Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion More Iowa gas

I only traveled 180 miles to Des Moines. I have gone to almost every meet. I can see the effect of the Internet big time--- forget trying to buy at the swap meet and the 10% buyer's fee and Iowa state tax is such a rip at the auction. I probably won't go anymore. I do lots better at home on the computer......

There is one thing that a show can do that a computer never will and that is the experience of looking at and touching a globe, pump, a sign or what ever it is. I have bought a few things off the computer and no matter how many pictures they send it will always look different once it gets in your hands. I hope we can keep the shows going and try to bring in new collectors like myself that have been collecting for only a year. It is disappointing to drive hours to find nothing at a show.

Yeah, I drove 7 hours there with my dad. I figured it was a weekend event so we came when we could on Saturday. Only auction going on. Only got to see the two pumps on auction. Talk about a let down. I'm just a young college kid. I can't believe what the prices have escalated to. I really feel that the nostalgia of the hobby is gone and now it is just a profit to the sellers. Going to the Iowa show last year I realized this.

It really loses the effect and excitment I had when I found the Wayne 60 I now own under a pile of scrap wood and metal to be burned in a field. My imagination soared to curiosity of what the pump was used for, what color was it, and who had pumped from it. The subtle clues of the lead paint and broken '30s D-X ad glasses led to some great scavenging fulfillment. That is all lost at the shows where only $$ talks and the stories behind the metal are unmentioned.

First of all you (Chris Mulhull) should have read the information a little better. Iowa Gas has always started on Thursday and ended on Saturday with a auction. Your not getting there was not the fault of the promoters, the sellers or anyone else. This did not make the show a bad show. As for the prices, lets take a look at the value of the Wayne 60 that you own. Back in 1988 when I started coming to Iowa Gas, you could buy a Wayne 60 for $400.00, now the asking price is about $800.00. In 1988 a new Ford Truck that was used to bring the 60 to the show cost about $12,000, now they cost $24,000. I don't see where the current price of the 60 is out of line. We all wish we could buy everything at 1988 prices. Besides, every farmer thinks the old pump he has out there is worth a trip to Europe and by the time you purchase it you can't sell it for $400.00 anymore.
About the comment that there were no stories about the metal. You should try coming to Iowa Gas on Thursday, or even better, come Wednesday afternoon, as I do. You get to see and talk with just about anyone you want about your latest find, the great deal you just got and the one that got away. People gather outside on Wednesday waiting for the field to open, Wednesday night in the rooms and in the bar. Thursday you walk the field and the inside sellers and enjoy the room to room that night, where if you can't develop a conversation with someone you need to take a Dale Carnaghe (sp) course.
Again, I say shows are what you make of them. I have been attending petroliana shows since 1988 and have a great time at every one, because I make sure I do.