Buying kits at swap meets

[lordairgtar]

I bought a model of AMT's Matador NASCAR racer. I probably payed way too much for it...about $28. All there, but opened. I am a builder not a collector obviously but I figured those big swap meet/car shows are not the place to buy kits. Most vendors that had NASCAR models were selling them at $5 a kit which is about correct...except for the Alan Kulwicki or Dick Trickle cars which are up to abut $50 to $100. Clearly because those are local to Wisconsin. a lot of vendors now are trying to sell reissues at vintage original prices. They know that they are reissues and they know that you know they are reissues. They just have some kind of weird screwed up thought process that they think they should command high prices only because the tooling is the same. I usually ask if they really intend to sell those kits or are they actually running a museum. This was at The Fall Jefferson swap meet and is a big deal in Wisconsin.

 

[Toner283]

Every show I go to there are guys that are asking out of this world prices for very common kits. They seem to be asking two to three times what they are actually worth. 3 tables further on you will see the same kit at another guys booth for $10. Same as everything in life, if you shop around a bit you can get a good deal. If it is a kit that you just have to have right then and there you may have to pay the premium to get it. If it is one that is going to be added to the stash and not built for a while then you can wait 2 or 3 shows and find one for a good price.

I have been on both sides of that fence. I was selling at our club sale and show this past weekend and I had a guy get upset at me for selling an incomplete kit. I always try to be honest with any of the stuff that I sell so that I don't feel guilty for selling someone something that I miss represented. This particular incomplete kit had a big white sticker on the end of the box that said incomplete in big letters. I wrote on it that it was missing the chassis plate the engine and possibly more. The guy was incensed that I would sell a kit that was not complete. I didn't even bother to argue with him because that's an argument there is no way I felt that I could get my point across to him without him getting even more pissed off.

We also had one guy at our show that towards the end of the day maybe the last hour or so he announced that everything he had left on his table was half the sticker price. he sold out almost everything he had on his table in 20 minutes. And there was still a fair amount of good stuff left when he announced that he was going half price.

Keep going to shows you will find some good deals. If you have the ability to go to any of the NNL shows, go to one of those you will find lots of stuff that you can drool over and take home.

Edited September 29, 2015 by Toner283

[lordairgtar]

Thanks for your input on this. I know NNL shows have great swaps attached to them. Our model club's own Milwaukee NNL doesn't have a swap per se, but the following day another concern has a swap, so it's good. That one does have great deals. Those are pretty much modeller held and therefore decent and fair in prices. The one I was posting about was a 1:1 car swap meet. Model kits are sometimes offered by various vendors. A local Hobby Shop had their vendor stall open and their prices were fair, just like in the store.

 

[Ace-Garageguy]

Yeah, but isn't the Matador kinda a rare kit actually? Has it been re-issued? I seem to recall seeing them on ebay for a lot more than $28, but I could be mistaken.

As Toner says, I've gotten some truly great deals at the NNL meet here.

Edited September 29, 2015 by Ace-Garageguy

[lordairgtar]

I don't think it's rare, well at least not as rare as the stock version of the car which is very expensive. I've seen the race car for as little as 10 dollars. He did have it marked at $35, but I haggled to $28. All and all, we had some fun digging at each other.

 

[StevenGuthmiller]

I just recently passed on a Matador stock car & car hauler combo set at an antique shop.

I believe the seller was asking around $80.00 for the kit.

I had no idea what it was worth, not being a Nascar fan.

 

Steve

[Daddyfink]

Wow, I guess I better start snapping them up around here! Those Matadors usually only go anywhere from $10 to $15.

[Mark]

The Matador has been reissued a couple of times, but the later issues are different from the first couple of issues.  The FIRST issue (T-430 "Penske Matador") was issued before the first showroom stock one.  The body has recessed areas where the door handles go (handle detail wasn't engraved yet!) and doesn't have any emblems.  There's another Penske issue in a different box (probably different product number too) that was issued after the '75 annual kit.  The second Penske issue probably has the same parts as the first one, except the body would have the door handle and emblem detail.  That version is the one that was included in the racing team set with the trailer and Chevy van.

The later version (Bobby Allison Sportsman) was done after the last ('77) annual, and has some different parts (wheels, grille, among other things) from the early Penske issues.  Lesney/AMT did the Allison version, and made some alterations including putting a fuel cell on the chassis and wiping the emblems from the body.  The showroom stock versions can't be reissued unless those changes are undone.  AMT/Ertl reissued the Allison version a couple of times.  The early Penske versions (all should be molded in white) should be worth more than the later Allison version (AMT/Ertl molded in gray; not sure about the first Lesney issue).    

[Mark]

A lot of swap meet and eBay sellers try to sell recently dropped kits at inflated prices..."it's out of production, you know!"  The reason it's out of production is because people stopped buying them.  I was at the Three Rivers show/swap last Sunday...a couple of vendors had kits on their tables that I have been seeing every year since I started going.  There are a couple of sellers at NNL East that air their stuff out every year too.  I still manage to spend some money at both events; other guys were there to actually sell stuff...

[Carmak]

I have always felt there were three types of sellers at swap meets (both 1:1 car and model car): It's a business, I helps finance my hobby and I need space/want it gone.

The business people price at what the market will bear and not that interested in trading, The hobby finance people typically price a little lower and they are more willing to trade. The need spase price it to move and also will often trade.

When I sell at a swap meet I am somewhere between a hobby finance and a want it gone seller. I rarely bring home the same kits I take.

Carmak

[keyser]

There's a fourth group : guys that price stuff stratospherically, and drag same kits to shows year after year. Boxes more worn, prices if anything go up. Reissued? No problem. Original stuff still priced sky high. 

See these guys on EB too. 120-150 for kits  that aren't rare. Or rarer kits at $3-500. Cracktastic!

The kits broken up into individual parts or sprues sort of fit here too. 

Takes all kinds. I'd get sick of looking at stuff though. 

[Sledsel]

I was looking on EB the other day and saw a "Vintage LOOK!" sealed Allison Cyclone, starting bid $80. Next listing was the Allison Cyclone vintage art release for a buy it now of $21.99. Which one would you buy? LOL

I scored an Glidden Chief Auto Parts Thunderbird, AMT 70 Mach I, Johan Marlin and a Johan Promo Maverick and a flea market. Total for all 3, $40.   Deals are there.

[mikemodeler]

I have never bought a kit at a 1:1 show for the very reasons stated here- too dang high! The guys selling at swap meets are hoping that the people walking the meet aren't aware of Hobby Lobby or our model car swap meets where that same kit could be half as much!

When I go a model swap meet to sell, I am the guy that usually walks out with a pocket full of money because I am there to thin the stash and will make deals. Sometimes I regret selling some models so cheaply, but then I remember that the kits have sat in my garage for 10 years and I need to get my stash to a more manageable level.

If I go to a swap meet to buy, I will circle the room and look for the guy who isn't a "professional seller" as he can probably make deals. I see some of the same guys and kits at shows around the area and wonder why someone is stuck on a high price for a kit that has been at swap meets for years? I have yet to find a kit I had to have that I was willing to pay a premium for, and if they insist on a premium price, they should try their luck on eBay.

[disabled modeler]

I miss going to the swapmeets....one key to it is get in early and look and dig there are deals at them or use to be when I went to them. I do have to agree with some here some sellers ask a crazy high price for stuff.

[iangilly]

Most of my experience at swap has been finding kits for under $15 and sometimes even under $10.

[Daddyfink]

Every time I sell kits, I will wheel and deal just so I don't have to drag it home!! Sometimes someone will pick up a kit, and then put it down and start walking away. I will ask why are they not getting it and they will tell me that the price is more than they want to pay, so I tell them to give me an offer, 99.9% of the time I will take it!! 

I know plenty of guys who have the same stuff at every show and will not budge on their prices. And trust me, I will call them out on it and they just don't care and often say the same thing, "these are rare and out of production and that is what they are going for on ebay", so I tell them to put them on ebay and stop clogging up the shows! 

Also, some of the pricing seems to be regional, certain kits will command higher prices in certain areas, from what I see on the boards in postings like this. 

[Sledsel]

long ago I was looking at a vintage kit at a meet, kit was reasonable, but still on the pricey side. The kit was sealed and I wanted to see contents. Seller said, if you buy it you can do what you want.

Well, long story short, I said I would buy it, open it right there and if the contents were not as they should be, I wanted a refund. Seller refused, stating opening ruins the value. I walked away 

[David G.]

Just as a point of reference. I bought this one for $50.00 back in April at the Desert Scale Classic in Phoenix. It's a decent kit but there were some casting flaws in the plastic that have given me trouble.

 

 

 

David G.

[espo]

I have both bought and sold kits at a few shows. Prices are all over the map, and I really look close at anything that has been opened. I have to agree that an older sealed kit will lose value if it is opened for inspection. I think if the seller is paid first with the understanding that if the kit inside is defective the price could be renegotiated. Another thing that I have been unable to understand is buyers who will look at and buy a built kit that needs a complete rebuild, has parts missing and looks like it has been dropped and I'm selling the exact same kit new in the box for the same money, what are they thinking ?  In the end I guess it's worth what someone is willing to pay.  

[Jantrix]

Most of my experience at swap has been finding kits for under $15 and sometimes even under $10.

Same here. We have a few good ones here in Tampa Bay and buying kits for 8-12 bucks is pretty common. Of course anything by Johan or hasn't been released in forever, can run the gamut. And we also have the guys that have all the latest stuff for $28 per. I just pass them by.

Edited March 8, 2016 by Jantrix

[ZTony8]

As opposed to mikemodeler's experience among the best kit deals I ever got was at the NSRA Kalamazoo show swap meet a few years ago.I recall getting a couple of Revell early 90s Grand Prixs(at $3 each),a Jo-Han '34 Mercedes roadster and couple of other kits.The Mercedes was the most expensive-I think I gave $7 for it.And I just missed grabbing an early issue AMT '50 Ford convertible too.

[Tom Geiger]

Being in the NY metro area there are always swap meets and shows.  I like the smaller club run shows, where  their members take tables to thin their collections.  Past the usual semi-professional dealers,  the club guys will offer some odd pieces you don't see often, so it's a good opportunity to find things you are looking for or things you didn't know you needed!  At the last one, I bought a Premier Renault Dalphine kit, perfect in it's box.

And the club guys will price their stuff cheaper than the regulars, and accept offers quicker, and make deals in the last hour of the show since they don't want to drag it home and store it another year.

And since there are a lot of swap meets, the cheap kits are cheap.  Not uncommon to find unbuilt, often sealed kits for $5 and $10.  There are those certain kits you buy duplicates for parts.  I always grab the $5 '41 Plymouths for the flat six, and  cheap AMT Dusters and Revell Darts for the chassis for my Valiant restoration projects. 

[Eshaver]

I don't attend to many shows any longer as I'm doing mostly writing for magazines now . The couple of shows I do attend are for me to show off my latest dioramas . Kit vendors know I build what I buy as the cars I do actually build are a permanent part of the diorama I have in mind . Those with Museum prices get a " wincing eye " from me . I'll walk on vendors who are trying to finance their retirement at my expense . OK , call me CHEEP! 

[Tom Geiger]

I don't attend to many shows any longer as I'm doing mostly writing for magazines now . The couple of shows I do attend are for me to show off my latest dioramas . Kit vendors know I build what I buy as the cars I do actually build are a permanent part of the diorama I have in mind . Those with Museum prices get a " wincing eye " from me . I'll walk on vendors who are trying to finance their retirement at my expense . OK , call me CHEEP! 

It's not unusual to be at a show and see one dealer offering a kit you want at $50 and go an aisle over and a guy has the same one for $20.  I find it best to do the "one lap around the room" prior to buying anything.  

[DRIPTROIT 71]

I've had experience with cars, tractors, models, and other stuff that I'm sure that I forgot, but it is the same in all, you just have to shop around. Years ago two guys were bidding on a wide front end for a Farmall M at an auction. Both were determined to get it and it sold for an outrageous price. After that, word got out, and wide front ends went through the roof in price (and still are by the way). The seller has a right to set his price, so don't have hard feelings towards him, simply buy somewhere else. When I look at Ebay I wonder if some of those folks are even trying to sell their stuff, I also seen the boxes that make their annual trip to the swap meet never to sell, but for others, there may be overhead costs, or circumstances that we are unaware of that affect their price. So simply do a little homework (if you can) before your purchase, and still from time to time (like myself) your wants and excitement may cause you to pay a little more than you should have.