Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums Petroliana News Hershey Observations

This was my first time at Hershey. Wow, I knew it was big, but you have to see it to believe it. Anyway, in no particular order, here are some thoughts I have about the meet:

Unrestored pumps - I had expected Hershey to be similar to the pictures I have seen for Iowa Gas, except just spread out more. That was not the case. There were not many quality unrestored pumps available for sale. My first day was Thursday - maybe all of the good, unrestored pumps were snatched up on Wednesday. Anyway, this was the only disappointment I had.

Restored pumps - I expected to see at least a couple of vendors with a truckload of restored pumps for sale - all different makes and models. Perhaps I missed it, but I did not see a vendor with more than a handful of restored pumps.

Signs - definitely quite a few signs were available, with a lot of repops and fantasy signs that were not marked as such. Prices for real signs were high for the most part.

Oil Cans - I'm not a can collector, but there seemed to be a decent selection.

Display and Other Petro Stuff - there were some cool things, like the Sunoco display that was mentioned in another thread.

Other than the sheer size of the event, the thing that really captured me was how much this is a social event. A lot of old and new friends having a great time together.

Jeff

I still think OldGas is the best place to network when looking to buy or sell pumps. Prices just seem to be lower than shows, auctions, & ebay.

Jeff all your points are valid observations. The popularity of this hobby is definitely stressing the supply and as a result prices are going up and the selection is decreasing. Guys like Rob the pump guy, Tom Buckles and few others were wise in stashing pumps as they are going to get even harder to find in the future.

To restore pumps and offer for sale is risky business. You have to take many more precautions when transporting and moving them around. Plus it seems like when you are selling a texaco pump everyone wants a Shell and vice versa. Very little profit margin in restored pumps unless they are restored to order for a customer.

Good clean signs always demand premium money...you can never go wrong buying mint ORIGINAL signs.

In my opinion this hobby will continue to grow and set price records for many years to come yet.

Bryce and Dave ..well said.. its the truth ! Always invest in the best even if its a bit too high now..5 years from now (if this trend keeps going)it will be worth 3 times more.

I went once in 2012 and yes it is big but as far as buying there are a lot more reasonable places to search. Being on the west coast it will probably be a once in a lifetime opportunity for me.I thought our prices were high out here on signage but I think the east coast has us beat.

for Jeff,,,, if you didn't go till Thursday, you missed a lot, trust me,, Miles Little goes there on Monday ( just like Iowa and Columbus ) and is driving around until Thursday buying everything good and he is all done by then.. I always go Tuesday,,, and go home Friday morning.. Maybe it doesn't look like a lot of pumps, thats because it's all spread out,,, don't forget it takes a lot of acreage to host 10,000 vendors. Compared to the other gas and oil shows. In fact you can't see all of it in 3 days.

I took the number of vendors into account and things being spread out. I just didn't see a single vendor with more than a 3 to 4 unrestored pumps. With the aura around Hershey, I incorrectly expected to see a couple of guys with a truckload of pumps.

Well, next year he's going to have company. I'll be there early and won't make the same mistake as I did this year.

FYI. You can't get in until Tuesday

Just the more reason to not make the long trip for bad results if some get in the day before.




FYI. You can't get in until Tuesday

You mentioned Sunoco "display", are you referring to the Anty-Nok sign or was there more?

I brought 7 unrestored. Cosy had about a dozen unrestored. For an auto swap meet there's a fair amount of pumps to be found. I just missed a complete Erie with top. A lot of being in the right place at the right time.

Craig, Miles, like a lot of us arrive on Monday. We cannot get in until Tuesday. There is no one there except tent guys installing on Monday. You misunderstood the comment made above. Tuesday is set up day and we sell as we set up. Always has been that way. Makes for a level playing field, if you are willing to be there on Tuesday. The later in the week, the less there is to buy. By Saturday morning, some vendors have left. We did a total of $120.00 for the whole of Saturday and listened to people whine about not many vendors and not much to buy....They were looking for the 50% deals so we wouldn't have to bother to load it! Paul www.severngaspumps.com

i was happy, it was my 1st time there got a lot of things i was looking for. eco parts, gill globe bodies, globe lens, signs ect had a cart it was full most of the time a lot of walking but well worth it, held back on a few things went back and they were gone, can't wait till next year

This was my second year at Hershey and I too felt the amount of quality petro was not as good as it was last year. I arrived Tuesday morning and did find a few nice things but did come home with money in my pocket. Maybe I did not notice it last year but there was a huge presence of Foreign buyers

Yes all true..dont feel you missed anything on Monday. I was there at 8 am on Tuesday and missed quite a bit because we started walking through the show and more than 1/2 the vendors wernt set up or werent there yet. We traced our steps on Wed and saw tons of stuff we didnt see the day before.

I got there on Tuesday also saw and acquired a couple things Wednesday morning started early and ended late. there are lots of international buyers there shopping for car parts that cant be found as easy in Europe. Good show but you have to walk slowly and look every where. I wore out my knee getting it replaced in two weeks need golf cart or mobility chair with trailer for next year.

Bottom line - I need to get to Iowa Gas next summer. It seems like THE meet to go to.

Our biggest customers this year were British, Mexican, and Canadian. Had a lot of Americans but the real money was from outside the country. Paul www.severngaspumps.com

We set up Tuesday afternoon and packed up and left Saturday morning. Tuesday and Wednesday are the days all the good stuff gets sold. I met buyers from Sweden, Holland, Germany, Australia and Canada. Great show!

Miles Little does not buy cheap pumps, I seen one clockface he picked up in his truck. Cosy brought only 3 pumps missing doors and computers. Chuck had 2 pumps on Cosy site. A Wayne 80 Ad Glass top for $900 and a Wayne 866 unrestored for $4200. He sold the Wayne 80 for $825. I picked up a Tokheim 850 Round bottom with new lower skins for $1175, One vendor in the orange field came with 5 pumps with he just lightly sanded them and did not fill in the pits and sold all 5 quickly for $1400 to $1700, They were Eries and M&S 80's. John Taylor sold 2 unrestored pumps for $1800, One was a Tok 39 Tall and a Tall Erie Computer. You can find pumps at Hershey but they are expensive compared to Iowa Gas, Short waynes at Hershey are now in the 700-800 dollar asking price compared to 350- 450 at Iowa. The trick to Iowa is to know who has the pumps and buy ahead of time. Restored pumps sell very good on the east coast if priced within a reasonable price.

Comparing Hershey to Iowa is like comparing Barrett-Jackson to your local auction house.

There is a whole new field of Buyers at Hershey who buy what they like, not what they think they can make a buck on.

My buddy and I bang five pumps all reasonably priced. We sold two and I bought one to take home. A South West