OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Collectors Corner Rotary GMC Mower

I wounder if these mowers one day will be a collectors item as the company does not exist anymore
Only pick it up as it was free, complete and in going order
Ian

Ian,

I would be extremely surprised if it would be a collectors item especially in Australia because it is not Australian made. This mower was made to price for the Bunnings group (made to price).

Hi Bruce
Not being made in Australia does not make it not collectable. most of our early mowers were imported and are collectable
I have been into stationary engines for a long time and Australian engine are not as collectible as the imported one, shame I know, Southern Cross is one of them and they should be picked up as they made a lot of low volume engines BUT they are plan to look at and nobody wants them
With the GMC if does become collectable one day 20-30 years time I won't see it, who is going to store it? I'm not, as I said 'Only pick it up as it was free, complete and in going order' now I'm most likely stuck with it taking up room
Ian

Ian, I suspect you and Bruce are talking about different subjects. I recently acquired a couple of Chinese trimmers, which I found are sold under a variety of brand names, including Victa, Pope, Parklander, GMC, Sanli, Aldi/Gardenline and various others. There seem to be as many more such oddball brands it is sold under in the UK and the US. It seems to me that the key point here is that apart from Victa (which doesn't manufacture much these days) none of the brands involved manufactures anything, and if their products are in any way exclusive, it is only by choosing which of the actual manufacturer's standard production options they will specify. By the way, it turns out to be quite a good trimmer, probably the easiest to use I have ever encountered.

I've seen the GMC brand on air compressors, mowers, power tools, and other things I can't recall off hand. The point is, GMC is a brand attached to imported generic goods, as are all of the others I have mentioned. It is a bit like collecting Victa 2 strokes marked with various store-brands. No reason someone couldn't do it, but I don't really see why most people would want to.

I don't want to get into a back and forth conversation
On ebay a good condition store brand mower from a store that is no longer go for more than the same mower with Victa on it,WHY because there is not many out there please read this
Only pick it up as it was free, complete and in going order'
If a person down the road is have problems with their mower they would have the GMC to kept
On another post I put up a mower called SPINNER and I have had some very good offers for it as it appears to be the only one and a store brand
Ian

That makes sense Ian. First, you've got actual evidence that it happens, and second, it seems some people will collect anything that is rare, simply because it is rare.

I was not going to answer because it is not about lawn mowers but on the same line different names on machinery (shop brands) how much do you know about stationary engines??
Southern Cross made engines for Cooper, Invicta and SCIEL all very collectible and the different name does not decrease their value
Have you heard of R&T ?? they made a unreal number of engines under different names and the list just goes on and on like a USA Bull Dog left the USA as a Bull Dog arrived here as a Emu
Then if we go to cars like Mazda and Ford another big list of changed names
Have I got evidence of a mower no, but next time one shows on E-Bay/Gumtree up I will make sure you know
Ian

I'm aware that Victa, in particular, used to sell mowers under various store names, but that wasn't likely to fool anyone I think. The companies like GMC, Pope, Sanli etc seem to have a business that consists of finding a Chinese product that might sell here, getting the manufacturer to put the importer's brand sticker on it, bringing in a sample, and peddling it around the retailers and chains. The only value the importer is adding by putting his brand on it, is creating the appearance that it is a branded product, not an unsupported Chinese no-name product. Whether the warranty on those brands is actually valid is something that can only emerge with time. However most of them seem to have frequent changes in models and products, so that a few months after buying it, the owner may find that it is no longer listed on the brand's website, spare parts are no longer available if they ever were in the first place, and the service department thinks he should chuck it and buy their replacement product.

I had a decent old Rover with McEwans branding on it. Didnt get a red cent extra for it.