Awww C'mon!! Really??

[Harry P.]

Saw this a few minutes ago:

RAREST MODEL KIT EVER! Original ©1962 SMP/AMT 1911 Chevrolet Model Car Kit w/Bag

Anybody got a spare $1724.49 lying around?  

But hey... free shipping! 

[ChrisBcritter]

This one bid up to $1980.55 last December:

[Johnny K]

 

Some few years ago, back when eBay allowed Sellers to leave negative feedback for Buyers, they based feedback percentages on a Seller's entire sales history; now, it's based on just the last 12 months of sales.  That can drastically affect a Seller's feedback and give a slanted view of a true summary.

 

If a Seller actually changes his account (closes one and opens another), feedback goes with the account.  If a Seller simply changes ID name on a continuing account (or merges 2 or more accounts), feedback remains unchanged.  There can be a number of legitimate reasons for changing an ID name.  I've not changed mine in the 15 years I've had an eBay account, but I know several Sellers that have changed names simply based on a change in item sales emphasis - they merely wanted one to better reflect their new items.  On the other hand, some seem to regularly need change as a result of impatience and restlessness.

[slusher]

The main thing about Ebay that disgusts me is the new trend of buying a kit and then selling each part seperatly! If the prices were reasonable, it would be great but these guys are asking as much for one single part, as the whole kit costs!!! That's just taking advantage of people, plain and simple!

I Don't like it either but what really does not make sense is people will pay more for a hood or a part for what the kit costs or more. Keeps these clowns selling when they could be making their own parts box or heck throw the kit out before letting these guys operate. I know there is nothing wrong with it but doesn't me you have to like it...

[SfanGoch]

Styrene chop shop, Carl. The sum of the parts is greater than the whole.

[Richard Bartrop]

I Don't like it either but what really does not make sense is people will pay more for a hood or a part for what the kit costs or more. Keeps these clowns selling when they could be making their own parts box or heck throw the kit out before letting these guys operate. I know there is nothing wrong with it but doesn't me you have to like it...

And shipping that tiny part will all least double the price, just for that little extra squeeze.

[Ace-Garageguy]

The main thing about Ebay that disgusts me is the new trend of buying a kit and then selling each part seperatly! If the prices were reasonable, it would be great but these guys are asking as much for one single part, as the whole kit costs!!! That's just taking advantage of people, plain and simple!

It's nothing new. A seller called PJ Toys was doing it years ago (since 2004) and apparently enough folks like taking it up the exhaust from him that he's still in business, selling hoods for what you can buy a whole kit for (PLUS SHIPPING!) with a 100% feedback score on over 8,300 reported sales, and with over 9,000 (NINE THOUSAND!) current auctions running.

It's clowns like this running thousands of never-sell auctions who use a ton of bandwidth and drive the cost of using ebay up for everyone else. But ebay allows it, so who am I to bitch?

I have NO PROBLEM with sellers parting out kits for reasonable money and not trying to make $300 on something they bought for $5.

The reasonable-price sellers are doing the hobby a service and making a decent profit for themselves.

Bozos like ol' PJ are just pig-greedy opportunists and should be boycotted by the community...but they thrive on the ignorance or laziness of their customers.

[slusher]

It's nothing new. A seller called PJ Toys was doing it years ago (since 2004) and apparently enough folks like taking it up the exhaust from him that he's still in business, selling hoods for what you can buy a whole kit for (PLUS SHIPPING!) with a 100% feedback score on over 8,300 reported sales, and with over 9,000 (NINE THOUSAND!) current auctions running.

It's clowns like this running thousands of never-sell auctions who use a ton of bandwidth and drive the cost of using ebay up for everyone else. But ebay allows it, so who am I to bitch?

I have NO PROBLEM with sellers parting out kits for reasonable money and not trying to make $300 on something they bought for $5.

The reasonable-price sellers are doing the hobby a service and making a decent profit for themselves.

Bozos like ol' PJ are just pig-greedy opportunists and should be boycotted by the community...but they thrive on the ignorance or laziness of their customers.

A guy bought three parts for 45.00 and a a kit list above for 10.99 and two for 44 and 46 dollars the same amount as he spent. P J toys does not combine shipping and charges the same price for each item. Does not make sense.....

[CometMan]

    I have NO PROBLEM with sellers parting out kits for reasonable money and not trying to make $300 on something they bought for $5.

The reasonable-price sellers are doing the hobby a service and making a decent profit for themselves.

Bozos like ol' PJ are just pig-greedy opportunists and should be boycotted by the community...but they thrive on the ignorance or laziness of their customers.

I agree, if an old or rare model is trashed, it is doing the hobby a great service for the seller to salvage any parts that may still be usable, and move them on to someone who may be looking for those parts. Since that takes a lot of time and effort on the seller's part he should be allowed to turn a nice profit without any complaints from anyone! It's similar to a junkyard for 1:1 cars, but the main difference is that at a full-sized junkyard, especially ones specializing in antique cars, if they get a car in that they realize may be able to be put back on the road, or has one major problem, but has many usable parts, they will try to sell it as a whole car first, even if it means that their profit isn't as high. They realize that the goodwill that comes from doing it that way will eventually increase their profit several fold through their good reputation, and repeat business, allowing them to stay in business! These clowns take perfectly good kits, or nice build-ups, and part them out, asking outrageous prices for each part. What they ignore is that, while the profit may be quite good for awhile, eventually folks will get tired of it, when business dries up and they are forced to change their practices, or close, they will be the first to ask for sympathy by saying that "no body wants to pay for anything anymore"!

[Tom Geiger]

It's nothing new. A seller called PJ Toys was doing it years ago (since 2004) and apparently enough folks like taking it up the exhaust from him that he's still in business, selling hoods for what you can buy a whole kit for (PLUS SHIPPING!) with a 100% feedback score on over 8,300 reported sales, and with over 9,000 (NINE THOUSAND!) current auctions running.

That's the description of a viable business opportunity! 

Edited August 13, 2016 by Tom Geiger

[Mike999]

That's the description of a viable business opportunity! 

Well, that's fine. But I consider this a hobby/pastime I love, not a "business opportunity."  And before the Junior Milton Friedmans start yammering about capitalism, I don't mind anybody making a profit off their stuff.  I do it myself on eBay. But there is a limit and that particular seller exceeds it every time, IMO.

As I've said before, I'd never buy anything from that guy.  Aside from ridiculous prices, his listings are long, ranty whines about how hard he works to find these Very Special Parts and provide them to us.  He also often refers to potential customers as "stupid."  Way to build good-will, dude! 

People selling at reasonable prices are also "stupid."  Because it takes SO MUCH TIME to hunt down his Very Special Parts.  And he has to take photos!  And write long, ranty listings!  His hard labor just goes on and on!  Oh, the humanity!  IOW, he has to do what every other eBay seller does. His listings often contain something like this:  "If you don't like my prices, go buy from somebody else who works for free."  Thanks, I'll continue to do just that.

[Rob Hall]

The seller lowered the BIN price on that Starfire from $300 to $165...

[Nova-ss]

The main thing about Ebay that disgusts me is the new trend of buying a kit and then selling each part seperatly! If the prices were reasonable, it would be great but these guys are asking as much for one single part, as the whole kit costs!!! That's just taking advantage of people, plain and simple!

.i agree with you.

[MrObsessive]

The seller lowered the BIN price on that Starfire from $300 to $165...

Yeah I see! Still too much! Hmmm.........I wonder if he got wind of this thread??

He's cut the number of days of the auction down also. Wonder if he knows that there's another one in MUCH BETTER SHAPE that's going for a starting bid of $9.99?? No box however, but it's far from a glue bomb by a long shot.

[Ron Hamilton]

It's nothing new. A seller called PJ Toys was doing it years ago (since 2004) and apparently enough folks like taking it up the exhaust from him that he's still in business, selling hoods for what you can buy a whole kit for (PLUS SHIPPING!) with a 100% feedback score on over 8,300 reported sales, and with over 9,000 (NINE THOUSAND!) current auctions running.

It's clowns like this running thousands of never-sell auctions who use a ton of bandwidth and drive the cost of using ebay up for everyone else. But ebay allows it, so who am I to bitch?

I have NO PROBLEM with sellers parting out kits for reasonable money and not trying to make $300 on something they bought for $5.

The reasonable-price sellers are doing the hobby a service and making a decent profit for themselves.

Bozos like ol' PJ are just pig-greedy opportunists and should be boycotted by the community...but they thrive on the ignorance or laziness of their customers.

Tell us what you really think!!!!

[Snake45]

Not long ago a guy parted out a complete, mint, rare (though not particularly desirable) AMT '68 Corvette. I happen to have a body and complete interior but could use a couple parts to do something with it (the plan is to do it as a Vette-ish "kit car"). I could REALLY have used the hood, as no other Vette kit hood fits, but my $12 bid failed to get it. I DID get the cut-down custom/racing windshield, which will be handy, and the top, which I think I can use. Judging from the auction I lost and the one I won, the guy must have netted well over $200 for that thing in parts.

Ended up buying a Revell '68 Vette kit just for the hood, which will have to be heavily modified to fit the AMT body. I was smart enough to get the 2-in-1 kit, which has two hoods, so at least that kit's not a complete waste. And IIRC, with a 40% off coupon, I got the thing for LESS than the eBay hood would have cost me (with shipping).

[horsepower]

Not long ago a guy parted out a complete, mint, rare (though not particularly desirable) AMT '68 Corvette. I happen to have a body and complete interior but could use a couple parts to do something with it (the plan is to do it as a Vette-ish "kit car"). I could REALLY have used the hood, as no other Vette kit hood fits, but my $12 bid failed to get it. I DID get the cut-down custom/racing windshield, which will be handy, and the top, which I think I can use. Judging from the auction I lost and the one I won, the guy must have netted well over $200 for that thing in parts.

Ended up buying a Revell '68 Vette kit just for the hood, which will have to be heavily modified to fit the AMT body. I was smart enough to get the 2-in-1 kit, which has two hoods, so at least that kit's not a complete waste. And IIRC, with a 40% off coupon, I got the thing for LESS than the eBay hood would have cost me (with shipping).

But what you (and several other people) fail to see is there are people who are willing to pay these prices for something they want or need. You say that another person outbid you on the hood, the seller had nothing to do with the selling price, the person who actually buys these parts are the ones who set the selling price. 

What bothers me is some people are selling kits no longer in production (but were just months ago) as though they're collector pieces, and some have kits that you can still find on dealers shelves for $12 to $15 and have bumped the prices up to current $20+ prices. But again people are buying them, and often it's out of the country buyers who ARE getting a good deal, we're spoiled by swap meet and not having to pay exorbitant prices at the retail store.

[Snake45]

But what you (and several other people) fail to see is there are people who are willing to pay these prices for something they want or need. You say that another person outbid you on the hood, the seller had nothing to do with the selling price, the person who actually buys these parts are the ones who set the selling price.

 

How on earth do you get that I "fail to see" anything? I simply related the facts of the matter, no judgment or opinion at all.

[Xingu]

I don't mind the parts sellers, they provide a service. Some do set their prices pretty high though. I have some incomplete kits that I may just end up selling parts out of. I will probably start at $3 for stuff though (not $15).

For some folks, I think eBay is their LHS. They just pay the going rate. People bash eBay a lot, but it gives you an opportunity to get kits that you may have otherwise never seen for sale.

[SfanGoch]

AMTJo-HanRevellMonogramHubleyPyromaniac ORIGINAL! RARE! ONLY ONE IN EXISTENCE! 1999 Ford FmlemmmmmmPTFFFT Rearview Mirror w/ORIGINAL Chrome NOS NIB MINT! Like New Except Better!!!!

 

Details » As if I need to tell you, you sly connoisseur of rare and precious styrene goodies.	Buy: $.29	Ships: $78.00	$78.29	12 mins
Item Condition: Stupendously Wonderful. Your head will explode from joy when you cast your unworthy gaze and           marvel at its magnificence.  Item Location: Across the street Shipping Type: Flat Rate. Your treasure will be enclosed in a velvet lined, hand rubbed Mahogany chest. Shipping Cost: $78.00 Expedited Shipping by Ye Olde Chesapeake schooner via Horn of Africa and Northwest Passage Handling Time: 5-6 business years See other items for sale from robublind123 See more items like this one. What, you don't know how to read?!? You can't see more like it. It's the only one like it. I said that, right? You think I'd lie to you? Well, do you, punk?

 

Edited August 17, 2016 by SfanGoch

[Tom Geiger]

I don't mind the parts sellers, they provide a service. Some do set their prices pretty high though. I have some incomplete kits that I may just end up selling parts out of. I will probably start at $3 for stuff though (not $15).

This one comes up over and over... you guys think like hobbyists.   Suppose you needed to earn a living. Take your current hourly rate.  Add in health care costs, no employer contribution. Add in Social Security, no employer contribution (note- you pay half as an employee, your employer pays the other half, so double  it).  Now figure out what an hour of your professional time is worth.  Each auction on eBay is probably an hour's time cradle to grave, if not more.   Add your total hourly cost to that part. Add in postage and eBay and Paypal fees.  Is that part suddenly $20-50?  Bingo!

I don't buy those parts.  I'm glad others do.  The seller got off his tail bone and worked to earn a living.  I'm pleased of that because you and I aren't paying for his family to be on welfare! End of story. Get over it.

Edited August 18, 2016 by Tom Geiger

[SfanGoch]

Suppose you needed to earn a living

Getting a real job would be the first way that comes to mind. Running a three card monte game in Times Square and relieving tourists of the burden of carrying around all that mad money is a close second. Selling parted out model kits on an online auction site doesn't guarantee a steady source of simoleons.

[Ace-Garageguy]

This one comes up over and over... you guys think like hobbyists.   Suppose you needed to earn a living. Take your current hourly rate.  Add in health care costs, no employer contribution. Add in Social Security, no employer contribution (note- you pay half as an employee, your employer pays the other half, so double  it).  Now figure out what an hour of your professional time is worth.  Each auction on eBay is probably an hour's time cradle to grave, if not more.   Add your total hourly cost to that part. Add in postage and eBay and Paypal fees.  Is that part suddenly $20-50?  Bingo!

I don't buy those parts.  I'm glad others do.  The seller got off his tail bone and worked to earn a living.  I'm pleased of that because you and I aren't paying for his family to be on welfare! End of story. Get over it.

Maybe I'd buy that if the seller in question was on his OWN website that HE paid for and maintained. But he's not. He has NINE THOUSAND listings he's getting FOR FREE.

It adds up to a free ride on the cost everyone else with one or twenty listings is paying, pure and simple. And his rambling idiotic rants take up pages and pages of space for each listing.

Nope...the guy is a parasite...sucking his sustenance off the hobby AND the Ebay policy that allows it.

And ummm...how do you KNOW we're not supporting him on the dole as well?

Ethics like he has are what makes the entitlement class in this country what it is today. "I gets mines no matter whose pockets it comes out of, and the less I has to do for it, the better".

Edited August 18, 2016 by Ace-Garageguy

[Tom Geiger]

Hey Bill... tell me what you really think!  

Personally I don't have a problem with the guy, or guys... eBay allows it legally and they have found a business there.   I don't patronize or look at their auctions. The guy probably isn't a good mechanic!

Back in the day I had a $1000 plus a month business selling car brochures from the 1980s on eBay. The ones collectors didn't want.  I spent every Saturday and a few evenings during the week listing auctions, I spent Thursday and Friday evenings filling the orders. It wasn't free money I earned it with most of my free time.  Truth is, that money allowed my wife to stay home with the kids, and my girls got dance classes and other nice things I couldn't afford on my regular salary.  

I started the auctions at $2.99 each, and let it fly.  People were willing to pay $10-20 or more for these brochures (mostly people who owned the 1:1 cars).  The people were happy to get the brochures and I was happy to provide the service.   Was I wrong too?  This guy is doing the same thing, who are we to judge?

[Ace-Garageguy]

 

I started the auctions at $2.99 each, and let it fly.  People were willing to pay $10-20 or more for these brochures (mostly people who owned the 1:1 cars).  The people were happy to get the brochures and I was happy to provide the service.   Was I wrong too?  

I don't see that as the same thing at all. You started your auctions at a realistic entry price, a price that encourages bidding. The market drove the price to whatever the highest bidder was willing to pay. No problem, no foul. And I doubt you had THOUSANDS of brochures listed over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over...

I've been a student of Ebay auctions for many years, and it's been my repeated observation that starting auctions (on a wide variety of items, not just model-related) at a LOW price is much more likely to get bidders going. Once the feeding frenzy starts, the sky's the limit...and that's how it's supposed to work.

Starting auctions for one part at the same price you can actually buy a complete kit for (in some circumstances) is simply stupid, pig-greedy, and almost a guarantee you'll have more NO SALE auctions than successful turnover.

But there's still no laws against stupid OR pig-greedy. 

Edited August 18, 2016 by Ace-Garageguy