Is this the Most Expensive Vintage Ski Lift Chair in Montana?

To be clear: I have zero knowledge about determining the value of old ski equipment. Like anything remotely collectible, I'll assume rarity, condition, storyline, etc. can all contribute to making a pair of old skis, a vintage ski outfit, or an old gondola car valuable.

This chair. Credit seller Todd Clemens via Facebook Billings Marketplace page.

That said... the Billings Marketplace Facebook page has been getting some fun (and some snarky) Comments about an old ski lift chair listed for $3,200. The group is private, but you can see the post of the recently refurbished chair HERE. It is cool. But is it $3200 cool?

Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images

The chair is listed in Belgrade.

Most commentators reflected my initial reaction to the price tag on the listing. It doesn't say how old it is, and the only backstory about the chair is that it "came from a ranch in Wyoming." The 3-ft-wide lift chair has been recently stripped with a fresh red powder coat applied.

A vintage day on the slopes (c. 1950) Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Would I buy an old chair lift for $3,000? No.

I would never pay $3,200 (OBO) for something like this. I probably wouldn't buy it for $50, simply because I'm not much of a skier and I have zero places to install (hang? display? mount?) a chairlift at my house.

Credit Canva

HOWEVER, I'll give props to the seller.

He'll probably get close to his asking price in the Bozeman area. It's somewhat vintage (1980s maybe? Late 70s? 60s? We have no clue.) And it looks like it's in good shape. They certainly don't manufacture them like that anymore, although a welder dropped a comment saying he could replicate one "just like it" for precisely $560.

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This old-school piece of ski resort nostalgia will likely end up hanging from cables in some wealthy person's Montana McMansion.

I'd put my retro chairlift in my Antler Room. Photo by Ariana Kaminski on Unsplash

If only I had room for a chairlift chair.

The groovy old chairlift seat could also find a new home in one of the many hotels/lodges, bars, and restaurants, that seem to keep popping up as fast as they can build them in Big Sky Country. The kind of places that probably have towering antler chandeliers in their grand foyers.

What's the most valuable thing you've ever sold on Facebook? Reach out on our mobile app chat or email michael.foth@townsquaremedia.com