Hot Sauce Collectors: Send me your thoughts!

How do you think the collector’s market has evolved in the last 2-3 years?

Recently it seems that there is an influx of bottles that start off as “collectible” – They are signed, limited, or bottles created for a special event. This makes the outsider or newcomer think that this is whats its all about. While this is true, and the bottles are collectible, it has drawn the attention away from other “less pricy” and common bottles, and those being collectible – no matter what they are. Every bottle that someone has in their collection is collectible – whether it’s a .69 bottle of sauce to a $450 bottle of Blair’s Caldera, including everything in between. I’m not saying this is a bad thing. Just that it changes the perspective on what a true “collectible” is.

Sure, opinions on this will vary as do the reasons people collect hot sauce. Some only go for a certain manufacturer such as Blair’s or CaJohn’s. Some go for quantity and how many different bottles they can get into their collection. Others buy bottles while away on a trip. Any of these are fine. I saw these differences first-hand in Texas. Some just bought the “special” bottles at the show on Friday, and some bought a lot more. This has stuck in my mind ever since then. I spoke with Vic and Wendy after they ventured out to local grocery stores (while in Ft. Worth) and acquired quite a bunch of hot sauces they hadn’t had. Some were really cheap too. (if I remember correctly) I have a few bottles I acquired on various trips that I know I haven’t seen anywhere else. Maybe they are not worth much, but to me they are just as collectible.

I think its all good, as collecting hot sauce gains popularity. I think that the direction seems to have swayed in the meaning of a collector’s market. Sauce collecting is not limited to what is “deemed” collectible, and that’s it. People just need to be more aware and not have the “tunnel vision” that the industry dictates what is collectible or not. Just because it is marked as such, doesn’t really make it true. There are thousands of sauces out there and although they don’t claim to be collectible, they are…

Well said Chris.

[Comment ID #71432 Quote]

Ditto

My comment on the thread has an error

I listed the T-99 as most ever paid, $99. Incorrect, (sorry CaJohn) most ever paid was $100 for a Caveat Emptor, which now belongs to Parker thru the last Step up auction. I have another, won at Zest Fest in the Deathmatch playing po ker, that has a ton of meaning and sits on the shelf proudly.

Sheila and I have about 200 or so in our collection. Many are from our trips to Mexico, where we used to vacation weekly until the federales got too greedy ( long story). It wasnt untill I found the HSB thru Vic and Wendy that I actually started “collecting” rather than “gathering”.

I find Blairs sauce fascinating to watch on Ebay, I am reluctant to spend the big bucks to add them to the shelf. In my opinion, the price swings and variables make my uneducated hot sauce dollars too hard to spend.
Untill I feel comfortable, I stay away from the high price sauces.

As a now confirmed collector, to me at least, the source of the bottle is more important than the value. Take the recent ChiliheadEd offering. A great bottle from a great guy. Ed goes way back in our history, a steady customer long before I joined the blog. My collection would not be complete without his sauce on the shelf. The origin of the bottle is more important than the value or price.

THT’s, Danny Cash, Defcon, CFPC ( another long time friend), LocoLuna, Ryan and Sonia, FAT KIDS !!!, Short Bus, Jungle Jims, Mild to Wild, and many more are all new to us, but hold a very valuble and meaningful spot in our collection.
Thanks gang, Im done rambling……

[Comment ID #71437 Quote]

Thanks AJ for includeing JJ’s in there. Is there a book put out for hot sauce collections (NO) is there one put out for stamps and coins and cars and on and on YES.( Point ) If you like it buy it. If you paid $100.00 for a bottle of sauce today are you going to get $1000.00 for it 10 years from now. I would say no. But to you it is worth a $1000.00. Most of you know me I don’t collect hot sauces. Hell I can’t can even handle a sauce like Talon hell even Cry Baby’s to hot for me. But the 60 to 70 sign bottles I have from most of you means more then any amount of money. That’s my collection.( I call it my friends sauce) But for $100.00 I could change my mind… LOL

I like seeing everyone’s take on what they believe collecting is….. What I think may be fascinating to collect may be odd to another. Make it what you want, thats what’s great about collecting….

What Fascinates me about Hot Sauce collecting is the availibility to met the makers of the sauce and in a few cases to become good friends… What other collectible can you say see that bottle I talked with the maker of it yesterday.

What’s your favorite hot sauce collectible & why?
– Any of the glass sculptured ones. I think they look the best, think CaJohn, Unbearable, etc. Wax, doesn’t matter to me, signatures are ok, but the interesting bottles are what I like.

What’s the most you’ve paid for a bottle? What was it and why?
– Myself, $75 for a Light You Up roughly a year ago. When I first looked at the variety out there in bottle shapes, etc….it’s the one I wanted the most. My girlfriend Mandy though bought me a 1of1 bottle from CaJohn called “Romeo” from CaJohn as a surprise gift, so I suppose you could say that’s my most expensive I own.

What’s the most profit you’ve made off a bottle of hot sauce?
– I’ve made zero profit from any hot sauce bottle as I’ve never sold one. I wouldn’t buy it if I didn’t plan on keeping it or consuming it.

Where do you go to buy/sell bottles? How do you determine the value of a bottle?

– Read above for the first part. As to the second part, the market determines that or one person who wants something more than others.

What do you think is the most highly sought after collectible by manufacturer? For instance, what’s the most sought after Blair’s, CaJohn’s or Dave’s collectible?
– I’m far from an expert, but as far as I can tell, Defcon Zero’s seem to fly out the door as each new batch appears. After that, seems to me that people go after the prototype/signed/numbered whatever from whomever.

What is the theme of your collection (if any)?

I have plenty that aren’t the sculpture variety so I guess I don’t have a theme. The sculpture ones though by and large are the ones I plan on buying in the future. Lots still left to find/buy.

How many bottles do you currently own?
– No honest clue, somewhere between 50 and 100. Lately, I’ve popped the cap off of some I inetended to keep as part of my collection and maybe one day I’ll replace them. I haven’t bought anything that I added to my collection in nearly a year though.

How do you think the collector’s market has evolved in the last 2-3 years?

– I’ve only been collecting for roughly a year, so I can’t really say beyond that. One thing I’ve noticed is that the prices on numbered sets, etc seem to have gone up and the manufacturers all seem to be at war (friendly war, as most seem to be friends) with regards to numbering, signing, etc.

Honestly, with the collector bottles, I think the price has gone somewhat batty. I understand that people will pay whatever they wish for something they want and the value of what they’re buying is justified in their minds and perhaps that of others. I’m just not impressed with some of the things people pay hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on. Still, it’s much the same as me thinking some woman is beautiful while someone else doesn’t feel the same way.

I also tend to think that the collector base of hot sauce is a small one. It might be growing, but the rate doesn’t correlate to the amount of “new collectible” sauces that are coming out. Seems every new day there’s a new hot sauce out there by whomever that’s numbered, signed, etc. I think in the end this will devalue a lot of things and it makes the value of all the bottles that aren’t named Blair’s lower as there’s just too much to be had.

Thank you everyone for the incredible reponse. I’m going to review everything that has come in tomorrow and I’ll be in touch with each of you individually if I have any further questions