Old tool swap meet 5/19

[Joe Huld]

The quarterly Anderson Plywood old tool will be held this Saturday 5/19 6 am - noon in Culver City Ca. So Cal GJ members and those in town that week end should check it out. Here is a link for the 2018 schedule: https://www.andersonplywood.com/572/old-tool-swap-meet/

 

[bsg1]

thanks for the heads-up.

 

[DD T/A]

I have a question--after a story.

At my local swap meet I have found that anyone who simply knows a tool your holding is "vintage" has higher prices. I can't justify paying more than $1-per-tool for a rusty old Plomb, or any other vintage tool for that matter. .50¢-$1/tool is a typical price for those that don't know.
There is a guy with a nice collection of VERY nice Plomb tools--but he wants $3-5 PER TOOL! Absolutely unheard of.
I see people on this site with great finds and they say 25-50¢ per tool is the going rate at their flea markets--and that makes me feel like I'm wayyy overpaying.



Are the prices at these old tool swap meets gouged because they know the only people showing up are specialty collectors?

 

[1oldtimer]

I know this is an old thread but I have some input. The old tool swap meets that are listed above seem to be the ONLY swap meet just for tools (of all kinds). These swap meets are also sadly closing down (I believe 2 sites are left), so all that's left is regular swap meets (around here are very sad for vintage tools), automotive swap meets, yard sales (IF your lucky) and antique malls (which are also closing around here). I've been getting tools at all but yard sales (little to no tools) and the price seems to range from about $1 to $10 for a med size wrench or socket. So I have to say it's pretty area specific as to the prices and quantity. Anything that's collectible is going to be more expensive, I would love to find $1 (or less) tools everywhere but it isn't possible around here all the time....you might get lucky here or there, but that's it. I just paid $6 for an old plumb wrench, I MIGHT have gotten it for $1-$4 at the tool swap, but I wasn't at the swap.

This is why I don't really "collect" tools, I put them back to work and use them. I just like old tools vs. new ones....even at work.

There's always Craigslist, eBay, here (and other sites), Offerup..........but that's not what we're talking about.

Again all I can comment on is my Southern California area (more so my southern Orange County area).

 

[1oldtimer]

I'm a little angry in my post about this because another antique mall closed down in my "go to" area of Orange (that makes 3 in the last few years). Pretty soon it's going to be new lame coffee shops or gastropubs in old buildings with a plaque describing everything that was erased. It's sad having to search for history in an area that once was full of it............it also ***** trying to live in a past (in era's before I was born) in a area the loves the future.

I was already a relic when I was a kid.

 

[Man of Many Vices]

I see nothing wrong with paying a little more or charging a little more for good quality vintage American made tools. The seller, in many cases, stumbled upon such tools in small individual groupings, or on a rare occasion in a old tool hoard mixed with lots of other junk. Each find was prized; each further filled his personal collection. Duplicates were offered for sale or trade to buddies, other tool nuts, or the general public.

In addition to the considerable time and effort invested in locating such tools, the seller often spends additional time cleaning up, repairing and restoring such tools so that they can be returned to service and proudly added to someone else's collection.

I have long ago learned that a good, but rusty vintage USA made ball peen hammer head can be found for $1, $2, or $3. With a serviceable hammer the price might go up to $4, $6, $8 or even higher. A hammer brought back to life with a "new" handle can sell for $10 to $15 or more. And it's worth it. It takes a lot of time and patience to turn what had been a long neglected clump of rust into a cherished relic from the past.

One more thought. I have stumbled on stupendous deals from time to time. After a brief period of self-congratulation and gloating, the tools are processed through the usual disassembly-clean-fix-reassembly line as needed to occupy their new place in my tool catacomb. The price I paid fades from memory. The cuts, scratch, bruises and smashed fingers I earned heal, yet the happiness of adding another cherished tool to my accumulation lingers ever onward.

Incidentally, I will be rising in a few hours to take my buddy to the Vintage Tool Swap Meet in San Diego, about a 200-mile round trip. I hope to see you there.

 

[Zrxrunner]

I think it's just a combo of supply and demand and the internet. Quick google or ebay search can turn someone who doesnt know a Bog 202A from master force ratchet into a vintage reseller in 5 minutes. Between quick intrrnet research, and more people becoming interested in old tools, vendors soon realize what moves quick and know they can bump pricing a bit.
Personally, when I started going to auctions and sales, I specifically targeted tools, because everybody was going for the antique, american picker style knick knacks. Not to mention, if I got something and nobody else wanted it, I still end up with an awesome set of unique tools to use.
In my area in rural iowa, hot ticket isn't so much weekly flea markets as much as farm sales and the twice a year fleas. Within 100 or so miles, theres only 3 full time antique shops that I have any chance of finding worthwhile tools at now too. 2 of those are a 2 hour drive, 1 luckily is about 15 mins.
Just my 2 cents I gues... what do u do...keep searchin!!!

 

[bmwrd0]

My business is marketing for antique shops. So I have a decent feel for the business. Most of the dealers have very little knowledge of tools but will have a few around due to buying lot deals and estates. They will look up prices on eBay but they won't know the difference between pre-war and wartime Snap-on. Or really any other strict variation like that. Because this isn't the field that interests them. They will know down to the month of American furniture, Star Wars toys, Hollywood memorabilia, etc. But the things that don't interest them will get priced very badly. Sometimes in our favor, sometimes not.

Vintage tool swaps are something else. These are guys who know tools. They read GJ, look at catalogs and so on. They are part of our tribe. And more importantly, they know what we want! Thus getting 3-4 bucks for a piece of Plomb is not irrational. Or even more, if that is what they feel something is worth. Just the other day I was looking at a table of Plomb body hammers. He wanted around $35 each. Not a bad price, as that is what the go for. Not for me though.

The great finds at 50 cents or a buck? That is just some schmo trying to get rid of junk and maybe make a buck. Count yourself lucky and move on. But when you go to find that rare last piece for a collection? The rare tool guy is gonna have it. For more than anyone else.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Contrary to what some people claim, collectible tools have a value. In this hobby, whether you are just a collector, or you sell or trade what you don't need to help fund your collecting, the goal is to buy in what I call uninformed markets (where the seller doesn't know the value) and sell or trade in what I call informed markets (where the seller and buyer/trader know the value).

Most flea markets are uninformed markets. Somebody getting rid of grandpa's tools. House liquidators with three trailers full of stuff. Etc. The tool vendors at fleas will want a little more, but some of those guys aren't always experts, either. Most garage sales are uninformed markets. Estate sales can be both. Places like CL and eBay can also be both, but mainly informed. The core of the guys here on GJ are an informed market.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

A guy that wants to find everything for nothing, assemble more than anybody else, show it off, brag about it, and then sell it for hundreds of times what he paid for it.

We need an emoticon with a big smiley face with one arm sticking straight up with the hand waving furiously, like "Me!"

Sorry, Dave, maybe I am missing your point, but I don't agree with this being cynical at all. I absolutely want to buy collectible tools for as little as possible. Free is even better. And if I don't need them for my own collections, I absolutely want to trade or sell them for their fair value, their going rate among collectors - and if that is 100 times more than I what I paid, even better. The buyer is paying what it's worth, regardless of what I paid for it. I think that talking about it too much is gauche and I hardly ever say what I pay for tools, but if only to exemplify my counterpoint, my best flip ever is $700 for a tiny rare WWII Jeep wrench used to bleed brakes that I found hiding with ignition wrenches in the bottom of an ignition kit that I paid $5 for. Those are few and far between, though, and nobody is getting rich doing this. I am happy to be running in the black, to double or triple my money most of the time to replenish my buying funds. Nobody likes an excessive show-off or an excessive braggart, and calling your own score a score even though you know it's a score is verboten, but let's face it, showing off and sometimes even bragging about a good find is par for the course here. It's an obligation. In fact, it's written into most thread titles. And it's all in good fun. As for the hoarding, while it's not a competition, per se, the friendly unspoken (and even some spoken!) rivalries among collectors (who has the most Plomb? who has the most ratchets? who has the most 20's stuff, who has the most of everything?, who has the best hauls week after week?, etc) is one of the most enjoyable features of GJ!

EDIT: Buying, selling, trading and sometimes giving among friends is different. Those are the best prices!

 

[Stuart in MN]

I can't justify paying more than $1-per-tool for a rusty old Plomb, or any other vintage tool for that matter. .

I see people on this site with great finds and they say 25-50¢ per tool is the going rate at their flea markets--and that makes me feel like I'm wayyy overpaying.

Maybe it's a regional thing. I'd sure like to find those flea markets where tools are selling for 25 or 50 cents, or even a dollar...

 

[Richard Cranium]

I just would like to have a flee market some where around where I live.

 

[Provincial]

One of the problems I see is sellers not taking into consideration the condition of their item. I often see items with bad finish, owner's marks, or damage priced as if they were the museum-grade Ebay offerings that are used to establish value.

This is not a new phenomenon, but the Internet has made it quicker and easier to "research" prices.

 

[tym]

I've found my fair share of "you ****" deals and "OK" deals on vintage tools. I figure if I'm paying less than what a new one (likely of inferior quality) would cost at {retail store of your choice}, I've come out ahead.

 

[DD T/A]

Another thing I see is people looking at the highest asking prices, not sold prices, and then pricing at that. A lot of things on Ebay don't sell, at least until they're discounted to about 20% of what the initial wishful thinking was.

Honestly, I search google for the tool I'm trying to appraise. If I find ebay ad's, I average the top three prices. I then divide that by a half.
That is what the tool is most likely worth.
Most of the tools that I go "WHOA" at the beginning, by the end I'm like, "Meh, I OK".


I have two undated ½" drive PL∇MB 1⅛" sockets, I already bought the second accidentally and neither look nice.
This guy had one in nice condition and dated 1941 but wanted $4...I couldn't do it.
(he was being very smug about his prices which I thought were ridiculous--I talked him DOWN to $4--and even considered bringing my two sockets to trade for his one that I wanted, until I felt he was being rude, so I put the sockets I wanted down in a ceramic salad bowl 10 feet where I found them and walked....)



It is very hard to make a hard-line rule on pricing, and thankfully a lot of local stuff is fairly affordable.

 

[tym]

^ And even if the price is good, if the seller is a jerk, I often will walk since I don't believe in rewarding bad behavior.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Maybe it's a regional thing.

Even regionally it varies, Stuart. I have three weekday (Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday) flea markets all within 10 to 40 minutes of me. Not that the names matter to you, but Rt 70 in Lakewood is strictly mom and pop. That's the only place I am walking around with quarters in my pocket, and if the guy is a veteran, I don't take the change. Collingwood is full of junk men, house liquidators, and occasionally more sophisticated vendors. Tools are generally $1, unless it's Craftsman or Snap-on, which they like to make a big show of recognizing, then it's $2, $5, or even higher, depending on what it is. Columbus is relatively high end in comparison (buyers and sellers there deride the Rt 70 and Collingwood flea markets as full of "bottom feeders") with dedicated tool guys with antique and vintage offerings. The prices are never $1, but they're not as high as true value, either, so you can still get a good deal. There are vendors I walk right past because they always sell at antique store prices (and have the same things out week after week after week), and there are vendors who know what's good and price it to move, generally much less than what they would price it on eBay. I won't even go to Lambertville, because it's too far, and too pricey. Everyone there thinks they're antique dealers.

 

[twertsy]

Even regionally it varies, Stuart. I have three weekday (Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday) flea markets all within 10 to 40 minutes of me. Not that the names matter to you, but Rt 70 in Lakewood is strictly mom and pop. That's the only place I am walking around with quarters in my pocket, and if the guy is a veteran, I don't take the change. Collingwood is full of junk men, house liquidators, and occasionally more sophisticated vendors. Tools are generally $1, unless it's Craftsman or Snap-on, which they like to make a big show of recognizing, then it's $2, $5, or even higher, depending on what it is. Columbus is relatively high end in comparison (buyers and sellers there deride the Rt 70 and Collingwood flea markets as full of "bottom feeders") with dedicated tool guys with antique and vintage offerings. The prices are never $1, but they're not as high as true value, either, so you can still get a good deal. There are vendors I walk right past because they always sell at antique store prices (and have the same things out week after week after week), and there are vendors who know what's good and price it to move, generally much less than what they would price it on eBay. I won't even go to Lambertville, because it's too far, and too pricey. Everyone there thinks they're antique dealers.

Anecdote: Greg, you recall the tool I texted you about yesterday morning while I was at the flea (he wanted $1). He's sold me some friggin' awesome tools and ridiculously low prices. I explained the value of the model absent the "Cleve" and he was dumbstruck. Told me if he finds one he'll sell it to me for 1/10th the value I told him. He's just that kind of guy....deals in a LOT of volume and wants his inventory constantly turning. Hell, he sold me that late 20s/early 30s Cornwell chest for $25 AFTER I told him what I though it might bring online.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Yeah, there are a few guys like that up here, mainly the house liquidators. I know them all by name by now and they understand that I am finding gems that I am keeping or moving along. They just don't have the time or inclination to know everything they are selling that well. It's all about making room for the next load. But I do run into it occasionally with legit tool vendors, too. American Pickers is instructive on this topic. The guys they're buying from know who they are, of course, and they know they're buying to re-sell. It's the vendors who insist on selling everything at retail value who never sell anything.

I almost never talk true value with sellers, though. I will tell oldtimers, especially if they're veterans, their price is too low. Mainly because I would feel guilty. Otherwise, no. Information is power. As a buyer, I want to know more than a seller. As a seller, I want the buyer to know what I know.

 

[bmwrd0]

Sadly, swaps aren't an everyday thing around here in Oregon, not like when I lived in the Bay Area. So we have vintage auto parts swaps maybe once a month in various towns, and most of those guys have some idea what they are selling. You do find some bargains there, but not like in the bay. (Shakes fist at Don!)

I might talk to someone I see at a lot of swaps, but like Lugz I will keep it pretty tight.

Then again, as my business changes with technology, I am gearing up for a spot in an antique mall, so I buy a lot of different things and the estate sales guys know me pretty well at this point so they will do pretty good deals for me.

 

[OldeTimeEtc]

I have a question--after a story.

At my local swap meet I have found that anyone who simply knows a tool your holding is "vintage" has higher prices. I can't justify paying more than $1-per-tool for a rusty old Plomb, or any other vintage tool for that matter. .50¢-$1/tool is a typical price for those that don't know. There is a guy with a nice collection of VERY nice Plomb tools--but he wants $3-5 PER TOOL! Absolutely unheard of. I see people on this site with great finds and they say 25-50¢ per tool is the going rate at their flea markets--and that makes me feel like I'm wayyy overpaying. Are the prices at these old tool swap meets gouged because they know the only people showing up are specialty collectors?

I look at posts like yours and just shake my head and roll my eyes to how incredibly cheap people can be. My guess is some squeeze a penny so tight they make Lincoln cry.

I understand , as the saying goes..."A Nickle is too much if you don't have it" but not being able to afford something is way different then expecting everything for pocket change. Sometimes I'll knowingly overpay for something just to obtain it because its something I want/need or just don't feel like spending the next several months looking for the same thing cheaper just to save a $1 and no I'm not rich or anything just sensible and knowledgeable about the value of vintage things......if its too much, they won't accept a reasonable offer or I can't afford it I just pass and move on.

 

[DD T/A]

I look at posts like yours and just shake my head and roll my eyes to how incredibly cheap people can be. My guess is some squeeze a penny so tight they make Lincoln cry.

I understand , as the saying goes..."A Nickle is too much if you don't have it" but not being able to afford something is way different then expecting everything for pocket change. Sometimes I'll knowingly overpay for something just to obtain it because its something I want/need or just don't feel like spending the next several months looking for the same thing cheaper just to save a $1 and no I'm not rich or anything just sensible and knowledgeable about the value of vintage things......if its too much, they won't accept a reasonable offer or I can't afford it I just pass and move on.

You revived a year old thread to call me cheap.