Vintage petrol lighter enthusiasts are always on the lookout for their next big haul of forgotten gems. Finding old lighters may at times seem like searching the proverbial haystack for a needle but those with experience
know a trick or two that make the haystacks a little smaller. The question is asked of me constantly from the comments of YouTube videos and articles at DependableFlame.com to emails and posts in the DependableFlame.com Facebook Group, “where do you buy vintage cigarette lighters and the parts to repair them?” In this article we will highlight some of the smaller stacks from which vintage petrol lighters are often discovered.
Facebook Marketplace
It may seem like the Wild West some times but Facebook Marketplace can be an excellent source for buying vintage cigarette lighters. Experience tells me you need to be ready to act when confronted with a group of lighters for sale there because Facebook is full of lighter collectors and competition is stiff.
The algorithm by which Facebook Marketplace prioritizes the listings shown to a particular user doesn’t seem as developed as other online markets. Even searching the word “lighter” doesn’t seem to guarantee that you will see every such listing Facebook has to offer but the over-riding criteria weighing on Facebook’s scale seems to be proximity.
They may be few and far between but I have made some excellent buys on small to medium lots of Zippos by monitoring certain keywords there and being ready to pounce! Adding to the bustle, many Facebook Marketplace sellers are not willing to ship, putting a premium on watching listings constantly to discover new listings and being the first to set a local meet up where a watchful buyer can make the score!
Flea Markets, Vintage Malls, Etc.
Nothing engenders the needle in a haystack analogy quite like antique malls, vendor markets and the like. A collector can wade through booth after boring booth filled with uninteresting junk for hours, even days, perhaps yrs but that next booth he steps into may contain the mother lode.
Not that I’ve ever found anything even resembling a major haul at a flea market or vintage mall but I have discovered a few really cool and unexpected lighters at prices I was thrilled to pay. Twice in Oklahoma City antique vendor malls I have discovered short Penguin Cygnus petrol lighters for ten bucks or less, one that included advertising. Those might as well have been hidden treasures to me.
The key to finding lighters at local vintage establishments where the inventory may or may not turn over quickly is to frequent them often and make yourself known to those running them. At many such outlets, a greeting when walking in the door will often be followed by a question surveying what exactly you’re looking for. Don’t be shy or feel like you need to keep your query a secret. Get to know the folks who work there, leave your business card or make up a flier detailing the kind of stuff you buy and include your phone number and email so they can get a hold of you quickly when items matching your search interest show up in the shop.
Ebay
I see Ebay as the king of all markets. I would go so far as to question the business acumen of any seller offering their wares in the antique vendor mall space without at least some kind of retail presence on Ebay where sellers are not up to the whim of potential buyers darkening the door of a very finite brick and mortar store but rather entertain an actual audience of millions of global eyes.
It goes both ways however, as there are over four hundred thousand listings that include the word “lighter” on Ebay at any given moment. Not all of those are of the vintage cigarette or petrol variety though so some skill at sorting through search query results will aid you immensely.
There are various strategies and tactics employed by Ebay sellers and a buyer’s proficiency at navigating these will determine how successful they are at the art of making a deal. Sellers may run auction listings that start for as low as a penny with no reserve on where the auction actually ends and others may opt for a higher opening bid to protect against their items being sold too cheap or practically given away.
Other sellers list everything as a Buy It Now item with the price initially set higher but may decide to allow buyers the Make Offer option. This is how I list the vast majority of the lighters I sell other than our Penny Start 100% To HDSA Charity Auctions. Buy It Now Ebay listings with the Make Offer option included give buyers a chance to negotiate just as most sellers who list in this manner intend in the first place.
I have acquired several lighters that I really desired for which the asking price was prohibitively too high simply because I was not afraid to offer a lower price I was glad to pay.
Vintage Lighter Deal Or No Deal Facebook Group
Though to date I have only made one actual purchase in the Zippo, Vintage Lighter Deal Or No Deal(DOND) Facebook group, I can attest that worthwhile deals are made there daily. Maybe it’s the camaraderie, good will or just the mood of those selling in the group but I see lighters regularly sell for well below Ebay value.
The DOND format allows buyers to avoid Ebay and PayPal fees so perhaps this stands to reason but many buyers just seem more amenable when selling on that page. Perhaps the ease of creating those listings is less burdensome as well, translating to the seller pulling the trigger a little quicker and declaring, “Deal!”
As we have discussed elsewhere, it is important to protect yourself when paying for vintage cigarette lighter purchases but the atmosphere in this group is more that of a club of fellow enthusiasts than sellers who resemble vultures. Bad deals do go down though and I have seen a few posts where folks are trying to chase down money that has been scammed from them so buyer beware, make friends of reputable sellers and don’t be afraid to insist on a Goods & Services PayPal payment when you don’t actually know or have any experience with a given seller.
Yard/Garage/Estate Sales
Yard, estate and garage sales may be the least likely of places to find valuable old lighters but boy can it pay off when they are found this way. I can imagine these type sales in locations in close proximity to lighter manufacturing hotbeds like Bradford Pennsylvania, Kalamazoo Michigan or Murfreesboro Tennessee will result in better results over time but you never know for sure unless you get out and look!
I have never purchased a single lighter of any kind from an actual lawn or garage sale so take that for what it’s worth. I have purchased many groups of old lighters from various online estate sales though and would consider them a major source of my lighter acquisitions over the yrs.
Some times the hard work is the most rewarding. Other times it is simply a source of frustration. You will have to decide which of the methods of purchase outlined in this article work best for you but I promise, you don’t want to ignore any of them altogether as this could leave you marveling and jealous of the lighters other sellers are able to get a hold of while you ignorantly mind you diminishing pile!
Please leave any comments, questions, insights or arguments you may have in the comments section below this or any other article at DependableFlame.com. I will be glad to answer your questions and the comments section at this site is my priority and always answered first.
We would also appreciate if you would check out our YouTube channel, subscribe and tell all your friends about the fun and camaraderie present there as we regularly publish vintage lighter show & tell and instructional repair demonstration videos and conduct the YouTube live stream Vintage Coffee And Lighters Live! each Tuesday @10am central. I hope you will grace us with your presence!
Until next time…✌️
I was not aware how much history is in lighters. This is something that I just never heard before. What makes a lighter Petrol? petroleum would be my best guess. Can you not just put petroleum in any lighter? What is the most expensive antique lighter? Great content I learned something new today.
Hey Will, thank you for stopping by and especially for asking your questions! There are two basic types of lighters that are still around and being manufactured today: petrol and butane.
Petrol is derived from petroleum but it is a refined product formulated for less volatility and to burn more consistently. Pouring gasoline made for an automobile into a petrol lighter will probably work but not as well as petrol fluid which is made specific to that purpose.
Butane lighters run off compressed butane gas and have a completely different system of filling and burning.
As far as value my friend, some old lighters can be worth thousands of dollars.✌️
Do you have a favourite petroleum lighter? Would Zippos count as that? What would you say is the best way of finding them from the list you provided? I can’t say I know much when it comes to lighters apart from grabbing a clipper from the corner shop. Which type of lighter is your favourite?
Hello Seb, thank you for stopping by, I really appreciate the support!
My favorite lighter is definitely the Penguin Cygnus Roller Petrol Lighter Made in Japan in the 1950s and ’60s. It is fit with a unique thumb roller flint tension mechanism that really lights my fire!
The best place to find old lighters is Ebay, without a doubt. There may be a ton of competition but it is still the world’s greatest marketplace.
I am a Zippo fan, especially of certain themes, but Cygnus are my favorite.
Great article on where to buy vintage cigarette lighters! It’s interesting to see the various options available for those looking to add to their collection or repair their existing lighters. I appreciated the detailed information and links provided for each source. I have a friend who collects vintage lighters, and I’ll definitely be sharing this article with him. Do you have any recommendations for someone who is just starting their collection and isn’t sure where to begin? Thanks for sharing your knowledge on this topic!
Hey Murry, thank you for stopping by again, your support is very much appreciated and also for passing along the link to this article to your friend!
I have written this article outlining some of the lighters that I believe beginning collectors should pay attention to as competition for them is typically not as strong as it might be for Zippos and some other lighters. Most of the lighters the article covers are also on the basic end of the repair spectrum, making them a little more simple to get back up and running in order to use or just display them.
I like to go to the garage sales and antique shops. As I like to have a look at the item before purchase but that doesn’t mean I don’t use the others just not as often. I just find that garage sales are generally cheaper and you have just as good a chance at getting something unique
I hear what you are saying Jason and would even agree that garage sales may be cheaper than the other marketplaces but my problem with it is that you can walk into garage sales all day long and never even see a cigarette lighter, ashtray or other useful mechanism.
It’s purely about the probability of finding a lighter. Just as vintage malls are a crap-shoot and sort of a low payoff for sellers, I would say that garage sales are the equivalent for buyers. They may be great when you happen upon a terrific buy but one can not count on that happening every time out.
You can find suitable lighters for purchase on Ebay all day every day!
Hi Joseph, Your advice on how to assess the condition of vintage cigarette lighters and determine whether they are worth purchasing is helpful for those new to collecting like me. Your suggestion to buy spare parts and repair tools in advance to ensure that any issues can be addressed was also a smart strategy.
What measures can one take to ensure that they are purchasing genuine vintage items and not replicas or fakes? Thank you.
The best way to guard against buying replicas or fakes is to immerse yourself into the world of vintage petrol lighters to the extent that any variation is going to be apparent. This is the same line of thinking that enabled me to spot fraudulent money orders at a distance of twenty yards during my career at the postal service. Education is always important, as well as picking up on tips and clues presented by other enthusiasts and collectors. There are some basic things that are valuable to know like the format of markings, typical construction methods, etc.
I enjoyed reading your article and I found it very informative and helpful. Where did your passion for vintage cigarette lighters come from? It is always fascinating to me how each of us have our interests and passions.
I have learned something new today and the history behind the lighters was very interesting.
Thank you Ammari and I really appreciate your insight. I was first drawn to petrol lighter from the time I watched the television program Sons Of Anarchy. Jax Teller constantly pulling that brushed chrome Zippo from his pocket to light his smoke won me over and got me interested. Since then I have worked on and repaired hundreds of different lighters, mechanisms and designs and I wouldn’t even say that Zippo is my favorite but it is the one that got this whole journey started for me!
Great article on where to buy vintage cigarette lighters! It’s interesting to see the various options available for those looking to add to their collection or repair their existing lighters. I appreciated the detailed information and links provided for each source. Your advice on how to assess the condition of vintage cigarette lighters and determine whether they are worth purchasing is helpful for those new to collecting. Your suggestion to buy spare parts and repair tools in advance to ensure that any issues can be addressed was also a smart strategy.
Overall very user friendly. Clearly well detailed and worded.
Thank you Brian, I am glad you found the article so helpful and appreciate you leaving this comment. There is literally no end to the number of places that a person may find old cigarette lighters but it is often a needle in the haystack proposition. Experience tells me that Ebay and other online auction or listing sites offer the best opportunity to convert your time and effort into results of the lighters you are looking for. Those brick and mortar options pay off big sometimes though so are hard to ignore.