Probably the best way to downsize is to donate. They’re not worth wasting time trying to sell. I’m sure most collectors already have what I have, and to the LED world they are worth next to nothing. I don’t have much that is truly valuable and make a lot of money. I just collected for my own pleasure that’s it. No historical value.

 Dave , list some of it here on LG .

I don't really collect anything but keep spares for what we use, most of them are impossible to buy nowadays as everything in my country is just noname low quality LED garbage, my great-grandfather apparently did the same as we still have some hairpin carbon filament lamps he must've gotten around... no clue, house got the electric service in 1902 so they're probably from around that year, rated 110V which is the original voltage installed before switching to AC some years later, 110V AC did continue existing for a while, until 1935 I believe, there's not a lot of info about that other than a printed timeline at the power plant, and nobody who would know for sure is alive anymore.

What I believe is he got plenty of those and used them until the voltage change, and they've been in our basement ever since, quietly sitting in boxes nobody threw away, there's 18 seemingly intact ones and 4 more with detached bases. There's also 8 soviet lamps I believe are metalised carbon filaments from the 1920s.

I don't have a variac and not sure if they'll even work, as far as I know humidity basically destroys the filaments even if they look fine on the outside and there's a vacuum, and boy we're in a humid area, 90%+ RH throughout most of the year, and the basement was practically forgotten until ~8 years ago when I started throwing out all the crap, fixed the walls, installed a dehumidifier, etc.

They're just cool old items and fit in a single box. Everything else is used just because the alternative is awful 6500K LED with the lifespan of a burning match. I got most for cents at sales or for free either from the recycling centre or people who would simply hand them out for free because LED is "much better and cheaper" heh. The most I spend was $8 for a box of 8 old 150W linear halogen floodlights.

@Silverliner - Dave, evidently that's incorrect. You bought multiple lamps from me on eBay. I have a decent cash flow coming from excess or unneeded lamps in my collection.... just saying.

I don't have a variac and not sure if they'll even work, as far as I know humidity basically destroys the filaments even if they look fine on the outside and there's a vacuum, and boy we're in a humid area, 90%+ RH throughout most of the year, and the basement was practically forgotten until ~8 years ago when I started throwing out all the crap, fixed the walls, installed a dehumidifier, etc.

No this is not correct. If glass bulb is still intact, vacuum is here and lead-ins are not corroded, the lamp is ok. Glass is a near-perfect barrier.

@Silverliner - Dave, evidently that's incorrect. You bought multiple lamps from me on eBay. I have a decent cash flow coming from excess or unneeded lamps in my collection.... just saying.

Personally, I even do not expect any cash from lamps and gear I have. All of this have negative financial efficiency, honestly. Sometimes it pays off in getting an useful knowledge and experience I might sell professionally.

But I do not like to be called a collector and do not behave like a collector. More of an engineer playing with funny technical toys

With anything collectible, getting money for it is hit or miss. Only highly specific things are more valuable than their usage value, and which things are popular varies throughout time.

I've given the example before, but it's a great illustration.


This is an early 1930s Philips radio. At some point in time, around 2005, these things were worth around €1300. Some people had multiple from this series of radios.
10 years later, the value had dropped to about 300-400 euro in good condition. I've seen many angry and disappointed greybeards complaining that 'people these days' don't see the value in them anymore.
The market also started seeing actual market effects, because the old folks started dieing, so there were more of these radios on the market at auctions. Finally, the new generation of collectors doesn't fetishize this series of radio like the old guys did. A 1950s radio can be just as attractive depending on the design, but neither is likely to ever get to those crazy prices ever again.

There is one exception: rich Chinese people. Chinese culture is one where there is not much sentiment connected to vintage things. Old things over there are quickly thrown away once they have no use value anymore. But there are enough rich chinese people who do like to have something cool, like an old radio. These people are willing to pay hundreds of euro for a fairly common 1950s/1960s radio as long as it is in perfectly restored condition. Easily 10 times the normal value of one of those.
But it requires hard work to package a radio so well, that it survives the freight journey to China.

Finally, the new generation of collectors often does not have the giant houses the boomers had. Most of my generation only have an apartment. If you're very lucky you live alone but have 2 bedrooms, of which one you can convert to a hobby room. But that also means that even if you are given stuff for free, you cannot always accept it due to space constraints.
With lamps, this is not that big of an issue - they're reasonably small and easily stacked. However, street lighting fixtures are very bulky.

The thing with collectibles is that those are only as valuable as what someone is willing to pay from it. Especially with objects that don't have use-value anymore.

Then there is a funny thing of nostalgia. Like that 1930's radio above, I would say that probably greybeards who wanted one of these back in 2005 had probably some sort of connection to these from their childhood. Maybe they had one at their home when they were kids or at least remembers seeing these around back back in the 40's and 50's. Younger people didn't have such connection and nostalgia so it reduced the interest toward such items.

I think with certain lamps, like SOX, you can sell them for money on ebay, if its worth going through the trouble for you.

The film industry is also another potential customer. I think they buy up old stocks of lighting to have as props on scenes that require period correct items and technology, like for example, louvered fixtures in a scene of a show or movie. Usually seen chain hung because its easier then stem hanging for something that isn't permanent. There may be ones who also rent these items from collectors. Robert / rjluna2 has posted quite a few examples over the years that I've seen, of lighting in the set.

Also, never forget financial value is not the only value there is. Many things have great value: Historical, societal, cultural - but simply are not valued financially.

Yeah, if your looking to downsize, I'm sure many of us here on LG would snap it right up!

I think stuff like Westinghouse Lifeguard MVs, LPS/SOX, NOS vintage HID and incandescent will sell on eBay, you might have to keep them listed for a bit, especially if you list them at 20-30% off the average eBay price. Same goes for the vintage MV luminaires.

More modern lamps from the 2000s and stuff like modern T12/T8 fluorescent might be harder to sell as most of the people buying them are looking to keep their old lights running instead of collectors. Those you might have to sell as a lot or worst case donate to the Restore/thrift stores.