Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Why Do People Leave The Gas & oil Hobby

I'm not sure there is a simple answer to the question but I can tell you, after collecting for almost 25 years, I can't wait to get on this site every day. It's harder and harder to find real quality items, in my case signs, but they do come up and we have to pay more and more for them but the interesting thing to me is we are seeing more and more "junk" in the For Sale catagory but people, in many cases, they are selling anyway. Someone out there loves the damaged things.
One thing I've noticed, especially at the auction of my collection last year, is restored signs are not getting near what they were 3 years ago, only the good old original pieces.

Right with that thought.

Some valid points were made here. I've kept the peace by not naming people or pointing out certain examples, yet I still see the same games being played by the same people. I've contacted the Moderators and the Administrator, yet nothing is being done.

Now you know why Thunder is leaving the hobby!

Peace, out!

I think Aaron Hop has a pretty good grasp of the subject.

I haven't left the hobby but I'm not nearly as active in it as I used to be. I still enjoy collecting.

The "stuff" is cool, and the friendships are great. I get allot of enjoyment visiting with friends at the shows and auctions. I miss the friends that have left the hobby, and I've had a few friends in the hobby that have passed away. Some of my "collector" friends and I share other interests as well. Cars, racing, antiques,vintage tractors, even old iron bridges, and just every day stuff. If it weren't for those friends I probably would have left the hobby by now. I have way more stuff than I have room to display it, and I have other hobbies (ok, obsessions)to spend my time and money on.

If you would have told me 5 or 6 years ago that I'd curtail my involvement in the petro hobby I would have told you you were nuts. Things change. The proliferation of unmarked reproductions, and even reproductions in general have taken away allot of the enjoyment of the hobby for me and others. Not just because in many cases they hurt the value of the originals, but they take away the "wow" factor of the originals. I'll certainly never post pictures of any of my rare items on this or any other forum again.
I rarely visit this site anymore.
There are "I gotta have it now" repro guys that are unwilling to put the time, money and effort into collecting originals. These guys see a rare sign or globe and their first thought is I wonder if someone repops that? It never occurs to them to buy a real one and actually "collect" something of historical significance! I've heard all the arguments....they're too hard to find, cost too much... Get off your ***** and network with other collectors and you'll find where the real items are. Do some wheeling and dealing to better your financial position. Building a REAL collection takes time and effort. Buying a reproduction anything (other than restoration supplies) is not "collecting" It's "decorating". This site used to have allot of real collectors. Not so much anymore.
There are guys that won't go to the shows and network with collectors and dealers, but expect the veteran collectors to do their homework for them. You see these same guys asking the same questions about every item they find. It gets old.
The childish bickering between some of the regulars on here has driven away people as well. Yeah, we all know some guys are cry babies. To the cry babies...BE A MAN! Stop crying to the moderators!

I'm not leaving the hobby (or this site) but those are some of the reasons I'm not as active as I once was.

True words, and putting it like it is.

Thanks Bob, That is pretty much the what i would have wrote.

I have been on this site since 1999 to 2000 and have seen things change. Used to be some killer stuff posted even when it was very difficult to post pictures. There was no photobucket or imageshack to use.

Friends i have in the hobby are great friends and i have met them because of this website!
Everyone complains that gas shows are nothing like they used to be and that is true but, what you do during and after the shows make the shows worth going to even if you don't buy anything. Coming back from Peotone i can say i had a blast even if i hadn't bought a couple of cool globes!

I only jumped aboard because I wanted to spice up the garage.
A service station theme while I am building up a street rod. I wanted to make the time spent in the garage a little more enjoyable.

Air meter, gas pump and a few incidentals. I even went to my first swap meet, unfortunately the prices for these items blew me away.

I like the stuff but I may not get all the items I thought I would due to the cost. Just decoration to me but I wanted original pieces.

Several posts have been removed and this topic locked.

One of the biggest harmful influences for the hobby and for this forum is carrying a grudge. We have had members of this site suspended, put on probation and warned about unacceptable behavior stemming from grudges. A few people make retaliation more important than the hobby, their own reputation or even civil behavior.