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Joined: Aug 2013
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I am reativly new to the wonderful hobby, even though I've been around it my whole life. I'm aware that sounds a little confusing initially but I'm only 23, dispite that my collection contains hundreds of signs and other items. I always have and always will be addicted to the drug that is collecting. When I go to shows or just out buying I rarely see people my own age, when I do I try to talk with them as much as possible in hopes they will remain engaged in their/our interest. I have had a lot of help along the way from some outstanding people, they got me where I am today.

I understand that as of right now the "state of our petro" is strong, but what about next year? What about in 20 years? We control the future of this, we can decide where it goes. What I'm trying to say is every collection that gets full or person that for whatever reason no longer collects is just one more soldier that we don't have in the fight for survival. I encourage all you "veterans" to take a newbie under your wing, as we know its difficult to get started in this hobby these days... Especially with no help. For those who can't afford a sign as nice as yours, find them one they can afford then pat them on the back when they get it, always answer questions and don't let them lose interest.


Don't let Petro become baseball cards.




I'm in no way bashing anyone, although I'm sure I'll get some static for this post.

I'd also like your guys opinion on the future.

Please use For Sale forums to sell

Please - NO offers to Buy or Sell in this forum category

Statements such as, "I'm thinking about selling this." are considered an offer to sell.
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I am having trouble getting back up after I keep a globe... I have very little funds... I am only 15. But I LOVE the hobby. I agree with everything you just said. I have had "veterans" help me, and its nice. I think the hobby will continue for a long time... As us "young guns" are slowly increasing in numbers. And you "veterans", if you have kids into this stuff, then they will continue to fallow after you guys. Just thought I'd say that...

Last edited by Gas sign guy; Thu Oct 10 2013 12:24 PM.

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Every time a youngster visits my (home) shop with an adult, he always leaves with some small item of petroliana that he can call his very own. You never know when you are planting a seed (or irritating a mother:)).


Collecting the Mississippi companies:
Billups, Southland, Rose Oil,Crystal Oil, Barq's
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I agree with all you say Alex I think we all could benefit from an older, wiser collector to tell us younger collectors like my self, and some have dun a great job with that. I think the future of this hobby is fairly strong I know I'm in it for the long haul. And I'm trying to expose more to the hobby by writing a monthly article in cruse' news magazine. That's my opinion.

Last edited by Oilcanman87; Thu Oct 10 2013 02:17 PM.

Oilzum, 1qt Oil Cans, Gas and Oil smalls, Oldsmobile collectables.
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As a picker I've met many of the younger generation who are actively searching out their own corners of the hobby. And I'm talking teenagers to 30-somethings from all walks of life.

Like many hobbies there are plenty of the silent types who don't advertise their collections, but slowly and surely amass a collection that would make other collectors drool.

What I would encourage any new comers to the hobby to do is get informed on the history and share that with others as you go through your collecting. I say this as a picker who loves history and being able to provide it with pieces I pick and resell. Collections are legacies of times past and if properly kept organized and cataloged can help future generations of collectors identify fact from fiction and from urban legend.

For those long established collectors who like to share your collections with visitors I would suggest looking forward and grooming caretakers of your most prized piece in your collection... your knowledge. It is important to establish a pattern of passing on that knowledge if you truly want the hobby to continue. What has always made mankind improve is the ability to pass on knowledge to future generations, whether vocally or by written documentation. That is how you keep the state of the hobby on the right path.




Collecting anything keeps you young at heart!
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These are my observations and mine only... They are based on my time in the Hobby and being around those that "Founded" the Hobby...


"I've been in the Hobby for a long time...

I've seen it progress through the years... I can honestly say that the Hobby has grown by leaps and bounds since the 1940s. And that it is stronger now, than it was 5 years ago.

As to what the future may or may not bring; none of us can say...

My Generation doesn't use a "Crystal Ball", to tell the future..... Instead, we were all brought up on "The Magic Eight Ball"... I asked the; "all wondrous and all knowing Eight Ball" and it said it was up to future Collectors. As to the future and status of this Hobby... Strange but, that is the same answer I've been getting since the mid 60s... And yes, we asked if the Hobby would progress and grow in the future...

In parting, I've never felt that anyone in the Hobby ever owed me anything... If they wanted to share items and more importantly information with me, that was up to them... They have the items and knowledge, I don't!

As such they will decide how or if; to dispense THEIR items and knowledge...

On a separate note; Knowledge is a tangible. It is rarer than the rarest can, more valuable than the rarest pump and more fragile than the rarest globe... AND IF I DON'T HAVE IT.... I do not have the right to dictate "terms" to those that do have it!"


Looking for Tide Water/ Tide Water-Associated/ Tidewater items
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Bob,

I agree with you to a point... You're correct no one owes anyone anything (I've sacrificed a lot to get my items).... And you're 100% correct that knowledge is king... There are people that like to keep that knowledge to themselves, and ones who love to share... In the end the decision is up to the listener, they can walk away more knowledgeable or not...


I've never walked in to a 1960's era service station in operation... I guess my time machine doesn't work, so the closest I could ever get to that is stories from those who were there. After all, that's where this all started.

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Alex, actually the Hobby started in the 1940s...

And one has to go back to the early 1900s to the first stores and garages that had early "curbsides" and pre-visibles... It is probably silly, but I do send a "thank you to them". For they had the fore-sight to help the "Gas Station" come into the future...
______________________________________________________________

Personally, I have not met 1 Collector; that wasn't willing to share information... Now, it is true that, I have met a lot of them; who have the same attitudes (credo) as I have... All they ask is:

"If one would like information? Ask politely, do not demand".

"Treat me with respect and I will treat you the same."

"Realize that I had to work to gain the knowledge I have. Just as you have worked to gain the knowledge you have".

"If we treat each other with respect and candor. We both come out ahead"!


Looking for Tide Water/ Tide Water-Associated/ Tidewater items
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I think the hobby will stay strong for the imediate future. What will hurt it is people spending good money on fake, repro and fantasy items. Yes, some people do buy junk without doing any research but some of the fakes are getting so good that it can be hard to tell it from the real deal. The picker shows do get more people looking for the stuff and get stuff out of the shed and into the market so that is sort of a good thing. It also results in jacked up prices on some stuff. I think some of the people that spent huge money on the mega collections may lose some money when they are sold as some of the items cost big money when they bought them. Then again if it is their money and they enjoyed spending it, what does it matter. Bottom line I think the fake stuff will do more to hurt the hobby than anything else.


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I have collected different things for 27 years and this hobby is the strongest in value and always learning new things. I used to collect bottles, license plates, baseball/basketball cards, nascar diecast. It's hard to get rid of the last two items than what you paid for them. I think the future is very bright for this hobby. Even though prices have really gone up on things there are still plenty of items that don't cost that much to get started. I appreciate all the people that has helped me gain knowledge. I didn't even know a wooden gas stick existed if it wasn't for Bob, Ha!

Brian

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Over 50 years ago my parents took a little wooden block that I was carrying around and painted it to look like a Gulf sign. At 16 months I was hooked. From my teen years I have interacted with other collectors, and in doing so found that I was blessed with a particular insight into oil company histories and collectibles. And with 50+ years of enjoyment in the hobby, from a toddler to one of the old timers, I feel that we all have an obligation to share what we know. And as the guy who has written more about the subject than anyone else, I certainly have felt and continue to feel the obligation to share what I know and what we collectively learn. And to package that information in a way that works for everyone.
In the 1970s this stuff was cheap, often free. But it was often difficult to locate. People in general did not know that collectibles were worth anything. Finding out about your item was impossible. How old? Where from? These were learned only from someone's memory. Over the years, although it has gotten more expensive, finding stuff and building a great collection has gotten easier, much easier. And the five dollar Shell globe that I bought in 1975 has increased 100 times in value, the many others from that era that I got for less than $10 many more time over as well.
What makes the hobby better? Values increasing is a two-edged sword. Yes, your investment has increased in value, but is now priced beyond the availability of some others, particularly new, young collectors. And what good is value to a collector who has no intention of selling, and will, by its nature, have to miss his own estate sale. To me, what makes the hobby better, and essentially has no limit, is the access we all have to information today. Behind the scenes a group of hobbyists who are also historians are working to research and compile more and more information, all in an effort to make the understanding of the items we collect more complete. Scott and I have new projects on the drawing boards, and are going to use the best of 21st century technology to make the best presentation of the information we learn. Coming out shortly is my new "100 Years of Gas Stations" and 360 page book with over 2000 gas station photos from 1913 to 2013, plus a handful of pre-stations before 1913. All 50 states and over 300 brands are represented, with color photos back to 1938. Watch www.pcmpublishing.com for order information. A sign book is in the works, and Jason (my son) and I are compiling some oil company histories in a way that eventually could be a handy reference.
As long as the standard of living in this country remains where it has been for the past 75 years, then the hobby and all things related to it are only going to get better.

Wayne Henderson
Petroleum Collectibles Monthly
Kernersville, NC


Wayne Henderson
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IMO in the future prices will fall. Most of the younger generation
has no interest whatsoever in antiques/gas oil. The cost of many of these items has become insane. The question is will the next generation be able to afford these items Or even want them? This hobby is moving towards the direction of just being for the wealthy. In the future when these large collections go up for sale who knows what they will bring.....


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Those two "collectibles" Ball cards & diecast nascar fall into two examples of hobby collecting that some people fear will happen or is happening to signage.

If we take the case of Nascar diecast, these were a created collectible solely marketed as a "collectible" without connection to a viable long term market with the rapid change of the sport and fickle nature of fads. People paid from $10-100s of dollars for various sizes, mfg's, etc. Today 90+% of those same cars can be had for .50-$10.

If we take the case of Ball cards, they were created in the 1800s as collectible representations of teams & players and were traded amongst mostly children. As these children became adults they sought after their youth and the collections/cards they didn't have and drove the market for cards from pennies to thousands of dollars. When that market exploded in the 80's companies began producing many more cards than before and creating commemoratives. But like the Nascar buyers, the market chose which way the hobby would go. Currently you can buy 99.9% of the 80's-early 2000's cards for <.10, but those earlier cards are still worth more than they ever were when bought by a kid for their bubblegum!

I see the signage hobby much the same as the latter. Real signs will stabilize in value as the market determines in the long run what they are worth. Taken out of the hands of early traders who got them for next to nothing(like trading ball cards in the 50s) and being bought into collections for a moderated price except for the most rare(like a Honus Wagner) which will always be a key piece in someones collection. I see modern signage in a bit different light than some collectors because there is a major factor that most guys are missing, unlike the cheap tin signs at walmart and collectible shops, well executed reproductions are far less numerous. Already, low production globes done in the 80's are commanding substantial prices due to scarcity.

In the long term like so many hobbies, there are going to be the purists who require everything to be 'original', and there are going the be the rest who see value even in copies.




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Prices and that row of reproduction pumps at HERSHEY are really slowing the influx of new young collectors. Someone said they have never walked in to a working 60s gas station. That is a big factor that has me wondering,will the next generation even have interest.


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I meant the cards in the 80s-90s. Thanks. I have some friends that come over and will look at my stuff in the garage and think it's really neat but they don't collect it. I do agree about the prices and it seems to be like the classic cars where the younger generation think the cars look cool but can't afford the bigger items.
Brian

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