Picked up a collection of 300 vintage flashlights at auction

Hello. I just picked up a collection of around 300 vintage flashlights yesterday at an auction with the intent of selling them all off on ebay. Now that I have them home and spread out, these are really cool, and I am thinking maybe I will keep a few, however I have NO idea about collecting flashlights. Can anyone recommend some good resources for information? The only reason I purchased these was because I got them for $1.00 each, and there were a few Winchester brand in the mix, which I know have some valve, otherwise I have no idea if any of the rest have value. Any help would be appreciated! I have attached some pictures of one of the "nicer" looking ones that I could not find any information on from google.

Thanks, Kevin.

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...s/IMGP5151.jpghttp://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...s/IMGP5153.jpghttp://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...s/IMGP5154.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...s/IMGP5152.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...s/IMGP5159.jpg

Whoah, now that's a collection.

WOW!!!!!!!!!!

Consider urself lucky my friend.

Very nice collection! Looks like you scored there.

I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that the person who sold them to you is a flashaholic. Just a wild guess. :laughing:

Here are some closer pics:

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...s/IMGP5160.jpghttp://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...s/IMGP5161.jpghttp://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...s/IMGP5162.jpghttp://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...s/IMGP5163.jpghttp://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...s/IMGP5164.jpghttp://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...s/IMGP5165.jpghttp://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...s/IMGP5166.jpghttp://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...s/IMGP5167.jpg

Amazing. I recognize at least two of those from my childhood. It seems that with all of the differences in the design of the body and the lens, the slide switches were pretty much the same for a long time.

Jackpot ! ! !


:thumbsup:


Quite a collection here.

Would love to see 'em individually photographed. :)



Lots of Boat-tail Switches in the bunch.


First thing I would do:

Open up every single one, and check the insides for
possible damage from leaking batteries.

Put those tainted specimens in a separate box.


Then, i'd sort them according to Battery Size.


By the way, we would all LOVE to see more photos of these stately beauties.

Bet many of 'em would have Quite a Story to tell !


:welcome:
_

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by kgroenland

I have no idea if any of the rest have value.

---

There is a book with values titled Collecting Flashlights by Stuart Schnieder. You can find it at Amazon. Ive nerver seen it but I have seen one of his other books and it was informative.
OTOH, one of the nicest things about selling on eBay is that the bidders determine the value and they often no much more than a seller.

Oh yeah, thats quite a nice haul you've got there. :)

Wow very cool. It's hard to tell from the pics on my phone regarding the general age of most of the lights, but if you come across any Panerai flashlights in the mix, I'd be interested in purchasing it, regardless of condition.

Thats a great find!
I'm not jealous, not really, just green of envy

An online resource for you would be the Flashlight Museum. Just Google "Flashlight Museum" for the exact web address (I can't recall it).

Whoa! Easily close to $10k in lights there, if not more...some really nice pieces there!

$10K! I will be happy if I make $1K after all is said and done selling them one at a time. From what I can figure, most are $2-10 flashlights on ebay but I do have a few I have identified as a little more rare, like a British eveready 4 cell circa 1939

I am starting to list these tonight on Ebay at 9PM Central. I am going to try and get 5-10 up a day. Since there is no For Sale section on this forum, I will just include the link to my ebay user listings for anyone who is interested. Thank you all for your help, the flashlight museum has been a great resource.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/kgroenland/m...&_trksid=p3692

Just checked out yer' Ebay listings.

Nice photos.

May i suggest:

On "oddball" items, like the Eveready Flask or Pistol, include a Ruler in the photograph.
Gives a better idea of the relative size, since many have never seen anything like this in person.

Since you clearly state "no returns allowed", it would indeed be nice if you could *Verify* the
required battery sizes, rather than saying "it LOOKS like it takes D cells" . (for instance)

What size batteries does the Eveready Flask require ? ? ? The Pistol ? ? ?

I would tend to speculate that it must be a "weird" battery size, since you state you don't have
any batteries to test it. Perhaps my speculation is not true at all -- in which case,
you may simply have scared somebody away.


These are just helpful suggestions, for you to consider.

Good Luck in your sale.

Hope these vintage beauties have yet another opportunity to SHINE !

:)
_

I just looked at your lists as well. Nice! You might consider adding "Buy It Now" prices to some of them. Particularly the more inexpensive ones. Sometimes if I'm just looking for a nice retro light from the 60's I'll just look at the Buy it Now items as I"m not going to wait 6 days to find out if I got it or not.

I'd also be sure to mention if the light works and if there is corrosion inside the tube and if the reflector crown isn't really good mention that and show a picture. A glass lens can be replaced but internal corrosion or a reflector that isn't in good shape are much harder to deal with.

Also, try to keep shipping as low as possible. If the item isn't expensive tracking isn't required and with 300 lights to sell I've sure you will get very efficient with shipping.

Buy It Now + CPF knows about it = sold

Also, totally digging that finned number with the red taillight, and the pristine brass bullet top center in the third from last pic..

Twenty years from now some guy will have a spread like this he got from an auction full of Surefires, McGizmos, HDS's..

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by kgroenland

Since there is no For Sale section on this forum, I will just include the link to my ebay user listings for anyone who is interested.

---

I wish you could have listed them in the CPF MarketPlace where we could look at all of them and you wouldn't have to pay any eBay fees.

What kaichu said...just saw some of those older angle-heads as well...now THOSE look NICE!!!

For some reason I was never able to get the CPF Marketplace site to load until this morning. Half the time I try to log on here, it's down as well so that's why I was never able to post on the marketplace. I sell faucets on ebay full time for a living, so I don't mind the fees, and I think it's the best way for me to move these. I will start most of them at $1.99 and the shipping is $5.99 for each light and of course I will combine shipping, I am NOT looking to make money off shipping at all. A far as the "No return" policy, I did not notice I had it set that way, I have changed the return policy to a 7 day, so if you get the light and it does not match the description, I will take it back at the buyers shipping expense. I will try my best to "test every light to see if it works, but I am not going to spend much time if it does not fire up right away, there are simply too many lights. If anyone has a particular light they want me to list, just send me a message and I will put it up for you.

FYI I won't play auction games. Do us a favor and just cut to the chase and do buy it now.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by richpalm

FYI I won't play auction games. Do us a favor and just cut to the chase and do buy it now.

---

Same here, too much anguish involved, especially when you realize you haven't been able to get online for five hours and the auction ended 30 minutes ago.


Rich, nice sig line! Waiting for the Sun is a reference to your lights!

Now that person was a flashaholic!!! haha

Cheater. You are supposed to collect them one at a time. :nana:

Seriously sweet swag there.

ugh! I am jealous XD There are some gorgeous lights in there! I'm seeing a few with the repositionable head pieces. I had one of those as a kid but it didn't work very well.

Very nice! If I were you, I'd just keep them all! Because I bet you won't get more from selling them then what you paid for them. A lot of people are picky about their antiques (not me!), the slightest bit of damage will net you 0 bids.

Here's a good place to help you in your auction listings, I've seen a lot of these lights on here before:
http://www.flashlightmuseum.com/collectors.cfm

Also, any type of sandpaper will work well at getting battery corrosion from the springs and connectors. Works every time for me! Just be careful, as with some heavily rusted ones, the more you sand, the less you're going to have left!

I see some old Bond lights from the 1920's in there!

Very nice and a lot of cleaning and testing I think.

wow, theres some great stuff there!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by PhotonWrangler

Very nice collection! Looks like you scored there.

I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that the person who sold them to you is a flashaholic. Just a wild guess. :laughing:

---

Id say the person who (sold them) tollerated the flashaholic LOL and hopefully for many good years.