Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Newbie needs advice

A lot of people are in this hobby to make money. They are after a deal, buy low so they can sell high. If he offered you $X and you said ok, that's bad on you if it was worth a lot more. If he said it was only worth $X when he knew it was in fact worth a lot more, bad on him. Like others have said, educate yourself as well as you can.


They always say, buyer beware. They should also say, seller beware.

try ebay its safe and lots of people looking.you can let the bidders tell you what its worth with a no reserve.or list with a reserve price,it'll cost you 13 percent of the gross but on the average you will make out ok .ebays good to price an item and also a search here is the best.

Look at this way,you have no investment in an inheritance,what ever you sell an item for is one hundred percent profit!! Bet you feel better now!!

So I have received a lot of great feedback on my situation and I thank you all for your advice. It sounds like a lot of you are curious as to how bad I was taken, if at all. The good news is I was somewhat smart going into the meeting in that I had a pretty good idea of what the "big ticket" items were and refused to sell any of those items, thus protecting myself from making a more costly mistake. The error on my part came in not realizing the fairly high values on some of the small tin signs. I have posted the photos I have of the exact items sold. Sorry some of the pics were just inventory pics that I went back and zoomed in on to post, some of which have obstructed views of the actual item in question. However the pics I have are of an original Evinrude sign, a Dodge Dart bank can, a prestone thermometer, and a Delco battery sign. Items not pictured that were in the deal are a Goodyear tire display(that held a tire and had a diamond shaped sign on the front), and two glass oil bottles that he said were generic or common ones with Mobil gargoyle spouts (AA or BB?, I don't remember), and two polarine metal bottle neck rings that say the oil weight on them. From my research, these items could go for up to $1000? I did appreciate his time and was willing to allow him to make a few bucks, after all that's what dealers do. And I do feel I may have gotten a somewhat fair price( after deducting what his experience was worth ) for a few items, the ones that stung a little as I mentioned were the Delco sign( that an old gasser said could go for 300-500) and I got 50 bucks, and the Evinrude sign( that I would think could go for a few hundred, correct me if I'm wrong) that I also got 50 for. To wrap things up, I got a total of 350 for all the items and in hearing from all of you and venting a little myself, I've realized I should be happy that it was only maybe a few hundred $ mistake and not a few thousand. I am glad to hear that there are more good guys than bad, and I will try to show my appreciation for those who are willing to help me. If you feel I've made a big deal out of nothing, I'm sorry but this collection was my fathers passion for 40+ years and being deceived at all is a big deal to me. I am a firm believer in the golden rule that one of you mentioned and I couldn't take advantage of someone looking for help or advice and have a clear conscience. Again I thank you all for your time and advise and hope to continue to learn from you and do my homework.
Mike in Iowa

I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure the Evinrude is a repop. I may sound rash here, but,any ways, there is a price for your education. That was just the down payment. It doesnt sound like you were ripped off to badly. Im not sure what the neck rings were. In my own experience I've made plenty of mistakes too. I still make them, but they seem to come less frequently. I've undersold lots of items, and over paid for lots of items too. I've also made good money on some stuff and bought other items for next to nothing. My advise- Learn from it,chalk it up and just start hunting for something else.

I think you are wrong. The guy that bought it looked it over and mentioned he wouldn't want it if it was a repop. Any idea what an original is worth?

I've bought a bunch of those neck rings on ebay and they run from $10 each to $40 each, depending on condition. By the way, they are being repopped now too!

would somebody confirm with a picture what a neck ring is?.. ...

Polarine neck rings. Sorry not a very clear pic.

Thank You-
were these used by just a few oil companies &
approx time period these were used?.. ...

Only standard used them on the tall bottles

Mikegoe,

I think this post has run it course. I don't feel sorry for you, this is what has happened to all of us, let it go, we have all learned something from everything we have ever purchased or sold.

The "Golden Rule." Actually means, those with the Gold, Rule.

Just this summer after 25 years in this hobby I was taken advantage of, you never stop learning.

Jack Sim

After looking at the pictures, nothing appears to be unique or super valuable? If you expected to get retail for your Dad's stuff, for which you paid nothing, you were mistaken? If these things are so valuable to you, because it was you father's collection of 40 years, then why not keep them as a tribute to him? In this business, the vendor/buyer needs a profit margin otherwise he will not remain in business long? I agree with Jack, we need to move on. Paul www.severngaspumps.com

This story has a good lesson in it. I am faced with the same situation that everyone who collects faces. What happens to your {"stuff" when you croak. Me being 78 years old, ,it is all going to auction in about 30 days. The market will determine the value and I will just live with it, knowing that I have met a lot of good people and had a helluva lot of fun collecting it, and hope the next guy enjoys it also. Norm.

Norm you're the youngest 78 year old I've ever seen!