Phone Condition

• Brand New is just what you'd expect: bright and shiny, factory-fresh, as perfect as humanly possible.
• New Old Stock (NOS) phones were made anywhere from two to 50 years ago, but they've never been used in a home or business. Some of the older ones that were not originally equipped with modular plugs, have had modular plugs added so they can be easily connected to standard phone jacks. We sometimes have very rare NOS phones that have not been updated with modular plugs. Collectors may prefer them in this original condition, but we can update the cords if you prefer. Some NOS phones may have minor rust or corrosion spots on the metal bottom plates, and there may be slight dulling where the handset has made contact with the phone shell.
• Almost New phones are color conversions. They contain parts from two or more phones that were never sold to an end-user, or some parts that were never on a complete phone. No factory makes rotary dial "500" phones anymore, but lots of people want them. We recently discovered some new plastics, and we put them on never-sold phones that had been other colors. They are absolutely gorgeous, and we don't have a lot of them
• Nearly New phones usually have new plastic shells, new handsets, and new cords -- but older guts. Their internal electronic and mechanical parts are carefully tested, and replaced if necessary. These phones look and work just like new. Unless you turn them over or take them apart, you'd think they just came from the phone factory. They have many years of life left.
• Refurbished phones have plastic parts that are cleaned and polished, but not normally replaced. Their internal electronic and mechanical parts are carefully tested, and replaced if necessary. They work like new phones, but the plastic parts may show some small scratches or dull spots. Some older wall phones were not originally built to mount on modular wall jacks, and when they were refurbished, modular back plates were added.
• Rough & Ready phones don't look as nice as refurbished phones, but they work fine. The plastic may have more or bigger scratches than refurbished phones, but no cracks or chips. They'd probably be fine for your garage or home workshop, or a warehouse, but not for a kitchen, family room or executive office.
• Good & Grungy phones are not as nice as our "rough & ready" phones. They probably have more or bigger scrapes and scratches or slight discoloration, but no cracks. We've done our best to clean them up. We've tested them carefully. We've replaced any parts that needed to be replaced, and we provide the same one-year warranty as our better-looking phones. These phones won't win any beauty contest, but they work fine.
   

Modular Connections

• Full Modular desk and wall phones allow the handset cord to be unplugged from the phone body and from the handset. On full modular desk phones, the line cord can be unplugged from the phone body.
• Half Modular is a description that applies to desk phones only, and is a relatively uncommon configuration. The line cord can be unplugged from the phone body, but the handset cord is permanently attached ("hard wired").
• Quarter Modular is a description that can apply to desk or wall phones. The phone is designed to connect to a modular jack, but the handset cord is permanently attached ("hard wired").
• Non-Modular phones have not been made since about 1980. Both handset and line connections are hard wired.