Any idea of value..Might sell my Kelsey 2 1/2
I am planning on selling my Kelsey Excelsior Model 2 1/2 5x8 press… Any idea of value…? I have it listed on eBay right now and have a asking price of $1,700.00 or Make an Offer. I know this is high and I will be selling it for quite a bit less, but wanted to start somewhere and be able to negotiate down from there. I haven’t seen another model like this and would think it might be valued higher than a standard Kelsey 5x8. Any help would be appreciated or if anyone might be interested let me know…Once I get a good evaluation I will list it in the classified section. Thanks
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Usually when a press has welds or repairs, the value goes down…
IMO that would be very high for this press.
It needs custom cores, rollers and trucks before you could print with it. When I restored my No 4 1/2, I was lucky enough to have old cores and trucks, so the guys could find the dimensions from those.
It seems to be welded on the chase/bed/rail, and you can’t really make or buy a replacement with any ease. These presses were fitted by hand and are extremely rare. The machinist would likely have to spend a long time making a part that worked for your specific press. On my 4 1/2, the chase and chase bed are separate from the rails, making the part a lot easier to machine.
These older presses are interesting and they do look cool, but this would be quite a bit less usable for printing than a newer 5x8.
Even for a shiny, blasted and repainted modern 5x8 I think you would be really lucky to get 1700 these days. You see nice, restored ones with new rollers at Buy Now around 1250. There are a lot of Kelseys available and they just aren’t getting the prices they did a year or so ago.
I would order rollers, and use it carefully.
-Kim
The press is missing the gripper bar and grippers too. We have this press in inventory. Though no chase bed or chase.
T and T Press Restoration
www.tandtpressrestoration.com