet on November 8th. This decision was actually a bit tough due to the fact that there is not only a vintage radio auction at Estes (in Burbank, OH) on Saturday 10/25, there is also another vintage radio auction in Olney, IL the following day on Sunday 10/26. It would be physically possible for me to attend both auctions however, even I have limits as to how much traveling I will do in a set period of time (although that may be hard to believe:-). I based my decision, on which auction to attend, on my previous experiences at both auctions. The auction in Olney, IL is quite a bit smaller than any Estes auction and the quality of the merchandise is also typically much lower at the Olney, IL auction. Also, the Estes auction is only about an hour further from my home than the Olney auction. In addition, this particular Estes auction is a combination of two radio collections, which will make for an even bigger selection than they normally have. Also, there will be a number of nice vintage hi-fi related audio items at this auction, which are some of my favorite items to purchase. All of these factors combined, and the fact that I have never been disappointed at an Estes auction, lead me to my final decision. That being said, I plan to leave this Friday 10/24 and drive strait through to Burbank, OH, which is about a 7-hour trip. I then plan to preview the items Friday evening and will attend the auction on Saturday. I plan to aquire quite a few nice treasures from this particular auction and will probably post a blog entry related to the items I acquire. Next up, after this particular auction, is the Kalamazoo, MI radio swap meet on November 8th. What will make this event extra special is the fact that my wonderful wife will be accompanying me on the trip. Any time I am able to share my passion with my wife is a true blessing in all senses of the work. Stay tuned, more adventures to come...

Greenfield, IN & Milwaukee, WI Radio Shows

I am now back in Milwaukee after my extended travels (see previous blog posts for details). The Greenfield, IN radio swap meet was well worth going to, the weather was fantastic (lower 80's) and there were about a dozen or so dealers set up. I ended up purchasing a number of vintage hi-fi related items, including a very nice pair of Craftsmen tube amplifiers, in addition to a National HAM radio and an RCA Radiola III radio. I spent approximately 3-hours at that show and then made my way back to Milwaukee. Upon arriving in Milwaukee, I had to unload all of my purchases and then reload the van with the items I was going to be selling at the Milwaukee radio show the next day. Overall, it was quite a work out. I was able to take it easy for the rest of the night so that I was well rested in order to get up at 5:30am on Sunday so that my wife and I could setup at the Milwaukee radio swap meet by about 6:30am. The good news was that this particular radio show in Milwaukee is probably the closet show to our home, which means it takes less than 30-minutes to get to it. The Milwaukee show is usually one of the smallest ones I attend however, due to the great weather (upper-70's) for this time of year, there were more dealers setup than usual (approximately 8 to 10) in addition, there was actually one dealer who was from Minnesota and a couple from Illinois. I purchased a relatively rare Fairchild hi-fi amplifier in addition to a RCA console radio and a few other nice items. Unfortunately, my wife and I did not sell anything at this particular show. We actually left the show a bit earlier than usual due to the fact that we were approached by a gentleman who was attempting to get rid of a 1950's console radio, which he had been trying to dispose of since the beggining of summer. Once I got more details on what he had, I jumped at the chance to take it off of his hands. When my wife and I arrived at this persons home, which was only about 5-minutes from our own home, we found that this large console radio was in his basement. At first we thought we would just carry it up the stairs and right into our mini-van. However, this item was so heavy that that would have been impossible. So we literally took the console apart, piece by piece, in this man's basement. In the end, I was happy that this is the way it turned out since, I was planning on taking the console apart anyway, because I was mainly intersted in the amplifiers, speakers, and tuner in the unit and, it was much easier taking it apart in this man's airconditioned basement, as it would have been in our unairconditioned garage. Once the unit was apart, it was much easier to carry the cabinet up the stairs and into our van. Overall, I was very happy with the parts I got from the unit. Anyway, my next planned trip will probably be for the November 8th Radio Swap Meet in Kalamazoo, MI. However, I do know that there is an antique radio auction comming up in Ohio on October 25th, so who knows if that will be too much of an attraction for me to pass up. In any event, stay tuned for more adventures.....

Greenfield, IN Radio Show

I am currently staying in Indianapolis, IN tonight in order to get to the Greenfield, IN Radio Swap Meet bright and early tomorrow morning. The drive today was fairly uneventful until I hit Indianapolis. There seems to be major road construction all around the city. Lucky for me, my hotel is on the outer edge of town, which means I did not have to deal with most of the traffic issues. I will probably get up around 6am tomorrow morning in order to arrive at the radio show by about 7am. Have a great day. Peace, Patrick

Berwick, PA & Greenfield, IN Trips: Part 2

I have traveled a bit over 1000-miles in the last 2-days and have picked up my accordion and amplifiers in Berwick, PA. All of the items are in even better condition than what I was originally expecting and the transaction went smoothly. I am just thrilled with my purchases. If you are interest in seeing exactly what I bought, take a look at eBay auction number 280273282609, I believe that eBay keeps auctions available for approximately 60-days after they end. The driving so far has gone smoothly with great weather. The new minivan is a dream to drive, it is so smooth and quite compared to the one I traded in. While on the road, I was contacted by the newspaper reported from Jackson, TN, whom I wrote about in a previous blog post. She had a few more questions for me, related to radio collecting, and told me that the story she is writing will be published this Sunday (10/12). Once I confirm that the story is available online, I will post a link to it. Tomorrow I will be traveling approximately 300 more miles and will be staying in Indianapolis, IN, which is only 20-miles from the Antique Radio Swap Meet that I will be attending in Greenfield, IN on Saturday. After the swap meet, I will be traveling back home to Milwaukee, WI so that I can get up around 5am Sunday morning to setup for a radio swap meet near the Milwaukee General Michell International Airport. I will actually be selling at that show. Needless to say, it has been and will continue to be an event-filled few days. That is all for now, more will be revealed soon....

Berwick, PA & Greenfield, IN Trips

It’s about 7pm Wednesday evening and I drove about 8-hours today on my way to pick up the newly purchased treasures I mentioned previously. I plan to arrive in Berwick, PA around 1pm tomorrow and am really excited about seeing the vintage accordion and amplifiers in person. Once I pick the items up, I will be turning around and heading toward Greenfield, IN for the Radio Swap Meet on Saturday. I plan to update this blog as events transpire. Thank you for reading and have a great day. Peace, Patrick

Side Note

Hello Again, as soon as I finished the last blog post, I realized that I left out some very important information regarding my history. What I left out was that my current lifestyle would not be possible without the full support of my loving and beautiful wife Dawn. Dawn and I have been married for over 14-years now and not a day goes by that she does not support my passions in one way or another. It may be hard to believe but I love her more today than I did when I first married her. Not only does she support my “adventures” she also actually has her own interest in vintage/antique radios and was the catalyst which directed my antique’s resale business to focus more specifically on vintage electronics. I owe a great deal to my wife who stands behind all of my decisions, no matter how unrealistic they may appear at the time. I truly believe that Dawn and I are soul mates and that we not only belong together, but we allow for each other’s passions and strengths to truly shine as brightly as possible. I cannot say enough regarding how wonderful, caring, and considerate my wife truly is, which gives me daily inspiration and courage to follow my own dreams. Dawn’s gorgeous outer appearance is outshined only by her capacity to give unconditional love. She is my angel in human form. Stay tuned, more vintage radio related adventures to come…….

Greenfield, IN Radio Swap Meet & Side Trip: Part 1

Well, today is Tuesday (10/7) and, as my last post stated, I was planning on going to the Greenfield, IN Radio Swap Meet this Saturday. I had planned on leaving Friday and staying overnight near the meet however, as happens quite regularly in my life, I became distracted and will be going on a side trip to Berwick, PA before going to the Greenfield, IN show. Let me explain how this side trip came about. First, a bit of history may be in order. I am the type of person who has learned, through hard experience, that it is best to allow life to unfold in its own unique way rather than trying to force life around my will. That being said, I have also learned that, when I allow life to unfold effortlessly and syncronistically, no matter how unrealistic the outer circumstances appear surrounding an experience, great things happen. Let me explain how this applies to my current plans to travel to Berwick, PA, which will take me close to 13-hours one way, rather than just going to the Greenfield, IN meet, which is only about 5-hours from my home. About a month ago, my Father made his transition rather unexpectedly. My Dad was a great man with many talents and passions, one of them being able to play the accordion very well. In addition, his Dad, my Grandfather played accordions and had a collection of well over 300 accordions at one time. I had learned to play accordion when I was a child but, since then, have not really had any interest in it. However, after my Dad made his transition, that interest was piqued once again and I found that I am still able to play the accordion as well as I did when I had taken lessons (probably over 30-years ago). Since my Dad’s passing, I have received many signs from him relating to his current well-being, which has done much to console me and to help me deal with his transition. I now know that he is still very much alive and well in his new home. Anyway, back to the story at hand (I told you that I am easily distracted at times, didn’t I?). I was recently thinking about my Father and his accordions and the thought came into my mind about a particular accordion and amplifier that my Grandfather had owned. I did not think much of the thought at the time however, the following night I had a dream about my Father which, among other things, also related to this particular accordion of my Grandfather's. Again, I still did not think too much about it afterward however, I was able to remember the dream very clearly. The day after I had the dream, I was doing a search on eBay, which I do on a regular basis in order to find out what particular types of items are currently selling for as research for my resale vintage electronics business, and I did a simple search for “tube amps.” Vacuum tube amplifiers are one of my favorite areas of my vintage electronics business and collection. After scrolling through a number of pages of guitar amps and home stereo amps, I came across and auction for the exact same type of accordion that my Grandfather had owned, in addition to three amplifiers to go with it. Again, this is not something I was particularly looking for however, life seems to works in mysterious ways at times and I have learned to go with the flow for the best results. After reading the eBay auction description for the accordion and tube amps, I realized that the “Buy It Now” price for the auction was probably less than what just the accordion itself was worth and therefore I went ahead and purchased the items. After purchasing the item, I then decided to look at the shipping terms and found out that these items could only be picked up, not shipped. I still did not think much of it however, I then looked at where the items were located and found out they were in Berwick, PA (almost 13-hours from my home). At first I did panic a bit however, from past experience with these types of synchronistic events, I knew that not only all would be well but, in fact, all would be fantastic in the end. So, long story shorter, I will be leaving Wednesday 10/8 and will drive half way to Berwick and will then drive the rest of the way on Thursday morning and will pick up the items Thursday afternoon. After picking up the items, I will then turn around and head toward the Greenfield, IN radio swap meet. I plan to arrive in Greenfield Friday afternoon, which will give me a bit of time to relax before the swap meet Saturday morning. Some of you may be thinking, “is this person nuts for doing all of this driving for a few items, which he has not actually even seen in person, especially with gas prices where their currently are at?” All that I can say to that is that yes, I may be partially “nuts” but I have learned to rely on my intuition and faith in allowing life to guide me and this philosophy has never failed me. I honestly look at this trip, and many others I have taken, as a great, exciting, adventure and one in which I am truly grateful to be able to pursue as part of my business and passion. I have learned that following my passions will never lead me astray. Although I currently do not know all of the details, regarding how this entire situation will play out, I do know, without a doubt, that it will be beyond my wildest expectations. I am truly blessed to be able to do what I love and get paid for it. Being able to drop everything and leave on a 13-hour road trip is something I never dreamt I would be able to do in the not so distant past however, it is now my reality and I just love it. Needless to say, my Father and Grandfather will be accompanying my every step of the way on this trip so I know I am in for a real treat and many unexpected surprises. I think I have gone on long enough for today. Please feel free to check out my website at http://www.simplyspiritsales.com/ in addition to my other vintage electronic related sites at http://www.vintagewesternelectric.com/ and http://www.catalin-radios.com/. Stay tuned, there is more adventure to come soon……