The History Channel
Wednesday Feb. 8th, 2012
American Restoration at 8:30 CST

I was working on the weld table involved in a large project several months back when… I received a phone call from Rick Dale, owner of American Restoration.  I remember the phone call well – I answered the phone, Rick barely introduced himself before I told him I had to call him back then I hung up on him.

Oh….., I called Rick back after I finished my welding and apologized for hanging up on him, he said he understood.  It was then that Rick told me he had a special machine that had been brought in for restoration – it was a Graphotype 6341 that came from Mare Island, CA and had been in service with the US Navy since the 1940′s and WWII.

Rick, owner and lead character on The History Channel’s hit show American Restoration had gotten my phone number from someone in the Graphotype community and was told if it is Graphotype related, then Graphotype.net was the place to go for information.  Our second phone call was the start of a great relationship.  After hearing about the machine and visiting with Rick, Graphotype.net was on board to help get this machine “ship shape” and back on line.

Graphotype.net worked with Rick and his crew to restore the machine to it’s as issued condition.

Victory Stores Graphotype as delivered on the Set of American Restoration

American Restoration is a hit show on The History Channel where Rick Dale, his son and crew take anything from the past restore it to new.  Graphotype.net has a special place in our heart for Rick and his show because of the father son relationship that Rick has fostered by bringing his son into the show and teaching him the merits of hard work and the trade.  As a father myself the importance of family led me to create a father son project that delivered rewards far beyond anything we imagined.

My son Kobie, started his business as a result of our father son project.  From age 12 up until his entrance into the US Navy, Kobie owned and operated DogTagsRus a business where he made and sold dog tags.  Now that Kobie is serving our country in the US Navy as a corpsman, DogTagsRus has been handed down to his sister Kelsey.  Kelsey is in the process of opening her online store MsDogTag.com – so what started as a father son project is being carried on as a father daughter project.  Don’t tell Kobie, but – Kelsey learned well – currently she outsells him two to one.

The Graphotype machine spotlighted in the show spent most of it’s life producing tags at the Mare Island Naval Ship Yard in Vallejo, CA.  As delivered the machine was in poor shape, damaged,  missing parts and did not function.

Graphotype.net, worked directly with Rick and his crew secure replacement parts and provided technical support and advice to get the machine back into service.  All the work done was performed by Rick and his talented crew who were in constant contact to verify every detail so that they could ensure that when the machine was finished it would be 100% correct just as the day it was delivered to the US Navy.

Victory Stores, 435 Virginia St., Vallejo, CA 94590

The Graphotype 6341 has found a new home in Vallejo’s Victory Stores on Virginia Street in Vallejo, California.  The machine will live on making dog tags and the proceeds from the sales will go to help fund the Vallejo Fireworks Display.

To read more about this machine here is an article written about the machine in the Vallejo Times Herald.

TagTech

March of 2011, Kobie graduated Navy boot camp at Great Lakes, IL then went on to United States Marine Corps training and currently serving as a US Navy Corpsman.

Kobie, choosing to serve his country has suspended the operation of his business and online sales of dog tags through DogTagsRus.com.  Kobie elected to make the decision to turn over his business to his sister Kelsey.

Kelsey will carry on the family business and will keep the old DogTagsRus.com web site up for informational purposes but she is opening a new website, MsDogTag.com that she hopes will become her flagship website for online sales.

Kelsey shakes hands and asks, "Are we square?" after buying a new Graphotype machine. Seller said, "We're Square"

Kelsey pays for her new Graphotype machine.

Shortly after taking over the company Kelsey bought two of her own Graphotype machines.  Kelsey went and negotiated with the sellers of these machines and she bought them all on her own.

The only thing Kelsey had help with was the transportation of the machines to the warehouse.

Graphotype machine on trailer being delivered.

Check back often as Kelsey hopes to be selling on line very soon.

We are proud of Kobie serving our country and….

Kobie is proud of Kelsey carrying on the business he knows she will do well.

- Graphotype Staff

It has been a very busy year here at Graphotype.net and we hope to be back after the holidays with more informaton and posts to keep you entertained and informed.

Please everyone have a safe holiday and spend time with your families.

See you in 2012
Graphotype Staff

Bruce is a great guy, he has extensive knowledge in dealing with embossing equipment.  Bruce offers many products that are Graphotype related including lubricating oil and manuals.  Many times you will see TriStateUSA offering “reconditioned”, machines on eBay.People ask us why the Graphotype machines TriStateUSA offers are generally more expensive then other machines on eBay.  The reason is simple, these machines are priced at a premium because Bruce warranties the machines and offers extensive after sales support for the machines he sells.  Some machines even come with special delivery options and onsite training or set up, each auction is different and the specifics can be found in the auction details and description.  For the person the is seeking a 100% turn key machine ready to go, then TriStateUSA is the place to get the machine.Many times we refer people to TriStateUSA for their parts needs when they contact Graphotype.net seeking parts for their machines.  As anyone who has been on the hunt for parts knows, finding parts for Graphotype machines is hard to do.  Bruce has a network of contacts that he can locate many of those hard to find parts.

TriStateUSA your trusted selling partner

Welcome to our store.  We are just normal guys trying to make a living.  We are fair and if there are ever any problems, PLEASE call me or email me directly at beckmanbruce@hotmail.com, that is my personal email address and I will work it out.

I feel all problems can be worked out to everyone satisfaction.  With a little flexibility we have had some great success on eBay.  – Thanks Bruce

As founder of Graphotype.net, we met Bruce many years ago and we can say nothing but good things about him.  He is a man of his word and a dedicated family man, he comes highly recommended by Graphotype.net

It is Bruce’s dedication to his family, his values. outlook on life and business ethic that make us at Graphotype.net happy to recommend Bruce Beckman and TriStateUSA.

Graphotype Staff                                                                         # # #

This seller is asking $2700.00 for a 6341.

The eBay Kool-Aid once again proves to be as addictive as crack cocaine!

This is one of the most amazing things I have seen to date, this is a surplus dealer selling this machine and their asking price is $2700.00!  If this machine sells at this price please, please send me an email I am getting ready to sell mine.

There is no tag roller on this machine, and one has to ask – if they seller is asking $2700.00 for the machine….. What did the seller buy it for?

This is eBay Kool-Aid served with ice !

Holy Cow – Batman !

Wow – that is all I can say – WOW – the seller is asking $2000.00 for this 6381 Graphotype.  This machine does not even have a tag roller.  In Maryland, I guess eBay Kool-Aid comes out of the kitchen faucet.

The seller of this machine does not even offer shipping, machine must be picked up at the warehouse.  All I can say is WOW !!!

People this is an epidemic – wake up don’t drink the eBay Kool-Aid !

The seller is also a plagiarist as he copied text and photographs directly from our web site without giving us credit.  We don’t mind people using our intellectual property but we do ask they give us proper credit.

This machine is way off base on price – $1500.00 USD

1. Machine is missing all rear guards
2. Machine is missing belt guard

We contacted the seller and asked them to please modify their eBay ad and give us credit for the plagiarized text they copied directly from our web site and they told us to buzz off.  We contacted eBay and had this auction canceled twice for plagiarism then we just gave up so now it runs as it.  If the seller has these morals and values, how will anyone buying this machine know the truth about the machine unless they buy it and find out first hand?

WAKE UP DON’T DRINK THE eBay KOOL-AID !

Here it is the $4889.00 Graphotype G1 / 6100 Class machine.  Buy it now, you don’t want to let this one get away!

If you are interested in this machine, I have one identical to it in inventory I will let go for $4500.00 – with free delivery.

Here is a G1 / 6100 Class machine that has been posted on eBay with a starting bid price of $1000.00 – while I know this is not the most outrageous price for a G1 / 6100 it still is way off base.

This machine is in beautiful condition and I would love to have it in my collection but I can buy 10 other machines for the price of this one.

Don’t Drink the eBay Kool-Aid !

I wanted to give my nephew a Graphotype so he could start his own little dog tag business.  My nephew lives in PA and I live in TX.  I started searching CraigsList.org for Graphotype machines near him.  I about fell out of my chair when I saw the results for my query.  I found a Graphotype machine actually located in the town he lives in, by the photo it appeared to be a 6381 – it was dirty, missing parts and carried a price tag of $2000.00

I had my daughter pinch me to see if I was dreaming.  Her pinch hurt so I realized I was not dreaming, the machine was actually listed at this price.  Having some time to recover from sticker shock, I decided to contact the seller on Craigslist to see if his $2000.00 price tag was a misprint.

The seller quickly responded telling me that no the price was not a misprint.  The seller went one step further and said “I should be asking more because I have one my research on eBay and these machines sell for a lot more than what I am asking.”

The Craigslist seller of the $2000.00 6381 machine said he would not budge on the price –  I ended up pulling a machine from my personal inventory and shipping it to my Nephew for 1/6 the price.  The seller emailed me for months each time dropping the price, I finally had to tell him I was not interested and that I had shipped one of my machines to my nephew from Texas.  8 months later I helped another individual buy the machine in PA, for $275.00.

The average citizen who finds themselves with a Graphotype machine for sale really does not know much about the machine, their worth or how to move or ship the machine.  What happens more often than not, is prospective sellers first goes to eBay to look at what similar items are listed for.  Then they set their price close to what the highest price is they can find.

Many sellers don’t have a clue what the Graphotype is….
much less what the machine is worth or how to sell it.

Too many sellers go to eBay and drink the eBay Kool-Aid.

There is one seller on eBay that has a G1/6100 listed for close to $5000.00, well gang, I can tell you this seller is not only drinking Kool-Aid he is also smoking crack.  There is NO G1/6100 on the face of the planet that is worth $5000.00 under any circumstances.  Gold plated and delivered on a silver platter, I cannot imagine that a G1 worth $5000.00

I am waiting for this $5000.00 G1 to sell, because if it does I am going to post all of my G1′s for sale and retire.

All I can say is – WOW!!!!  None of these overpriced machines have sold and I don’t expect them to sell at these inflated prices.  The mispriced machines keep getting relisted over and over.  Some of the machines have been relisted for over 28 months, that is OVER two year’s folks.  If it does not sell in two years, maybe your pricing is off?

They say possession if 9/10ths of the law, and I am all about making a profit.  I feel anyone can sell anything they want at any price that is what freedom is all about, but the rest of us have to live in reality.

Wake up – stop drinking the eBay Kool-Aid.

I have no issue with eBay I buy on eBay all the time but when it comes to Graphotype machines there seems to be some kind of serious eBay Kool-Aid going around and sellers need to realize asking prices on eBay are quite a bit skewed from selling prices in the real world.

I will keep watching the auctions and if any of these machines start to sell for $1000.00 or more I will be next in line and start dumping my machines – then I can retire.  If the machine for $5000.00 sells, I for sure will sell out and then I will retire very well.

I have a G1/6100 Class machine for sale now that I will part with for $4500.00, which is way below the one for sale on eBay.  Buy my machine, you will save money and I might even deliver it for free.