VMC RC 81

[Sodak Bob]

The hunt is 99% of the fun. Don't get me wrong, I wish I had that kind of extra cash - but I think we all dream of finding an RC 81 in some old shop, shed, or barn.  Nice popperettes too...

[Larry]

He's the guy that painted my Stoners.  They're painted RC yellow, as he calls it.  I never saw his machine, just the Popperettes.

Personally, for ten grand I would own a Williams Ten Strike plus a NOS Family Guy pinball and still have enough to take my family out for dinner for a week. 

That's too much for any soda machine.  I don't care how rare it is..........unless it's a 1940's Mills 400.  You can have it for three quarter of that price.......only $7,500.00.

[collecture]

I agree Larry - I think my wife would put her foot down if I started spending $10,000 on a soda machine. It won't keep my beer and sodas any colder than the $1500 V-81A and non-collectors don't know the difference. I'd get the same 'cool' comments when someone comes over and sees the machines.
IF I were to find a RC 81 or Victor Kooler Grill for under $4000, I would buy it simply because I know I could double or 10x my money and that is probably what I would do.
Then again - if I won the lottery....

[cokemachinesandmore]

I own a vmc 7up that is a 9.5 mint original. didnt pay half as much as what he wants for the royal crown. If it was a mint unrestored rc mayyyyyyyyybe.  I personally wouldn't pay that for a restored one.

[RC kid]

I feel the same as many of you. I find myself lucky to own an RC 110 that I believe is a 8.5 original mint. But it isn't an 81. it took some time to run across and I would never sell it. But had I found a nice Cavalier c-72 or Vendo 81 I would probably be just as happy.

I also keep a little money stashed so I can buy an RC 81 for $4,000 so as to resale it later for twice that. But unfortunately I only have luck finding c-51s and coca cola 110's.

I also believe that many of the real enthusiast have been pushed out of the market due to the high prices seen in recent years, the last year excluded. I have noticed over the last year some of these more common machines are becoming affordable for the average guy who has a family and mortgage. Heck, I bought a table top 27 with a common cabinet base for way to much prior to the market melt down and now I am finding them everywhere at extremely fair prices.

[MoonDawg]

         Oh if we could just turn back the time. I once found this unrestored RC 81
for $500 and was thrilled to sell it 3 weeks later for $5500.   

[RC kid]

Well, your one of the fortunate ones. You can at least say you once owned an RC 81.

Nice Pepsi 81 also. Did you sell it too?

[collecture]

         Oh if we could just turn back the time. I once found this unrestored RC 81
for $500 and was thrilled to sell it 3 weeks later for $5500.  

Don't worry Glen!
I think there are still some out there in that dollar range. Just a few years ago, there was that guy in Atlanta that put one up on eBay and he had no idea of it's value and put his phone number in the auction. If I remember correctly - someone here had him talked into selling it for $1000 or so, but he couldn't end the auction until he got home that evening. By that time (after being inundated with calls), somebody clued him in on the value and he relisted with a $10,000 price tag and he did end up selling it for close to that amount.
It'll happen again - just got to catch it before it reaches greedbay!

[RC kid]

   I agree with the opinion you have of Greed Bay. But one thing has happened since the creation of the online auction, less of the classic items are being hauled off to the dump. And with the market adjusting as it is, many of the more common coke machines can now be had for prices simular to what I was paying in the early 1990's. I bought five machines in the last year. three C-51s, a really nice, mint VMC-27, and a really nice vendo 110 Self Serve. And I have very little in them. All thanks to Craigslist, except the Pepsi 27, a had a local guy use this sight to find out a fair price for it and then he called me and gave me a better deal.
  And like many here, I buy on Greed buy the parts I can not find anywhere else.

  Remember the saying, it is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Fortunately, or Unfortunately, depending on how you see it, with Ebay people have a better chance at finding that guy who is willing to pay the extra dollar for a classic piece of Americana. 

[MoonDawg]

Nice Pepsi 81 also. Did you sell it too?

            The Pepsi was not mine, it came in here for repair. It fell on it's face during
the 1994 Northridge earthquake ............like many other machines did that morning.

            The seller of the RC told me she had an old Coke machine painted "yeller".
When I got to her house I found that sometime in it's past, someone had buffed the
red letters clean off and she could not even see the embossed letters.