Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums Online Auctions, eBay Craigslist Petroliana I give up trying to get sellers to be honest!

There was just a thread on here about no Pure Oil pump plates were ever round. Today I saw this and was amazed that a $19.00 sign was selling for $119.00 so I attempted to see what the seller would do.....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380527572926&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:US:1123

e-bay #380527572926

My message....THIS IS NOT A VINTAGE PORCELAIN PURE OIL SIGN. THEY NEVER EVER MADE A ROUND PUMP PLATE LIKE THIS SO PLEASE FOR THE SAKE OF THE COLLECTORS MARKET DO YOUR HOMEWORK BEFORE PUTTING SOMETHING FOR SALE. ALL PURE OIL PUMP PLATES WERE SQUARE AND THE SMALLEST PURE OIL ROUND SIGN WAS 15" IN DIAMETER. THANK
YOU, MIKE.

Sellers response....Hi Mike, Thanks for your email. I am always interested in receiving more information about an item. I, myself, have an extensive oil/gas collection of both original and reproduction items. I have seen many items that make it impossible to tell if original or reproduced, even dated ones, which makes for a very precarious hobby indeed. This pump plate was presented as found, from a sign dealer in PA, who told me he took it off an old Wayne pump, and did not know the age. It was listed online as vintage, because of the style of the grommets, believing them to be at least 20 years old (vintage is classified as 20+ years old for an item). It was not represented as original, nor as being dated; just listed it for being what it is, and what was known about it. Many pictures were supplied, with the information known about the item, and it is up to the buyer to make an educated decision about the signs' value. Thanks for visiting my auctions, and for the information supplied....have a great weekend!Regards, Bill

he's also got this ebay # 160931878680
MICHELIN MAN Bibendum Cast Iron "TIRE" Store Advertising Display Statue?..

"It was listed online as vintage, because of the style of the grommets, believing them to be at least 20 years old (vintage is classified as 20+ years old for an item)."

So a very minute part of a sign qualifies it for vintage status even though the other 99% screams repop? Looks like I've been going about this collecting thing all wrong. I'm heading down to Auto Zone in the morning to buy up all the quarts of oil I can afford and post them on Ebay as vintage, seeing how the oil inside the containers is half a million years old.
Ken

The word Vintage is used in such a way to mislead potential bidders; this is done with the added story of the Wayne gas pump (There is no date on the sign, but it came off an old Wayne Gas Pump in Pennsylvania). Just list the sign with the measurements and good pictures and let the potential bidders decide for themselves with out the "BUZZ" words or story of an old gas pump. Sounds like maybe he got taken when he purchased the sign and is now trying to recoup his loss! This repop thing is getting out of hand!

What's the greater evil the repop signs or the dishonest people that peddle them with their shady descriptions?

Both are equally detrimental.

What kills me are the people selling fake ***** at antique malls and getting away with it. Some joker sold another fake red crown globe last week in a mall by me for $898 bucks. The base was NOT threaded with the collar and the color was way off. People just get wrapped up in the picker frenzy and spend it all without thinking China. We're not sure which end of a baseball bat they hit with, but if going to baseball games is popular right now, we're there no matter how much it costs! Have fun hunting, Goober

i think now matter how much you want u cant change evilbay or the people on there imo if there to stupid to pay attention to what they bid on then so be it end of story. an no it don't make it ok for shady sellers to rip others off but ebay is more intrested in making a buck they don't give a rats a** about anything on there as long as they can get every buck from you thru there site an rip u off on paypal this is y i quit selling there cuz there policy's are 1 sided an unfair

Here is his new listing with the same wording...

160938955151

Needs more Christmas spending money. It's a business for them, this is how these crooks supplement their incomes.

This is stupid!

160938955151

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160938955151&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123

In ANY collecting field be it petro ,Gi Joe,antique glassware...You think (before laying out big bucks) you would talk to collectors or read up at least on items in that field. Unlike the early 90s theres a ton of great books out there on Petro..There is no excuse.

I agree a little with Keystone. Tons of books, websites like this, and people to talk to before purchasing an item of high value for collection or other reasons. However, it does not excuse the scumbags that continuosly sell repop junk as "vintage or original" to buyers that mostly are buying because of what they learned on TV. I DO NOT sell reproduction signs, but I would be lying if I told you I wasn't getting a premium for signs out of my antique booth. People are sign crazy right now because of TV shows like Pickers, so instead of complaining about it, I will use it to my advantage. My father and I just sold a load of stuff to a guy and I told him three times atleast that he was paying top dollar. He didn't listen and he has had the same signs on ebay 2 or 3 times now. Even after I told him this, he still knew more than me and was going to skin me and make money off of it. So this is a little reason why I agree with Keystone.