Old Dairy Bottles

[debodun]

I was inventorying the collection of bottles my dad had and posted a few on my Facebook page. A man saw them and asked if I'd sell the milk bottles to him. I looked up prices on eBay and saw old dairy bottles are selling anywhere from $10 to $20. I have 12, so I told him I'd sell him all 12 for $200 which is a middling price. He said that was WAY too much; he never pays more than a buck or two. I replied that he didn't want them very badly, then, if he wasn't willing to pay a fair market value for them. So far I haven't heard anything back. Is he correct or is eBay? Here are a few samples.

[mart]

Price depends on the dairy they are from as  well as condition, rarity, ect !!  Are you looking at asking prices or selling prices for your value ??  You cannot go by asking price !!  Generally the more common bottles run $5. to $10. !! 

[frogpatch]

I see that the bottles that you show are from NY State. That is where the best market would be. People tend to collect things regionally by where they live or where there memories are. 

[sugarcube5419]

frogpatch gotta disagree.  Midwest is known for dairy-and milk bottles sell here too.  In fact I don't think one part of the country has the market on dairy bottles as most had milkman and here its still going strong.

[cogar]

    Me thinks most every small town to large cities in every state is known for home delivery of milk and cream via use of glass bottles that used a "replaceable" paper "tab" cap, like so .........



Original (unused) bottle "caps" are oftentimes worth more than the bottle itself.

And as Frogpatch said, milk bottle collectors have a "high" preference for "locally" marked bottles. Thus an Oneida, NY, "marked" milk bottle is worth far more in Oneida or Herkimer County, NY, ...... than it would be in any location in Kansas, Missouri or Iowa. 

In the mid-1950's the large dairy co-ops and/or distributors began "buying-out" the local or home dairy producers and thus "home delivery" ceased and one then had to buy their "brand" of milk products at the grocery stores.

That also signaled the demise of the "returnable" glass milk bottle and ushered in the "disposable" paper carton.

[mart]

I remember those cardboard pull tabs !! 

[cogar]

Mart, now that i think about it, .... that musta been the "original" tamper-proof cap that was 1st used on a retail product.