Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Has the bottom fell out of the pump plate market?

I have collected for many years and have seen prices surge and deflate. I wondered if others have noticed a “fall off” in the prices that pump plates are now bringing? If that seems to be a trend...my question is “why”?

It is only a matter of time, the old saying "What goes up must come down." could be happening. Look at all the reproduction junk made to look authentic hitting the market. I have seen some of these reproduction signs going between 100 and 200 dollars. When people find out they have gotten taken, they may quit buying. Could also be people can't afford spending the large amounts of money on collectible when their salaries are not following the same pace. This is just my humble opinion.

I don't buy pump plates anymore because I simply cannot tell the difference . I don't want to get ripped off and I wouldn't want to inadvertently sell someone else a fake. I'll occasionally make an exception if the seller is someone I really trust, but I wouldn't buy one online ( other than from certain fellow oldgassers ) or at a swap meet. .

Yes, I've seen it in the Mobil PP's for a couple years now. Too many damned repros in all brands/companies and when I started seeing absolute fantasy signs selling for $200+ and original Mobilgas PP's selling for $125, I knew the Mobil PP market was on the downward spiral. I personally attribute the majority of it to the reproductions. People evidently just don't care anymore if it's real or fake, which amazes me. The future is looking pretty dim folks.......
Darin

Said this years ago that this would happen with all the repros out there. Everyone was saying no no people will learn the difference. Well there are a few that will, but they are just making these and others too hard to tell. Why be taken, and then many now like the rustoration look.

It seems like the sign market, in general, is soft right now. I like to think that the trendiness of collecting signs has wained, and all that's left are collectors.

I agree pump plates seem to have leveled off but signs in general I disagree. Watch some of the big online auctions or some of the facebook auctions (if you have the patience) and you'll see what I mean.

I’ve definitely noticed the heavily repopped pump plates giving a beating to the market for their OG versions. Mobil pp market is painful to look at. Some gargoyle signs seem to have started falling into the same pattern with the flanges and other versions. Overall, the numbers the FB and larger auction houses are seeing on hammer prices seems extremely healthy, fittingly so alongside the can market. Who knows 🤷‍♂️

I just about fell into the same trap this last week. Thanks to Oldgas and all of the knowledge within, I would have been out over $200 in re-pops advertised as originals. The market is hurting because of these re-pops. Beware signs77 on ebay.

It’s soft on eBay but in my booths at brick and mortar shops they can’t get enough of gas and oil stuff . Most of the people in my area are pretty honest haven’t seen any repop s being sold as real.

Count me in as well as not buying any pp. I would buy one from a trusted source but I walk right past them at swap meets, flea markets, etc. and just assume all are fake. Some of the repops are very obviously fake but they have gotten ALOT better at faking them...it sucks.

I dont believe the bottom has fallen out of any advertising yes Ebay because of all the fake *****. I wouldn't buy a thing from Ebay unless I knew the seller. Common pump plates will always be common and probably never get high end.