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Collection, Preservation and Display of Old Lawn Mowers

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Hello All

After seeing this Atco Lightweight on Ebay for £2000 I assumed it was April 1st!!!!

Those new to collecting please don't be fooled by listings like this, total pack of lies, the last Atco Lightweight I saw on ebay around 3 months ago & complete didn't sell for £20 &  was not missing parts as with this one.

That said they are less common than Atco standards and did have a short production run of around 2 years (not a couple of months) also there are a few other models between the standard & the alloy kick start!

As to being the only one in the world, I have 2 at present, & have had probably 6 more passing through in the last 10 years, there are many more held by club members.

So perhaps a wake up call for any new members & the cheek of it, the seller appears to be in the lawn mower servicing business! Not a very good one as he hasn't figured out how to fit the grass box.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Atco-slide-kick-start-the-first-design-and-t…

 

olcadmin Sun, 03/01/2021

Good advice Clive and sadly not the only old mowers listed on eBay with totally unrealistic prices, let alone misleading descriptions.

 

wristpin Sun, 03/01/2021

Those new to collecting please don't be fooled by listings like this, total pack of lies, the last Atco Lightweight I saw on ebay around 3 months ago & complete didn't sell for £20 &  was not missing parts as with this one.

There was even one on this forum a month or so ago!

Adrian Sun, 03/01/2021

There's a Standard being advertised in Old Glory  at the mo for £200 - I thought that was optimistic, but £2000?

I'm pretty sure there's yet another one of these in Lord Nuffield's potting shed at Nuffield Place near Henley-on-Thames. Not that that's relevant to anything, but.

hdtrust Sun, 03/01/2021

Hi All

There's nothing like a self leveller when pricing incorrectly.

Clive if you look into the new Ebay rules,there is a place you can have these ads removed,over pricing is absolutely frowned apon by the Ebay team, and the EBay community.

I would suggest this will not sell,infact at the moment it might sell if it can blow snow as well!

The trouble is within the Collecting parameters within EBay anything can still go as it covers such a wide spectrum.There are changes a foot coming.I have to read the rules regularly,as one of my great friends suffers with word blindness,a certain Mr Wallingfield

Clive1997 Sun, 03/01/2021

Thanks Andrew, but I think you will find Ebays price gouging policy only relates to essential items where sellers are taking advantage of shortage of supply etc. For example PPE in the present crisis. I doubt if they consider £20 worth of scrap metal essential! 

If you find different let us know.

Seb Sun, 03/01/2021

A few years ago there was a lloyds motorised sidewheeler on ebay for the bargain price of £22,000...described as being very rare (technically this was correct as it had what must be one of the first honda engines) - it Receieved £2000 discounts each time it was relisted, making it even more of a bargain!!

Lee Smallwood Mon, 04/01/2021

It does make me giggle the optimistic prices for these old mowers on ebay, I'm a little bit governed budget wise when it comes to purchasing any new additions, anything over 100 quid and I'm out, although the USA listed Webb miniature on ebay for 3000 dollars was tempting.

When first acquiring mowers a couple of years back, I did get a little carried away with an atco groundsman I paid over the top for, I did in the end get back what I paid for it but had to sell it in bits. 

A very thoughtful post Clive and hopefully helpful to the newbies like myself, takes me back to the auction at the first agm I attended when you told me not to bid on a 24 inch Webb motor mower, not knowing it was already mine, funny but appreciated. You are my guru. 

So lockdown is upon us, again, I wish all of you health and happiness, fingers crossed for May. 

 

 

 

hdtrust Mon, 04/01/2021

I take note,the seller on Ebay has now modified his price to £300.00 and has removed the rarity value,as to the only one left,my personnel view is he still has the decimal point in the wrong place!

It appears that Mr Wallingfield's voice was heard in Ebay's Head office!

Clive as I said the Ebay Community's voices are heard particularly if they come from their sellers

Kind regards

Andrew

Clive1997 Mon, 04/01/2021

Thats a coincidence Lee, re the Webb!! Did you not get my email a week or so ago about the Webb in Worcester?

AlanY Sat, 09/01/2021

As a cheeky offer I contacted this seller and offered him £75 delivered to the UK. He replied with £75 and I can collect. Not that I wanted the mower but I wondered how he though I would do this with both of us being in tier 4? I wonder why he thought it was worth £2000?

Alan Y

 

 

 

hdtrust Sun, 10/01/2021

Desperate times! or desperate people either way,perhaps he thought it was worth a punt or 2000,perhaps just a chancer!

What ever it was,the market will be the leveller,take it from me there are far more items being put up for sale,than those being purchased.The out fall of this Pandemic is going to be collosle in business and peoples lives,and disposable incomes may be a thing of the past.As someones going to have to pay for this mess,which will probably be you and me - the tax payer!

RansomesRob Wed, 13/01/2021

Hi folks. Belated Happy New Year to you all. On the flip side of paying too much for a lawnmower. I am interested in Post War Push Mowers. Are there any in your opinions that are worth paying a few extra quid for please? My VERY small collection comprises of a JP Mini Mower, JP Minor, JP Matchless, Webb Witch, Webb Windsor, Webb 2 Speed, Webb Whippett, Webb Minature and an ATCO 1264. I have had, but since parted with, a Ransomes Ajax 5, JP Maxees 3 and Greens Zephyr's 12" and 14". As always, thanks for any replies which are much appreciated. Rob

Clive1997 Wed, 13/01/2021

Hi Rob

One of the not so often seen is the Suffolk Eden, I have one avaiable, although seem to have misplaced the handle which was the tubular pram type,  will have a search when I can. A JP Monarch was sold on ebay recently again not many seen, I may be able to part with one including box. Will be in touch.

 

olcadmin Wed, 13/01/2021

Rob

Sounds like a nice collection already. In my experience the things that get collectors going the most are "scarcity" and "quality" and of course there is an intersection between the two.

JP mowers certainly tick the "quality" box and some of their models are readily found but as Clive says there a few in the range that are a little bit rarer.

I would think for someone that is short of space or who doesn't want a large collection, fine-turf or sports ground hand mowers are well worth pursuing.

So models like the Greens Zephyr, JP Sports Green, and Ransomes Bowling Green models to name a few (there are others from many of the well-known manufacturers). Maybe slightly harder to find but well worth paying a bit more for than a comparable "normal" model.

Beware though, they will also be heavier...which is often an overlooked consideration.

Lee Smallwood Wed, 13/01/2021

Hi Rob, I can definately recommend the Eden Clive mentioned although I believe it ceased production during the war, I may be corrected, a mower I recommend which has been commented on alot by visitors to my collection (friends being dragged to my mower garage) is the Dudley Works Vantage (c1950s) . Not many seen so it has a nice rarity to it, and the blue and silver contrast makes it stand out amongst the see of green in a mower collection. Keep us posted. 

Mower1 Wed, 10/02/2021

There is a Ransomes Certes Mk 8 (16”) on ebay with a “buy it now” price of £450 without a grass deflector and handle. It also needs a new bottom blade as well. It’s been listed for a number of weeks now and suspect it will be there for a long time. 

Lee Smallwood Wed, 10/02/2021

It's 5 minutes down the road from me, although on my wish list, that price is way out of my reach

hdtrust Wed, 10/02/2021

Hmmm

Lee is there a best offer? If so offer him the right price £45.

Its minus 8 degrees outside tonight,no one should be on the turf at all leave alone the workshop!

There will always be chancers on the net where ever you look,the sad part is there will always be first timers,thinking its a bargain.Unfortunetly we cannot protect everyone.

One thing everybody should do is read the description of what the term used  identified as to Ebay's rules,you might have a shock,but at least selling or buying there is much safer than other sites like Face books Market Place,that's in a word a free for all,for chancers and scammers!

Then there are the real Auctions,remember the expression.Buyer be ware!,Now they are on line,that makes that sentence very alarming,you bid,you win,you must pay,some are on nearly 30% Buyers premium.Just think about it,most of these auctions do 100 lots per hour,lets say the average lot price is £100 on hammer,so a turnover of £10,000 an hour,of which £3000 is buyers premium,not forgetting the venders charge,another 20%,another £2000 into the mix,So looking at it again,I wish my business could turn over that amount of profit!,So who are the chancers now!

Regards

Andrew

Mower1 Sat, 13/02/2021

The listing for the certes is "buy it now" (BIN) only, the option to make an offer is not available.

I remember when i was restoring a vintage bicycle and needed some mudguards to complete the build. I saw some on ebay that looked ideal, the seller was based about 20 miles away and wanted to charge £10 or so for the delivery. It was a "BIN" listing so I contacted the seller to see if i could collect them in person in which they agreed. When i went to buy them i noticed that he had put the price up! What a cheek and to think he thought I wouldn't notice the price increase and of course I didn't proceed with the purchase. The seller was also selling a number of vintage bike parts that i would have bought whilst I was there.We could have done a private deal that would have saved the seller fees as well. 

Some sellers!!!