Crazy prices on the auction Bay.

[Mark]

I'd say if the Jo-Han boxes are the thinner cardboard, then they were shrink-wrapped.  Thick cardboard boxes with printed paper glued to it were likely taped.

[GMP440]

I whole heartedly agree that the MPC 68 Coronet R/T is a very rare kit.  Most unusual  for that kit to hit over $1000.  Been tracking prices on these for years.  Most I've seen was in the $400 range.  It's strange that

in the last couple of years I am seeing more and more of the MPC 68 and 69 Coronet kits up for sale  on ebay and other sites.  Not quite flooding the market , but more than usual.  Could this be a hint that in the future we may be seeing Round 2 release a 68 Coronet R/T kit  and that individuals that have these kits now are dumping them to get the most money?  Who knows.

 

[SfanGoch]

I have two first issue (1965) Johan Chrysler Turbine Car kits (GC300-149) in the blue flat box. Both have the original intact, somewhat grungy shrink wrap; albeit,  it's loose fitting due to age.

[StevenGuthmiller]

1 hour ago, GMP440 said:

  Could this be a hint that in the future we may be seeing Round 2 release a 68 Coronet R/T kit

Possibly........when monkeys fly out of my arse! ?

I haven't seen anything from Round 2 to suggest that they will ever produce an all new kit.

"Round 2" pretty much sums it up.

Re-pops with an occasional upgrade.

 

 

Steve

[Khils]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/MPC-1970-PLYMOUTH-BARRACUDA-ORIGINAL-FACTORY-SEALED-NOS-KIT-270-CIRCA-1970/233307052977

Here's one I watched sell...same seller......just the other night.    ?TOO stupid money for me!!

[Deuces]

On 8/14/2019 at 1:08 PM, StevenGuthmiller said:

That's always a question as well.

I've seen kits offered on ebay as sealed kits that were never shrink wrapped from the factory.

A dead give away.

 

Prior to shrink wrap, they were sealed with a couple of pieces of tape.

I have kits from 1962 that still have the tape, so I'm guessing sometime in the mid-sixties?

 

 

Steve

My Monogram BiG T from ???? '62 was taped... Brand new in the box....

[GaryR]

I don't care how much someone pays for a kit, it isn't worth it to me but it isn't my money!

What gripes me are fake descriptions (RARE! RAT ROD,HOT ROD, AMT JOHANN, REVELL ) all on the same kit.

I skip right over those listings, don't care what they are!

PARTING OUT rare kits is just pure greed and shows a disrespect for the hobby in my view. To open an old kit and sell it part by part is ridiculous, I will skip right over those listings as well.

Just got an order from a semi well known Hobby Shop that contains an old parts pack with half the parts MISSING, nowhere in the description was this mentioned! Do people really have to do this to make a living? Don't think so!

How much of a loser do you have to be to cheat people on a model kit!!!!????

What's the excuse? I get supply and demand, but I don't get greed and dishonesty!

Edited August 15, 2019 by GaryR

[thatz4u]

Now, this is why I avoid ebay altogether...?

[StevenGuthmiller]

35 minutes ago, GaryR said:

PARTING OUT rare kits is just pure greed and shows a disrespect for the hobby in my view. To open an old kit and sell it part by part is ridiculous,

You might feel that way........until you need a front bumper and grille for a Johan '65 Fury.

I thank God every day for the guys that sell original vintage annual parts.

What are our options now that Modelhaus is gone?

 

 

 

Steve

[GaryR]

I just face the fact that a lot of old stuff is 60 plus years old and gone forever.

I don't "need" anything really, have 600 some kits, TONS of parts, I have plenty to build. I'd rather spend my money on less expensive items.

EXAMPLE, I see a Revell dragster chassis for 99 BUCKS on ebay!
Riiiiiiiiight. And others exactly the same for buy it now, 25 to 35 dollars.

Like I said, not my money.

I just won't pay crazy money, it's a HOBBY, for fun. Not a religion or way of life!

[StevenGuthmiller]

5 hours ago, GaryR said:

I just face the fact that a lot of old stuff is 60 plus years old and gone forever.

I don't "need" anything really, have 600 some kits, TONS of parts, I have plenty to build. I'd rather spend my money on less expensive items.

EXAMPLE, I see a Revell dragster chassis for 99 BUCKS on ebay!
Riiiiiiiiight. And others exactly the same for buy it now, 25 to 35 dollars.

Like I said, not my money.

I just won't pay crazy money, it's a HOBBY, for fun. Not a religion or way of life!

Oh I agree with you on that.

There's no way that you would ever get me to spend $1,100.00 on a model car no matter what it is!

But I will spend $25.00 on a set of rare factory hubcaps if I need them to complete a build.

There are few things that $25.00 will buy me that will bring me more enjoyment than my precious hobby.

Spend $25.00 on a steak dinner tonight, and it will be in the toilet bowl tomorrow.

My models will give me great enjoyment for many, many years to come.

 

 

Steve

Edited August 16, 2019 by StevenGuthmiller

[gtx6970]

7 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

The MPC '68 Coronet R/T is a very rare kit, but on it's best day, I don't think it's worth a penny over $300.00, and I personally would never pay that much for it.

 

 

 

Steve

Steve, I agree with you but considering a clean builtup 68 Coronet hardtop will EASILY pull over $100,  And I do mean easily.  Ive seen the unbuilt versions pulling anywhere from $350 to as high as $500 without to much trouble. ( not from me btw ) . I dont think I've ever seen one break $1000 before though.

 

I personally will NOT buy sealed vintage kits unless I can hold it in my hand 1st. Even then I will open it before walking away . Just to make sure whats IN the box is the same as whats ON the box. Ive heard far to many horror stories where the buyer got nothing but scrapes in a so called sealed box.

Ive got 1 ea of the 68 and 69  Coronet hardtops , 1 of the 69 convertibles and at least 2 1968 convertibles.  Best I can remember the cheapest one  got me for about $75 , most expensive one is my 68 hardtop and I think I paid about $120 for it  . All stock nothing ever painted  builder but was missing the stock ft seats ( since found with many many thanks to Ron Hamilton btw  )

 

I personally paid a guy $500 for a sealed 1968 Color ME Gone Charger funnycar, then opened it in front of the guy . I thought he was going to have a heart attack right there when I split the cellophane. Ive since sold it btw and got my money back out of it with no problem, ( went to China )

[gtx6970]

As far as guys parting out kits. I could care less.  I need parts not more kits . So let them have at it.

I buy model parts all the time ( got several items in this week actually for maybe 6 or 7 different annuals  builders I have ) . There is one seller I will never buy from again , I dont care what he has, how bad I need it or or how cheap it is.

[Richard Bartrop]

I'm very much in the "buy it sealed" camp,  because, if anything, I've been burned by the "kit appears complete" claim.  Mind you, the stuff I've bid on has been pricey enough to justify the the rewrapping scam.

[SfanGoch]

I contacted a seller on ebay about this very thing. I asked him what did he mean, "appears complete"? Either it is or isn't. No maybe, perhaps or possibly. I pointed out that he had the instructions (seen in his pics) 1 and could inventory the parts to be accurate.

Since I can't repost his reply verbatim here, let's just say he told me to go to hell.

[Mark]

With those sellers, often the only items that aren't complete are those they haven't checked.

It's a Festivus miracle!

[StevenGuthmiller]

7 hours ago, Richard Bartrop said:

I'm very much in the "buy it sealed" camp,  because, if anything, I've been burned by the "kit appears complete" claim.  Mind you, the stuff I've bid on has been pricey enough to justify the the rewrapping scam.

If the contents are not laid out in the photographs so that I can see if all necessary parts are present, I won't bid on it.

I don't care what the seller's description says.

 

But I have the added bonus of buying only vintage kits on ebay.

Their limited parts count makes it a lot easier to determine if everything is there or not.

 

 

Steve

Edited August 16, 2019 by StevenGuthmiller

[MrObsessive]

Blurry pics are another sign for me to tread with caution. Back in the mid '00's, I saw a conversion started on eBay where someone was taking a '56 Ford and turning it into a '55. The pics were VERY blurry, but you could see the the A pillars were literally bent inwards to meet the roof which seemed to me too narrow for what he was doing. I sent him a note and mentioned it to him and his answer back to me was........"The roof fits quite well, it's just the angle of the pics".

OK. ?

I took a chance and bought the kit anyway and sure enough just as I thought, both A pillars were leaned in so far to the inside, the car looked absolutely terrible and no way was the 1:1 like that.

What was this model? It's the '55 Ford you see as my WIP right now here on the board. If you've seen my Fotki pics, now you know why I had to literally SPLIT the roof in half as the Lindberg '53 Ford roof was obviously too small for the AMT '56 Ford. So, it just reinforces especially from that auction forward that any blurry pics I see I instantly ignore them. That says to me the seller is trying to hide something and that they for whatever reason won't take the time to make sure the pics are clear enough so that the potential buyer can actually see what they are getting.

[Snake45]

I just bought an AMT '65 Mustang fastback on ebay that had been skillfully photographed to hide the fact that it had the custom pans installed front and rear, and the custom taillights, and no bumpers at either end. Fortunately I happened to be looking for one I could build as a mild custom, and I spotted just a corner of what I knew to be the custom front pan. I bought it and was absolutely delighted with it--I restored it last weekend. Another buyer might have had a nasty surprise when they opened the box. 

[randyc]

I bought the Testors metal 69 Charger and Daytona on ebay.  Supposedly was both complete.  Wasn't.   The pictures were hard to tell and the price wasn't bad for ONE much less two kits.   We agreed to a partial refund.  It was missing an entire engine and windows for the Charger.   The engine was no big deal unless you wanted the hemi.   Still had 2 440s.

As a seller I hate to put a sealed kit up but I also hate to open it on the off chance the buyer wants the SEALED kit.  I don't have many sealed kits though.   And I try to post my kits as honestly as possible.   If I say "appears complete", it really does as far as I can tell.  But some sellers honestly have no idea - they may or may not even have a working knowledge of model kits.   So I figure it's on me to figure it out.   I try to photograph everything to not hide it.  I hate dealing with refunds or exchanges so I want it to be right when it is posted so I don't have to deal with it later.  

[NOBLNG]

15 hours ago, GaryR said:

What gripes me are fake descriptions (RARE! RAT ROD,HOT ROD, AMT JOHANN, REVELL ) all on the same kit.

That's so that it pops up no matter WHAT someone types in the search box.

Personally, I build for enjoyment and I intend (Hopefully) to build everything I buy so there is NO WAY I would pay over retail for anything!

Edited August 16, 2019 by NOBLNG

[Tom Geiger]

14 hours ago, GaryR said:

I just won't pay crazy money, it's a HOBBY, for fun. Not a religion or way of life!

 

12 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

Oh I agree with you on that.

There's no way that you would ever get me to spend $1,100.00 on a model car no matter what it is!

But I will spend $25.00 on a set of rare factory hubcaps if I need them to complete a build.

There are few things that $25.00 will buy me that will bring me more enjoyment than my precious hobby.

Spend $25.00 on a steak dinner tonight, and it will be in the toilet bowl tomorrow.

My models will give me great enjoyment for many, many years to come.

What it comes down to...

We all have our beliefs and our own financial limits.  There are those who cannot go beyond a certain limit financially.  There are those who WON'T go beyond a certain limit, not because they don't have the money, but because they won't spend the money on that.

As Steve said, most of us would spend that $25 to finish a project.  That $25 doesn't represent a financial hardship to us.  There are other people that won't even notice the $1100 missing from their checking account.  They have earned a lot of money and have decided that they will spend some of it on model cars.  If you are a lawyer whose time is sold at $500 an hour, it's cheaper for you to spend that $1100 on a complete kit, than to spend a lot of time piecing one together or seeking one at a lower price.

Note that both the kits mentioned sold to different bidders. There were at least two people willing to go above $1000 for those kits. (the winner on one and the second bidder on the other appear to be the same person) So we have three people voting with their wallets.  You can't fault the seller as greedy, he started those kits at $9.99 and let the market do it's thing.  I'm happy for him!     It appears everyone is happy in these transactions. So who are we to fault it.  This is the very definition of an auction!  Participate or not, your choice!

Note that a certain builder routinely gets $500 to way over $1000 for his builds on eBay.  So we have a segment of our hobby that has money to spend and is happy to spend it.  I find it good that there are people of means in this hobby.  Especially when I go to sell!   ?

[ewetwo]

Something to be aware of. A couple of friends of mine bought a supposedly "factory sealed never open"  whatever on eBay or some place. Be it a model kit or a record album. The new scam is to advertise it as such but what they realized is the seller has the means to seal it with cellophane or stretch wrap to make it look that way. They fought and got their money back but buyer be ware. 

[CapSat 6]

8 hours ago, Mark said:

With those sellers, often the only items that aren't complete are those they haven't checked.

It's a Festivus miracle!

[StevenGuthmiller]

8 hours ago, Tom Geiger said:

 

What it comes down to...

We all have our beliefs and our own financial limits.  There are those who cannot go beyond a certain limit financially.  There are those who WON'T go beyond a certain limit, not because they don't have the money, but because they won't spend the money on that.

As Steve said, most of us would spend that $25 to finish a project.  That $25 doesn't represent a financial hardship to us.  There are other people that won't even notice the $1100 missing from their checking account.  They have earned a lot of money and have decided that they will spend some of it on model cars.  If you are a lawyer whose time is sold at $500 an hour, it's cheaper for you to spend that $1100 on a complete kit, than to spend a lot of time piecing one together or seeking one at a lower price.

Note that both the kits mentioned sold to different bidders. There were at least two people willing to go above $1000 for those kits. (the winner on one and the second bidder on the other appear to be the same person) So we have three people voting with their wallets.  You can't fault the seller as greedy, he started those kits at $9.99 and let the market do it's thing.  I'm happy for him!     It appears everyone is happy in these transactions. So who are we to fault it.  This is the very definition of an auction!  Participate or not, your choice!

Note that a certain builder routinely gets $500 to way over $1000 for his builds on eBay.  So we have a segment of our hobby that has money to spend and is happy to spend it.  I find it good that there are people of means in this hobby.  Especially when I go to sell!   ?

I agree Wholeheartedly with everything you said in this post......except for one line.

At least in the context of this discussion.

8 hours ago, Tom Geiger said:

If you are a lawyer whose time is sold at $500 an hour, it's cheaper for you to spend that $1100 on a complete kit, than to spend a lot of time piecing one together or seeking one at a lower price.

I will never believe that someone who is spending this sum of cash on a kit ever intends to build it, regardless of their income.

I suppose anything is possible, but I think it's highly unlikely.

These kits are undoubtedly being bought by collectors for display, and what they think might possibly be investment reasons.

 

I think of it along the same line as the guy who is going to a Barrett Jackson auction and buying a 99.8 point restoration of a 1957 Chevy Belair and to think that they will actually ever drive it.

Or a better analogy might be the same guy purchasing a vintage car with 500 original miles on it and thinking that it will ever be driven.

I just don't see anybody, however wealthy, spending that kind of money on something that they're going to tear into when it shows up on their doorstep and start building.

 

 

Steve