Vintage Lighting E-Bay old stage lights and ambition to expand the museum.

ship

Senior Team Emeritus
Premium Member
Normal keywords Vintage Stage Light, Vintage Stage Lighting, Antique Stage Light, Antique Stage Lighting often pull up different results. And yesterday a general search where amongst all the LED stuff, an important antique find not found on any of the other searches.

So I have thru a friend at work, an ability to get a small/medium lot of both antique and semi- antique but viable Modern lights at a college in Sioux Falls, IA. The viable lights I would service call and give away in not selling. The antiques I don’t have but, would give away or trade for other lights I don’t have duplicates after restoration. Totally losing money in time and materials on both options but a labor of love, but all lights involved would be to my standards of safey. which is often better than factory spec.

Challenges are:

A) How to get the lights.

- It’s eight hours away, and nothing in the area to support a "Family mini vacation" in getting them. Plus the family SUV is not that large in fitting a hoard or lights + family luggage.

- I could go alone but would fairly well piss off the Wife & Child in going away for a weekend even if it’s part of our Child’s future inheritance in adding to lights the museum worth probably a lot, but years from now as an investment in what about 2/3 I own.

- There is a semi-large venu in the area, If I were to coordinate with the trucking department a 4'x4'x4' pallet container shipped to a local school while the show is going on, it could be picked up with show gear from the local show. Would probably piss off the crew chief for the show in losing that area of truck pack, but can be worked out. Problem is getting that amount of cubic space in the back of a show’s trailer, and in general a bit of time before it can get picked up when there in waiting for a show in the area. Doesn’t sound like the theater wants to store the lights long.

-The shop owns a heavy duty pickup truck I have already taken instead of my car (needs work) on multiple installs or service calls.... but to pick up some more lights for the museum... can work but have to get political approval on that in that most would think the museum too large already at only like +160 lights. Might be the best option though.

B) Where to put them and cost?

-Had to move out of some spaces the lights were displayed because of an "Open concept" for shop design. Somewhat good in ladders moved about frequently carelessly hit some of the lights anyway. Was told I could hang all in the main hang room, but that was years ago. Would be a great thing, we could bring them down on hoists for school tours and physically looking at them. Totally out of space in over hanging 12' up what is shown for most. Acquired space after that open concept area left for me is also filled up. I don’t really don’t have space left to mount all the new lights, or those I want from Ebay now. Coordinating with Shop Management where to put more is a hard sell even if the early offer to hang in the main rig room. Carbon Arc spotlight I’m passing on in no floor space for any such thing.

-School was sending feelers also about the purchase of the gear, and or what is it worth after initially looking to donate the gear for a good home. I can understand that in wanting some cash to do what they need and have often with a lot of front office resistance, cut a $1K check, and or traded modern lights for ancient lights. This as opposed to given away lights to supplement at our cost or negotiating such a trade between non-profits I had to service the lights for.

-Wanted to know the worth of their lights in consideration. Fair enough if they want some money now as opposed to giving them away short of scrapping them. Did my analysis from 10 years ago when I was doing E-Bay actively on what they have in what it will have been listed for or sold for back than in hopes.

- I note in surfing E-Bay for lights in getting comparable modern pricing, the old lights seem a lot less listed, or perhaps that’s just a slow part of the year factor I used to note, or is normal in amount of old lights listed - romantic memory from a few years ago in what I got.

Concern in this is if the antique/vintage market has dropped off or if it’s normal and sustained as seemingly pricing all over the board. My view is there is a lack of cheap antiques now. Bad in pricing what inventory they have.

-Goal is to get the lights - many on my punch list to acquire. Pay a few hundred as needed in eaiser than a trade of show gear to donated gear - not easy either for the purpose.

C) Option anyone out in the area that can pickup and store the fixtures? Will get out to teach how to make the fixtures back to factory spec, and pickup for museum. But if you have a need for more lighting and especially more local... best in you keeping duplicates - antique or viable.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back