Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion The future of this habit I mean hobbie and pumps

I have collected about forty pumps and only half dozen are restored. They range from the teens to the seventies. I buy what I like and can afford. Many are just stored away, but I enjoy knowing that I have them and thinking that I will restore someday. Most I will never have the time to restore. It is really the thrill of the hunt that keeps you going. The travel the people you get to know, the deal, the adventure. You never know what treasure is around the corner to be picked up. I collect more then pumps.

I spent my youth collecting 33 rpm records. I love music. Every weekend flea markets, yard sales, every used record store in Boston. Wheeled and dealed in music for years. It paid for my collecting. 40 years later I still have my records and use them. I bought what I liked for a lifetime of enjoyment. In the market , most of the vale is gone, money wise. It does not really matter. I did not buy them to make money.

I am now doing the same with pumps as I did with records. I have sold many pumps over the years and kept what I really liked. I generally sell them un restored for several reasons. People like to restore things themselves to the brand that is important to them. They are more affordable and a few more scratches add charm to some and challenge for others.

Dan I am looking forward to you having more auctions on the east coast now that you will be with Morphy's. There is lots to be found. It's not all in Illinois. Congrats !!

I think that what everybody has said previously has merit. There are many ways to rationalize why prices of certain areas of collectibles fluctuate the way they do. But I still believe that the law of supply and demand ends up dictating prices on everything. In my opinion, petroliana is in a different category than say baseball cards or records of which there were literally millions produced. The onslaught of reproductions in our hobby won't help, but at the same time, a true collector will still pay the price for an original and the fewer the originals, the higher (and more stable) the price. One of the biggest factors involved here is simply inflation. It affects everything. The younger generation is used to paying three dollars for a gallon of gas where us older (note I didn't say OLD!) guys cringe at the pump because we can remember paying 25 cents a gallon when we were young. The newer collectors will pay $500 for an unrestored pump and never flinch where I might say no way! Just go to the grocery store with your wife sometime and see what you carry out for $100.....

I was searching today for some old threads on a globe I needed info on and ran on to this post of the auction results of Vic's auction back in 2005. If you don't think the hobby has seen inflation in recent years, browse this list and then compare it to this years auctions. I'd bet that in nine more years we can look back and see a similar change....for the better or the worse...GB

http://www.oldgas.com/forum/ubbthreads.p...=true#Post69495

Not fair to compare apples to oranges. Something that should be considered when comparing cars to pumps is that cars are to be driven and pumps are for static display (How many of you pump gas with your pumps?). Whoever owns an older car drives it. That being said, if cars have an element of utility added to them. Who wants to drive a restored 20's car over a restored 70's muscle car....very few.

Bearing that in mind in my opinion, visibles will not suffer the fate of early cars.

Good point. Plus just the neat factor, sounds corny but true in many cases.

BUT, most of what ya carry out of the grocery store you can EAT!
Haven't seen any stations stuff you can eat [EXCEPT w/ Hillsideshortlegs & his OLD Candy Bars!].

Wayne 60's have gone through the roof and the picks are drying up when it comes to finding them on the prairies. I just bought two original 60's from a friend where a couple grand or more is becoming the norm for nice complete untouched Wayne these days. I bought a couple Bennett 541's recently and they're hitting the $1500-$1800 plus mark now as well. I don't see them going down anytime soon. Lots of visibles for sale these days though.

Happy pump hunting to you.

Very good subject Rob and the other points made here are all good. I've been in this hobby 40 years now. Back in the early 1970s when I was looking for gas globes visible pumps were king and clock face were barely collectible! I passed up many buildings that had free clock face pumps because they just weren't that popular yet and I wasn't into pumps that much. 1940s and 505 pumps were still scrap and at that time I don't know anyone that wanted them! Would you want a gas pump made in the 1980s or 1990s same thing with today's date in place hard to believe! Where this will all end who knows. But keep this in mind. I've heard for at least 25 years or so that this hobby has it's limits, it'll all going to end, not enough younger folks, etc., etc., etc. None of it ever came true. We'll see how it goes and again, you guys made very good points here. Scott Benjamin

I agree with Scott great points by all . But I must say I am still pretty young and I love visibles . The Canadian market for them is strong . Singles at sales are 6500 and up . That last sale in Manitoba a double in the rough brought $15,000.00 . Like everything else in the states you guys have a lot more available , be it signs pumps or cars ( 35 million people to 350 million people ) . That seems to make a difference for the supply and demand factor . As the great Canadian dealer Jim Miller use to say , " the next ten years are going to be the most interesting " .

I would rather have a 20's-30's pump IMO

Good topic and good observations by all. I've bought and sold a few pumps over the last 10 years so I have a pretty good feel for the market. I really can't disagree with anything that was said. Visibles are what they are, if you like them then that's what you buy. The common ones are somewhat of a hard sell nowadays but somebody always comes along and buys them. They still have a following because of their stature, even young people comment how how cool they look.

As far as the rare and desirable pumps go there is no end in sight as far as I am concerned, the demand out paces the supply. Notice I said rare and desirable, just because it is rare does not make it valuable. A Dayton 1510 is a somewhat rare pump, I seldom find them, good thing, they don't sell well. A Wayne 60 is NOT a rare pump but OMG...the prices just keep going up...by far and away the most requested pump I get inquiries for. If anybody is interested the 4 most requested pumps are #1 Wayne 60/866, #2 Bennett 541, #3 Tokheim 36B, #4 Wayne 80/Script tops, from there on all the popular pumps are about even.

I have not seen any slow down on the 40's tall pumps, they sell just as well as the the short 50's pumps. I will tell you that I am getting more inquiries for parts for the stainless 60's/70's pumps but seldom ever sell one.

The one thing I keep in mind is that they are not making anymore of these pumps and the supply of unrestored pumps is getting smaller by the day. That's why I will buy every pump and pump part I can.

Just some random thoughts, Tom.

Thanks for your thoughts Tom if anyone knows the pump market it is you. Richard

There are no normal or average prices, only what the market will bear and dictate. I think the upward trend will continue as long as there is an influx of new collectors. New collectors are the life line of this hobby as they are for any hobby. As long as it's chic and sexy to collect pumps we're in good hands.

I started collecting in late 2005 and because of that entered this hobby with a different understanding of "normal or average" prices. What some of you view as a strong price is just the normal going price for me. As I have not had the advantage of buying at those prices. Because of this mindset (or not knowing better) it is much easier for me to offer a higher price (without remorse or second thoughts) and actually walk away feeling like I got a deal. Usually, the seller is happy as they are doubling up (or more) on their initial investment/purchase.

I feel comfortable paying a price that other collectors may not offer simply because at times they "stall or stumble" when it comes to making offers. No fault of theirs, just that their past buying experiences and what they have paid in the past has been outpaced by the hobby/market.