Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Handy Oilers

Hopefully the experts here will pass on some of their expertise on handy oilers. First of all I just started collecting them in the last month and thanks to My great friend Doug(BlackT) I have some excellent Texaco items. That being said, am I missing something? I was watching a Hess handy oiler, lost interest once it hit $30. Just checked and it went for $57+. Are they that rare? I spent most of my money on lawyers and Drs and was looking for an inexpensive collectable. Have I made a mistake? LOL Really though, is $57 a true price for a handy oiler? (Now a Flying A oiler, I could see, but Hess????) Any help is appreciated, it sucks knowing nothing... lol

There are a lot of the newer plastic topped handy oilers that sell at the shows and on eBay for a few bucks. The lead spouts are normally older. There were rectangular ones, round ones, ovals, shorts and talls. Also some glass ones and you can add in the lighter fluid cans too. There are two handy oiler books out by Moncrief titled "Got a drop of oil" Good books. Some rare, hard to find oilers will sell for a couple hundred $$.

Bob, years back exc. condition Hess oilers could bring $100., but price has come down due to availability on internet. Hess product cans tend to show humidity spotting etc, so when a nice example surfaces, collectors will pay.
I have a spare Hess oiler to trade for one I don't already have.

I know 2 guy's that would pay almost anything for a not so nice POWER-LUBE or DENVER POWERINE Household or Lighter Fluid oiler !
LOL

I would go $100+ for a Billups

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Paddy
WTB Billups, Ride with Rose, Spar, Canal, Gulf Coast, and Galtex gas and Oil related items.

Thanks guys for the "heads up" on these oilers. Wes, I do have one of the "Got a Drop..." books. My price sheet with the book is at least 5 years old and I didn't check the book. But even then I wouldn't have imagine how rare the Hess oilers are. Thanks again for the info.

Years ago I was looking for something to collect. Because I live in a house that has no basement or attic, and is less than 1200 sq. ft. in size, it had to be small. Every year that I went to CTO at Columbus and Iowa Gas I would walk the rows looking for gas pump literature, but I also, without asking anyone, was looking for handy oilers. Back in the 1980s, I would ask the value of a certain can, but then would ask, "What do you want for the whole box?".
Show after show, I came home with boxes of handy oilers. Naturally, my wife would ask what the hell was I going to do with all those cans. I kept putting them in the garage.

I had actually predicted a collectible.

I can't remember the correct year, it was probably around 2000, we decided, that since we couldn't display all the cans we had, and it seemed that the handy oilers were peaking, we decided to sell.
We rented a room at the hotel across from the Holiday Inn, at Des Moines. One of the large rooms, told them to take everything out but the bed and the TV. Rented some tables from the hotel and set up all the handy oilers we had. After we had them set up, we had over 600 different cans, and over 800 total cans for sale.
It was to be a two day sale, the first day I passed out flyers telling about the sale. The room would open at 7:00 p.m., no discounts the first night, 20% the next night.
Well, at 6:00 p.m. the first night I looked out the hole in the door and there was a line down the hall.
I opened the door at 7:00 and everyone rushed in. The highest price can I had was as green Texaco, and it went for $450.00. Many cans worth $200 to $400 went fast. By the end of the night we had done over $4000. Did the same thing the next night, with the 20% discount and did another $3000.
All this coming from buying boxes of handy oilers.
This actually is only a story, the question is, did handy oilers peak in 2000? Did I sell them too soon? Are handy oilers continuing to climb in value? Has Ebay done anything to effect the value of handy oilers? Let's have your opinions, because your opinions, when it comes to ebay will reflect your opinion as to how Ebay has made effect not only on handy-oilers, but other petroliana collectibles.
My opinion on Ebay (as a buyer) is that they have brought out of the boonies many items that I would have never seen at any gas show. I have been able to purchase many pieces of literature that I would have not been able to, no matter how many gas shows I went to.
On the other hand, Ebay, because they have have brought out all that stuff from the boonies, has lowerd the price of may items.
An example: Back in the 70s before Ebay I found a collection of National Geographics Magazines, 1911 to 1960. I paid a fair price for the collection and sold them through the newspaper for a very good profit. Now to explain, no one ever threw away a National Geographic magazine, they were put down in the basement. When Ebay came alone, everyone who had a collection in the basement put them on ebay. Magazines that I sold for $10.00 to $20.00 each, now were selling on ebay for $1.00 each, and many of them were going unsold.
So, what am I trying to say. Knowledge is the thing, try and know what handy oilers are selling for. You will never learn what a particular part of this hobby is selling for, if first you don't have reference literature, and second if you don't want to specialize. If you are going to collect handy oilers, learn everything you can about them, buy the books, ask everyone what he wants for a peticular oiler.

I know many of you will not agree with me, but look at what you call a collection. Is it actually a collection or is a accumulation. I don't disagree with you having an accumlation, but do you really have a collection.
Having 500 signs, having 300+ 5 qt. oil cans, having over 600 different handy oiler, having over 41 file drawers filled with original gas pump liteature, trying to have every pump that a company made, having over 500 salt and pepper shakers, you know where I am going, this is as collection. Specializing is collecting.
I just received a great book from Dave Reynolds. He has taken it upon himself to not only collect Socony License Toppers, but he also wrote and printed a book about them.
Actually I am amazed, this is a very small part of a small hobby, and he has written a book about it. Besides writing the book, he has collected just about every license plate topper ever put out by Socony (Mobil), the ones in the shape of the pegasus. NOW THIS IS COLLECTING.
I didn't start out to say this, but if all possible, strive to leave a little piece of history so our future generations understand how we lived. Find something that interests you, reserch it, write somethng about if possible, collect it, preserve it, how else will anyone remember us.
Jack Sim




[This message has been edited by Jack Sim (edited 09-06-2008).]

Jack, I enjoyed your writting, Thank You for your thoughts, it has opened my eyes on are hobby. Thanks Cash & Cathy

Thanks for sharing your thoughts Jack.

Agree with you on the ebay situation. It indeed is a two edged sword. It has brought many items to me that I would have never found otherwise. Flip side: common stuff probably has decreased in value since ebay.

Maybe ebay has been the great equalizer and helped adjust values to where they should have been all along.

HEY BOB--- THE HESS HANDY OILER IS IN THAT RANGE FROM $30.00 TO $50.00... IT`S LIKE ANYTHING ELSE ,,IF YOU WANT IT BAD ENOUGH YOU`LL PAY TO GET IT... I COLLECT HANDY OILERS AND HAVE BEEN FOR ABOUT 20 YRS I HAVE OVER 1200 RIGHT NOW... MY MAIN OIL CO,IS FLYING -A-..I`M STILL LOOKING FOR 2 REAL BAD AND WILL PAY $100.00 TO $200.00 TO GET THEM ..YOU DON`T SEE A LOT OF HARD TO FIND ONES COME UP ON E-BAY AND WHEN THEY DO THEY GO HIGH..IT`S JUST LIKE GLOBES=SIGNS PUMPS.IF YOU WANT IT BAD YOU`LL PAY TO GET IT.....YOU NEED TO GET THE 2 HANDY OILERS BOOKS..THEY WILL HELP YOU A LOT WITH WHAT`S OUT THERE AND PRICE..IFYOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS E-MAIL ME AND I WILL TRY TO HELP YOU..I HAVE A FEW EXTRA ONES RIGHT NOW FOR SALE..I HAVEN`T LISTED THEM ON THIS SITE BECAUSE THEIR`S MORE GUYS COLLECTING PUMPS =GLOBES= SIGNS...TXS ALAN

Very insightful words Jack.
On remembering the wooden case of NOS 12 Texaco oilers that recently sold for $5000.00 at Peotone,I'd say this nitch of the hobby is still going strong.

Jack, your insight was and is fantastic. I wonder how many are kicking themselves because they passed up such an opportunity. Thanks to all that have discussed this subject here and who contacted me by email. All help is greatly appreciated and much needed. Alan, I sent you an email. After the Drs and hospital bills are caught up again,(spent 5 days in CCU this week) I just might have to loosen up the "purse strings". Thanks to Don(5Qt) and Doug(BlackT) in helping me add to my small collection.

One more thing, some handy oilers are fake/ repo/ fantasy items, just like signs. The paper label oilers are probably the easiest to fake but like almost everything else, if it is worth money, it may not be real.

O.K. I know this isn't the forum but maybe some of the you gentlemen with the large collections have one or know of one. Page 98 of book 2 of the afore mentioned books. I've been trying to find this Richfield lighter fluid tin to complete a packaged set. This serch is 2 years old now and I'm having the darndest time trying to find one. I need it in very nice shape, though. Thanks for any help, Dave.

I listed some handy oilers in the for sale section.

[This message has been edited by Alex (edited 09-07-2008).]