On the Subject of Bottles

(Updated Info 06/09) Most of the info in this post are still valid. The same 15 cases of bottles are still sitting on my back patio waiting for me to do something with them. LOL

I was on my back patio today and found myself staring at 15 cases of bottles that I had acquired in a trade with another dealer about two years ago. There are well over 1000 bottles in those cases. They are mostly food, medicinal and cosmetic bottles that came out of a Los Angeles area dump years ago and had been in storage in a Hollywood garage. (The bottles in the picture are not mine). I don't have time to try and catalog them so I pull out a few interesting ones every now and then, clean them up and put them on auction. In addition to these I have about 100 soda, beer and liquor bottles left that I will also slowly introduce to the auction circuit. I have very few dairy bottles left from a large lot that I purchased several years ago, but I am keeping my eyes open for more of these at a price I can afford to buy.

During the time that I had my own brick and mortar store, I learned that bottle collectors, regardless of what type of bottles they collect, fall into three groups. There are those who are only interested in bottles from their own local area. There is another group who collect a specific type, for example dairy, liquor,etc,etc. Finally there is a small but dedicated group who collect for the shapes and designs that the mineral deposits, heat and pressure from being underground or underwater leave on the bottles. I have seen some astonishingly beautiful collections in this later category.

I have a fairly wide selection of bottles in storage from all of these areas and gradually intend to put them into my auction mix. I have a very limited knowledge of value, primarily based only on sales experience. When these bottles are posted and you happen to be interested in one or more of them, do not hesitate to email me with an offer if you think I am being ridiculous. I am not here to make anybody mad. I am here to make you happy. Also I appreciate being educated, so I don't mind trading negotiated discounts for expanding my knowledge base. Just a few thoughts to chew on.

Thanks for listening.