Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Crazy prices where is the hobby going?

Maybe I've been in the hobby too long...I just can't keep up with it anymore. The prices of the items I'm seeing lately boggles my mind. I left a bid on a Gold and Red Crown with an auctioneer a few weeks back. The Gold Crown went for $1200, almost triple retail, the Red Crown went for $1100! Skelly globes last week went for $500 to $800 each at another auction. I can barely get $400 each on my well visited web site. Just got off eBay saw a SINGLE SIDED Phillips 66 globe already at $560 with 5 days left??? They are barely worth that complete. Saw an Eco Air Meter listed at $3750 yea it's restored with a phony little $25 Texaco globe on top of it. That may not sell but wow??? Saw a Wayne 60 offered at $12000? OK want to buy my Sinclair collection anyone? First $500,000 takes it I'll deliver!!! Maybe I should ask more???? Scott B.

A friend of mine was telling me the other day of a late 60s stainless pump of some sort , not even a ad glass , that sold for $ 600. 00 at a farm auction? Good for the seller I guess. Can't make sense of it..... Don't scrap the stainless ones!

tbuckles just Scraped a full roll off tub of SS pumps!

An auction is NOT the place to compare prices. An auction price will run anywhere from actual value to double, triple or what have you, never will you find a GOOD deal at an auction unless it's something you just have to have and will pay anything for it.

Well said Ray. I completely agree that auctions are just flat out ridiculous.

The thing that makes me sick is seeing signs in eBay listed for 3x retail or signs that are half missing or rusted straight through and people are asking ridiculous prices..it's a shame for us who actually want to collect.

People can ask whatever they want...it does not mean they will get it....an item is worth only what someone is willing to pay for it on the day you sell it....I have never and will never use auction prices to judge the value on an item. It only takes two to tango at an auction....the shill and the uneducated buyer.

Doesn't take a shill at many auctions.The true bidders usually run each other past reality!It happens honestly many many times!

Depends on the auction and the item. I have gotten many many great deals at auction. I have also seen some ridiculous high prices. That being said, I'm with you Scott on trying to keep up with the baffling and volatile prices of Petroliania. Really signs in general seem to go crazy high at most auctions. I've gone up to the back bidder and offered an identical item for their last bid and been dusted off.Auction fever. People get competitive or something at auctions.

i went to a local auction that had a few signs and globes and the stuff went for 2-3x what i felt it was worth, but there are alot of people that do this full time soo they throw out the high prices with a best offer just makes me work harder.

What is retail? I mean in a hobby, who determines what is referred to as "retail pricing"? Is everybody's idea of what retail is on any given item the same? Who sets the price. Where do I go to buy "Retail" priced signs? Do I go to a gas show? Do I go to a place like Grandpa's Garage, after all, that's a retail store? In this business, as in most collectible hobbies, there really is no "Retail" pricing, just collector pricing, and the only determining factor is what collectors are willing to pay, and right now, there are a lot of new collectors, and a lot of buzz within the hobby, due to things like "Pickers" and "Ebay". So to see high prices does not make them overpriced, it means that there are a lot more collectors out there willing to pay more to add to their collection.

I think this is the same discussion we had a few days ago regarding pumps. What Indygas6 is saying is what I was getting at in that thread. The reason prices on this stuff are going up so fast is because a lot more people want it and don't mind to pay for an item if it is right at hand and what they want. If there is a wholesale and a retail, the two are only separated by who finds the best buys and their ability to market it to those who are less ambitious in the hunt. I have always been befuddled at the pricing of signs. There is really no guideline out there from which to base a value. It's almost like the higher an item is priced, the more it must be worth! Globes are usually based on the PCM book/cd but as of late that in itself has become only a starting point because a large portion of the market has never even heard of the thing. I think that the market is the same as its always been, just growing in popularity a lot faster than we ever thought it would which makes the values of everything grow all that much faster. A Dino may not be worth much today, but just give it a few years and you will wish you had bought all of them you could afford.....and at the rate it's going that may not be as far in the future as you'd like to think.

I stopped selling my better pumps because I do not want to afford paying what it would cost to replace them. When I feel like I am done with this stuff well that is a different story I will sit back and let others buy it.

Rob

As a collector of neon and regular signs I can say the prices are getting higher it seems monthly.
I have seen barn hangers latley going for 7 or 8 hundrer and nice 6 footers for up to $3000.
I have been guilty of paying some of these high prices for things I really want so mabey I'm part of the problem. As stated above there are things that were cheap and plentiful a year ago that now are I feel to high. I have learned to buy what I find I like when I can knowing it will probably cost more if I wait. I'm afraid as demand goes up for quality stuff the sky may be the limit.

My primary decision to add an item to my collection is based on it's appeal to me. If it wow's me; I'm taking it home. The price is secondary, it (the item) has already convinced me to buy it. At that point the price doesn't matter.

I think a better way to look at this is; What about all the items you already have? They have appreciated considerably. Think of all the equity you have there...now go ahead and spend some of that new found wealth!

Great point Dave.

On that note, we have two large rooms filled with country store items. Signs, tins, seed counters, sales counters,you name it, some great stuff. Probably 90 percent of it was bought towards the late 90s-when it was quite popular and before this gas stuff really caught fire. We would justify some purchases as "Money in the bank" Most of that has softened. I would say most of the items that we paid retail for at the time would not bring what was spent on it. I still really enjoy the stuff so we'll just see if it comes back some after this Petro craze evens off some.
Also,another area that seems tough to buy @ auctions is the Farm feed and equipment advertising. Even though I'm talking out of my rear end here, all I can say is there must be pretty good money in farming.lol

I have found that for the most part there is always another. If you don't like the price , be patient another will come at the price you like.

I like auctions, one day they can't give the stuff away, another it goes for crazy money. If you are patient you are at the auction on the day that they can't give it away.

It helps to be diverse in what you buy. I was at an auction one night and watched a fake Mobil pump plate go for a grand. The next item that came up was a Tiger Crane sign. I was the only bidder and took it home for a song. I thought these bidders must still be in shock. Too much entertainment watching the fake pump plate sell that they missed the real deal.

I have found there are always deals out there. You just have to find them. At shows you might see five of the same item. All priced different. The items that are priced right get sold. The over priced items you see again next year and the year after and after.

Always wanted a light tower for a fire box. There was a guy from NY that came to the Hershey car show every year that had one. For about ten years I saw this light pole, made a reasonable offer on it many times. I am sure he still has his museum piece. For a third more then he was asking I bought a whole pole, pole box and light tower. I bought it at an antique show for a quarter the price of the only other one at the show.

All it takes is patients and taking the time to get out there and look.

All the points above are well said. Pricing has become "Whatever the person will pay for it," in many cases. I sell a lot and try to set fair prices. Many collectors, especially ones outside our hobby, just want some part of it and will pay dearly for that piece. They don't want to collect everything, just a few pieces and either price doesn't matter or they haven't taken the time to educate themselves. When I see a collector spend $800 on a piece of beat up junk and another $200 will get them a really good piece that just baffles me. But those type of people seem endless. Scott B.

It's all a *****-shoot. And we'll keep on rollin' 'em.
I can't believe One cannot use the word *****

I know Dave. What the hell!

Just remember auctions are the oldest method of marketing, all the price guides on anything and everything are based on average prices paid at auctions.
I do agree, prices do many times seem to be pretty crazy. I thought Carlisle and Hershey prices were really out there this year.
But, it is only worth what someone is willing to pay.

Prices have skyrocketed, and it is a sellers market instead of a buyers market. That means either you wait until the piece you want drops to your price or you step up and get it now rather than in a year or two. There is a finite amount to collect of the best of the best, which leaves the rest of the so-so on the market to absorb the money floating around. Much like the advise you hear about the stock market... if you're in for the long haul you'll do better than the fly-by-nite buyer.

The smart money is to stay informed on the changing market, so that rough Texaco you paid $200 for can be turned into $600 you can put toward a better piece. Even as a picker, I have a fairness philosophy that doesn't allow me to ask $1000 for a sign I don't rightly feel is worth more than $400-500. There are plenty of unscrupulous pickers who will happily dupe the newbies into buying a dog-ear SSP Gulf for $1000, I just can't do it. I don't believe it's worth my reputation with my buyers.

On the subject of auctions, don't go if you can't set and stick to a maximum for even your most desired pieces. Unless it's a "mona lisa" class item you're doing your future auction buying prospects a disservice.

Guys i went to a auction today here in nebraska and they had over 100 seed signs and a few gas signs. They all went around 4-7 times more then what you can buy them on ebay for. Oil cans, normal ones i would pay 2-5 dollars for were all going over 20 dollars a quart can
Who ever turned the switch on please turn it off

Its called Auction Fever with Weekend warriors.

It's not a switch it floodgates and they're wide open. Somebody shut em.

Has anyone else noticed that most complainers in this thread are flippers/peddlers of the stuff we collect?
ROTFLMAO

. Well said . Lot of them even in the rural areas .

. Db , I promise to complain more , if you sell me that pretty shell trio for a pickers price? Lol You could ship Monday? I like it ,I like it a lot!

I am not a flipper, but still complain. Stuff comes and goes DB.

Your #846 on list for that.

Sounds great , don't loose the list! Db. I am starting to like shell now.... Oh my the sickness is spreading ! But my wallet isn't growing cause the wife has it ! Ha