Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Is NOW the time to sell??

HI all,
I have a nice collection of globes, signs, pumps, cans, license plate attachments, handy oilers, door ease, gasoline advertising of all kinds.
ALL of my items are C-9.5 or BETTER condition.
My question is this: Is the market value at its peak? In other words, should I consider selling it now or should I wait?
I am interested in your thoughts.

Standby for people to ask you what you have for sale. (LOL)

My two-cents is it depends on the brand, etc. I think the current economic situation for the country will dictate much. For those with deep pockets it may not be an issue. I know I have "pulled-back" on my purchases. I used to go to the Portland Swap meet every year. Not so due to costs.

If you have high end individual pieces, then interest seems to be there and you may want to consider a large auction venue to get maximum exposure. Or, throw an ad here on oldgas and see how it goes.

I agree with Alex. The economy is getting worse as there is no confidence right now with a presidental election comming and no sign of stopping sky rocketing gas prices. They are predicting $7 a gallon gas prices by January 08. If that happens disposable income will dry up and there will be fewer buyers and tons of stuff will emerge for sale IMO. But as stated, those with deep pockets will still not be effected and be ready to buy. I think prices will soften soon. The heavy flooding in the midwest has EBAY in a tail spin. They are lowering listing prices, sending shipping discount coupons etc.. to stimulate listings and sales so it just might be a good time to get top dollar right now.

I can say for sure I have not had any extra $$ to buy stuff the last few months and I have 3 pumps I intended to restore that are just sitting right now.

Speaking from the standpoint of someone who has been in this hobby/business a long time, I would say that if you were looking to "time" your sale, you've probably missed your window. Everyone is kind of walking around in financial shock right now, and I personally don't think this is the BEST time to sell very cherished items. That being said, I think that after the election is over, regardless of who wins, that things may not return to normal...but I think they will stabilize. Historically, election years are very topsy-turvy financially, especially at the end of a lame-duck term such as GWB's. What I mean by that (so those in favor of Dubya don't get offended) is that term-limits make the last 2 years of an 8-year president fairly ineffective. Lots & lots of new alternative energies are being explored & brought online which could make some of the companies/products advertised throughout our collections obsolete, which I think will make oil collectibles that much MORE desireable. I'm having a sale in August and another in February, but if I had a big, valuable collection that I was counting on paying my retirement, I'd wait till next Spring or Summer.

Condition is important, but if the stuff isn't desireable prices will still be soft.
I don't see the common stuff going up in value. In fact prices on common stuff have been fairly stagnent for awhile.
Call Dan Matthews and see what kind of money he thinks he can get for your stuff.

If you have rare items in premium condition you will get top dollar period! I don't care if Oprah is president! The high end buyers are waiting whether you sell privately for cash or have a big auction....the key here is RARE and CONDITION.....mm

There is just as much money in circulation in good times as bad times just fewer people have it in bad times.

Premium items (perolania, cars, paintings, etc) will always command premium price as the "fewer" people that have the money in bad times always have the money to buy what they want. Low-mid range items will be depressed in a slower economy.

My very un-scientific thought is low end 100-750 will be "ok", mid range 750-2500 will be "poor" and 2500+ will be "good" in a slow economy. I think some of the people who buy the aforementioned mid-range type items will drop down and buy low end items as their disposable income decreases. A hard core collector in it for the long haul will never stop buying just be more selective or buy items of a lesser cost.

If the bottom falls out of the upper end collectibles (petrolania, cars, paintings, furniture, etc)......well then we are in another Great Depression or owned by China.

Seth,

Trying to get ahold of you, the email address listed above is not working. Need to talk to you.

Jack Sim

I went to an auction a week or two ago that had gas pumps, lots of stationary engines, few tractors, and signs. There was a smaller crowd than I had expected but the rarer pumps were strong. I bought a bowser clamshell prvisible with the light stack and spent 1050 for it and was missing most of the guts. Wayne 853 with no bezles/light shades/visiguage sold for 750. American 6 sided visible missing skins and pump handle and had cracked cylinder sold for 850 or 950 (cant remember exactly) and had cracked cylinder. Common stuff sold under book price like 615 Waynes and Butler 30. Pump I wanted to buy Wayne 800 brought 9600. Other things brought good money also. If you were at the sale you would have thought the what economic problems. Attendence was down but me thinks the "tire kickers" stayed home and the serious buyers were there. I have consider the idea of selling off some of my collection but decided against it just for the simple fact that once you get rid of the hard to find pieces...you may not have a chance to get them back. Then what would I do with the cash...not worth putting back into bank, so will keep my pumps and signs. Plus the big money is now over seas, lot of our classic cars and pumps and signs are being shipped out by the container loads. Why let them have our history and heritage. If market goes to hell, so what I enjoy the pumps and signs I have, and that means more than cash in hand. Cant take any of it with you when you die so might as well enjoy it. Just my 2 cents worth,

Easy G. Butler

Waiting for the market to peak to make a profit never enters my mind as a COLLECTOR.
Knowing the value goes up while I look at it
year after year does.
What I find that I like... I keep, what I find and don't care for.... I sell,
to finance finding more stuff I want to keep.

I agree with you 100% Joe
Joe

I also agree with Joe. But I would talk to a auctioneer that is familiar with the hobbie. Dan Mathews would be perfect for that. Good luck either way you go

Most of us have bought too late & sold too soon.
If your afraid, sell it.
If you enjoy it, keep it.

The time is right to sell when you want to. Dave Folck

I know this unrelated, but the moral is the same. My wife and I went to a local horse auction last weekend to get a feel for market prices to replace the horse she had to have put down a little over a year ago. We were stunned to learn several things. Many people can't afford to keep them because the price of grain and hay are out of control. So, many are trying to get rid of some or all their horses. Prices at the auction on horses are WAY down. Amish and Menonites are in abundance around our area and they always deal in cash. They are even seeing changes and aren't spending the cash like they usually do. Too many horses went unsold....I.E. a dealer was hoping to get $2000 for one of his horses and the best it could manage was $250. The moral here is what's been going on with the economy has a very wide brush stroke. Yes there are always the lucky few with no worries, but I think you will find that the even their ranks are fewer. Fewer means less competition to buy what's out there and less money realized than could be possible in better conditions. In actuality.....this is the time to buy........feel the irony?! Just my angle on things. Good luck no matter what you decide...........Dave