You may have seen the show American Pickers on the History Channel where the guys drive around the country "picking" other peoples' stuff. They find some neat stuff and the show is generally fun to watch.
On this week's episode they visited a guy with a lot of antique automobile memorabilia like things related to gas stations including a lot of antique gas pumps. The stars of the show like to buy this sort of stuff but this particular person did not want to sell any of his gas pumps because he "is going to restore them for his retirement."
Whether he restores them or not could have been hoarder-speak and will never know what happens but this gentleman clearly loves the memorabilia in question, appeared to have dozens of these pumps and the show gave the impression that he indeed knows how restore them.
If you look around a little bit on the interweb you will find old gas pumps for sale ranging from $5000-$15,000. One related website gave a wide estimate of 20-100 hours to restore a pump and I would assume that amount of time would not pertain to beginners. For someone who'd spent their first 60 years around these things then finding them (or having them in a back shed), restoring them and selling them would be well inside the wheelhouse.
I don't know the costs involved in restoring a gas pump but using the numbers above, if the profits range from $2500-$7500 then it doesn't take too many restored gas pumps during the year to supplement a decent income and/or relieve the burden off of an investment portfolio. One gas pump per calendar quarter would go pretty far for someone living an $80,000 lifestyle and 20-100 hours over the course of a three month period is not an unreasonable time burden.
A related example could be camping trailers like the one pictured. There is a market for vintage/retro/antique everything and some narrow slice of the population with the access and know how for all of it. The point here is not that you should go out an learn how to restore espresso machines, motorcycles or anything else but to circle back to an often repeated idea; retirement is going to be different for many of us. For many it will mean having income from some sort of job. People who can accept this probability early have a better chance of figuring out how to make money from something they love doing and would do for free.
It is reasonable to think that people who must work would rather do something they enjoy as opposed to being forced to take
something that will pay them an income.
Often in this context you will see negative comments about being the Walmart greeter which I won't dump on. I don't know any Walmart greeters but there was a guy reviewing receipts at our Costco for at least ten years who loved the job in a way that is difficult to believe unless you saw it firsthand. Where someone can love that so much, so too could someone love being the Walmart greeter. Just as this may seem odd to some, I'm sure my interest in firefighting seems odd to others.
6 comments:
Roger,
Your comments today really hit home with me. I have been a 'collector' all my life. I had a large antique horn phonograph collection as well as a collection of reproducing pianos , Ampico and DuoArt, from the 1920s. I restored them and sold the collections eventually to help fund retirement. I also collected and restored early British Sportscars. Just prior to my retirement, in the late 1990s I sold those cars as well. It was a painful choice but it has helped keep me solvent during the last decade. Now,well into retirement, I collect and restore early tube type radios. Occasionally I sell some of them to raise some cash. It's all part of the plan and sure has worked well for me.
Good post Roger.
One piece of advice. What ever your interest, check it out-thoroughly. Go to shows and find out from experts how to do and what not to do. e.g., restoring antique guns would be disastrous as their value lies in the quality of the condition found, not a restorer's art.
A counter example could be baseball cards.
I've always collected them, though for the last 10 years I only buy really cheap large collections or cards associated with my favorite players or team.
The card manufacturers really expanded production in the 90s and it's difficult to sell cards for decent cash anymore.
thanks for the comments everyone.
SD, aside from staying informed which you've done, I think your starting point is buying and holding on for a long time but maybe the better context would be buying and selling without necessarily holding on
American Pickers filmed a spot about three miles from my home. It was the guy with a fortress house in Varnum, NC.
I drove past their Mercedes van, waved at 'em, and they waved and honked.
I told my kids about it, and their response was "Do you REALLY want to admit you live so close to a Picker's camera shoot"?
T
This can go either way with making money from a hobby. I follow RVs, which would seem to be a great subject for restoration. Cheap to buy, labor intensive, but requiring only moderate skills. But there is no market for the majority of restorations; you simply can't recoup your investment since (with a few exceptions) there is no demand.
It's not for everyone, but my solution - I just keep everything, probably 100 tons of stuff. Just consider it "held for sale".
Rich
Post a Comment