Edison's Patents bulb found and questions

[FredO]

I found a few bulbs at an estate sale; one had "16C Edison's Patents" on a paper label and looks to be completely intact.  A few other bulbs were in the same box and i've attached pictures of all.  I would greatly appreciate it if someone could take a look at these and let me know something about them.  One picture shows the bulb with the "16C Edison's Patents" paper label, the number "3" is written in black inside the bulb on the filament holder.  The other photo shows the 3 other bulbs found in the same box, the bulb on the right says "Shelby Mazda", has a GE etch, and a paper label with 25 wattts and 125 v, the middle one has a some numbers written on the filament holder but no other markings, the small bulb has no markings. The extent of my knowledge on bulbs is from about an hour exporing this website, so bear with me please.   A couple of questions:  Should these bulbs be tested under power?  If they have value, what is the best way to find a proper and fair price and what means of selling is the best?  I really appreciate this site's owners for providing this service.  Its been very informative.  Thanks so much for any help you provide.

[Don M]

Hello -- I was checking out your post and admiring the antique bulbs -->> actually, I make a reproduction double loop carbon filament like the one pictured.  In fact, our bulbs are sold in Edison Museums (such as Ft Meyers FL) as Edisons Reproductions.  You can see our bulb at www.kyp-go.com.

DON Millett

[FredO]

Hi Don.  I am well aware of your bulbs.  I have spent big $$ on bulbs through Rejuvenation and vanDykes (which I am guessing are your clients) .  That's the reason that I recognized that original at the estate sale.  You have nice bulbs that create a beautiful ambiance, and I use them strategically in my 1895 house, but how about lowering the price?  $14 to $15 a bulb really puts a hurting on me and probably most people who would like to use your bulbs.  $7 a bulb would leave me with acceptable heartburn.  I do give you this though, if I hadn't bought your bulbs previously, that Edisons Patents bulb would have gone in the trash instead of being sold to me for 25 cents.

PS:  How about some discount coupons for the members of this forum?

[Don M]

Hello Fred .... As you probably are aware, retailers set their own pricing and margin.  I can tell you that $7 would not be realistic for our bulbs.  Please keep in mind that unlike other incandescent bulbs that you buy in any store - that are kicked out by the millions, all by machine, ours are hand assembled.  The filaments are all hand made, hand shaped (for each type bulb), and hand pasted.  We used to even make our own stems.  Also, unlike their 'cousin' bulbs of the present, our bulbs generally last at least twice as long.  We have several bulbs in the shop that have been buring in excess of 20 years and I get emails quite often from customers replacing bulbs that are 'years' old.  I certainly understand your "hurting" with regard to the retail price -- hopefully you can better understand what drives the price retailers charge.  We stand behind our products 100% and if you ever have problems with the bulbs, I encourage you to contact me directly.  Thank you for buying Kyp-Go bulbs -- (Kyp-Go, the Only Manufacturer of Carbon Filament Bulbs)

Best Regards, DON

[debook]

I think $15 at today's values is probably a fraction of what they were sold for at the time! Although the amounts were about the same. So if you can produce at that price with modern labour costs you are doing well.