SMC Discussion Areas

Interesting place to try and sell this item.  I would think E-Bay would be a better forum.  Does this look familiar Jeff and Curtis???

http://columbus.craigslist.org/clt/1565598476.html

 :drinking: Tim :drinking:

It sure doesn't fit in that apartment. 

Tim, think  about it,  he'll save a couple hundred instead of losing it to Ebay and Paypal as seller fee's
If there is some one out there that wants, and can afford a Victor,  they will find the ad.

I thought I saw 1 on ebay???????????????

he's modified the original CL   ad and added
"This is now listed on ebay, ends 01-31-10, reserve high 20's"

yup, it's on Ebay
http://cgi.ebay.com/1954-Coca-Cola-VICTOR-KOOLER-GRILL-Coke_W0QQitemZ330398706791QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item4ced4c2c67

He said the reserve is less than 2/3's of $59,900.  So I would guess that his reserve is in the mid 30's.  Let the predictions begin on the final price!

I say it won't hit the reserve with a high bid of $32,750! :oops:

 :drinking: Tim :drinking:

He sent me an E-mail 34k

Anyone here want to go halfsies!!! :biggrin:
or maybe we should all pitch in like 1000 bucks each, and we could take turns in our housese for one year at a time... and then deliver it to the next guyn and next guy etc, for the next 34 years! and by them it will be worth 100k and we'll sell it and all enjoy a big fat profit!

Who's with me........... :Oo: :biggrin:

I would be in but once it was in my house you would probably have to pry my cold, dead fingers off of it to get it back out!  :biggrin: 8) :laugh:

 :drinking: Tim :drinking:

 I'M in !!!!

 My House First !!!

            Since I'm in Cincinnati & Will have To pick it up  :smile:

It's not a real deal. It a reproduction. I know the guy that made it up. He made and sold about two or three of these and sold them at the Chicago show a while back. He is getting ready to work on two more. I think he sold them for around $7,000. The sink and everything on it is a little different then the original.

So this is the VMC 81 Orange Crush version of the Victor Kooler Grill?

I think this is more like the VMC 81 RC Cola  from a cooler version of the  Victor

If it is a new word learned from Barret Jackson a "recreation" then this statement from the auction is suspect.
"This example has been completely restored".
Maybe there is a market for PPI (pre-purchase-inspections) in the soda machine world :-)
Creighton
 

I said "VMC 81 Orange Crush version of the Victor Kooler Grill" because someone said it was not real......

For some reason to me the letters do not look embossed??

Joey

Good point Joey!  I noticed that as well when I looked at the pictures but I wasn't sure if the originals were painted or embossed.  All I know is that I would not be too happy if I paid the kind of coin the guy is looking for on that machine and then found out it was a reproduction.

Well once again, the doctrine of Caveat emptor (Let the buyer beware!) applies to this and all potential purchases.

 :drinking: Tim :drinking:

Just took another look at the E-Bay posting and noticed this update:

On Jan-29-10 at 19:31:47 PST, seller added the following information:

 A note.. To address some concerns I have received about a statement posted to Soda-Machines.com by user-rob, that states the machine is a fake & the seller (me) was @ a show in Chicago last year selling more of these Koolers...Let me be clear,I have Never been to Chicago, and this is the only Victor Kooler Grill I have EVER OWNED, I invite Rob to contact me to clear this up & to have his statement retracted, He is obviously mistaken about this issue.It is original, but has been restored w new stainless, , body repairs, and general sys rebuild.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On Jan-29-10 at 20:31:53 PST, seller added the following information:


 The graphics are not embossed, They are painted on basecoat/clearcoat as the entire paint jos is.  if you research this, very few , if any of them were.


 :glare: :glare: :glare:

 :drinking: Tim :drinking:

Hi Guys:
First let's clear one thing up. My name is RODDDDDD. Second he didn't need to be at Chicago to get it. My friend created two or three of these and someone at the Chicago show bought them for the price of $7,000 each. I'm sure then he turned around and sold them for what ever price. My friend that recreated these did not misrepresent these. He made the buyers aware that they where recreations. Third of all. Lets say this guys Victor is for real. A cooler that important should have history. There should be pictures of it before the restoration and pictures during the restoration. Also does it have the ID tag on it. What is the serial number???
If the gentleman that is selling it reads this then let me clear one thing up. Your cooler may be a real one. But if it was me looking to buy it. I would say prove it. To spend $30,000 to $50,000 on something I would make damn sure I knew what I was buying. I have seen several of these in original state and I have seen by friends recreations. He is a master craftsman and makes them look really close to the originals. Let the buyer be the judge.

Am I the only one who thinks they are ugly.... Real or repro.

I can appreciate it for its rarity but there are better looking machines out there.

Hello Guys:
Alan Huffman from Antique Vending wanted me to post this for him. He has a concern over the Victor cooler. Recent photos posted buy the feller shows the machine before t ws painted as a shell. Keep in mind all Victor coolers produced had there cooling units located on the right side of the machine facing doors. All VCG's have cooling unit on left side(facing doors. When converting a Victor to a VCG it is necessary to weld shut the hole on the right side of cooler, and also necessary to alter the lenght of the shell. In the last photo posted it clearly shows that the right side of the cooler had a square hole in it and is now welded shut. On the left side of the cooler lower left it appears to be another weld line where the cooler was extended. It is also clear from the photos that electrical controls have been removed from the cooler and no holes where they have been removed from. Below the chili pot there should be two contols that are not on this cooler. Between the two metal straps to the right of the sink/ cutting board threaded mounting holes are missing for the dixie cup dispenser. Decore rings spacers where hoops meet cooler are too thick. Incorrect hot dog rooler. Incorrect register. Incorrect sink. Incorrect switches to left of chili pot. Incorrect jars. Incorrect bun steamer trim. Incorrect roll up doors. VCG coolers NEVER came with black doors, they were always stainless. I (Alan Huffman) know al of this because I have an all original one in my collection, and recently have restored one and shipped it out. Alan and I both agree that this is a nice looking reproduction.

Thank you for the additional information on the Victor Kooler Grill.  I agree that it is a nice looking "recreation/reproduction" but it steams my buns-- :laugh: pun very much intended :laugh: --to see people trying to pass off a nice replica as the real deal.  I might even be interested in buying a recreation but not at the price of an original!

 :drinking: Tim :drinking:

Rod, Thanks so much for all your insight on this Victor. Steams my buns good one Tim.

originally i thought maybe the guy who is selling it was duped, he might have thought he bought and paid for an original.  but then he showed one non dated pic of the kooler in primer(or rather a kooler). so ?  just my 2 cents

I couldn't resist, and had to make an inquiry to his auction as well.. basically told him I think he has a very nice Reproduction Cooler Grill, and not an original..

his reply:

Dear coke-n-stuff,

Yes, Iv been told that,and you and all the others have been missinformed I and a team of craftsmen REBUILT THIS ONE, I DID NOT BUY IT THIS WAY FROM ANYONE, and I have OVER the current bid invested in . and WELL over 9000 just in the stainless, I really wish the sideline quarterbacks out there would get their facts befor makeing such statements


- 58finman

Can't ANYONE say "I and a team of craftsman rebuilt this machine"????
If the President says it, does that make it true?
Whatever we think, once it meets reserve, its gone!
Too bad someone loses. Unless the buyer doesn't care one way or
another.
Terry

There are enough resources available today, that it so much easier to determine the authenticity of an item, or the validity of the  seller's statements.
IMy satomach does flip flops pulling the trigger on a couple of hunfred bid, i can't even imagine offering 10K or more without a lot of documentation and veirfed prof the item is worth that much. But I'm silly that way.

Personally I agree with Dave, I like  the rarity, but after a while I realize it's bulky, and kinda  ugly.
That said, if I did have 40-45k to spend on a real Victor Kooler,  I'd buy a $30 dollar  George Foreman Grill, a  $700 Westinghouse Jr Electric cooler, and pocket the the other $40,000 to save toward a Tri five Chevy Nomad.

EXACTLY!

I bought a house for 45k. In a decent and safe neighborhood at that. I couldn't imagine ever spending that kind of money on a soda machine, grill, or combination of the two.

Wow. Really? That's like reverse sticker shock. Wow. I believe you and understand what you are saying though.

its been re-listed on Columbus Craigslist and the descrip has changed :hopefull:javascript:void(0);

Here's the write up,

Coca Cola Victor Kooler Grill Repro - $1 (Central Ohio)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 2010-02-06, 5:22PM EST
Reply to: sale-fb78m-1589279411@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


"Repro Victor Kooler Grill . Bought this a couple yrs ago as a shell & was represented as original, after allot of research it is determined it is a reproduction from an original Victor 50's Cooler , but Still very desirable as the authentic Kooler-Grill's are extreamly expensive , It features a Vary rare Rotating Lighted Halo-Sign & motor which are original to the mid 50's,and found on all Victor Kooler-Grill's. all stainless is new and as close as possible to the original, the Hot-Dog Grill is New -w-warentee, paint is PPG basecoat/clearcoat, the graphics are painted, not decals or raised letters, it is VERY heavy 8-900lbs . The Cooler is on wheels, The cash register is an early National Cash Register , fully opperational, the cooling sys is original & has been rebuilt , cools well, I am looking to sell to recoup my investment, 23.500 obo sorry for the poor picture quality.more pics available upon request. This machine is pick up ONLY... will not ship"

I really like the "After allot of reasearch" comment! :biggrin:

hmmm
Call me mean I guess, but I couldnt' help but to send him this email ..
==============================
WOW,
Very cool, I am curious though.. this looks like the same one that was on ebay a week or so ago? Did you buy it and the find out it was a Reproduction..
The originally seller from ebay sent me this message..

Yes, Iv been told that,and you and all the others have been missinformed I and a team of craftsmen REBUILT THIS ONE, I DID NOT BUY IT THIS WAY FROM ANYONE, and I have OVER the current bid invested in . and WELL over 9000 just in the stainless, I really wish the sideline quarterbacks out there would get their facts befor makeing such statements
- 58finman


or are you 58 Finman? And now FINALLY realizing that the “Sideline Quarterbacks” where actually right?

His response to my previous email that I just received:

Yes , I concede, I had the pics of the shell evaluated by a few collectors and it looks like  I was duped by the person I purchased the shell from, I apologize to all that I have made comments to concerning its authenticity.I am a trusting person , and took the sellers word for it, his explanations for the repairs seemed plausible, I had done some searching for info on the net for this cooler and could not find much other than other restorations and pics of other machines, so didn't have much to go on but the sellers word..    Live-n-Learn I guess.

Oh Dear.. Well at least he said sorry and has now seen the error of his ways...

Dave

Interesting.  I don't think he will be getting his $23.5K out of it though.  He should have taken the $19K when he had the chance.

 :drinking: Tim :drinking:

I'll leave this topic at rest!
I'd rather not waste anyone's time reading the many correspondences I had with this seller! I can assure you he didn't want to listen at anyone at SMC though ! ! !

Interesting, his amount invested went from $23,500 to $12,000!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Coca-Cola-Victor-Kooler-Grill-Coke-Cooler_W0QQitemZ330405701943QQcategoryZ38QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m263QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DSIC%26its%3DI%252BC%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BFICS%252BUFI%252BDDSIC%26otn%3D10%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D7909590397357227631

Wonder if will move at $12K?

 :drinking: Tim :drinking:

Knowing that they where selling for around 7-8k brand new a few years ago... doubt it will sell at 12k

 


   Ive been watching you bash me for a few weeks now without any regard..I was lied to when I purchased this a a "real Kooler-Grill " I have apologized to everyone, yet the bashing continues. .would you now like to see the receipts for what I have invested ?   I would REALLY like to see a pic ( any pic ) of one of these Kooler's that sold for 7-8G,  There is no way they were anywhere near the level of this machine. the stainless alone was over 8G. and I bet those "7-8G" machines didnt have an authentic Halo-Sign huh !

I think the so called "bashing" ended a few post's ago. Most are just making observations from the emails, Ebay posts and other correspondence. Just the facts.

I don't think anybody is making this a personal attack against you, even from the start.

Mr. Tanner,

I did not receive any such apology and yet you had strong intentions in your messages ! ! !

Apology accepted though...

58finman,

Welcome to the site.  :happydrinkers: I would have to agree with BrianB on his post.  If any of my posts offended, I apologize because I was the one who stumbled across your CL posting and started this thread in the first place.  It is unfortunate that you were taken advantage of by an unscrupulous seller.  That is something that the members of SMC see quite often and it bothers us because that type of mis-representation gives us and our hobby a bad name.  That is also why when we see something that does not seem right, we point it out and try get the facts on the table.

Granted, you have to be stinging from the discovery that you were sold a reproduction billed as "the Holy Grail" of soda machines.  But if you read through any of the thousands of posts on this site, you will find that the members of SMC are very knowledgeable about their hobby and willing to help anyone who takes the time to ask.

 :drinking: Tim :drinking:

58finman,
This is my first post on the thread. While I followed it as comments were posted, I just re-read everything. I can see how you might feel that the members here are bashing you, but I don't see it that way.

Soda machines are our passion and we discuss any machine that pops up. We see a seller trying to sell a common machine for an outrageous amount and we laugh - we see a deal and we want someone on the board to get it - when such a rare machine like a VKG pops up, it is going to grab our attention and inspire our comments.

We are all learning all the time. If Rod and Alan hadn't chimed in with details, most of us would not have noticed that your machine was not original as only a handful of members have ever seen a VKG in person. I have to agree though with another post though that to spend that kind of money on a collectible would warrant some research and lots of restoration documentation. If you had logged on here when you were thinking of buying the cooler, hopefully we would have been able to save you from buying a fake. We have a great and diverse group of members here that have helped many people over the years in both diagnostics/repair and valuations.

I sorry you got duped by an unscrupulous seller. I think everyone has been scammed at some point and that is just life. I think it started for me at an early age with my older brother selling me stuff. I would go into his room as he was cleaning out his desk - I would see him throw something in the trash can and say "Wow - you throwing this away?". He would respond "Wait a minute - let me see that...no I didn't mean to throw this away, but I'll sell it to you!".

Live and learn!

Point well taken, Had I know of this site, It would have been very helpfull, Maybe I wouldnt be flushing a crapload $ down the toilet, Only found out about it via some very unpleasant contacts from ebay members. But still remains, authentic or not at a range of 35 to 50G for a numbered machine, 12G is a bargain and in my opinion (and others) a very nice "Cooler", as you say, live-n-learn !

I think it's still a cool looking machine there Finman, repo or not. Heck there's peeps buying O.C. 81's for 12 G's

Hey,

I have to say I have learned a lot by reading the posts re: VKG. I actually found this site on the first ebay listing on the VKG. With knowing what we all know at this point, Whats it worth? I am not a repro guy but would like to have that in my room. I appreciate your comments and have a super day! Tommy :help: 

Finman: As for someone that has personly restored an original Victor Kooler Grill, yours looks great and is well worth the price your asking and I'm the one that sold the record price Victor Kooler Grill. Yours will sell but I wouldn't give it away.

Curtis, Memory Lane Restorations

As it stands, at the starting bid, If thats all it does, I Will be giving it away ! Over twice that in it, but like the previous poster stated, I have no idea what a Repro is worth.  If I had a place to put it...it wouldnt go anywhere.

Do you still have your machine ?

Sold! I restored it for a customer and I re-sold it for him to another one of my customers 2 years later.

I recall reading somewhere that it was sold , then bought back, thought you may still have it. Do you have any pics of the knobs below the bun warmer or the inside of the warmer ? A member had posted something to this on my cooler, that they were missing, Iv never seen these in any photo's

As you all know by now, This did not move on the bay, I have to get this sold, If anyone wants to make a "reasonable" offer, Please do !

That sucks finman!!! I hate seeing people being taken advantage of. That burns me and is right up there with a thief!!
 If I had the room, I'd take it off your hands. Surely there's got to be a way of selling it. Maybe get a hold of an auctioneer who specializes in these types of auctions and perhaps you could move it there?

Good luck. Wish I could help you.

Mark

Finman has the Victor Kooler Grille Repro back on E-Bay.  Sure wish I had more in the fun budget because that is a nice looking repro and the price is better than right.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330421088761&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

 :drinking: Tim :drinking: