Crazy prices on the auction Bay.

[Richard Bartrop]

7 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!   ?

Kudos to he people who either through good luck, or good life choices are able to spend that kind of dosh on their hobbies.  Good for them.

I just received a MCG grille that set me back $24.50 US all together, so I get what it costs for parts.

I'm even fine with how the market is playing out, because while everyone else is chasing promo kits of generic '60s intermediates, they're ignoring the kits that I want.  I'm looking at that thousand dollar Coronet, and then at the mint early issue Jo-han Cadillacs I was able to pick up for a song, and there's no doubt in my mind who made the better choice.

I'm not angry at the people throwing money at that Coronet.  I'm laughing at them.

[Tom Geiger]

4 hours ago, Richard Bartrop said:

I'm not angry at the people throwing money at that Coronet.  I'm laughing at them.

And that guy may be laughing at you for chasing old Caddys!

That guy may be  a very happy dude to win that Coronet.  It's his favorite car in the whole world and he won't miss the $$.  Or it's just one of five $1000 models he bought this month. His wife spent that much on designer clothes and they can afford it. Let it be!

I learned somewhere in my 20s that I wasn't going to change everyone to my thoughts and beliefs. It was a hard learned lesson  because I was hard headed!  ☺️

Let everyone do their own thing.  As my father said, "That's why they make Fords and Chevys"

Edited August 17, 2019 by Tom Geiger

[Richard Bartrop]

44 minutes ago, Tom Geiger said:

And that guy may be laughing at you for chasing old Caddys!

If he wants to laugh at me for snagging some of the best car kits ever for about one fiftieth the price of a promo based kit from a manufacturer of middling quality, let him laugh.  I know just how seriously I should take an opinion like that.

54 minutes ago, Tom Geiger said:

I learned somewhere in my 20s that I wasn't going to change everyone to my thoughts and beliefs. It was a hard learned lesson  because I was hard headed!  ☺️

 

Who wants things to change?  The last thing I want is for the speculators and scam artists to turn their attention to the stuff I collect.

58 minutes ago, Tom Geiger said:

Let everyone do their own thing.  As my father said, "That's why they make Fords and Chevys"

I wouldn't have it any other way, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to shake my head at at some of their choices.

[StevenGuthmiller]

1 hour ago, Tom Geiger said:

And that guy may be laughing at you for chasing old Caddys!

I have to agree with you Tom.

Just because the '68 Coronet doesn't interest you, doesn't mean it might not be the ultimate score for somebody else, and Cadillacs might have no value at all to him.

Besides, if you think that the cost of a factory sealed Johan Cadillac is cheap, you haven't been paying attention!

 

 

Steve

[Mike999]

One of my favorite (sort of) Jo-Han Cadillac finds: once at a kit swap meet, a seller had a promo-type white box marked "58 Cadillac 2-door hardtop." 

I wondered where that came from, since all the 58 Cad promos I knew of were 4-doors.  Opened the box and it was a 2-door resin kit, complete with chrome, chassis and interior, obviously mastered off the Jo-Han 4-dr promo.  And nicely done.

The seller also had an IMEX 58 Cadillac convertible kit. Told me he had planned to put the detailed IMEX chassis and engine under the resin promo.  But he gave it up as an impossible job. The Jo-Han bodies were even smaller than 1/25 scale, the IMEX kits are 1/24 scale and look even bigger.

He sold me the resin kit and the IMEX kit cheap as a bundle, because he was tired of them cluttering up his shop. So now they're cluttering up my shop, which is OK.

[gui_tarzan]

I am one of those builders that will not pay big bucks for any kit. I don't care how rare it is, I don't need to have it that bad. I just shake my head when I see kits at shows that are priced at $150 and up when they were dirt-cheap originally. The ones I wish weren't so doggoned expensive and I would love to see re-released are the '69-72 Grand Prixs. I love that body style but $200 for an unbuilt kit isn't happening on my end. I wish I had all the kits I had when I was a kid because those buck and a half kits are fetching hundreds of dollars that I won't spend on them now.

The quality of the kits today is far superior to most of the old ones, the nostalgia factor is what people are paying big bucks for. 

[Richard Bartrop]

I'm sure the rarity is a factor,. If you tell some people that they can't have something, then they want it that much more.. 

[StevenGuthmiller]

3 hours ago, gui_tarzan said:

The quality of the kits today is far superior to most of the old ones, the nostalgia factor is what people are paying big bucks for. 

Possibly nostalgia, but at least in my case, it's all about subject matter.

In my opinion the kit company's offerings have become extremely boring and predictable over the past decade or so.

If you're interested in cars like the '69-'72 Grand Prixs, (as I am) you have literally zero options other than to pursue vintage kits.

 

I could easily finish up my building career building modern kits, but I'm sorry.........they bore the hell out of me!

I guarantee you that I would lose interest in very short order and quit building if I didn't have my vintage subject matter to keep me excited about building.

 

 

Steve

[StevenGuthmiller]

2 hours ago, Richard Bartrop said:

I'm sure the rarity is a factor,. If you tell some people that they can't have something, then they want it that much more.. 

I think the rarity factor is relevant mainly for collectors.

Builders, like me, have no interest in the rarity of a particular kit.

It's all about subject matter.

 

 

Steve

[Richard Bartrop]

If it was about building, resin Coronets can be had for a fraction of what they want, which would support that it's more about the rarity, and of course, bragging rights about dropping four figures on a hunk of styrene.

But hey, whatever floats your boat.

Edited August 18, 2019 by Richard Bartrop

[StevenGuthmiller]

3 minutes ago, Richard Bartrop said:

If it was about building, resin Coronets can be had for a fraction of what they want, which would support that it's more about the rarity, and of course, bragging rights about dropping four figures on a hunk of styrene.

But hey, whatever floats your boat.

Not necessarily.

Some of us don't like working with resin.

I would much rather have a styrene kit to work with and I'm willing to pay extra for it.

 

 

Steve

 

[Bucky]

I noticed the buyer on the Coronet only had 10 feedback points. It's a 'wait-and-see' about whether he pays up.

Another idea could be that the guy has a 1:1 '68 Coronet in his heated garage, and wanted a pristine kit to display with it at the local car show.

I have a 1:1 Imperial Crown convertible, previously owned by Sally Anne Howse, of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang fame. I have watched for a nice, unbuilt kit of the flying car from the movie since 1998, but I still wouldn't pay $1100 for it! LOL

[Rodent]

I recently found a kit on the 'bay that interested me and it had nostalga factor. The buy it now was more than the kit was worth to me, so I made an offer. Seller countered with a number that was still more than the kit was worth to me. I declined the counter and am not upset that I won't be building the kit I got for my 11th birthday from my godmother again. I will find another or I won't. Someone else will pay the asking price I am sure.

A few years ago I was pursuing an AMT kit on the 'bay that I wanted so I could build a replica of a 1:1 that I had long ago. When the bidding for the kit reached double what I paid for the 1:1 version I realized that having a model of a car that I really didn't like that much was a dumb idea. I bought a resin that I can modify into something very close instead.

[Bucky]

10 minutes ago, Rodent said:

I recently found a kit on the 'bay that interested me and it had nostalga factor. The buy it now was more than the kit was worth to me, so I made an offer. Seller countered with a number that was still more than the kit was worth to me. I declined the counter and am not upset that I won't be building the kit I got for my 11th birthday from my godmother again. I will find another or I won't. Someone else will pay the asking price I am sure.

A few years ago I was pursuing an AMT kit on the 'bay that I wanted so I could build a replica of a 1:1 that I had long ago. When the bidding for the kit reached double what I paid for the 1:1 version I realized that having a model of a car that I really didn't like that much was a dumb idea. I bought a resin that I can modify into something very close instead.

On that note, I have bought and sold 1:1 cars for much less than $1100!! And they were good cars, too. My first brand new car cost only $2700!!

[Rodent]

5 minutes ago, Bucky said:

On that note, I have bought and sold 1:1 cars for much less than $1100!! And they were good cars, too. My first brand new car cost only $2700!!

LOL. I paid $175 for the 1:1 in question. It was a diamond in the rough. It had been in a glancing head on collision that tore up some sheet metal and suspension, but had no structural damage.