Reclaimed material prices, any increase

[Nolatoolguy]

I didn't see anything good at the flea market this weekend, or at least not in my budget. 

However, I was wondering if you guys are seeing the same trend in your area. I am in the suburbs of Chicago.

The past several months I have been noticing that old materials have gone up in price. I also have noticed all sorts of reclaimed furniture makers advertising. I am amazed at the price of some of the barn wood. I understand it has great character but it seams to be getting real expensive real quick.

I mentioned it to my scrap metal/flea market buddy asking if he thinks it's becoming more popular all the sudden. He totally agreed, that people in Chicago are buying it. As he said about five years ago he would scrap rusty tin panels by the pound, now you see them at the flea market for 15 bucks a panel.

So anyone else noticing this?

[Papaw]

Those have always been popular in the antique stores here, but I have been seeing more lately.

[Bill Houghton]

Rusty corrugated panels are currently hip, another attempt at "honest" workmanship by using materials in fake ways, oh bad, bad, what am I saying about fashion?

[oldgoaly]

I've sold the old windows out of my workshop & sheds, they were getting bad, so got new vinyl ones, did reduce the number. But selling the old one did pay for a couple of new ones. Replaced lower 2' on one shed, will be putting the old boards on craiglist when it thaws out.

[turnnut]

A few of those salvage tv shows might also have helped the sellers.

[HeelSpur]

A few of those salvage tv shows might also have helped the sellers.

This is true, I've heard American Pickers mentioned numerous times at flea markets.

[EVILDR235]

People would not like that corrugated tin so much if they had to build a fence around 3 acres of property with it. I help my friend back in the late 1970s fence in his wrecking / scrap metal yard. The stuff we were using was pretty heavy gauge, so we had to pre punch holes in it before we could nail it. Then we had to paint it what California calls a earth color. I wanted to paint pictures of old cars stacked on top of each other on the fence, but the DMV inspector did not see the humor in it. I remember back then a good used 8 foot sheet of that corrugated tin was $2.00

EvilDr235

[Ken W.]

A few years ago I helped my brother in law carefully remove just about every board from an old barn that was to be torn down. He put this wood up in one of the rooms in the house as the "Farm theme" room. It does look really cool. Now he has a shed full of barn wood he has been selling off at quite a profit.

[Chillylulu]

Right now the economy is starting to soar and prices are coming up.

Wages have been stagnant, now we can't hire fast enough.

It's gonna be good for a few years. I ascribe to the philosophy of (in collecting) buy all the time, as muchvas you dare. You'll hit some sweet scores.

Now I am running out of room......

Chilly

[Nolatoolguy]

Thanks for all the great comments.

The more I think, I have a feeling thoe it's just a trend. Styles(none of them I understand) come an go.

[Mort]

I dunno, I think its a good thing. I was listening to an interview on Opie and Anthony with Anthony Bourdain, and he brought up a good point about hipsters. As irritating as they are, they do a lot of good for neglected places and things. In the interview he was speaking specifically about Detroit, but would say that if you have a run down warehouse district, move some hipsters in there to remodel, live in lofts, and soon the area is revitalized. Doesn't always work, but when it does, all the better.

The same can be said about these items. While they don't have the panache of a Tiffany lamp, or other valuables you'd see on Antiques Roadshow, they certainly don't deserve to be sold for scrap, or lay out in a shed forgotten. Maybe they do cost more, but they won't forever. The upside is, it is a lot easier to find the items we love, and information about them.

[Plyerman]

Good points there Mort