Pedaling Around Pennsylvania

By Michael G. Henry

"IH Pedals Still Showing Auction Life"

As an avid fan of Ebay, I often view the sale of the various brands of pedal tractors, both new and old, with a keen eye to see what the "online" market is doing. I have seen the World of Ebay market float up and down in 2003 with prices holding where they should on some products, and down on others. The Criswell's, whom are one of the most recognized families in the pedal world, have put an extensive amount of their pedal tractor collection online at Ebay for sale. I saw some of their pedals bring very good money, while others popped up several times before finally getting
sold.

I decided to sell several pedal tractors online through Ebay this past fall and winter. The first one that I sold was an International 1066 Five Millionth Custom wide front with fenders edition. I ended up selling this pedal tractor for $325 on Ebay, which I
felt comfortable with, but know in the past they have brought close to $400-$500 elsewhere. The next pedal up on the chopping block was a Farmall 560, which was
all original. It was, in fact, from the Criswell shed of pedals that I purchased from them. It brought $350 on Ebay, but I wasn't jumping for joy on that one. 
Yes, it probably was the right price for a pedal in November, but I felt $400 was more of a good sale for me. My favorite restoration, a Farmall 400, sold for $415. I decided to sell this one because four different people bid on a 400 that brought $455 the week before. I emailed each of the 3 non-winners and even the winner as well. However, a different buyer ended up getting the pedal tractor for $40 less. Same exact model, both restorations, but mine had the round chrome "original style" pedal caps on it ($5 each) while the other one had the newer style push caps (25
cents each at the hardware store). 

My two most recent sales, which were made after Christmas, were a Farmall 856 and Farmall 1026 Hydro. The 856 brought $306 with only 2 bidders that placed
bids in the final minutes of the auction, and the 1026 brought $280, with the losing bidder of the 856 taking home this restoration. He told me on the phone that he really wanted the 856 too. Although the after Christmas "jingle" was nice to have, I really felt that $325-$400 was what they were worth. I was going to buy a beater Farmall 806 to restore, and that alone was going to be $200-$250 for the casting alone. I was disappointed to see them sell for this price, but after I delivered the pedal tractor to Altoona, PA, the lady whom bought it had a glowing eye as she smiled to say that the 856 was for her husband and it was just like the one they had on her in-laws farm. I guess $25 was worth seeing someone happy and the baby in the car will someday have something red in their collection.

Overall, this past fall and winter was a descent year for my sale of five pedal tractors, but I have definitely noticed a drop in the prices of pedals.  The small H's are not bringing the big money ($850+) that I have seen in the past. I have discussed with several pedal collectors if the reproduction of the 806, 560, and others is beginning to show its impact on the market. 

I feel that maybe it is time for Ertl and Scale Models to possibly consider new models such as a 1456 Golden Demonstrator, 1206 with wide front and big rear tires, and a 1586 Red Power edition pedal tractor. Another idea would be a John Deere 4020, Ford 9000, or IH 1466 with a wide front, chrome front rims, large rear tires with chrome rims, chrome exhaust, side panels (fill in where the engine is exposed), and make a "pullers" edition pedal tractor for the youngsters to have fun with.