Railroads: I have walked along some local railroads and kicked aside the leaves and brush around the old poles and newer poles and found some nice insulators. I usually took a backpack with some old socks to put the insulators in to keep them from banging against each other. It usually turned out to be a long walk, and if my pack got too full of insulators, I unloaded them near a roadway crossing to drive by and pick them up later. Once I found an old dump site between poles where I uncovered several nice insulators, as well as many broken bits and pieces. I have only a couple times climbed a pole for insulators. I made sure the poles were in good shape and there were no wires on the poles at all.

Powerlines: I have found insulators near the bases of poles around some power lines. I have only found newer larger insulators on the power lines I have had the chance to walk along. Now and then you can find a whole crossarm or the entire top of a pole with insulators. Probably the pole was damaged from wind or trees. These are usually pulled out from the middle of the of the power line to the edge of the woods.

Utility Companies: I have asked and gained permission to check the dumpster at a local electrical contractor that does work on the lines. I have recently found a few nice larger porcelain pieces.

eBay: The original and largest online marketplace for antiques and collectible items. eBay has done a lot to connect collectors and dealers. With a lot of great search filters, email notifications, free registration, and other perks, eBay has become a great resource for collectors of all kinds. The majority of insulators I buy online are from eBay.
Insulator auctions ending NOW! at Ebay
eBay.co.uk - Click here!
eBay Australia: www.ebay.com.au
eBay Belgium: http://www.ebay.be
eBay Netherlands: eBay.nl

NEW!WantitNow: eBay has a new feature where you can post what you want and sellers come looking for you! Check this out at: Want It Now at eBay

Overstock.com: Make sure you check this fairly new auction site for insulators. Overstock.com is growing fast. I have seen a few insulators for auction here everytime I check.
Overstock.com Auctions!

Ubid: I have also found and purchased a few insulators from this online auction site. Smaller than eBay, but that can be a good thing too. May find that rare item.
Click here to go directly to Ubid.

Glass Insulators Reference Site: Owned and operated by Bill Meier. Without a doubt, the best insulator collecting community online. Collectors can buy, sell, and trade insulators. No listing fees. Deal directly with knowledgeable collectors. A great bunch of folks to do business with. Home of ICON (Insulator Collectors On the Net).
Click here for www.Insulators.com.

Insulator/Bottle Shows: Insulator and bottle shows are a fantastic way to meet collectors, view displays, learn history, and of course buy insulators. Bottle shows usually have a handful of dealers with some type of collectible insulator. I have bought insulators and met a few folks from each. Friendly haggling over price, color, condition and more is a great way to make friends and learn from other more knowledgeable collectors. I plan on going to many more shows in the future.
Click here for Insulators.com show calender.

Garage/Yard Sales: Insulators can be found cheap, cheap, cheap at these types of sales. Usually, items left over after a yard sale are discarded, taken to charity, or simply crammed back into the garage awaiting the next nice Saturday. The downfall of yard sales is that many times you have to travel so much and never really know exactly what you are going to find. I have visited yard sales all Saturday and not found a single insulator. On the other hand, I have found some nice insulators for pennies, just because the owner wasn't sure what they were. It pays to check out the yard sale ads in the paper and notice the homemade signs along the road. Sales in the more rural or farm communities often have a better chance of insulator finds.

Thrift Stores: Charitable organizations usually run a thrift store. People donate their unwanted items rather than throw them away or sell them themselves. I have never seen more than one or two common insulators in a thrift store. I will keep checking them, because you never know. Thrift stores around here stock up and toss out items on Mondays and Tuesdays. If you try to haggle a thrift store price, you should be ashamed of yourself! If I ever thought I had to do that, I certainly wouldn't tell anyone. Items are dirt cheap and it's usually for a good cause. Check in your phone book.

Auctions: Locally, we have a place that hosts a small auction every Saturday night. I have only found a couple of insulators here, but always for really cheap. Auctions are well worth the time to look and rummage through all the boxes and a lot of fun people to be around. Trouble with the live auction is if you see an item you want, you usually have to wait for the auctioneer to put that item up for bid. At a large auction with only one or two auctioneers, this can be hours. Get comfy and enjoy yourself! You win the bid and you pay that price. Most auction houses also charge a percentage of the price to go to the auction house. Sometimes this is already included in the final price. If its not posted somewhere, ask before you bid. Look in your phone book or newspaper for auction information in your area.

Flea Markets: I can always find at least a couple of insulators in a flea market. The prices are great also. Flea markets usually are only open on the weekends and sometimes only in good weather. The more you visit each flea market the more you get to know regular vendors and what they sell. The vendors I like to find at the flea market are the ones that are there because they cleaned out their garage or shed and just trying to get rid of the items. If you get there later in the day, just before folks go home you can sometimes get a table full of items for way below what they were asking earlier that day. Some vendors will be glad just to not have to load it up and take it home again. Keep in mind that arriving late you run the risk of missing out on some good stuff also. Wheeling and dealing is expected at flea markets, and experienced vendors price items a bit higher than usual just so you can talk them down during negotiations. Information on flea markets in your area can be found in the phone book and newspaper.

Estate Sales: Traditionally, estate sales occur after someone's death, but I have attended many that were more like formal yard sales. Basically, you walk around someone's house, shed, or garage and pick out items you can purchase. Whatever is left after the sale is sometimes sold at auction. In my area, most estate sales are scheduled in the later half of the week and may go through the weekend. I bought a bucket full of insulators for $4.00 at one. Sometimes estate sales are ran by a professional auction service, but its not the rule. Estate sales ran by a professional company, in my experience, are fairly firm about the price of items for sale. I look for estate sales every day in the classified section of the newspaper. It may be helpful to call your local auction service to see if they know of any.

Antique Shops: Privately owned antique stores are fairly good places to find insulators. Always expect to pay a little more for your insulators. Haggling is allowed and you could score a nice discount if you are a regular customer. Developing a friendly relationship with the owner can lead to some nice rewards. Leave your name and number, and sometimes the owners don't mind giving you a call if they get something in that you are looking for. Also, look in the corners, on the bottom shelves, and other inconspicuous places where that one insulator may be hiding. Don't forget to look hard at those fancy candle holders, which are sometimes an insulator turned upside down! Some antique stores ban together and create a directory map of all the local antique stores. Check the phone book for a store near you.

Antique Malls: Antique Malls are nothing more than several small antique stores joined together under one roof. Different booths or sections are dedicated to each owner and everything is labeled with a price and that owner's initials or some other code. The individual owners pay a percentage on items sold and/or a flat fee to the managing company of the mall. The main difference is that the person behind the counter usually can't give much, if any, discount on any particular item. There are some that will call the dealer for you if you need to haggle or just want more information. Doesn't hurt to ask, at any rate. I have gotten some nice insulators from antique malls. Prices fluctuate highly from dealer to dealer. I remember two exact insulators...one was $30 and one was just $4....these were dealers that were setup right beside each other! Antique malls can be great sources of information about other stores and collectors. At nearly every mall, I see a large bulletin board with several business cards, maps, and advertisements about shows, collectors, and dealers. Make yourself an "Insulators Wanted" ad or business card and ask permission to add it to the board.

Classifieds: In every newspaper there are collectible items. Every now and then I will notice a collection of insulators for sale or someone looking to buy insulators. Give these folks a call and at least go look at the collection. You may be able to buy just one or two, or the entire collection. I answered an ad once and met the guy to look at his collection of over 100 insulators. He wouldn't sell them separately and wanted too much for mostly very common insulators. There is always hope for the next one. Keep your eye out.

Family and Friends: My family knows I am fairly passionate about collecting insulators and always look for and find some. Many times I will get a call from someone browsing the antiques or checking out yard sales. My Dad got 12 nice insulators for $10.00 once. I get insulators for Christmas, Birthdays, Father's Day. Now and then, I will go visiting and my friend or family member will pull out an insulator to surprise me with. In return I find out what they like and stay on the lookout for them. One of my friends collects Coca-Cola items, for instance, so I scratch her back also. How are you gonna beat family and friends?

Traveling: While traveling on vacation or otherwise, look out for antique malls, flea markets, and other places that may be hiding a treasure of insulators. Small towns along interstates often have an antique shopping area. Maybe a small cluster of antique and collectible stores. Plan your trips and vacations around insulator shows, when practical. A recent trip to Florida, produced several nice insulators from towns mostly right off Interstate 95. Stop in the Welcome Centers of each state and get brochures and information.