Yesterday, I went to the Allentown Fire Flea Market in PA. Folks sometimes ask me where I get antique ambulance equipment and parts – much of it is stuff I’ve bought at Allentown. Even though it's a "fire" show, a lot of old ambulance stuff shows up anyway.
I was waiting in line to get in – folks who are vendors or with “guest” passes can get in early. A friend of mine, Todd, comes up to me. Todd’s not an antique ambulance guy, but he knows I am. Here’s the conversation:
Todd: “There’s a vendor with some old ambulance lights.”
Me: “Whaddya mean?”
Todd: “Some are the oval style, and some are the pointy style.”
Me: “Huh?!?!?!?” (eyes bulging, heart racing).
Todd told me where to find them, and when the doors opened, I went straight to the table. There were no “oval lights” (other folks also confirmed that there was a pair of M-M Ful-Vu’s there in good shape earlier), but there was a single Superior free-standing bullet light, like one of the ones shown below, as well as 5 bullet lenses in good shape.
The price was quite reasonable, but a bit more than I had cash in my pocket. I asked the vendor, a woman named “Butch” (I can’t make that up) if she’d take a check. She waffled and said only if I knew someone she knew. I asked who she knew, and she asked who I knew, and apart from me naming every single person in the world I know, I realized that wasn’t going to work. I asked her if she would hold them until I went to the ATM, located in the show hall, and got more cash, and she said she would.
It took less than a minute to walk to the ATM, about 30 seconds to get money out, and less than a minute to walk back, all without stopping anywhere else. When I got back, “Butch” says, “Oh, sorry, they’re gone. My partner sold them and I didn’t know.”
IN TWO MINUTES AND 20 SECONDS???? @#$%^&*!!!!!!!!!!
Since “Butch” had no idea what the lights were, and very few others would have as well, I’m assuming the same person bought both the Ful-Vu’s and the bullet lights. I don't need them, and I wasn’t trying to buy them to make a huge profit (those of you who’ve bought stuff from me in the past know I charge what I paid plus shipping). I was trying to buy them to make them available to those who need them to restore their ambulances. I do hope that whoever bought them is a PCS member or at least will sell them to needy PCS members, and not let them sit around on a shelf for 30 more years as they obviously have for the last 30 years. I have no idea what the Ful-Vu’s sold for, but the price she was asking for the bullets, someone may have thought it’d be cool to use the bullet lenses for beer cups.
If the buyer was someone from here, I don’t want to buy them from you, but please e-mail me or PM me so I know they went “to a good home”. I know it wasn’t Fred G., Rich L., or Joe T., the three other PCS members I did see there.
So, other than stuff I need, I got a Ferno stair chair and a Reeves stretcher, both burgundy, and a blue Laerdal suction (all ‘80’s). If someone is interested in them, let me know. And thank you for letting me vent.
I was waiting in line to get in – folks who are vendors or with “guest” passes can get in early. A friend of mine, Todd, comes up to me. Todd’s not an antique ambulance guy, but he knows I am. Here’s the conversation:
Todd: “There’s a vendor with some old ambulance lights.”
Me: “Whaddya mean?”
Todd: “Some are the oval style, and some are the pointy style.”
Me: “Huh?!?!?!?” (eyes bulging, heart racing).
Todd told me where to find them, and when the doors opened, I went straight to the table. There were no “oval lights” (other folks also confirmed that there was a pair of M-M Ful-Vu’s there in good shape earlier), but there was a single Superior free-standing bullet light, like one of the ones shown below, as well as 5 bullet lenses in good shape.
The price was quite reasonable, but a bit more than I had cash in my pocket. I asked the vendor, a woman named “Butch” (I can’t make that up) if she’d take a check. She waffled and said only if I knew someone she knew. I asked who she knew, and she asked who I knew, and apart from me naming every single person in the world I know, I realized that wasn’t going to work. I asked her if she would hold them until I went to the ATM, located in the show hall, and got more cash, and she said she would.
It took less than a minute to walk to the ATM, about 30 seconds to get money out, and less than a minute to walk back, all without stopping anywhere else. When I got back, “Butch” says, “Oh, sorry, they’re gone. My partner sold them and I didn’t know.”
IN TWO MINUTES AND 20 SECONDS???? @#$%^&*!!!!!!!!!!
Since “Butch” had no idea what the lights were, and very few others would have as well, I’m assuming the same person bought both the Ful-Vu’s and the bullet lights. I don't need them, and I wasn’t trying to buy them to make a huge profit (those of you who’ve bought stuff from me in the past know I charge what I paid plus shipping). I was trying to buy them to make them available to those who need them to restore their ambulances. I do hope that whoever bought them is a PCS member or at least will sell them to needy PCS members, and not let them sit around on a shelf for 30 more years as they obviously have for the last 30 years. I have no idea what the Ful-Vu’s sold for, but the price she was asking for the bullets, someone may have thought it’d be cool to use the bullet lenses for beer cups.
If the buyer was someone from here, I don’t want to buy them from you, but please e-mail me or PM me so I know they went “to a good home”. I know it wasn’t Fred G., Rich L., or Joe T., the three other PCS members I did see there.
So, other than stuff I need, I got a Ferno stair chair and a Reeves stretcher, both burgundy, and a blue Laerdal suction (all ‘80’s). If someone is interested in them, let me know. And thank you for letting me vent.
