Shell Factory auction continues with second wave of offerings
More than 750 items from the historic Shell Factory & Nature Park — everything from a 7-foot fiberglass Santa and ginormous dinosaurs to collectables, statues of Elvis, Frank Sinatra and more — are up from bid through Jan. 28.
Fort Myers Auctions owner Jared Cox said they came on property early November to start taking photographs of the many items, which will be close to 2,000 by the time the auction is complete.
“About 70 years of accumulation — there’s a lot of stuff to process and dig out,” Cox said.
The first sale, which was held in December, had 550 auction items.
“The first sale is all picked up and removed from the property. We had to restart the process over and over again,” Cox said.
The second auction is now live through 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 28.
“The catalogue is live at shellfactoryauction.com. You can see everything up for bid, all the pick-up information, and terms and sales in terms of pick-up days and payment,” Cox said.
He encourages the community to register and bid high and bid often before the auction closes. He said the removal of the items will be from Wednesday through Saturday following the auction.
He said pretty much all of the questions someone may have will be listed in the common question area of the website.
This auction includes most of the primary memorabilia: signs, statutes, and 25 fiber glass fixtures from around the park. There is also restaurant equipment and a retail jewelry section.
“There is about 30% more from the first sale,” Cox said.
The highlights of the auction items include the original Pick-A-Pearl giant scallop shell, working Zoltar Fortune Teller game, Largest Gift Store sign and other Shell Factory branded signs, Tommy’s Budweiser neon sign, Elvis statue and pictures, Frank Sinatra statue, multiple coin-operated kiddie rides, multiple dinosaur statues, jewelry, theatre costumes and restaurant equipment, supplies and furniture.
The bids start as low as $10 to $15, with the most around $100 for the larger items.
The final auction will be held in the middle of February.
“We are about one-third of the way done with the third sale cataloguing,” Cox said.
The items are from the tool room, warehouse fixtures, pallet rack, catering equipment, and golf carts. He said the items are things that are still being used for day-to-day operations.
“It still has value and still needs to get removed from the building. Everything will be removed from the property,” Cox said.
First established in 1938, the 18-acre old Florida roadside attraction was located in North Fort Myers. Pam Cronin, and her late husband, Tom, took over the property in 1997 when it was under foreclosure.
Hit hard by recent hurricanes, Pam Cronin made the decision in September to close its doors.
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