[Farmall] FW: Spam> FYI: Antique Tractors: A real Investment Vehicle

[Robert Stock]

Hi all,
As a follow-up to the below article about tractor auctions, I also had attended a huge tractor dispersal auction in Pasco, WA on Sept. 13 which went most of the day. It was my first tractor auction and I was very pleased with what I saw. Here is the You-Tube link to my posted videos. I know you will enjoy watching them all.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=robertstock99&search_type=&aq=f
The actual list of 70 restored tractors is found in the link below by Musser Bros. There were 70 plus restored and numerous unrestored and parts/farm equipment not listed on the website. I would not be surprised if the auction cleared a $1 million. To me this was clearly the most amazing grouping of restored tractors I had ever seen outside of Ebay. I actually sat on and "worked" numerous tractors though did not plan to buy anything. Overall, I really enjoyed the day and the people I talked to were wonderful and very helpful.
http://www.mbauction.com/?Auction=79
 
I enjoy all the posts.
Kindest regards.
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Date: Thu, 25 Sep 2008 09:04:16 -0400From: mikesloane at verizon.netTo: farmall at lists.antique-tractor.comSubject: [Farmall] Spam> FYI: Antique Tractors: A real Investment Vehicle [My wife's reaction to this article was "good, let's get rid of some of those old tractors you have lying around". My reaction is that it is  going to make it tough for guys like me who don't have big bucks to  spend on old tractors. MS]  Antique Tractors: A Real Investment Vehicle  by Joyce Russell http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95016730&sc=emaf&sc=emaf  Morning Edition, September 25, 2008 · Skittish about the stock market  and credit crisis? There's another place to park your money: collectible  tractors. The sector is growing like never before — it has even  attracted European investors.  Before a recent auction on a farm near Shelby, Iowa, dozens of old  tractors were lined up in a field, ready for the auction block. Some  were shiny and restored, others were long unfamiliar with paint. And  some of them started right up.  They had names both familiar — John Deere and Case — and obscure, like  Oliver and Silver King.  "We started collecting tractors in 1974, and been collecting mostly ever  since," said Doreen Wonder, 79. "I love tractors. I'm really a tractor nut."  Wonder and her husband, both retired farmers, recently started seeing  some unfamiliar faces at their tractor collectors club: doctors, lawyers  and bankers. The sleepy world of collecting tractors, it seemed, was  becoming a high-stakes investment game.  Some of the tractors the couple bought for four figures early on now  bring six figures at auction, they said.  The auction brought a good turnout. Auctioneer Lonnie Nixon says that as  more and more tractor aficionados got in over the years, prices  gradually went up, as they would for any collectors' item not being made  any more.  But, he said, prices jumped dramatically in recent years. The reason?  Foreign investors.  "The Europeans, because of the exchange rate, if they spend $100,000  that's the same as spending $60,000," Nixon said.  "Any time you have the big old tractors, the Europeans will be there.  They buy them and ship them back to Europe."  And, Nixon explained, as the rarer models leave the country, demand  grows for the ones that remain.  Ken Eder, a 55-year-old railroad contractor who lives in Carthage, N.C.,  travels from auction to auction to buy tractors.  One of the new breed of investors, Eder started sinking dollars into old  tractors five years ago. He thinks of it as his retirement plan and has  seen prices sometimes double in a year. He also collects coins and  motorcycles.  "But tractors seem to be about the strongest market right now as far as  collection items," Eder said. "You can put your money into it, and you  can't lose."  Part of the fun, he says, is going to the shows and meeting people. But  you can also drive the tractor around, show it off to your friends —  something, he said, that's more difficult with a standard stock portfolio.  In Iowa, the Wonders have boosted their retirement income with a few  strategic sales. And the boom has reached a related sector of the  economy: Tractor restorers report that business is brisk. _______________________________________________ Farmall mailing list http://www.antique-tractor.com/mailman/listinfo/farmall
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