http://shopping.msn.com/content/shp/?ctId=6140,ptnrid=164,ptnrdata=302074>1=10133
With all the discussions of escalating vintage appliance prices, this article piqued my interest. Those of you who collect small appliances especially might want to clutch your children close to you and stare in horror.
Heretofore, I figured that vintage washers, dryers, and dishwashers would be safe, because their performance and capacity are so different from what most people are accustomed to nowadays (and would tolerate). However, I'm finding that this is not always the case--or, as Steve R. mentioned, at the very least, people with neat stuff are getting the hazy sense that it's worth a lot.
I don't know if most of you have experienced this as well, but the thrift stores also apparently think that they're sitting on a veritable gold-mine. Of course, that's good for them if someone will pay the higher prices, but bad for those of us who--just a few years ago--were used to a plethora (there's that word, El Guapo) of cheap, interesting appliances.
As time marches forward, and more things go into the trash with nothing to take their place, I can only guess that the situation will worsen. Nevertheless, in the end, I guess it just goes to show that the value of anything is determined by how badly someone wants it, and what they're willing to pay for it...
*sigh*
The really sad aspect of it all is that now, I feel like I can't be honest about who I am and what I do with these finds--I can't tell people "Oh, I'm a collector and I play with them," because it's like flipping a switch for instant greed. In the face of an evolving market and shift in supply versus demand, I guess I'll have to tell people that I am Mother Teresa of Montgomery Ward, redistributing them to the poor, or something similar that's patently false, but improbable to incite money-grubbing.
*double-sigh*
I'm not looking for an answer...I just long for the days of the appliance underground
With all the discussions of escalating vintage appliance prices, this article piqued my interest. Those of you who collect small appliances especially might want to clutch your children close to you and stare in horror.
Heretofore, I figured that vintage washers, dryers, and dishwashers would be safe, because their performance and capacity are so different from what most people are accustomed to nowadays (and would tolerate). However, I'm finding that this is not always the case--or, as Steve R. mentioned, at the very least, people with neat stuff are getting the hazy sense that it's worth a lot.
I don't know if most of you have experienced this as well, but the thrift stores also apparently think that they're sitting on a veritable gold-mine. Of course, that's good for them if someone will pay the higher prices, but bad for those of us who--just a few years ago--were used to a plethora (there's that word, El Guapo) of cheap, interesting appliances.
As time marches forward, and more things go into the trash with nothing to take their place, I can only guess that the situation will worsen. Nevertheless, in the end, I guess it just goes to show that the value of anything is determined by how badly someone wants it, and what they're willing to pay for it...
*sigh*

The really sad aspect of it all is that now, I feel like I can't be honest about who I am and what I do with these finds--I can't tell people "Oh, I'm a collector and I play with them," because it's like flipping a switch for instant greed. In the face of an evolving market and shift in supply versus demand, I guess I'll have to tell people that I am Mother Teresa of Montgomery Ward, redistributing them to the poor, or something similar that's patently false, but improbable to incite money-grubbing.
*double-sigh*

I'm not looking for an answer...I just long for the days of the appliance underground
