As in have you sold a particular torch that made it a good investment?
Are the rare ones, limited production ones, certain brands, customs, etc., really a ‘good investment’ vs what you paid?
Just curious what demand and $$$$ are like for those A-Grade torches I don’t own yet which hit this niche market. 8)
Examples of what you’ve actually pulled-off or seen bought and sold would be great. H)
today? It was VERY expensive back in ’06. What’s it worth to you now? (I know Scaru would pay top-dollar for this Surefire.) 
This has gotta be a collectible. How many of these could’ve been sold?
http://gearjunkie.com/gear-review-surefire-flashlights
Or how about this one? Surely, VERY FEW of these were prolly made much less sold. How much would you pay to have this likely rarity? 8)
They’re alum tubes with emitters that go obsolete.
While really old surefires may not be a good investment I will use one example from my own life. :)
Around a year ago there was a price hike in Surefire's prices. Most things increased by around 50-100 dollars. I found out about this and went to REI which had not adjusted their prices yet. They also had a 20% off sale. So I ended up paying around 45 dollars for the Surefire G2X. Now a brand new one goes for around 70 dollars if you buy on CPF or more if at a store.
LOL! You nailed it. Horrible investment, but fun/inexpensive hobby(compared to some others).
here. These things of ours can be much more aesthetically beautiful and hence valuable to the beholder collector.
Ok, another non-specific general broad example this time.
How many times have I seen on this forum that …………“Man, that’s a real collectible.”
Ok. I know a little about collectibles. I used to deal in rare 1st Edition books and their ephemera. When a book-pro said, “Man, that book is a real collectible” you knew what they meant was, it was worth some $$$$$$. And he had a number of buyers ready to pony up too.
So what’s the story with ‘collectible’ torches and their appraised perceived or actual value to hard-core knowledgeable afficionados? H)
Come On Lumatic, you know the rules.
They are ALL good investments (or so we tell our Wives) 
This thread is hereby closed. 
:cowboy_hat_face:
There are always going to people willing to pay for rarity, and the “value” increases with the number of those people.
In the case of 1st ed books, a few could be worth more one day, or most would become worthless as folks migrate to ebooks.
we were taught in Econ 101, or maybe 102 if you went to Jr. College. :cowboy_hat_face:
So then, do you have a personal example of a torch that was sold that made you shake your head incredulously?
Scaru so far gave us a production-torch example of $$$ appreciation.
Ok, forget the $$$ aspect.
Has anyone traded a rare torch for something? Ya know like a car, a bicycle. Or for even another rare torch. Torch-style ala baseball card trading if you will.
Btw, for example a modern 1st Edition of, Gone With the Wind will NEVER decrease in value regardless of how many e-books of the same title ever come out nor even if there were more demand for one of Margaret Mitchell’s long-lost undiscovered works. Why? Only so many GWTW 1st’s were printed and everybody into 1st editions knows it. H)
As a limiting factor, the people with recollection of paper books will simply die out in a gen or two. Perhaps the very rarest stuff will still be worth something since humans are always going to have some hoarding instinct but what those will be is somewhat unpredictable.
In order for flashlights to fit in that category, they have to remain objects of desire (eg, say art). For most folks I think it’s utilitarian, and it’s strange to think that some specific limited ed. toaster will one be worth a lot.
will be quite more valuable. Hand-crafted stuff like that kinda does so. 8) Especially if he signs it, and numbers them like let’s say #1 out of series of 5 type of thing.
Which brings back a thought I’ve had here recently.
I think torches could really lend themselves to some intricate engraving like we see on guns and such. I’m half-way thinking about trying it on some Harbor Freight freebie dealies.
What would you guys pay for an intricate engraving of let’s say Scaru giving the finger to CPF on a TK70?
Give me an idea of its worth. :cowboy_hat_face: :money_mouth_face:
My rarest lights are sunwayman v10r ti 2,I have 2 one of each color(black+gold) limited editions and of the few that were made,some were returned to the manufacturer due to finish issues.These sold out in the matter of hours and price was around $200 each.As absurd as the cost is,I love the design and unique colors.
This is actually a pretty good example to use. That light is worth a decent amount right now because Ti lights are relatively rare, ie a lot of its “rarity” is part due to being somewhat exceptional in the market. However, if Ti stuff becomes more common, like if mid-level or budget manufacturers start making these, the desirability among the enthusiast crowd would likely go down. Whether this happens or not depends on factors out of our control (availabilitiy of ti stock, etc), so there’s no point in predicting it.
Hey, I wouldn’t mind seeing a pic of those either, btw. :nerd_face: 
:heart_eyes:
I sold a SF L2X host for $80 back in July. Does that count? 
It was $20-25 when I bought it?
… :davie:
I’m beginning to see just the burdgeoning smidge of a smidge of a collectible market here.
Rarity. What is it? To me, true rarity is when the hand of a special person touches something because then it becomes part of that person. IOW, truly one-of-a-kind and truly irreplaceable. But I understand the other type of rarity because of it’s not being made anymore kind too. But those types bore the sh*t outta me because they’re kinda snooty BS ya tend to see at upscale auctions. This type of BS also tends to develop a Dutch Tulip mania market of yore. :bigsmile:
Depends where you're selling it. :P Here you could probably get 20-30 dollars over there maybe 300. ;)
Here ya go,two on the right.The one on the far left is a v10rti with a tritium switch.Love the SWM stuff.