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What are you paying for pewter?
There seems to be a good amount of it for sale by the piece on FB Marketplace, but it seems high. I’ve checked local Goodwill stores, but that’s just a waste of time.
Just wondering where are you finding it and how much is it going for.
You have to keep checking the goodwill, and salvation army thrift shops, even garage sales. You never know what you're gonna find. A couple of weeks ago, I found a candle holder for $1.09 plus tax. That one yielded 2.3 oz. The same day, I found another candle holder for $2. plus tax. Yielded 8.5 oz.
The value of any commodity depends on how much you have, how much you need it and what your prospects are to get it elsewhere.
I’ve sold many hundred pounds here at $8 a pound. I tried to keep my average price under $4 a pound while I was doing that. Virgin tin and solder are well in excess of $25 a pound. If I needed tin I would pay $10 a pound for enough pewter to hold me over until I could find a better price. But that is me. Each must decide for themselves.
Check Flea Markets, Thrift stores, Garage sales, antique and consignment shops. Make your search a reason to go to these places. Pewter is out there. The Plandemic is hurting business. People want to sell and in that they will ordinarily negotiate.
I am AVERAGING less than $5 per pound while closing in on 30 pounds purchased as parts and pieces. Thirty pounds of tin melted into 1,470 pounds of lead (I don't have that much lead - yet - but am working on it) is an alloy of 2% tin.
There does seem to be regional variations in pewter availability and price.
I've found it at thrifts, garage and estate sales and at auction houses but only inconsistently. Checking blind had a very low yield: only finding an item or two once every three or four visits (I used to do weekly rounds) and not always at a price I was willing to pay (like imashooter2, I tried to keep it under $4 a pound). On line descriptions with pictures of estate sales and auctions helped make for more efficient use of my time. Going late on the last day of an estate sale risks missing out, but often gets a better price.
I managed to collect 400+ pounds over four years or so out here in the SF Bay Area, averaging a bit under $3 a pound. I could have collected more faster, but I tried to keep good price discipline, walking away if I didn't like the price. Interestingly, I was willing to pay a bit more when I first started out, wanting to build my stock, then, once I had a supply, I could be more price selective. Towards the end of my collecting, I was willing to pay a bit more as I started to value my time a bit more.
And, no, I am not planning on making and using 10 tons of 2% alloy, though there was a time when I could have. I just got carried away with the hunt and the thrill of a good score. That's sort of worn off, though, as I get older and find other things like actually shooting are more enjoyable.
That’s quite a stash. Agreed, time and fuel costs keep me from driving all over the place.Quote:
Originally Posted by kevin c
Just for comparison sake...99.3% tin/.7% copper is $35.00 +shipping a pound at a stained glass shop I deal with. As stated this is for comparison sake. It would be unreal to pay that much with all the junk pewter at yard sales and flee markets.
Also a possibility for pewter is 18th century Market Fairs and Rendezvous.
Rotometals (top of this page) has Tin for $27/lb shipping included with minimum. Had no idea it had gone up so much
It seems someone in my area is buying up all the thrift store pewter, as I rarely seen it at any price. I've found some at garage sales, but most of mine has been found at the metal recyclers.
The honey hole thrift stores prices I use to rake it in from have gone way up. I haven’t seen much pewter after the price hike. I haven’t picked any new pewter items up all summer. I won’t buy candle stick holders anymore. Only 2 to 3 oz of pewter after tearing out the weighted plaster in most cases. I have passed on a lot of them recently for ninety nine cents. Only pewter I have run into. I’m guessing the local scrounges who haven’t bought them are on the same page. I must have over a dozen candle stick holders to rip apart and melt from years past. In normal times I usually pay ninety nine cents for sone thing lighter, $1.99 for a mug or similar, or $2.99 per per a good heavy piece that is a pound give or take. I’ve picked up some huge water/coffee, tea pots that have been around 2 pounds for the $3.99 range. For example, I rand into one of the same big pots the other day for $8. I passed because I have ALOT of pewter already. I will be melting some down today into ignots and probably listing it here to pay for some jacked bullets a member is holding onto for me.
I had a bunch of vendors at thrift stores and flea markets that would sell me their damaged or not moving pewter items for $3/lb. Some folks got out of the business and pewter got a bit scarce. Price edged up to $4/lb. Year to a year and a half ago Dungeons and Dragons got popular and the price for pewter hit $7-10/lb. Young couples were buying up everything in sight to cast custom game pieces for crazy money. Saw some on the local CL and ebay. I lost all my old vendors to the D and D crowd and covid. Glad I stashed a bunch. If I have a job in the big city, I'll get lucky and find some in the thrift stores.
Sn, like Au, is where you find it! I have never ever found any pewter pieces worthy of melting down at junk stores. They want way too much for it. I buy only antique pewter pieces for my 17th-18th century collection when they show up. I find pure Sn and rich alloys at my local scrap yards for $1.00/# normally. I have many hundreds of pounds of the stuff. And no it is NOT for sale.
If you have the time (and gas money today!!) to waste going to every yard sale, junk shop and flea market in your area, more power to you! I still own my own engineering firm and work 6 days a week. No time for dilly-dallying in junk stores here and there for a bit of pewter.
Good luck, but you can always find Sn at Roto and save all that time and gas money. I always see sellers on here popping up with Sn and pewter for sale at somewhat reasonable prices. It has really gone up recently, as have all primary metal prices!!!!! You do not need much......1-2% is perfect.
Hope you find some.
banger
Yeah, :-(, I checked there first.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mal Paso
With fairly common pewter found for an average of $5/#, sold (not to shooters) for close to $30/#, and according to the "character" of the piece(s) sells for a LOT more on line or a Renaissance Fair, makes pewter a GREAT Investment with an ROI of 600% in the 1st instance and "Sky's the Limit" in the 2nd.
Good luck to you my Work-A-Day friends...Time in retirement means every day is Saturday.
Found for $10. Sold for $150 (ROI of 1500%).
https://i.postimg.cc/tgrXp4RP/Goblets-sm.jpg