Picked up a collection of 300 vintage flashlights at auction

kgroenland

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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.

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PhotonWrangler

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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:
 

PhotonWrangler

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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.
 

Burgess

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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:
_
 

jorgen

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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 know much more than a seller. Oh yeah, thats quite a nice haul you've got there. :)
 
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Websniper

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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.
 

Tracer

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

gcbryan

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

kgroenland

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$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
 

Burgess

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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 !

:)
_
 

gcbryan

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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.
 
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StarHalo

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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..
 
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kaichu dento

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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.
 
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