Here's my thought: The seller was obviously a naive phonograph seller who was not aware of the value or intricacies involved in selling and sending an opera machine to a buyer. I mentioned to him that the mechanism would have to be removed from the case to safely send the machine--and he stated that he had great trepidation over removing the mechanism from the case. I truly think he would have been way over his head if he had to figure out how to safely send such an important machine and horn to a buyer. He probably had an offer he "couldn't refuse" from a local buyer who would gladly come over to San Jose and pick up the machine for nothing, thus removing the stress involved in properly sending the machine. I actually wanted to bid on that machine--BUT I myself had great trepidation in trusting the guy to send it properly. Oh well--if he sent it, it probably would have come broken anyway! Great rationalization, huh? ---Art Heller **************Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape. http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489