I don’t personally think that there is much of a mystery about the lack of “great tubes” on ebay or other places at “reasonable prices”. The market is no longer for hobbyists, it has shifted to a collector phase where some are simply hoarding tubes and others approach it with a “win at any price” attitude. There are obviously people on this board that are engaged in this approach and some are silent and some like to post their acquisitions. It’s no different with anything else that isn’t being made anymore. Vintage comic books, baseball cards and lots of other examples of collectables show what happens when people with too much money decide what things should be worth to everyone else. Nixie tubes are no different. I would guess that there are many people on this board that have hundreds or even thousands of tubes sitting in their homes or in storage. Do they need all of them? Probably not, but that is the nature of collecting. It is only when those with lots of disposable income get into the game that the prices will rise for everyone as the supply dwindles.
When the supply has been mostly consumed and the prices are high, then there may be an opening for small shops to get back into the production of some types of tubes and actually be able to sell at a price that works today and provides a livelihood for their efforts. We are fortunate that there are some producers such as Dalibor that have figured out how to build a reliable nixie and price it so that there is a supply that is available to the hobby market. The variety that once existed is likely gone with few exceptions. The people that will consume tubes from Dalibor or Millclock are hobbyists as opposed to collectors and that will make those tubes obtainable while the vintage tubes will be out of reach for people that are in the hobby game. It’s just economics and supply/demand. Jeff From: neonixie-l@googlegroups.com On Behalf Of Bill Notfaded Sent: Sunday, January 23, 2022 11:44 AM To: neonixie-l <neonixie-l@googlegroups.com> Subject: [neonixie-l] Is it just me? Is it just me or does it almost seem like most of the great tubes for sale are almost a thing of the past now? Maybe I'm a little overboard but it wasn't that long ago that the were still some good items to be had even if for a premium price. I almost feel like the best of days are behind us now and it's only few and far between when we see something really great on the market. Perhaps for some of us collectors we now sit on a gold mine because... We have things that have gone and will never be again. I'm just happy to say I'm really glad I've been able to share some of this with you and have been a part of it. I owe a lot to many here that came before me. Thank God for Dalibor and others that carry the love forward! The future is now for neon nixie. God bless you and let the new become the future. Best Regards, Bill -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "neonixie-l" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to neonixie-l+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com <mailto:neonixie-l+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com> . To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/ae5486db-556b-49fc-af2f-e79f3adf6ee4n%40googlegroups.com <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/ae5486db-556b-49fc-af2f-e79f3adf6ee4n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> . -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "neonixie-l" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to neonixie-l+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/024301d810a9%2433ec9610%249bc5c230%24%40gmail.com.
