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#166250 Tue Dec 22 2009 07:24 PM
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I havent used the poll feature yet, so thought I would and get something going here. How do you determine what you will pay for a pump, globe, sign, or other Petroliana?

how do you determine value?
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Votes accepted starting: Tue Dec 22 2009 07:23 PM
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Wanted: Original Jenney Gas, Husky, Marathon, and Frontier Globes
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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Its how bad I want it... I dont care, what the seller paid for it, or how much profit they will make. As for myself, I've been paid to haul stuff away, and sold some of that. So I have overpaid for some stuff that I have, and I have been paid to take some of the stuff I have.


Anything Chevron
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I will pay what I feel is a reasonable price, I will NEVER base my decisions on price guides, I have bought and sold items for 10x what the books says, and for less than 1/2 of what they say. They are good reference but be careful, the values are all over the place depending on which one you read. Again, a good reason to Buy what YOU Like and what YOU want to pay.


"Remember, history that is forgotten is doomed to repeat itself!"
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Just because something brings a certain price dosen't mean that is what it's value is. People get caught up in these auctions & spend more than they can get for the item.


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...experience makes it easier to evaluate a piece...time spent going to shows/auctions, talking to other collectors, poring over eBay listings - and yes, reading the price guides (they're still a great way to get an idea of what's out there, and the values remain relative for a while)...

...relying on one method alone won't get it...


Looking for better Gulf items: signs, globes, cans and paper - especially porcelain Gulf flanges, and Gulf A-38 & A-62 ad glass...
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KZ1000

If prices are all over the place depending on which one you read, I have some questions for you.

How many Gas Pump Identification and Value Guides are there out there?

How many Air Meter Identification and Value Guides are there out there?

How many Globe Identification and Value Guides are there out there?

If the first edition of my Gas Pump ID & Value Guide wasn't correct why were 10,000 of them sold?

What you are saying to us who spend a year of our lives putting together a book to help this hobby don't bother, you are wrong!!

Jack Sim


Author, 1st & 2nd editions of Gas Pump ID book, 3rd edition is now available at www.gaspumpbible.com
Air Meter ID book also available
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Price guides are made to be a reference not give the reader an exact price especially when authors are not publishing books on a yearly basis. You can't look at a book from 2005 that has a sign listed for $2000.00 and say oh well that must be what the signs worth now a days I think that's all KZ was trying to say. Many factors come in to play when trying to determine a price or prices of items 1.) is what is market like at the time high or low ( that's in any field of collecting), 2.) what's the price range been for the item over last couple of years look at several different prices to give yourself a better idea of what other people are or were spending , 3.) Whats the economy like ( are people scared to spend money which in turn brings the market down) and the last and most important I think is How Bad Do You Want The Item? if its something you want an actual price guide value wont matter you'll pay what it's worth to you.
This is just my opinion haha it may be a bunch of rambling but maybe someone will find something useful.

Happy Holidays,
Jerry

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I use Jack's book to start. Then at looking at the pump I figure what replacement parts are going to cost and what it will cost me to restore. I also look at unrestored and restored selling prices to see that if I had to sell it, would I be in too deep or sell it at a reasonable price. That goes out the window if I really, really, really want it.....LOL


Alex
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Following is a real life example.....I'd be interested in hearing what you think the "values" were for the signs.

I had a vendor space for the 1st time at the Columbus show last June. I had two DSP flanged signs for sale at $250 each that did not sell in the field or in room-to-room. I lowered the prices to $200 each and took them to Iowa gas in August, where they were offered for sale in room-to-room. Didn't sell there either.

So I gave them to the folks at Matthews Auctions and they were included in the Peotone auction in October. One was graded at 8.5 and the other at 7. They both sold for a total of $2000 NET AFTER commissions were deducted. I'd owned the signs for about ten years and my cost totalled $670.

What were they worth? Putting a "value" on some of this stuff is, at best, an inexact science. I know what they cost......and I know what I was willing to sell them for. I obviously didn't know what the two "right" buyers would pay for them!!!!

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I agree with Alex, this is what I state in the front of the Gas Pump book, the values are for "unrestored, near 100% complete, exclusive of the globe."

You guys with 30-40-50 pumps, you know what pumps are worth, but if a so called newbie steps out there to purchase a pump, air meter, or globe, how does he even know where to start? He has never been to a swap meet, seen an on-line auction and this site is not the place where you would come to determine the price of an unrestored pump. Regardless of what anyone thinks of the values put in these books, you need somewhere to start.

As for Pegaus's example, I don't doubt this happened. Swap meets are a very small part of this hobby, very little people attending compared to the number of collectors out there. Put something on the web, advertise it greatly and you have the whole world looking at it, and at any auction you really only need two people who want the item.

Jack Sim

Last edited by Jack Sim; Tue Dec 22 2009 11:44 PM.

Author, 1st & 2nd editions of Gas Pump ID book, 3rd edition is now available at www.gaspumpbible.com
Air Meter ID book also available
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"Yes Dear, I am sorry" It's all about the Wife for me. I shouldn't complain because she has kept us out of debt for 24 years. I'd have us in the poor house if she didn't keep me leashed. Of coarse that poor house would have some really cool stuff laying around it but it would still be the poor house.
Mike

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Jack Sim

This isn't all about YOU

There are lots of price guides out there covering all Petroleum Collectibles and they vary widely in prices, Look at Amistadis for a classic example.

If a Newbie has the wrong book at the time of a purchase he may really get screwed if he rely's on what he is reading.

Your Gas Pump book is great, I use it all the time for reference, It would be just as valuable without the prices which again could be misleading to a Newbie who doesn't know 100% complete from 75% complete, A lot of people buy at the prices they see only to find they can't get 1/2 their money back.

SO, to us that are in the hobby we can decipher a price guide and come to a resonable decision on price.

How many of you have gone to an Antique store to see a nice sign or pump priced way out of this world, when you ask about it, you are told, The BOOK says it is worth that much.


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I didn't see the option I use on the poll. I try to go to the gas/oil shows in my area. Sitting right in the middle of Columbus, Dayton, and Michigan gas you can get a good idea of pump values in your geographical area.

Personally I think pump prices can vary significantly based on where you are located. Which primarily can be attributed to how the economy is doing there as well as how many pumps are in that particular region.

As a buyer, the last place I want to look to determine value is the major auction houses. To me, that's like trying to get the true value of a Mustang by looking at the Barrett Jackson auctions. That might be okay for rare high end items, but for most of the stuff a newbie is going to collect local swap meets and classified ads are a better indicator IMO.

In regard to books with price guides, they are good for a starting point, but will probably be more prized for their historical perspective on items as values will consistantly change.

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HA-HA...#4 DOESN'T APPLY TO ME! wink

BASICALLY, IT'S WHAT I KNOW, CONDITION AND HOW MUCH I WANT IT. THERE'S ALSO THE WALLET CONSIDERATION.


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I still view this a hobby. I offer what I consider decent value, if not accepted I'm gone. Can't miss something you never had. I remember when most of this stuff was free or very cheap. I also remember how the present day values on the high end stuff was established by just a few in the "hobby". It worked for them, good marketing I say.

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