Was this Spider too Cheap?

[rustygold]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=150163711389&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=005

It seams to me like this pan sold at a bargain price. From what I could tell they took poor pictures of it and it would clean up nice and be a nice Spider. I am curious if anybody bought it on here and if they did I am curious if it does clean up nicely.

Plus I would like to have a mini discusion on prices. I understand that prices are somewhat soft because of the economy. But I still expected what looked like a nice example of a rare to find piece to go for more.

I have seen less than perfect examples go probably to cheap on ebay lately. I can understand that more than what looks like a rare piece not selling for top dollar. Most of the examples out here of this pan have some type of issue. So when one comes along with little or no issues I would expect it to still comand a premium price.

[C. Perry Rapier]

Well Greg, I have seen better spiders than that one. But that one brought a fair price I'd say, maybe a tad on the low side but not much. It ain't as good as they say it is, but it is good though. I never even seen that skillet on ebay, so they must have had it listed some way that, in my opinion, hurt the exposure that it would have otherwise gotten.

[C. B. Williams]

Sorry, but I keep my price ideas on the "members only" side of this forum.

[Blake Williams]

Let me give you my "price ideas" since this is the side of the forum you asked the question on.  This pan was cheap if it was as nice as it appeared to be.  I highly considered the pan myself as the spider logo was very well defined but the pictures of the inside didn't do the pan justice.  I feel like the pan's condition was fine but spending $1500 +  I didn't want to take that chance.  This pan with the right exposure and the right pics will bring 2 - 2500.  

[rustygold]

Thank you for the replies. I have been following Spiders lately trying to gage the market. One was listed a few weeks back that was only a couple of miles from where I lived so I drove down to look at it. I had not sean one before. I bid what I thought was a bid to low to get it and got it. The gentleman that sold it to me told me he paid $ 6 for it at a local flea market. It does have a fair amount of pitting on it. If it where not a Spider and a more common pan I would guess no collector would want it. Even thought it is a Spider I would guess it would still be a little on the rough side for many collectors.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=180151027514&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=008


I have been trying to gauge prices as a friend of my fathers and my friend as well to a lessor extent passed away a few months ago. He had been collecting for about 30 years and has a pretty substantial collection. He likes Wagner more than Griswold, but he has a fair amount of both.

His widow has requested that I list all of his cast iron on ebay. I have told her that things supposedly sell for more in November and December. I have been trying to judge the market and see if she sould try selling this year or hold off until the economy gets better. It looks to me like things are not bringing what they should. I would like her to get top dollar. Probably the rarepieces will bring good money, but it looks like some of the more common pieces are having trouble selling.

Anyhow than you for the advice.

Greg

[mariastahl]

How about  a well advertised local live auction rather than eBay? - Around here, anything with a "name" goes ridiculously high at local auctions. I don't think I'd put a really rare piece in a local auction because nobody would know what it was, but the common pans? People don't know what they're doing and bid really high.

[rustygold]

Well a few problems with a local auction. One is we are in a rural area. There are few people up here with money to begin with except big three auto retirees. The retirees are not spending the money like they used to as they are all worried about their pensions going south. The rest of Michigan is very tied to the auto industry. Metro Detroit is undergoing a economic meltdown. We are at is not as quite as bad as they are, but money is tight. I suspect that a sale at this time in this location would bring poor returns.

My sugestion was to sell the nicer stuff on ebay and the more common pieces hold onto and sell at a later date. I do think the sets of skillets and lids for instance will bring more broken up by size than as a completed set. When you are talking about the skillets and lids above #10's for instance you are talking about a decent chunk of change for an 11 with a lid a 12 etc... and someone may just need a 13 for instance to complete a set and they will probably bring more piecemeal than as a set. I have not sean any of his colection for over  year. I did not see it in it's entirety, but I saw a fair amount of nice stuff. I can not say for certainty what he has thought as I didn't take notes and I am rather a newbie to C.I. I need to consult the books and compaire to veryfy details etc... I can't just see a piece and know exactly what it is unless it is a more common piece I run into every day.  So I don't know all he has, but some of his pieces where on the priceier side and should bring decent money on ebay.

I was thining of setting up some earlier teaser sales to get the fedback pumped up wiht a few C.I. feedbacks. I need to do that soon as fall is hear and sales time is sneaking up on me.

Thank you for the input. I would not mind buying a few pieces myself. BUt I am in the rental landcontract game. I am not getting paid by everyone and I do not have everything occupoed. Property taxes and insuracne as still due however. It makes it a little tight to be buying much. Actualy the spider I mentioned I told my dad to give me the money as I thoght it was worth more than that. Even thought it was pretty cheap it was still out of my price range.

Thank you for the inputs thought.

Greg

[Mark Ritter]

Hi Greg. We have meet three times now and I also have bought a couple of pieces from you. I also knew of the gentleman that you are speaking of. He does have some interesting pieces that I also wouldn't mind having. But with the economy the way it is that isn't going to happen. I took pictures of what he had at the shop but for some reason they didn't turn out very well. I would like to tell of some of the items he had but I don't know if that would be proper to do. But I will say this, this is the gentleman that I bought the diamond marked 18 skillet with cover from. Well anyway Greg, good luck on sale and sorry to hear of his passing. I am sure he will be missed.

[rustygold]

Mark,

I would not be offended and I am sure Becker would not be offended if you shared what you remeber of his collection with the group. He was a pretty easy going fellow. And I can't see how he would have been offended.

When they told him he had six months to live he didn't mope around an feal sorry for himself. He went to Africa on a hunt. It was something he had always wanted to do. And he figured why the heck not. They don't let you shoot big game anymore as he would  have liked, he shot some type of pronged antelope instead. My point is he was a very precticle fellow who would be hard to offend, he also didn't waste alot of time worrying about inpracticle things. In fact as he was checking out he was sending his gun collection off to auction. There is a ready auction market for Firearms in Chicago that you can get reasobable top dollar in. He did not waste much time bemoaning the sale of his Gun collection, I am sure he will not be bemoaing the sale of his cast iron collection whichever place he ended up. His widow wants to sell his Cast Iron collectin off and it is practicle to inform some cast iron collectors what is available.

[Mark Ritter]

Ok then, here is some pictures of Mr. Beckers collection at his barber shop. The pictures are poor but they will give you an idea of what he had. He had more at home but I never seen those. The only reason I post these is in the hope of helping some members in getting some of these pieces if they wish. If I am breaking any rules in posting this, please feel free to delete this posting.

[Mark Ritter]

#2  The pan at the end is a wagner cake pan #1510

[Mark Ritter]

#3-5

[Mark Ritter]

#6-#8

[Mark Ritter]

#9

[mariastahl]

He had all this in his barber shop? That's really cute.  :)

[rustygold]

Yes, he had a barber shop / sporting goods store. He was a barber by trade but I guess it was about 20 years ago he combined the two. He always like running coon dogs etc... So it was a natural fit. He had some more stuff at his home. I have been shaving my head for several years and I had not been into the barbershop side of his shop so I had not seen any of these pieces, everything I saw was at his house.

[Bob Logan]

I see a nice bailed #14 hanging in one of those pictures :D

[Roger Barfield]

I see a nice bailed #14 hanging in one of those pictures :D

There's an ERIE spider skillet hanging next to it too. :o

[C. Perry Rapier]

I see a nice bailed #14 hanging in one of those pictures :D

There's an ERIE spider skillet hanging next to it too. :o

Man that Rogers got some sharp eyes. Now Roger, I didn't SEE the spider but I HEARD him walking, does that count for something? I'd like to have one of them bailed skillets someday if I ever run across one, you don't see them too much. I've seen some on flea baby before but most of them was cracked and looked like they was a shop class welding project for the 6th grade.

[rustygold]

I contacted the sellor of this and asked him if he would take $200. He said $259 was al low as he could go. He relisted it and got $344. Should I have jumped on this or not? I would imagine the tea kettle are rarer as they held water and not greasy products. But then again I think less people are interested in them. Apparently it was worth more than I could have got it for, but how much? is this going to be one of those deals that I let get away from me that haunts me. Like that Iron Mountain complete set I vasilated on getting that I believe Will ened up getting a great deal on. Or was this just a fair buy?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=140163749082&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=004