Crosley CR55-BC Wall Phone with Push Button Technology, Chrome

SO CUTE! Perfect and functional. Great value and we love how it looks!!!

Great, as expected

I bought this used since I wanted this phone for aesthetic purposes— not to actually use as a functioning telephone. I had a plain wall by my kitchen where a telephone SHOULD be and I figured I’d get a cute one. I love it! The quality isn’t fantastic. It’s a plastic phone, not those good quality ones from back in the day but the color looks great and I can’t complain since I’m using it for decoration purposes.

I have no idea why people are giving it any bad reviews. If it buzzes, send it back for a replacement! I just redid my kitchen in retro pastels, opting for red color "pops" of red. Tired of my cordless phones, most of which don't work, I decided that the little bit of time I spend using a land-line certainly did not warrant 8 cordless extensions. So I tossed them all out for this one wall phone. I say "old" with a shiver, as I grew up with rotary wall phones like this.Someone complained below that the phone was "tethered" to the hand set. Um....Do you understand the concept of a wall telephone?This phone is just as I remember them being (expect for a rotary dial which would be completely impractical). It is solid, and the handset is a bit heavy when compared to current smart phones. That's how these phones were!It sets off my retro kitchen well. It invites countless unsolicited compliments. And everyone picks up the receiver to listen. Kind of funny. Great phone. Great vocal quality. Good ring (adjustable). Be aware that the handset cord is hard wired so you can't exchange the cord for a longer one. It clearly says that in the ad but, again, some people who complained obviously didn't realize it.

****Update***I contacted Amazon, explained my issue and they replaced the phone without a problem. They sent me a new right away! I received within 2 days of calling. Even before they received the broken phone! It was very easy. And so far this one seems to work. Thank you Amazon!Points 1, 2 and 3 of my original reveiw still apply. But I am happy to have it replaced and not have all of my hard earned money gone to waste. The phone is usable. It is just not the quality of what I had previously. Too bad. I loved my first Crosley phone.This will be okay for emergency power outages.It is just not good enough for everyday use.But....IT LOOKS GREAT!Original review:I am EXTREMELY disappointed.I had a Crosley 302 Wall Phone that I bought years ago. My children who were not quite tall enough to reach the receiver; repeated dropped the phone receiver (even in a dog dish full of water) and it still worked. We had to super glue, screw and tape it back together. Until a recent (November 2012) power outage we discovered it no longer worked. I was bummed. I loved that phone. So, on Christmas I ordered myself a NEW Crosley 302 wall phone. Merry Christmas to me!But it is just NOT the same.Here's is why:1) The CORD is really short. We could reach any room downstairs with the old cord, VERY LONG, had to be at least 6 ft relaxed. It hung to the floor. This cord is only 2 ft long. I can't do anything but stand next to the phone.2) This one is much lighter, doesn't feel substantial. The receiver is lighter (feels cheap). The 1st phone really felt like an "OLD" phone, this is definitely a reproduction and a cheap one.3) It sounds like the person you are talking to on the other end is in a tunnel. And it intermittently becomes faint then loud.4) The last straw....Today, I tried to Dial out. I rarely use this phone for calling out, I usually use the cordless, but the battery was dead. You know what?! I can't dial out. The Number pad doesn't work.On my 1st try it recognized the first TWO numbers, but then nothing else.On my 2nd attempt it recognized ZERO numbers.On the 3rd attempt only ONE number.So I thought maybe it is Phone jack....maybe....I tried 2 other jacks in the house. Still doesn't work.So needless to say I HATE this phone. It is a cheaper version on my original phone and it doesn't work.Problem is...can I return it? Is it too late? It is a defect or are they all junk?

I guess I wasn't real surprised when I opened the box - it's a cheap made in China (what isn't) plastic reproduction. It is 100% plastic, except for a few minor parts. The buttons are all mounted crooked, the button in the middle is crooked, all in all not very impressive construction. I totally believe the reviews that say it broke after a few weeks or months - it feels cheap when you use it like it probably will just die one day.However, it looks really cool as long as you don't get too close to it, and the ringer was a surprise: it is a real bell ringer just like "old" phones. Given the overall cheap quality of the phone I would have expected an electronic fake bell tone ringer, so they surpised me on this one.The sound quality is also pretty decent - none of the static that some have mentioned.All in all, I'm pretty happy with it, because I wanted a fun nostalgic phone, and that it is. I just wish somebody made a more substantial (i.e. metal) phone with a little attention to detail in assembly - I would be willing to pay twice the price of this phone for a quality one.Also, if you purchase this phone, consider it a disposable item. The manufacturer's warranty says you must send it back to them postage-prepaid, and include $19.95 for return shipping. Assuming you have to go out and buy shipping materials (unless you keep the original boxes), pay for shipping plus their $19.95 fee, it will probably just cost a few dollars more to buy a new one, with a lot less time and hassle required. I'm sure they have this in mind when they charge you $19.95 for $5 worth of postage! Lousy warranty for a product that will probably fail...but it does look cool!Update (1/26/2011): I discovered you can actually buy a refurbished original phone - the actual one that this reproduction is modeled after (Northern Electric Model 354). Just google "antique and vintage phones" and see what comes up. So the bad news is it costs 5 times as much, but the quality is way, way better. It also has a "real" dialer, not push buttons that looks like a dialer - I suppose you could view this as a positive or a negative, but I would prefer to have an old phone that actually works like an old phone.