I took another look at the picture of the RCA antique white French Provincial console, and noticed something that doesn't seem quite right. There is a hole directly beneath the UHF channel selector, which I think may have been for a control (volume and power switch, perhaps?). I wonder, though. If that control is broken or missing, how on earth was the set powered up?
The only thing I can figure is that, if the switch is bad or missing altogether, it was jumpered.
I agree with the poster who "worried" that the set's value would drop like a stone if it fell off the cart on which it was perched.
Yes, it would drop--to some value well below $550, as the CRT would likely be smashed and other damage would certainly occur to the circuitry; the TV would then be worth next to nothing, except maybe as a parts set. I would be afraid to plug a set like that in, even if the CRT survived the fall; I certainly wouldn't pay more than a few dollars for it, either.