# making a living



## bubbas dad (May 14, 2005)

i have a question for the people here. does anyone here make a living at selling bottles? i get the impression that for just about everyone here it's a hobbie just as it is for me. i would love to be able to just travel the different shows, buying and selling bottles and such and make a decent living at the same time. i am sure that some people are able to do it. i was just wondering what that would be like.


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## whosyerdaddy (May 28, 2005)

hey john,    thats a good question u posed.   i remember back in the 70's i used to do 3 or 4 shows a year.   done the old richmond indiana show, indy show, louisville, ky. etc.    lot of good bottles being dug back then.   u could make some good money doing shows   u have to be a bottle digger before u can be a bottle businessman.  there in lies the problem, my friend,  you will spend more time diggin them than u will selling them today. a large number of the old bottles u see selling on ebay were dug back then.  u would definitely need another source of "stock" other than ebay to make any kind of living at the bottle trade.                     whosyerdaddy


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## WhiteLighting (May 29, 2005)

I try to bring a sort of income in,but not enough to keep one above water...lol

  but if ya do find a few rarites out there you could be a rich man.......


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## whiskeyman (May 29, 2005)

Most of the Dealers I know are retired and have that steady income to supplement their selling . It's also like WHOS said: these guys were digging stuff back in the 60's and have "stock" to take to shows. 
 I don't dig enough salable bottles to make a living at it. 
 I did quit my job about 4 years ago, for 2 years, and sold on Ebay and did shows. That's how most of my better bottles got gone [:'(]
 Dumb move: quitting my job.[]
 I did well on Ebay until 9-11..after that everything went downhill fast. I used to be able to sell everything I listed...was making about $1200-1500 a month...but those days are gone now.[]


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## whiskeyman (May 29, 2005)

The better stuff still sells, but you have to have it first...LOL
 Once you sell off your better items, you'll find it usually costs you more to replace them than what you sold them for. 
 SO,,,don't quit your day job.


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## whosyerdaddy (May 29, 2005)

GOOD POINT WHISKEY MAN     u jes cant find the good stuff any more      i member goin to flea markets back in the 70's and comin home with some good early stuff    thos days are long gone brother      member gettin a cobalt pontiled paneled ink fer 12 bucks       didnt think that old lady was ever gonna sit that bottle back down  lol      but thats a story fer another time!  lol


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## bubbas dad (May 29, 2005)

thanks for the replies. i was just curious. it would be great if you could earn a living doing that but like ya'll said your would have to have some other source of steady income. thanks


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## Pettydigger (May 29, 2005)

It makes me wonder about some of the bottles that have sold on E-bay, I mean spending over $3000 on a single bottle. I love collecting and digging glass but I just do not have the funds to buy the really good stuff[] Do you suppose that most of those people that win the high end bottles turn around and resell them for a profit or keep them for their collection? I often thought if I won that 120 million on the lottery ticket then look out bottle world[][]        Josh


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## BRIAN S. (May 29, 2005)

Hi , I know a few people , that selling is their main income. But , as Whiskeyman said you have to have the stock. They travel the country almost fulltime looking for Bottles. They try and do purchase whole collections and then break them up and sell by the piece. But , If you can't find the stock or have the bucks saved to buy the collection..... your business will soon dwindle. 
 Brian


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## whiskeyman (May 30, 2005)

BRIAN...I know a few fellows that do that too. I have managed to buy a couple of small local collections over the years...the last one had about 25 Railroad lantern globes., a few good bottles and a lot of junque..I knew next to nothing about the lantern globes, but the price was right,so I took the entire  lot. Did amazingly well re-selling the globes.

 I checked out your website and saw a bottle from here: the St. Andrews Wine of Life Root...If you're wanting to know the history of that bottle and its other associated bottles, send me your snail mail addy and I'll send same.
 It was one of those bottles that hooked me deep on the Hobby and sent me researching local history on all our bottles.


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## BRIAN S. (May 30, 2005)

Charlie ,
 I would like very much to get the info on the bottle ! I have two St.Andrew's ..... both identical except for labels. One is labeled Female Regulator and the other is labeled Nerve Builder. 
 I will email you my address. 
 I have a couple Tennessee Bitters and have tried to get some Tennessee Bitters from Ralph.... like pulling hens teeth ! LOL  
    Thank you , Brian


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## whiskeyman (May 30, 2005)

BRIAN...a St Andrews Wine of Life Root with a Nerve Builder label?...

 I have an embossed St Andrews Nerve Builder, an  embossed Andrews Nerve Builder, and an embossed St Andrews Nerve Builder with box & contents, but label is for Andrews Chill Killer...all are aqua BIM....also a label only Chill Medicine.
 I have the St Andrews Wine of Life Root with the Female Regulator label and also with a Sarsaparilla label.
 Also have the Andrews Wine of Life Root with label For Women and another with label for WINOLRO.
 I also have the embossed St Andrews Sarsaparilla....a quite scarce bottle.
 This Company was est. here about 1896 and lasted until the early 1930's....they bought out one drug company during their years of operation and put out a lot of different Patent Medicines...
 The story is an interesting one that begins with an orphan boy from Smithfield VA. who went to Memphis to live with an Uncle and eventually wound up here... after a brief "apprenticeship" with the L.Gerstle Medicine Co. of Union-Bluff City, Tenn. Gerstle ,as you probably know is more known for his Chattanooga, Tenn products and his St Josephs line of Patent Medicines....a Company that still survives today.
 Will send you the info....


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## whiskeyman (May 30, 2005)

oh...did you see the one that sold on Ebay...Female Regulator label variant? $70+

 Ralph really likes his Tenn stuff, (in addition to his Western whiskeys)...Heh. I can understand why you'd say it's like pullin'  hen's teeth.  Every once in a while he turns loose of some in order to accumulate monies to buy Western whiskeys he doesn't have.


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## whosyerdaddy (May 30, 2005)

BRIAN S.     glad to see that ralph is stilla round         met him at the louisville ky. show several years ago   had an elderly couple with him  presumed it was his mom and dad    i member he had a ton of stuff to sell!!               whosyerdaddy!!


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## whiskeyman (May 30, 2005)

WHOS...Ralph is still around and going strong...he had some medical exams to take this month in order to stay certified and that kept him a bit busy. But he was at the Gray TN show earlier this month. And at Baltimore...Columbia,SC  and Waynesville,NC.
 His parents are nice folks.


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## BRIAN S. (May 30, 2005)

Charlie ...... Yes it is the exact same Amber bottle except it has the nerve builder label instead of the female regulator (I'll post some pics) . I have the original box and instructions but they are very tattered. You can still see Nerve Builder on the side of the box. It also has a small yellow tag or label on the front over part of the embossing that says St.Andrew's .. ect. , ect . Something about 42mg of cocaine. (I'll have to read it again). 
  The first time I met Ralph was at the Knoxville Show many years ago. He had a sales table with just one bottle on it. A Puce iron pontiled Highland Scotch Bitters barrel. I should have bought it from him on payments ! Oh well !
 I ended up with 2 of his Aromatic Orange Bitters , Nashville Semi cabins that he had sold Ed Herrold.....and he (Ralph) has commented several times that he wished he'd never sold them. I'm glad he did .... 2 of my favorites.
 And your right Ralph's Western Flask collection is nothing short of awesome !!!!


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## whiskeyman (May 31, 2005)

BRIAN..I bet you & I have met before. I was one of 8  people that formed the Knoxville Club and I set up at shows 2 thru 8. I quit the club after 10 years and co-founded the State of Franklin club...I quit it last year after serving almost 6 years as Pres....5 as show chairman and 1 1/2 as Editor. Got burnt out....

 Ralph & I met about 15 or 16 years ago at an auction in Johnson City...we've been good friends ever since. We used to dig together a lot, then he got married and had a son and didn't have as much free time for diggin'...I have pics of him all dirty...wanna see?...LOL

 Everytime I see his collectionS, I am awed....makes my stuff look like roadside garbage...[]

 Hmmm....that  Nerve Builder label on the St Andrews Wine of Life Root is a new one on me....but perfectly plausible.  Andrews put Wood Drug Company labels on his embossed  Andrews Mfg Co. bottles for a while after he bought them out...
 I have some Andrews bottles on my eBay ME page...check them out. My ID is  whiskey-klectr.


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## whiskeyman (May 31, 2005)

Those are two very nice bottles you got from ED...I recall how proud Ralph  was when he first acquired them and  couldn't believe it when he sold them....at that time, he was thinning down all his Tenn items....buying Western whiskey collections...


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## BRIAN S. (May 31, 2005)

Charlie ,
  I'd say we probably have met or seen each other at one time or another .
  I'd like to see the pics of Ralph ..... As neat and tidy as Ralph is , I just can't imagine him all dirty and muddy down in a privy. Those I have to see ! 
  I'll post some pics of the St. Andrew's when I get a chance. And I'll check out your " Me" page .
 Brian


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## BRIAN S. (May 31, 2005)

Yes , Ralph said he upgraded 5 times till he got that large size Aromatic. And he said , it was the best example that he had/has ever seen . It's a great Tennessee Bitters ! 
 I could have gotten his CUMBERLAND Bitters at one time ..... and still kick myself in the butt for not buying it !   
 Brian


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## whosyerdaddy (May 31, 2005)

brian,         ralph sounds like a good guy      he gave me that appearance the only time i ever met him         louisville show       i watched his progress through the mags and auctions back in the eighties        but lost touch                   thats what i luv about this game           u not only collect bottles over the years u collect friends!!                                                           whosyer daddy!!


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## BRIAN S. (May 31, 2005)

whoyerdaddy , 
  Ralph is a great guy ! He has helped me in the identification of some Western pieces as well as some Tennessee pieces. He is GOOD for the hobby ! He has done a lot for Bottle collecting and he has a vast knowlege of early glass .... and best of all..... he's always eager to help someone ( newbie or advanced collectors ) with qusetions they might have . 
   Brian


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## whiskeyman (Jun 1, 2005)

WHOS..I concur with BRIAN...Ralph has always treated me square and fair. The guy has a memory like a steel trap.

  My brain is about maxed out...LOL.


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## whiskeyman (Jun 1, 2005)

anyways...back to the topic...Making a Living:
 I knew a guy that quit his job just to sell at shows and flea markets. (Brian probably knows him too). He had a great collection of Tenn. bottles and other interesting finds he had dug over the years. Civil War relics, arrowheads, stoneware...
 Was always managing to ferret out some obscure/scarce bottle one had never seen before.
 Last I heard he was about cleaned out....hard to replace such things overnight...
 He was about the best "hustler" I ever met...could sell you something you didn't even want...LOL...I think he chose the wrong avocation.


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## whosyerdaddy (Jun 1, 2005)

WHISKEYMAN              i remember a quote by charlie gardner right after he sold his huge collection      someone asked him what he was gonna do now??      charlie always had a quick wit to him          he said "i might get into bottles, i hear theres money in it"    lol        i heard it said one time "if u sell uer best bottle u might as well collect something else"                                   whosyer !!


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## bearswede (Jun 1, 2005)

'less'n yer go out an buy anither even better un!!!!


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## whosyerdaddy (Jun 2, 2005)

BEAR,      i hear that man !!             whosyer !!


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## whiskeyman (Jun 2, 2005)

Imagine what $$$  the Gardner Collection would fetch today...


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## BRIAN S. (Jun 3, 2005)

Charlie , The Gardner Collection on the Auction Block today ...... It would be ASTRONOMICAL PRICES !!!!!
 There are some Huge and Important Collections out there still today. And I often wonder what it would do to the Bottle market if several of them went to public auction at the same time .   
 Brian


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## whosyerdaddy (Jun 3, 2005)

BRIAN,       maybe we could get the price of an indian queen back down to 35 bucks??   lol              whosyer !!


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