clovis

I hear ya, Tom. My folks, like many others who have posted, were poster children for Sears. They literally could have shot Sears commercials at my parent's home. Every appliance that my parents ever purchased were Kenmore. My dad bought Craftsman mowers, and any new tool that he bought came from Sears. My folks were excellent Sears customers, and my dad particularly like them because he could buy parts at a Sears parts place in the city. I have bought, in my adult lifetime, very little from Sears. I have to be reminded that Sears sells other things, besides tools. I believe that the last time I walked into a Sears store, for other than tools, was sometime around 2003 or so.

Wow. That must have been an expensive wreck!!!

Good point, Tom. There is a historic building here in Indiana. It was once a hotel, and considered an "eighth wonder of the world." The hotel was purchased by a religious group, which occupied the building for years. During their ownership, someone cut some walls out the interior, which led to part of the building sagging, and made for a difficult restoration attempt. The general attitude was that the group was bad for the building, and there was some contempt for that group. I spoke to one of the people who was instrumental in saving the hotel. Her thoughts were much different that the general consensus about the group. "At least they kept the building maintained for years, and really, despite some of the damage (that occurred years later from removing some walls), they helped save the hotel for that span of time. It wouldn't stand today had they not owned and occupied the place." . All in all, we are all caretakers of cars, buildings, homes, etc..

Nice find!

Cool thread. I have enjoyed it.

That is cool, and I'm not even a Chrysler guy.

Great video! I enjoyed watching it, and the video actually answered a few manufacturing questions that I had from that era.

Nice finds, Tom.

Wow, those Vettes are simply stunning! After seeing those, I am thinking about quitting the model hobby altogether. Even if I actively build every day, and seriously challenge myself along the way, I doubt that I'll ever be able to build one half that good.

So you are wanting a different motor from what the kit offered, or are you looking for the standard motor that came in the kit?

Nope.

Lower prices and the competition is good for the buyer. I am thrilled when I am finding and getting a good deal on ebay, just like everyone else. But, as a full time seller, it is frustrating to see any competitor literally dump stuff on the market, especially when priced even at the same price points, it will sell if given a little time. Again, good for the consumer, bad for the sellers. Since I sell on ebay for a living, it gets frustrating sometimes having any chance of making a profit on an item utterly diminished. It is no different than any other business in the world, but when it happens to you, it will drive you crazy!!! FWIW, it is much tougher in this slower economy when there is lower demand, and thus lower prices, for almost everything. There is no stopping the practice of undercutting prices by sellers, in which the consumer wins, but it is frustrating when it happens to you....and sometimes, it makes no sense when some sellers destroy a market with ever lower prices. In my example of the paint chips, the competition has driven the price down to where no one can make any money. $3.99 with free shipping? Postage alone will cost at least $1.93, less ebay listing fee of .20, plus about .65 FV fee = $1.18 in profit, yet the guy with an old $30,000 car would gladly pay $9.99 for a paint chip.

A very interesting article on Sears' Holding, and their CEO, Edward Lampert. Note that Sears has had "declining sales numbers for the past 30 quarters." Momma didn't raise a math major, but the way I see it, that means that Sears has had declining sales numbers for almost 8 years in a row. Wow. Talk about running a company into the ground. http://blogs.marketwatch.com/behindthestorefront/2014/08/21/sears-fatigue-is-ceo-lampert-wearing-out-investors/

That same guy must be at work selling paint chip charts. About a year ago, I bought a vintage paint color chip chart book at an estate sale. It dates from about 1935 to 1952, or so. I quickly listed the really good charts, and was blessed to make a small fortune. For the average stuff in the book, many of the makes and years weren't selling well. Most had their charts listed for $8.99 to $10.99, +/-. I was short on time, and thought that I would list the average stuff later. Maybe the market will have recovered some, and if so, would possibly let me sell mine for $15 or so. I've spent the last hour looking up the average stuff. There are people selling these for $3.99, with free shipping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Somewhere out there, there is a stay at home mom or college boy, on the phone, bragging to a friend that they sold $31 in paint charts over the past month, but don't understand that they spent $9 in listing fees and FVF, plus about $14 in shipping. They would have been better flipping burgers for a few hours each day, and could have been doing some good in the world, instead of destroying markets as they sit at home and play "mega-seller and profiteer" on ebay. .

Also, have you all noticed the number of people who are now pulling off onto the side of the interstate, and are creating disasters that are waiting to happen? Most people, when re-entering or merging into traffic from a dead stop on the emergency lane, are just pulling out into traffic. They are at a dead stop, and then try to floor it, trying to get the car up to 40 MPH, even though cars are going 70 MPH. I was taught to stay in the emergency lane, and slowly get your speed up to 50 or 60 MPH, and start looking for a safe place to merge into traffic. I am simply astounded by the number of people that I see that pull into oncoming traffic driving 12 miles an hour, even though most cars are traveling 70 to 80 MPH.

On the right and left lane thing: I can't believe the number of people who will pull up to your bumper while you are driving in the left lane, and when you move to the right lane to let them pass, they refuse to do so. They will increase their speed, maybe 1/4 of a mile an hour faster, leaving you stuck in the right lane. Of course, when this happens, I always seem to get stuck behind Aunt Elma, who is returning from a friend's church function, as she motors down the interstate at 58 MPH.

I haven't read many of the replies, but there is no way that I am wasting my life on building something that does not interest me. In the past month, I have found two kits at thrift stores for .99 cents each, both in 1/25. I like big stuff, and even though the Pontiac model was cool, it is getting sold or given away. I don't get much build time, and when I build, I want to try to build my masterpiece.There is no sense in building models that you don't like...life is far too short. Let me ask you this: If someone gave you, out of the blue, a 1/8 scale model kit baby stroller, or something that you had absolutely no interest in, would you build it? Build each model as if it were going to be the last model that you ever build.

I have read that, in retail, analysts look at how much a company spends in maintenance and for remodeling stores. Sears has been at the bottom of that list for many years. Some say that it is the writing on the wall. I was disappointed that Sears has allowed almost anyone to sell Craftsman tools and Die Hard batteries. While it may increase some sales, why should I walk into a Sears store today, and look at Craftsman tools...while my wife browses the other departments? Generally speaking, malls may be dying. The popular thing in our area are 'destination centers', which is nothing more than a glorified strip mall with mostly big box stores and several smaller stores. I have been to a 'destination center' about 10 times in the past few months, and haven't stepped foot in a mall in over two years. Aside from that mall trip, which I only took because a foreign friend wanted to do some shopping at a US mall, I haven't been in a mall in almost 5 years. I have heard many analysts say that the current CEO is on a mission to destroy the company, run it into the ground, and then sell off, piecemeal style, the brand names they own, like Craftsman, Kenmore, Die Hard, etc. The next step will be to sell off the real estate. Sears could and should be a powerhouse in today's market. Too bad that someone is intent on destroying it.

I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one. About a 1 1/2 years ago, I started buying a type of tool, and parted it out on ebay. I have made great money doing this, but about 5 months ago, everyone started copying the way I list. I was selling one item for $15.99...and selling them briskly. Now, everyone and their brother, and their aunts and uncles, too, are listing them...get this...for 3.99. Some of this has been okay, because some of the sellers won't do the homework to see what is more rare, and I've scooped up a few bargains myself. A few years ago, my wife and I found a grocery product that wasn't being listed on ebay. We were barely making $2.50 each on the item, which wasn't really worth it, but we had an endless supply of an easy to find product. Most buyers bought multiples of the same thing, so sometimes making $10 was easy. Every following seller has destroyed the market. There is no way they are even making money on this stuff, unless they are stealing it from the store. I love ebay...but I don't understand why so many people think "I'll just list mine for a few bucks cheaper" is a good idea.

You do have a point, Joe. I would like to buy from the local HT, and give them my business, but at the same time, I don't want to be giving money away. Just a few weeks ago, a woman walked in while I was browsing the paint aisle...and I believe that overheard one of the clerks offering her a discount coupon.

Very interesting thread. I almost deleted it before posting it, and am glad that I hit the 'post' button. I have had a love/hate relationship with this HT. I was told by one clerk that all unused items with a receipt could be returned with no hassles, but when I went back to return a few small items, another clerk hassled me pretty bad, and implied that I was a bad apple. I had specifically bought a few things not knowing if I would need them on a few builds for my kid's 4-H projects, and it was a 25 mile one way trip from their place to my home. I try to forgive and forget, but I am still ticked about that incident when I think about it. My relationship with the HT has improved some since I complained to the owner about the employee...but she turned right to him, and confronted him while I was 5 feet away. I am not a big spender, but they certainly have lost business from me. I think that I am getting tired of being treated as a "you need to pay full retail, sucker" type of customer. I am self employed and run a tiny business, and understand that everyone needs to make a profit. There are times you have to draw a line in the sand, and say no to a customer. I am of the "work with your customer" mentality, and believe that it is often best to flip a fast nickel instead of waiting for a year to make a dime. When Hobby Lobby gets this item in stock, it looks like they will get my business, unless I opt for buying on ebay.

So, how did you figure out that it was a staged theft and fraudulent claim?

Joe, Thanks! You are confirming exactly what the employees at my local HTUSA said. I didn't know whether to believe them or not. I don't want to be the guy that 'games' the system or unfairly takes advantage of the store, but I'd also like to get the best deal that I can, and wanted to make sure that I wasn't missing out on some unknown coupons.

Last week, I received a HobbyTown coupon via email for $10 off of $50 or more. I used the coupon , which is attached or coupled to my HTUSA 'loyalty' card. The cashiers tell me that HTUSA sends out coupons "about every other month or so." They tell me that I'll have to wait at least a month, but probably longer to get another coupon emailed to me. I would love to have another $10 off $50, which makes the kit about the exact same price as I can buy it on ebay. Actually, I think that I would use several of the coupons if they were made available. Is there any way to get more HTUSA coupons? Would you buy the item on from the local HTUSA store, or just buy it on ebay?? Thanks!!!

I agree, getting a re-fi can be a smart move, but you have to do the math to see if it works for you. I was on another forum once, and followed a thread about a young guy 'needing' to re-fi. The loan company was charging him like $6,200 to re-fi, and the guy was insistent that he needed it, because I "am getting crushed and keep coming up short every month." IIRC, he was going to save $85 a month, but of course, be re-set back to a new 30 year loan. Honestly, I think the guy had a budget and spending problem, and not a mortgage problem. I tried to politely suggest that he forgo the re-fi, and pick up a part time job, just one day a month...but when you are as convinced as he was, the only answer is the one that he wanted to hear. In the end, the guy, instead of just doing the re-fi, was given the option of borrowing even more money for "stuff we need", which wiped away the $85 a month savings. I swear, that is one of the craziest things I have ever read on the internet.