Some folks buy old coffee pots to set on a shelf, for decoration. Maybe their kitchen is a rustic design and it fits with the theme. If that's the case, they aren't going to worry that the insides (like the pump & filter assembly in a percolator) are missing. As long as it looks cool and funky, they're good.
(From: Organized Clutter)
Others use old coffee pots as a "canvas", painting and displaying them as works of art...
(From: Follow Pics)
Me? I buy 'em to use. Well, the smaller ones, anyway, seeing how I'm the only coffee drinker in the house, but still. My primary concern is completeness. After all, if I can't brew with it, it's of no use to me. I have made exceptions, of course. Like the 24 ounce/12-cup Vesuviana I found in a bin at Goodwill. It was dirty, the gaskets were shot, and the pot was missing...
...but it was cool and cost me all of $4.26. I cleaned it up, ordered a gasket set from Orphanespresso, and found a pot (albeit a 9-cup) on Ebay. And it works.
Most of the pots I've gotten off Ebay; you learn real quick to research what's available to make sure what you're getting has all the parts. The first (aluminum) Durobor pour-over I bought didn't have the spreader/press plate. I later scored a stainless steel Durobor, but USPS found it necessary to drop-kick it into the back of their truck and broke the glass. Luckily, they were both the same size, so I took the glass from the first one to use with the second.
Condition is a close second; I don't mind a few small dents. They give the piece character. And I expect to have to give it a good cleaning; that's a given. But I'm leery about listings that show only one side, or don't show all the parts. If it's interesting, I'll fire off a question, but most of the time I pass those up. I've always found similar pots in better shape, and sometimes at a better price. The "Ideal" is a perfect example. Many I'd found had pretty rough filter tubes...dented, distorted...so I took the extra time and found one with good tubes and a pretty decent price (about $20). Which leads me to...
...how much is this thing gonna cost me? I don't think I've spent more than $35 on any one pot (and I'll have wanted it it awful bad to pay that much, like the Silex 2-cupper), and for that much, it better be in really good shape with all the parts. I spend quite a bit of time going through listings to see what's up for bid. If I run across one that catches my eye, I keep going to see if there's another, better buy. And there usually is.
I've run across an awful lot of crap on Ebay, too. Look...just because it's old doesn't mean it's valuable. I've seen junk go for more than one that's barely been used (and might even have the original box and instructions). I love the "Oh, I'm not an expert..." line, too. I don't claim to be one, either, but at least I'll find out enough to know if all the parts are there. And some are just so nasty that I'd be ashamed to even list it in the first place. It's an old coffee pot, not an 1882 Carson City Morgan silver dollar. At least rinse it out!
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