What's going on over there? The prices that people are paying for lamps is extremely ridiculous. Why would someone pay so much for a PL53 incomplete is beyond my comprehension. This lock down has made some people crazy and I mean obsessively crazy. How many members here are bidding against each other and raising the prices? I'm sure I have done that. Are we creating an inflated lamp market? Just thought I might start this conversation and see where it goes.
Perhaps somewhere a period correct burner/hood is waiting to make a complete lamp. It goes both ways. 150 pounds got this one for a friend that was looking for one. Shipping is almost half again the lamp but it sure beats the stripped one for almost the same price. But, I’m in the US and I’ve got to take what I can get. Prices will not do anything but go up; these lamps aren’t produced anymore and the internet bidding sites have opened up the whole world to our beloved lamps.
I must have a fortune sitting on one of the shelves in the pig hoosie. Last count I had 5 incomplete PL53s although not all with the straight handles.
Well in the old days of ebay and forum, I new who had which nickname on ebay. and it was a unwritten gentle mens agreement not to bid against eachother. If your fellow colector was outbidded, you contact him/her and ask if he/she would go on. For the rest @BigStevie says it correct we are the ones bidding. I also have had the idea that it is possible to laundry wash your dirty money in some way. I have have seen idiot high prices assumingly bid on stuff that was realy not of any value at all.
That madness is not limited to Ebay UK. Feuerhand 176 Luftschutz Petroleumlampe Sturmlampe | eBay Phoebus Benzinkocher Nr. 525. Top Zustand voll funktionsfähig. | eBay Alte FEUERHAND No.75 ATOM Petroleumlampe MILITÄR | eBay Feuerhand 75 Atom petroleumlampe,WW2-1945 | eBay Do not know if theses offers are for real. May be there is something like "you'll get one pound of cocaine, an AK47 or something else which is not so legal when buying that specific item. " Erik
That's what I once thought but don't bank on it, Jean. I've found it's incredibly difficult to turn good lamps into cash without listing them on eBay and having to send them overseas, usually to Asia. I've had to learn to ditch all sentimental attachment to my collection and view it dispassionately as no more than a commodity to be flogged off to the highest bidder. That's the sad reality. I could offer a Bialaddin T10 much better than the one pictured above (actually mint, in box, as packed by W&B, put together only once or twice for photographs and never lit) and think myself lucky to get offered £30 for it. Most folk here now just seem to want cheap lamps they can tart-up for God only knows what reason...
Please send me an invoice and I will pay 36Uk pounds for that lamp. No further questions asked ;-) Only that you pack it well. Oh and shipping is on me.
That's not even 30 quid if it includes shipping to The Never-Never Lands! My packing is superlative and costs me about £5, shipping to you is £13. So that means you want the lamp for £18 - hmm, you'll need to give me a day or two to think about it... http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EZsmB_EYxH4/UUofHxpuQHI/AAAAAAAAAw4/nvMR0g482SA/s1600/roflmao.gif
It was the table lamp the same seller was selling I wanted, unfortunately my bid wasn’t even high enough to register in the end.
Hobbies change , I've seen it before , and they can become small industries . Forums help to fuel the transition because the people their have the most interest, knowledge and collectible items. The forums themselves change and become less community and more places where people gird up for business activity The forums themselves increase in value as the hobby grows. I suspect that their are members here and at CCF who have made small fortunes trading in lanterns in recent years but largely keep quiet about it because they aren't interested in providing maps to their gold mine. lol I think the center of the lantern collecting world in the past was Uk and America , Europe . I suspect much like global business itself the new center is Asia. The buyers are Asian collectors and resellers the sellers Americans, Brits and Europeans.
I have noticed the explosion in prices over recent months, and wondered what drives it forward, I see some crazy prices and wonder if anyone is actually buying these items. One thing I wonder is this a south sea bubble situation? How many collectors do we have in the UK, might we see a fall in prices perhaps leaving some people high and dry? It's certainly an interesting time.
Check out this hopefull tradeMe.title The prices have not gone over the top yet but the money paid is getting way up there, out of my range, i am pleased that I probably have all the lanterns and stoves that I need and I am only buying cheap now to have something to work on. Paying silly money would take the fun out of it. Mind you I was just discussing with my wife the primus 535 we bought 2 years ago for $5, at a rough guess i think it now owes about $175. I bought it for parts but could not bring myself to destroy it, add my time to it and I would want a goodly sum if I sold it.
Things come and go, I have a collection of lead soldiers that are worth less now in real terms than they were in 1970. Interest in militaria etc waned over the last 20 years so prices have not kept pace. Lockdowns in the UK have sparked greater interest in pressure lanterns, (I myself am a prime example) which has driven up prices on the few outlets still open - such as Ebay. Car boot sales and junkshops have not been available. As we come through all this I am sure that prices will become more reasonable and I have even think I see the peak has passed on Ebay over the last few weeks. There will always be the "chancers" that put on a high price in the hopes that the unwary will be along, as well as auction battles. All you need is two people that "have to have" a particular variant or similar... On the upside more people are now more interested in this hobby - whch is good news for all of the work and research and knowledge sharing that this forum engenders. Also for the continuation of the hobby. Although my family and neighbours do now appreciate lanterns (and know a lot more about them now) they still do look a little awkward when I speak so lovingly about them and their history...
Conversely, some members here have collections that seem likely to be large enough to ‘crash the market’, if all were auctioned at about the same time.
Yes, despite losing the heart of mine a few years back, the rump of my collection must still be over 300 lamps, lanterns and stoves. However, I'll not be crashing the market with it - the sheer effort that goes into moving on just one lantern by eBay means I could barely deal with more than one per week. It took 15 years to collect them and I guess it'll take at least 15 years to get rid of them. I'd better crack on with it...
There will be a good market for lamps in Jersey soon .. if the French govt pull the plug on the electricity they will all be looking for them ... plenty of wealth around the Channel Islands ..
The current prices are absolutely bonkers so much so that unless I find lanterns on some of the other similar sites like Gumtree or Shpock or I come by them locally, my collecting habit is going to be drastically reduced! I was never able (and frankly didn't want to) spend any amount on lanterns so I always stuck to a limit of £20 per lamp or less. Consequently I have very few NIB or ex-factory quality models which is ok. Sure, I'd love a few more 'perfect' examples but I definitely won't be getting any now and anyway I find the restoration and fettling process very enjoyable and satisfying plus I've learned a lot along the way. I guess for me, collecting lanterns has always been about finding ugly ducklings and turning them back into swans.
Never thought about our European friends creating a market in Jersey, how imaginative of them. As with Colin's comment above I like to get a lamp and see it restored, and more importantly preserved and saved from the scrapheap, although reading the comments on here I start to wonder where my laps will finish up, as a relative newcomer I only have around 20 lamps but I can't see a day when my son will be looking forward to his paraffin fuelled inheritance. So far I have never sold a lamp but I can imagine that it is a tedious process as David mentioned above.
For me part of the fun is finding a bargain or being able to restore something that was previously defunct. Unfortunately bargains online are few and far between, so many people; worldwide are looking at them and bidding. Yes as collectors we are partially to blame for this.…. This ended today; okay, granted, straight frame, short handle but seriously……apologies if you were the highest bidder…..I’m sure it’s a bargain……the sooner the auto-jumbles, auctions, steam rallies…etc…open up in full the better, to actually talk in person to a real person, hold a lamp then negotiate a price in cash……..then you may see a slight re-balance in the online madness….rant over….
Still bargains to be had if you want (and avoid THAT site) Just watched this sell for £18 +fees. Too slow to get it myself
