Collector's Guide to Antique Radios: Identification & Values (4th ed)

When I first started searching for tube radios to buy, I knew I needed a price guide. And, I had doubts about this volume after reading some negative reviews. Now, I find it invaluable and can't imagine shopping without it.Any buying guide must be portable to be useful. This book is about as big as a practical buying guide can be. With 317 pages (7th edition) printed on 8.5 x 11 inch paper, you cannot stuff this guide into your shirt pocket. However, you can carry it in your briefcase or a shipping bag. (I hope that a future editions will be available in a digital format for use on portable electronic devices.)I had some concerns about omissions. Well, after shopping at eBay, radio swap meets, flea markets, yard sales and Craigslist, my experience is that the omissions are not overwhelming relative to the radios I have seen. Several times I have found data on similar models that gave me valuable insights into a model not listed.The book presents several pages explaining its approach to valuation. After reading the detailed comments, you will be better equipped to make adjustments for unique situations and your buying interests. No guide can account for all variables, but I can tell you that this guide can help you to avoid costly mistakes. Many sellers have no clue about market value, and are wildly optimistic about what they think their antique tube radio should sell for. I always define a "bargain" or "too costly to buy" by reference to this guide.There are 800 color photographs in the 7th edition. Do I wish there were more? Sure, and typically each guide has more photos than the previous edition. Again, a buying guide must be portable and cannot contain photographs of all tube radios ever produced.If you are buying, don't leave home without it. There are few buying situations where a buyer would not be helped by referring to this book. This is a superb presentation of otherwise rare data on a niche hobby.I respect the years of research and data accumulation that have gone into the production of this unique work. If either the author or publisher ever stop producing this guide, it would be a huge loss to radio hobbyists. Moreover, this superb guide keeps getting better ... even as the population of collectors is likely diminishing.

This book arrived quickly and was in excellent condition even though it was listed as "Good". Very happy with purchase and would definately buy from this seller again.

Without a doubt this Guide is another valuable asset to the antique radio collector, as have been all of the Sluser's previous editions. Attend a club swap meet, and you'll see fellow collectors with this author's book under their arms, on the seat of their vehicles, always "close at hand." Just a guide, never the "last word'" as some antique dealers like to think, we collectors alike have always used Sluser's books as a reference to identify those radios not often seen in our geographical area. For this use alone, it is worth the price many times over. Each new edition has many new and updated pictures/information, not found in previous editions, so it's always best to try and collect the older editions, too.Whether you're a "sometimes" collector or "on fire" for the antique radio hobby, this book is more than a "must have," hey you've "got to have" it! Add this valuable tool to your reference library and stay on top of your hobby. Enjoy this book and happy collecting!

This is an excellent and fairly comprehensive guide to antique radio prices and identification. The author took over this series from Marty and Sue Bunis and continued in the same format. Unfortunately, this is probably the last in the series.The book is organized by manufacturer and model number and has a brief description of each radio - tube count, knobs, radio type, cabinet, and there are plenty of pictures to help in identification. It certainly does not list EVERY model manufactured but has a lot of them. Some previous editions of the book list radios and have pictures that are missing from other editions so the key is to get your hands on all the back editions and you'll have a really good set of references that cover a heck of a lot of different models. What is missing in one book can probably be found in one of the others in the series. As a radio collector and refurbisher, these books have been of particular help to me in identifying some of the more esoteric models I've found in flea markets and auctions.If you really need more comprehensive identification, a specialized book about a particular manufacturer like  Philco Radio: 1928-1942  by Ramirez and Prosise may be better, but this collector's guide is absolutely a requirement for any collector's reference library.These editions are a little dated now and the listed estimated market prices are somewhat obsolete but they can give you a very rough idea of the value of that Philco Model 60 cathedral radio that belonged to your great grandmother.

From my point of view, the antique radio market has always been very odd and largely undefined. It is so difficult to determine what "fair values" are. This guide includes a very large number of radio makes and models. The prices listed seem to be realistic overall. The bottom line always will be how strongly the buyer desires a particular make/model, which ultimately determines how much money it will take to own it. This guide includes a good number of pictures as well. A very good guide.

I have owned previous issues of "Colector's Guide to Antique Radios" and found them very helpful in giving me much needed values of old radios in which I wanted to sell. They have also helped inform me about certain specs. about items that I was interested in purchasing. I am a big fan of old tabletop tube radios and old transistor radios. As a smalltime collector, I very much like the color pictures of some of the radios included in the issues. This issue gave me more of the same much needed info, as well as fascinating photos!

Good long list of antique United States radios, each one described in general terms, and some photographs. Unfortunately this book only covers radios made in the USA.

Bought this for hubby, a former radio technician. He found his prized oldtimers w/o any trouble and is having flashbacks to his glory days. Thanks for bringing back memories and valuations to a senior. I find the dollar values more realistic than his.;-)