Salesman Sample bogus ebay ad - Videokarma.org TV - Video

julianburke · #1 08-27-2020, 08:37 AM

Anyone want to see a silly bogus ebay listing full of CRAP?

This is for a RCA 9" B&W kitchen set marketed for the 1969-70 Christmas seasons and they sold fairly well. My good friend Jim Rinehart was the RCA engineer who helped develop this set and I have one of the three prototypes still in existence.
Why do these new millennials think every thing small (tiny little sets) is a "salesman sample" and if you really want to see good examples and laugh, just ebay "salesman sample" and you will find all kinds of bogus dollhouse stuff and other stuff touted as such!

This ad says there were door to door TV salesman who carried this set.
Has anyone out there ever seen or heard of a door to door TV salesman carrying a "salesman sample" TV? Never happened.
Funny though, there were door to door vacuum cleaner salesman but I don't ever recall seeing "Salesman Sample" vacuum cleaners!
He also says "Tiny little sets like these were made for just that purpose."

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Ant....c100012.m1985

I did try to email him and convince him that all of his info is false. Here was his reply:

"You listen here buddy. I dont know where your from or who you are but how I sell my item is my freaking business and it is not yours. I dont care if your the dann Pope, message me again with your harrassment and I'll make sure your account gets suspended for harassment. This is my item and as long as there is information out there that its a salesman tv then thats what its going to be listen as. I sure havent found any information to the contrary. I would appreciate it if you buggered off and got a life. Your self entitlement is showing. Its my listing so piss off and leave me alone."

He also had this to say:
"I have inclosed a link to the correct information about the television set. Just because you don't have the correct information doesn't mean you should be emailing someone without doing your own research as I have. Here is a link to many many articles on the subject. Thank you for your input, I hope you have a wonderful day."
https://www.google.com/search?q=1960...c058bWYDpy_PDM

He certainly did his research and said I didn't have the correct information, didn't he?

It's from a Pinterest site that only takes pictures off of the internet without regard if they are accurate or not. I have never learned anything from Pinterest. BTW, How does one correct Pinterest anyway?

Prolog: Turns out Pinterest took a picture from here at videokarma from my posting because my title had the word "salesman sample" in it. This may be my fault! Read my posting below from a posting I did here in 2012.

AlanInSitges · #2 08-27-2020, 10:33 AM

Yeah that's a pretty common legend that's been circulating for years about those sets.

Electronic M · #3 08-27-2020, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlanInSitges

Yeah that's a pretty common legend that's been circulating for years about those sets.

+1

I've seen eBay ads with that salesman sample urban legend hog wash going around for over a decade now.

Kevin Kuehn · #4 08-27-2020, 01:28 PM

Gee I hope some innocent TV collector didn't start that whole scenario, as in the blind leading the blind. Only with the instant gratification of the internet

Yamamaya42 · #5 08-27-2020, 01:44 PM

Seems to me the jerk is charging way too much for it...

Tom9589 · #6 08-27-2020, 02:21 PM

Julian, the reason for the ridiculous price is is that the guy has a sentimental attachment to this TV. He even says so in his sales pitch.

I found it interesting to see a Compactron used on an RCA TV. Also, what is the function of the neon lamp attached to the CRT socket?

julianburke · #7 08-27-2020, 05:48 PM

The neon lamp (NE2 type) was a spark gap that was in the blanking pulse and to thwart any arcs that would occur and not arc back into the set. This gimmick was found mostly in solid state sets. I talked to Jim Rinehart (RCA circuit design engineer at Indianapolis) about this and to even cheapen up a spark gap and not use the bulb was sometimes done on the PC board and kind of looked like a butterfly cut into the board. The neon bulb was a 100 volt bulb and would clamp a 90 volt or higher pulse. That is a good question though. GE who invented compactrons used them extensibly in their sets.

init4fun · #8 08-27-2020, 06:01 PM

It's funny , I remember very well the era of door to door sales , and of all the things people rang my doorbell trying to sell me , never once did a TV salesman ring my doorbell .

dieseljeep · #9 08-27-2020, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom9589

Julian, the reason for the ridiculous price is is that the guy has a sentimental attachment to this TV. He even says so in his sales pitch.

I found it interesting to see a Compactron used on an RCA TV. Also, what is the function of the neon lamp attached to the CRT socket?

If that thing is so precious, why is the seller selling it?

bandersen · #10 08-27-2020, 09:00 PM

I added a comment to the Pinterest photo for all the good it may do.

consoleguy67 · #11 09-01-2020, 06:31 AM

So, seeing as how color televisions had 21" round tubes for a long time. how did the door to door salesmen carry those?

Tom9589 · #12 09-01-2020, 07:46 AM

I looked at the listing today and it said that the listing was "...ended by the seller because there was an error in the listing."

Guess he didn't want to sell it after all.

decojoe67 · #13 09-01-2020, 08:54 AM

Those turn up regularly. Just a novel way of designing a small screen TV.
By the way, the sellers reaction is not surprising. On occasion I've corrected a seller and they can get very miffed about it. They hardly hear you say "I've been in the hobby for decades." As typical with people, we usually don't want to hear a truth that makes us look wrong. Another situation I dislike is someone saying "I got this out of my inlaws attic....can you tell me what it's worth?..." Of course it's always flea-market fodder and they freak when you try to be nice and say "you might get $25-$50 for it." The truth is $0 is more like it!

***Eric H*** · #14 09-01-2020, 05:01 PM

Buy it, then demand a refund for "Not as described"

julianburke · #15 09-01-2020, 07:23 PM

Eric, I thought of that too! By ebay's rule he would have to refund everything and pay for shipping back as well. (If he wants it back!)

I also agree with decojoe, perhaps I could have worded my comments differently to the seller. The seller sent me to that pinterest website as if it was an authority. Pinterest only posts pictures taken off of everything no matter what they tout or where they come from. Said his "research" was the authority and contrary to my incorrect information. Perhaps maybe he finally did some "real" research and found out the truth.