Unless your next door neighbor is a collector of Gas and oil also, how else would you learn if its not in books, and maybe you don't know where to get them. People just start collecting stuff and it snowballs from there.

Thought that this was the place where you had friends and fellow collectors to help you. Where else can a guy from San Diego or from Maine help a guy in Canada or Texas.

Just get back to helping the other guy with your knowledge whether you are 50 years or 1 month into this hobby and past time. Show pictures and yes give suggestions.

Everything changes from the gas prices 50 years ago to bread and milk now. Try getting your doctor to make a visit or go to the dentist for under $100.00.

Prices are tough, finding it still is great.

I'll go back to my old saying that I once told Mr. Potts. You can please some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time,but you can't please all of the people all of the time.

I myself have always tried to keep a positive attitude towards this site and the people on it. I have been tempted to get into a couple of ***** matches with people on this site, a couple of who have posted in this very thread, but I took the high road and didn't lower my personal standards and be a part of the public attacks that SO many of us get tired of reading on here, almost on a daily basis anymore. I am here to learn about my hobby, and I am here to offer any help or advice that I can on the things I DO know about to someone that may not.
Take for instance the post by JimT on the Mobilfuel Diesel plate a short time back asking for a value. There were 3 or 4 values given for the plate before I chimed in and said I didn't think it was real. I must admit I was VERY reluctant to post my thoughts as I've been in the hobby for only 5 years, but I was certain it was a repro so I posted my thoughts with my disclaimer that I wasn't an "expert", which is kind of sad. I was glad I was able to help Jim out and at the same time I think that thread, while posted in the much debated value section, turned into an extremely educational post on Mobilfuel plates. That is a reason to take full advantage of all this site has to offer, as helpful information can be found in all different forums.
At 35 years of age I know I will not have the full feelilng for what the glory days of collecting Petroliana were like 25+ years ago. I will try to do my part to keep this hobby viable by keeping my outlook positive, ignoring certain members comments, and to help others when I can with the knowledge I have gained in my few years in the hobby.
Darin

Darin well said. Bob this was my point. Your responce sums up the attutide issues that have become very apparent. Please re-read what I wrote. I never Demanded anything. I asked for help! There is an old saying in my family. If you come across a pile of poop and don't want to smell it then just leave it alone. I'm done. Thanks for confirming what I said.

I second LKYSPADE about what DARIN said.

BTW, I wish I entered this hobby when I was 35 & not 50 (I Am 57 now). It is good to have new generation of collectors such as Darin that try to learn the hobby & hopefully be a resource for future generation ...

I would like to emphasize the 3 bullets outlined by bwfergus on Page 4. Well said Brandon, Thank you!

Also, great posts by strnge (page 4), bustermonty (page 6) & Craig Osbeck (page 7). Man, I love your restored pumps, Craig!

We all need to chill out & move on. After all, this is just a hobby & why make so much fuss about it?

I would like to add a few comments to my post above.

I had just remarried for the third time to Cindy, I knew I was broke, (just two years before my business was under 11' of water), but Cindy was also broke. I wasn't even working, and thank God she did have a decent occupation.

At age 53 I could not find any work, nobody wanted guys my age, even thought I had a college education.

I had messed with a few gas pump at the time, and I found out Cindy had a great deal of knowledge of dolls, antique jewlry, furniture, ceramics, glassware. My knowledge was mostly in antique cars. Even back in the 1960s I was selling at many of the swap meets here in the mid-west.

I told Cindy I was going to get very into the petro hobby, but I told her one thing, DON'T FALL IN LOVE WITH ANYTHING WE BUY.

We still do this even today. That doesn't mean that I didn't still collect things. At one time I had a collection of over 600 different handy oilers. I still have a collection of over 3000, pre 1980 VW menorbilia.

As I mentioned above we were broke, but I found a way to make money, have some great collections, but if someone would pay us the money we asked for something, we would sell it. I didn't mind selling some rare items, as I felt I was good enough to find another one if I really wanted to have one, but mostly I found something else that interested me more than the one I sold.

I want to make a comment on values. As I mentioned above, I have never asked, even once, what is this worth, on this website. I addmit I have asked some collectors what something was worth just to increase my knowledge. I remember about three years ago at Iowa Gas walking out in the moonlight with DB looking at all the stuff on the ground. What I noticed was this was the year of the Stationlighter as they were all over the place, so I started asking DB what they were worth. I didn't have any of them, I just wanted to pick his brain.

One more things about values, as I have mentioned above I get requests all the time, and I refuse to answer them. Also I have mentioned I just tell them to buy my books, if that is what the question is about. The reason for this is, if I cannot see the item (and pictures won't help) I cannot give an accurate value on anything. In order to value anything I feel I need to have it in my hands to see its condition.

A quick story: When asked a value I usually tell tell the asker, just put it on eBay for ($9.99) and the world will tell you what it is worth. Example of this: As you all know I deal in old paper, I have 41 file drawers full. I also purchase magazines on eBay, carefully take them apart and sell the ads. One day two mags came in the mail, I was packing for a family reunin in Gulf Shores, but I took the time to look through the mags. I spotted an ad, shouted to Cindy, come and look at this. She didn't understand why I was so excited, I told her this was a Maxfield Parrish Mazda bulb ad. Now, years before buying paper I learned who Maxfield Parrish was, he was one of the most famous illustrators from around 1910 to 1940. If you have ever heard of the "Winken, Blinken and Nod", well he was the illustrator.
I didn't go asking for values, I just put it on eBay for $9.99. Two days later I called Cindy and asked how the ad was going, she said it was up to $65.00, the day before I got home the ad closed at $225.00. $225.00 for a stinken one page piece of paper, cut out of a $20.00 magazine.
Why did I make this kind of money, KNOWLEDGE, KNOWLEDGE, KNOWLEDGE. The knowledge came from value books that we had purchased. While I had no knowledge of what each illustration Parrish had drawn was, I just knew that his work was worth money.

Cindy knows old furniture. We were at a farm auction last June when a 155 year old moghogany rope bed were up for sale. Nobody wanted it and we were able to purchase it for $200.00, again because of our knowledge. Didn't sell it, Cindy said we were keeping this one.

Some of you call yourselves pickers, but if you have to go to the web or someone to ask "what is this worth" before you buy it, you are not a picker, you are just an opportunist. A picker needs to be able to make a decision fast, and without the knowledge being in your head, you are going to miss out on more things that you could have maybe made a fortune on.

Jack Sim

...Lots of talk about values on here. I have changed how I do research. Here is 1 of 4 pages that I took with me to the Ohio auction last Sunday. Its a combo of values from, eBay, MATTHEWS, MORPHY, LIVE AUCTIONEER AND PROXY BID.
On the page is, the name of the sign, and different values I found, the last thing is what it sold for at the auction.( I keep the papers for future reference).
2 years ago, when I started doing this fulltime, I did not know about these auction/research sites. I learned about all these sites from oldgas. Old timers told me about them, so I started using them.
The new collector sitting beside me at that auction said through out the day..." that piece of paper is right on". I said, " well thats what the item sold for within the last year."
In a nut shell. A new guy (me) came here a year ago. Asked lots of questions and found some great info/research sites. Thanks !!
... also... in 1981 when I start shooting and editing in the TV News industry. We shot and edited on film. It then changed to video tape, then changed to digital. OMG, us oldtimers hated how the biz was changing. You know what? None of us oldtimers would go back to the way things used to be.
All things change, change with it! Its usually for the better. Just my thoughts.

Let me tell you a true story about me ...

My wife and I are lifetime non-smokers. For many years in the past, when a restaurant was very busy and ad separate smoking and non-smoking areas, we would ask for first available in either section. We assumed that when we were seated in a smoking section that we gave up our right to complaint about the other people who smoked.

This is the same principle here. we made a separate value questions section. When someone chooses to go into that section, he should assume he gives up his right to complain about those who ask for values there. Don't like the questions, stay out of that forum. If certain members irritate you, please ignore their topics or click the "Ignore" feature in their Profile.

It is a changing world. Recently Encyclopedia Britannica announced they were no longer printing books. Only one petroliana price guide has been printed in recent years. More people every day are expecting the Internet to be their instant knowledge source. The trend is not going back to the old days, it is changing and we can't stop it.

I was maken a sandwich yesterday and got to thinken it would be fun to take the last years post's and add up all the smart @## comments rude comments,disparaging comments,comments from non moderators telling people they are doing something wrong, comments from people selling things on here complaining about people calling them, comments bragging about how long they have been doing this, comments about collecting plastic GAS signs, comments about high prices, comments on people trying to get pricing so they dont get laughed at because their price was to high. Then take all these and compair it to the years they have been collecting. I think you will see what is really damaging this site. There are a bunch of nice people on here and I think most of them are the newer or mid range collectors. Heck maybe it's age related. I tried to only get the good off this site but darn it, it got to me. I'll check back in a week or so. I got to go out and get some eggs so I can have me some eggs and maybe some potatoes. I wanted to mix in some fried Spam but gimpy Jarred ate it all yesterday.

As an old retired teacher I aleays thought it was my "job" to help anyone with my time or knowledge that needed help. If asked, it kind of makes me feel good to help. If I don't know the answer I admit it and try to find the answer. If I need help and folks don't want to offer any - so be it. If there a discussion I don't feel good about - ignore it. Collecting petroleum "stuff" is either a hobby or a business or a combination of both. Recognize that and move on. Reduces blood pressure, reduces number of unhappy folks and keeps you smiling. I have little knowledge about this hobby and not much cash to invest so I lurk in the backgrtound and learn from folks on this site who are skilled and knowledgeable. Sounds like one hell of a good deal to me. Keep smiling - Dud

Tis true guys, plastic signs not too long ago were of no or very little value. I've only been in this hobby for a short 30 years so what the hay do I know. I now find it a mite ridiclous that people value them as high as they are.And another thing 30 yrs ago gas pumps and signs were very cheap and a lot of them were free. The money came on board when the antique stores picked up on the stuff. This is my observation and I'm sure there will be other opinions. HAGD

My member number on here is 156, all that means is I have survived the changes of time.
Time moves on, and changes always occur, you accept the change or get run over by it. Lesson I learned a long time ago. Doesn’t mean I like it.
At work my employee number is 75*** and the guy I am training is 892***. Does that mean I know it all, No. (but he thinks I do, so don’t tell him any different…. )

In essence time has not changed much on this site. I remember when fighting and bickering got so bad, they started “the other petrol site”.
Now people with two different sets of ideals have a place they can both go and be happy.

I do wish we could re-do our COTM features. Many pictures and references are gone now.
I had forgotten until just this morning, eggs, potatoes and Spam are feel good food. Don’t tell my doctor.
I miss the posting of old rare items we have found. It was about sharing and information exchange, nothing more.
I love the “Great Old Pics” post, but must admit my toes curl a bit when one of my old postings from years ago reappears. So now I am making my own wine. Keep posting.

Remember 10 years ago when you were asking what stuff from Now should I save…. Those worthless plastic signs and composite cans you tossed…. OOPS!!!

Chuck

The OP said this just a few days ago regarding somebody's family that got killed in an unfortunate accident.....

"...Sorry! The only sympathy you'll get from me, is for the two truck drivers who were involved in this, and the driver of the other car."

Today we want to complain about a lack of ettiquette, manners, and the reality show direction of oldgas?

Chuck got it right, the hobby and websites devoted to it have always had disagreements. Why..because you have imperfect people involved.

...I think Bob Richards and Mr. Wadhams hit it spot on...

I thought long and hard before I decided to make this post.The whole thread seems to be about pickers and flippers.I'm going to relate experience.not theory as it relates to building a collection enjoying the hobby.

First of all,I have no peoblem with pickers and/or businessmen who buy out whole collections at a wholesale price and part it out at retail.That is how business works.I've got stuff on display from sea-to-sea and border -to border.I wouldn't have that stuff here in NM if it was not for pickers/businessmen.

My main point in this post is to make what I think is an important distinction;the difference between a picker and flipper who operates in a more or less ethical manner and someone who is only looking for someone to "pluck and,you know,it rhymes with a bird that quacks".It fills me with disgust when I hear"Ireally ripped that guy"and "I found a guy who doesen't know what he is doing",and then brag about it.

I've watched that sort of thing drive newcomers who were made fun of from the hobby.On the other hand,I've also watched collectors wait for something to come up from someone who really didn't know what they had.

BTW,I have paid people more that their asking price.AS we say,to eac his own.To me,a persons pride and feelings are more important than a few bucks.