Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion looking for a current value book on petroliana

i know prices change but looking for the most current petroliana value guide just looking to have a idea what some things are worth

Mark, there isn't one . It's been mentioned here on this forum several times , price guides in print are obsolete well before they ever hit book stores . My advice is to watch the auctions . Ed Shaver

Ed, hit it on the head. You can go to sites like Matthews auctions and look at his past auctions and it helps out a lot.

Books won't help you at all, for values. You can see lots of different signs, in peoples collections. Auctions will give you a price guide for that particular day. But like new cars, the prices goes up every year............... Wouldn't hurt to go to some shows.

Write-in current prices [& condition] to books you have. Most value books are worthless for Re-Sale.

i'm only 37 yrs old there is alot of stuff ive never seen before just trying to learn more and not pass up anything i dont know about

I buy what I like and pay what I feel it is worth. I don't get involved with what others say something is worth. Unless you are buying for resale or investment.

The books may be outdated, but they've helped me identify gas pumps and the years they were made. I'm glad I have the old guides and their fun just to flip through the pages and look at all the different styles of gas pumps over the years.

Marky,

As has been said, book values are often outdated even before they are printed. Right now advertising signage is on the upswing in value so pretty much any values you see in a book become just a single valuation point. At some future point today's high value signs may only bring 50% or less.

Look on eBay, on sites like Liveauctioneers, Kovels, and any number of other sources online to get current figures.

For identification purposes there are many books available, look in the Oldgas bookstore and don't overlook sign shows for old books you can add for researching authenticity. There is no compendium of all signs, and that's where personal knowledge and intuition has to come into play in purchasing and/or selling them.

I have this same issue with toys I run across, so I don't pass up even old books & catalogs when reasonably priced to add to my library. I recently bought 2 pedal car books whose valuations from the 80's and 90's are off both high and low as the tastes of the market have changed. But for research & identification they give me a point at which to start.

Good hunting!