Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Why Don't More People Post ?

Watching recent discussions on the various forums around here I have come to the conclusion that far too few members originate post with the objective of starting a discussion that can be enjoyed by veterans and newcomers alike . I think more such positive post might possible generate more involvement and participation by all members of the hobby.

I've tried to do my part with post I thought would generate good,constructive discussions. You have seen them, at times I was successful , IMO, at other times I have failed. I'm wondering why more veterans and beginners alike don't post more topics of general interest. Veterans ? Just tired of it ? Can't think of something you may have to defend ? Beginners ? Afraid to ? Why ? There are no dumb questions , only dumb answers . I think it has been demonstrated someone will step in if you are belittled because of lack of knowledge.
I make this post in hope that we as a group can promote this site which I firmly believe will promote the hobby as a whole . Thank you.

I agree! Good post!

I guess I qualify as a Veteran (a Korean Vet) but for almost 20 years I have been answering questions posted here, but it seems that the same question keeps being asked. What is this, what is this worth, what are the paint codes for the ABC oil company, all these questions have been asked 100s of times, and they are in our archives. I think Jim should have a David Letterman section for the 10 most asked questions on this website. I think good healthy diologe is good, but most of the time I just don't want to answer a question I have answered many time before.

As for a lack of knowledge, I have always believed that research is the best way to attain knowledge, but this has changed, no one wants to look anything up, most people don't want to buy a book, they just want to come on a website and post a question and expect an answer.

Don’t ever write a book, if you do, every museum, every whatever, thinks they can send me an email telling me about this item that their grandfather had since the creation of time has just been discovered and they want info. about it. I try and help as many as I can, but if they ask those magic words, what is this worth, I automatically delete it. I remember, 15 years ago when I wrote the first air meter book, I wrote to a library about info on a air meter company that was once in their town. They wrote back, that if I would send them $35.00 research fee, they would give me any info. they found on the company.
I have learned over the years to not step out of the area I know most about, I don't know globes, signs or cans, so I don't have any opinions or answers about them, but since I do have 41 file drawers filled with gas pump literature, I do not expect criotizm about something I say about gas pumps or air meters.
I could start a ton of topics here, but they would be taken as self serving, it is better to respond to good discussions that do appear here. What do you want besides "What is the value of this?"
Just a Vet expression his opinion.

Jack Sim

one of the BIGGEST reasons is the Veterans started years ago collecting ORIGINAL items, They met others that collected the same and would meet at the few shows that popped up. Then this site shows up and all was going great being able to talk to others about ORIGINAL items they found or have.

Fast forward to what it is like now, There seems to be more interest in REPRODUCTION Junk, Rare Globes and Signs are being Re-Popped and openly made and sold by "Members" on this site, The Site that was once about collecting ORIGINAL GAS STATION MEMORABILIA.

If a Veteran steps up and says anything he is attacked by NEWCOMERS and Others that relate all 12" reproduction Andy Rooney signs and Reproduction Globes to original Socony/Texaco/Shell signs, and see no difference in having an Original Musgo globe or a Fantasy Musgo globe.

A lot of Veterans/Members are sick of it and are just sitting back and watching all the Decorators fight over rusted out condition 4 signs that sellers think are the holy grail and priced at condition 8 signs, And having to sit thru pages of a discussion on whether 12" x 18" texaco sign dated 1995 is a reproduction or not.

AND did I mention that I for 1 Hate reproductions and Hate the FACT of what they did to this hobby, They ruined the Hobby of collecting and preserving ORIGINAL Gas Station Items, What it is now is more of a Decorators Paradise.

These are my thoughts and opinions and this Hobby is slowly Boring the hell out of me.

Octane, I'm speaking for myself here . Yes , Me only . I post and I USED to post regularly . However , I'm not in the business of VALUATING OTHER PEOPLES COLLECTIONS . I got into this hobby well before most of you here ever thought to do so . This forum has become an extension of e- bay . In the words of Michael Savage , radio show host - "THATS ALL " .......... Ed Shaver

Good Morning all. Home sick from work and thought i might take some time to add my thoughts to this discussion. My position certainly is put forth from the position of a newcomer, having only found this site last year and having browsed it everyday, yet not really having posted too awful much. When I have posted, I have certainly committed all of the sins that rightfully would and apparently do frustrate alot of veterans who are tired of reading the same old stuff. I have asked for values and I too have posted requesting to buy "decorations" as opposed to "originals". I have also posted and emailed members privately with respect to original items I have hoped to somehow purchase. In all cases, i have been treated with kindness and courtesy and am appreciative of it. My intent here is to hopefully put forth where the frustration lies within this hobby for newcomers and hopefully to ask for some indulgence and patience from some of the vets who grow frustrated with us. First off, there is nothing more that I would seek, as well as other newbies i am sure, than to stay clearly away from reproductions and only purchase originals. The small amount of original stuff i do have gets far more of my admiration than the reproduction stuff I have gathered. Where the problem lies is that having spent alot of my money on restoring an old truck, as well as trying to put food on my table in tough economic times, i simply do not have the funds to spend $2000+ on an original Ford/Benzol Globe. Add to that, as a newbie with no experience and being new to this hobby, I would be afraid to spend that kind of money on something I dont for sure is real. It is not that us newbies want to be decorators, it is just that some of us have limited funds and are gun shy to pull the trigger on something claimed to be original when it does come up. So, i visit here and I ask value questions, privately email members and I peruse the "for sale" section here as opposed to ebay or somewhere else, because I feel that people on here, especially veterans, would have the honesty and policing from other members to put forth a description and pricing that is exactly what it is claimed to be, even if i cant currently afford to buy that original. I appreciate that greatly. So, thanks. I can only say that at least if I purchase something that is a reproduction, i can take heart in the fact that I got what I paid for and can sleep at night knowing I didnt get ripped off, if that makes sense as to why some of us are currently "decorating" when we desperately would rather have an original.
Vets, please remain patient with me/us. I have purchased books and am trying to educate myself and have certainly looked through the past posts for some of my answers. Unfortunately, from my experience, the past postings must, after a certain period of time, eliminate photos within the posting after that longer period of time and when trying to determine what is fake/real, that hinders us greatly and we tend to have to rely on the answers from you to questions that would appear repetitive and boring. Anyway, from my perspective, there is alot to be wary of in this hobby and sadly, with the pricing of originals, along with the amount of fraud between originals and repops, alot of us newbies will never be able to fully become veterans capable of helping anyone else because the times have changed from whence you current veterans entered the hobby. I am fairly certain, because of what I have tried to convey earlier in my posting, that I will never have a garage full of originals and some of you vets might say having one original is better than 100 repops, but in this world of shady characters, who is to say that the one original is truly an original. I would rather have 100 repops than a fake $2000 globe put forth as an original. Thus i will continue to visit here and rely on your advice and your expertise and hope that your frustration wont chase us away. Thanks for your time.

I walk away from this site regularly because of the excuses new people throw forth.

(I am a snob! I'm the first to admit it. I still think that anyone in the hobby, who has been collecting for less than 2 decades+ is a newby. I don't claim to be an expert on any portion of this hobby. I don't give out values, just to see my name in print, as some seem to do. I AM A ROYAL PAIN IN THE *****. I know this, and accept this obvious flaw in character.)

A good portion of the older more experience members of this collecting society are just as much on a "budget" as any new collector, if not more so. Some of us have hospital bills, that make our wallets and insurance companies scream for relief, I can personally attest to this fact.

The BIGGEST DIFFERENCE between the 2 is; the experienced collector will save, trade, hunt, research and be picky about the items he collects. The new collector will pick up 10 barn hangers at $50-$100 ea instead of a few good signs at $250-$500 ea. Will buy repop globes for $xxx instead of saving for originals at $xxx-$xxxx and then give the excuse that the original is too expensive. (the object is to collect the best items possible, not the most items possible)

I can say with certainty that I have been in this hobby, before 99.9999% of all the Oldgas members and 90%+ of those in the hobby today (1965). I learned about most of the important aspects of the hobby from one of the "pioneers" of the hobby, my father who started collecting items in the 40s. He started trading and selling items after coming back from Korea.

When he started and later as an 11 year old when I started, there was NO internet, NO books on the hobby, NO shows, NO network of Collectors.... I collected, bought, sold and traded for other gas and oil items. Depending on myself, to ensure I wasn't taken or cheated.... The new collector now, should use some of those same techniques, instead of relying on the OPINIONS of anonymous people behind a keyboard and computer screen.

I must admit that in the early 60s people paid us to haul away, pumps, signs, globes and smalls... When I went into the service we traded items. Even in 'Nam there were "Gas and Oil" items on the walls of some of the rec centers and individual hooches. There was also a pretty good black market of repop items that was growing....

If it was "Classic Americanism"; there has always been a market. My dad related to me that repops were found in Korea and Japan during the Korean War. I saw them myself during 'Nam and when I can back to the states in the early 70s I saw them in the large on base Post Exchanges.

Yes there are more repops than ever now. And yes, at times experienced collectors get sucked in. But at a much fewer rate than new people, because we ask.... We don't jump on an item until we are sure and ready. Do we miss items because of this, YES. Do we have regrets at times because we didn't pull the trigger, YES. Do we have regrets because we pulled the trigger TOO FAST..... not so much.

Let me tell the new collectors a little secret; A real collector will be MUCH more impressed with your collection if it is even 1 original good looking item, than a mansion of repops. And if you are honest with yourself, you will be too!!! So quit buying the repops and bang hangers. (Now occasionally, one will find a barn hanger that really,really,really,really ... calls to them! Snap that one up in a heart-beat, but make sure it really calls to you. Don't just buy it because you have the money burning a hole in your pocket....LOL) Start saving and do some research, then buy the best items you can afford. You will be happier, your spouse will be happier and bottomline your wallet will be happier.

As one of the new younger members on this site I have learned a lot from many of the helpful collectors on here. When I first started posting I asked several value questions on items i could not find by doing research. I feel the best decision a new collector could make is to do your research before buying anything. Education in any hobby is critical especially with all of the reproduction items out there. Like I have said in previous posts the decorator repros do not hurt the hobby in my opinion. Would I even buy a reproduction sign? No, nowthat I am sort of educated in this hobby I know what I want and most of the time I know what to look for. I feel that certain items can be reproduced for the mere fact of making items "look" period correct. I know and feel the enjoyment of the hobby for me is finding original great condition items. An interesting topic came up about the Firestone lenses that may be produced. As a strong advocate against certain repros and a Firestone collector I feel this repro is not as bad as some people put it out to be. If I had the original globe would I be mad.....absolutely NOT. A big part of the hobby is enjoyment and why would I want to limit a persons enjoyment over a globe that is seldom seen. Would you want to put a real globe that is as rare as this one outside on a pump? What I am trying to say is certain items can be reproduced for the fact of enjoyment and making an item complete. I am sure many people on this site do not like the comments I make, but I say what is on my mind and am straight up. I feel that many people are not posting due to the mere fact they do not like what they are seeing. I agree there are many dumb questions that have been asked. As Rick pointed out if you have to ask if a fire chief pump plate is real that is dated 1995 your in the wrong hobby. If the older generation does not help guide the new serious collectors, there will be no hobby in the future. The value forum is a great tool if used correctly. Asking about common items which can easily be found by doing a simple search is a waste of time and the people asking these questions are lazy. I post and sometimes give my opinion without knowing who I am dealing with. We are all here to elp each other and learn, but some collectors are just fed up with the repetitive questions which I do not blame them.

Point well taken.

The reason we/I stop posting is well represented above. When you ask the original question..." is a 1995 texaco pump plate a repop pump plate, or it just a sign?" You get crucified. To make my point, that was months ago and they still can't let it go. Everyone here knows I am not a expert, just a picker.
Like the original post reads, "There are no dumb questions , only dumb answers."
Every once in a while, I come here and read. Nothing has changed.
NOW, this can be deleted, or left up so the discussion can continue... xo

As a web based community I would think questions about value, rarity, is my item a repop, how do I collect this or repair that, should absolutely be encouraged and welcomed here.

KZ1000, You wrote pretty much same thing i am thinking.

Lonnie Hop did an article years ago in PCM about collecting on a budget and how you could build a nice collection with little money. Maybe Lonnie could do that article on oldgas for all the new guys to read. They didn't just come up with this but put it into reality.

As a newbie I try to be careful what I post. I try to ask value questions as little as possible but while I appreciate how well run this forum is I feel the search engine for it is lacking. Thus I am sometimes forced to ask for a value because it would bother me to find out I got ripped off. I think Ohio Oil brings up a great point, a lot of the veterans are from a different era than us newbies, we are more comfortable with the internet and rely on it (maybe too heavily, thats an opinion for each person to decide). I enjoy this forum and most of the members are great and I have learned a lot here but I sometimes feel like the veterans shut out the newbies. I feel like if a veteran asks a question tons of people will chime in but if one of us newbies ask it is cricket city.

One thing I have noticed, and am guilty of myself, is that any forum listid in the "For Sale" section, has hundreds of views, and often many responses, within a very short period of time. Forums listed under the General, or Value section however, often get very little attention. I will be making a commitment, and hope others will also, to follow the other forums just as close as I do the "for sale", and to give whatever little knowledge or assistance I can offer.
James

* The new guys getting started, and don't know much yet, can become the next generation of collectors who might buy your nice original stuff when you want to sell later on. Why treat them like they should become instant veterans or else go away?

* Unmarked repros scare all of us, especially the new collector who wants to know the difference and hasn't the experience or resources. The unmarked repros will evolve to get closer to original. We all have to network together to stay on top of the situation.