Ebay is a great place to find rare parts that otherwise would would take years to find. I don't think ebay prices are too high, they charge a fair amount for their services. The prices go high at times from the car people who are bidding on a item. You have people bidding who don't like to lose, so you get a bidding war. There a sellers who have their buddies bid just to drive the price up. Its all a game and it depends how well you play the the game, know when to bid and when to drop out, kind like playing Texas holdem. "Cool shorts forever " Cruiser 49
Ebay is the internet answer to reality shows. Those that can't afford it, dislike it. Those that can, like it. Pretty simple really.
I've ran into the "well I could get x-amount for it on ebay" thing too. I seems to have drove the prices up for nick-nack junk everywhere, even flea markets. I go on looking for model cars, and i've noticed that it has drove the value through the roof on the older stuff. The other side of that coin though... I mess with 1/8th scale model cars. Years ago, I ran ads in the local wanted secion for big model cars. In the total of probably 24 months I ran that ad, I got one lead. I found out about ebay, jumped on, and bought an original edition Lindberg T with a 1/8th chevy motor thrown in for $35. Haven't seen a good deal like that since though! You give up the screaming good deals for the chance to actually find what you're looking for. Generally, it's a worthwhile tradeoff for me.
Me too, except I'm a mercenary and not ashamed to admit it. I've been hitting the swaps around here buying any go-fast goodies that I can from the eBay uninformed for relatively low $$$. I may be tight on cash through January, but I'm building my spring eBay stockpile. Come income tax check time, I should net some good dollars from the muscle car and race car junkies. This weekend, there's a swap meet that sells primarily used circle track stuff nearby. I might buy a few things that I need if I can steal them, but am more interested in eBay resale parts.
I LOVE eBay! Other than marriage and the birth of my kids nothing else has had such a change on my life. It was the reason I saw a use for owning a computer. It allowed me to find all the parts for my 1937 Harley, started with an engine and rear fender from a swap meet. A swap meet costs a loss of a days pay, gas, food, etc. No rain, wind, or hot/cold weather to deal with on eBay. How about all the odd ball junk you can move on eBay but never get a person to look at at a swap. We could get quite a list of non auto items we've sold! Lawn sprinklers, page by page sales of old magazines, AMT model parts, post cards, photos, etc.
I love ebay .I work nights and week ends and usually have mondays and tuesdays off.Who the hell has swapmeets and car shows on mon and tue? If i didn't have ebay , it would be alot harder for me to find parts . I'm on car #2 now. my 2 cents. swaZZie
heres a good ebay VS swap meet story... a buddy of mine somehow came across an NOS set of 1940 (?) dodge hubcaps. these things were brand stinking new. he brought them to 3 or 4 swap meets with a price of 40 bucks on them. got lots of lookers... couple of lowball offers. I got him hooked up on ebay, he ended up selling them for over $300.00. his starting bid was his original $40.00 price from the swap meets.... ebay rocks !!
And that is why HAMBers hate ebay, Its great for selling stuff, but not for buying. Anytime 18" 12 spokes, Cal Custom 40-40 scoops, divco wheels, 1940 16X3-1/2 V8-60 wheels, or anything else rare comes up, they go for crazy money that you would never see at any swap meet. It's made the price of hard to find items sky rocket, because now there is a place for anyone to look up something even if they don't know what it is and figure out a going price for it, where before that same person wouldn't have a clue and would just put it up for sale for what they thought was reasonable. I've been using it since 1999 and I still use it because it's the easiest way to find a certain part you have to have, but I know I'm not getting an deals on there. Gus
First off Ebay did nothing but provide a way for buyer and sellers to get together. I love it that everyone says the Ebay did this or Ebay did that. You are WRONG it's the buyers and sellers that did EVERYTHING (i.e. you and me). I'll bet there isn't anyone on here thqt hasn't gotten a part they needed and couldn't find or gotten a "deal" that they've bragged about using Ebay. Kinda like the old fashioned swap meet without the time and gas invested to come up dry. Can we all say "win/win" and have a group hug? Frank
Nothin wrong with ebay. Just like anything else. Use common sense. Things work out. These bitches are always bashing something on here.
I hear alot of...it takes the challenge out of not having to hunt...well what about us canadians...who live in small country towns that in the 50s didnt care about going fast but simple putting a crop in and taking it off in the fall...those farmers didnt have hotrods nor hotrod parts...sedans and fordors is about all there is no coupes or cars like that...they were to impractical so if i have to go on to ebay to enjoy being able to buy something i need for my car...im going to do it. Talky
E-bay bought this computer, and buys the power to run it. Without this computer, I wouldn't have found you folks. E-bay has made it possible to complete collections of over 2 dozen titles of car mags, fill out many sets of hubcaps, and find many parts I could never have found locally in a lifetime of swap meets. The swap meet people who base thier prices on what they think e-bay would bring are the same people we wouldn't buy from before e-bay existed - too high then, still too high now. If they don't want to deal, walk away.
Ebay is THE ultimate swap meet. It's not really an auction. If it was , then any bid received in the last minute should extend it a minute more. Would cut the snipers at the knees. I have learned a lot just comparing pictures of different parts and cars. I've also learned an important costly lesson. If something shows on ebay, another will come along eventually. Boy, how many times have I over paid thinking I was buying the last one on Earth. I think it has done more than anything to promote rod building and make it possible for everyone to get what they need. It's not perfect, but it's open 24/7 rain or shine.
While Ebay has provided me with parts I couldn,t find at swap meets my BEST deals came from going to the meets and looking hard.Since I am where I am the vintage parts in good condition are scarce.I,ll definitely continue enjoying both.....
eBay is a two edged sword. It offers the benefit potentially finding stuff on a 24 hour basis, but over all it helps to drive the prices up. However, sometimes you can still find a deal. What bugs me though and it's not ebay's fault, but it's vendors at swap meets or even yard sales that justify their asking price by saying; "On ebay this is selllig for ..." If they're dickheads my reply is; "Well this ain't ebay, it's a swap meet!"
The same was said about Hemmings Motor News a number of years ago. Thank the stars above we have them both because it created dealers that have saved these parts that may have gone to the scrape yard prematurely,and we all would have lost...
its the same principal of paying $2 for a $0.50 can of soup, or $1 for a $0.25 pack of gum... its what makes convienance stores work. lets face it... its the internet version of the corner minimart
I love ebay. 80 percent of my car has been bought on there. Not only for the parts but the infomation that you can get by looking at the stuff on there. I get burnt more on the fordbarn than ebay. But it also has been another great resource for hard to find parts.
Yup If It Were Not For Ebay I Still Would Be Without A Computer Too. It Forced The Issue For My Flea Market/swap Sales A Much Better Forum/ Sales Tool.. I Attend Over 50 Live Auctions Of All Kinds And Do The Early /lategarage Sale Thingie . Ebay Is The Place Where All Things Considered Is The Market Price Guide.. I Have Used Lotsa Price Guide Books And Auctions To Set My Selling Prices And Ebay Shines Thru As The Fair/logical Norm... Market Flooding Is A Knee Jerk Response To "wow Did You See What They Got For Those Electroline Headlites!"and Other 32 Ford And Rare Performance Stuff... The Items Seemed Hard To Get Until Something Sells High . Again I Say If You Can't Afford To Play Stay Away .... Thats Why We All Are Stoked By Barn Finds And Buried Tin Cuz The Items Can Still Be Found Cheap... Thats Why Most Things Found Cheap End Up On Ebay To Make Money Damn It.... People Still Want Money .... I Hate That .. Can't They Just Give Stuff Away Like The Government Does Sometimes ... Oops Someone Has To Pay For That Too.. Paperdog
I get about 90 % of my junk off of Ebay and the other 10% comes from swap meets and the HAMB so I can't say I don't like ebay.if you need something that you have to have you'll find it on ebay.may pay for it but you know its on its way .I don't like waiting for the next swap meet ,spend money for gas food ect ect only to find out that I didn't find what i needed.
I have been buying and selling on Ebay for sone time. I find it real simple, list an item for what you have to have, it it brings more great! Pay what you feel is a fair price, if you don't win big deal. I listed my 53 here and had a few lookers, I listed it on Ebay and had 58 watchers and ended up selling it to a guy for what I wanted out of it. "I would have rather sold here!" We loaded it up yesterday and I have a pocket full of $100.00 bills to spend now. EBay has a lot of shoppers, as long as your careful it works well. EBay does get a bit spendy on fees though, high priced bastards might be a better description! Feedback Score: 178 Positive Feedback: 100% Members who left a positive: 178 Members who left a negative: 0 All positive feedback received: 234
I find something I need on e-bay and then I search that same part on other sights. Now I have a base price for the item on e-bay so I know what to bid. I love it when I see a hard to find item I need go for a ridiculous price. The next week there will be several of the same item and you can get one for half of what its worth. Supply and demand. It built America.
very good point. a lot of people say that ebay has driven prices up , but on some things it has driven the prices down.. items that where once thought of being rare are showing up on ebay all the time i use ebay to buy/sell parts for hot rods..but also for non-auto stuff i collect. i once watched the same clock i have hanging on my wall go for over $5000..i thought i was gonna get fat on mine (paid $125 for it 25+ years ago)... next week there were 5 more listed,none of them went for over $400
...couple of people have mentioned that there are no deals on ebay... well you folks are just not looking hard enough. I have bought many items for resale on ebay, you find the misspellings and people who do not know how to list. other times you just luck out. also as a seller I have sold items for exactly what I paid for them. items I got cheap at a swap meet, and listed with a low starting bid to get the bids going, and for whatever reason only one person bid on them. so I have both received good deals and sold stuff at a cheap price to other people. deals are out there, but you have to work at it.
I have had good luck on Ebay. I'm self employed and work a lot of hours. Weekends are busy with kids and grandkids. It's hard finding time to work on my own stuff and harder to find time to go to swap meets. Every once in a while I'll rummage through my junk in the shop that I don't need anymore and list it on there. I keep the money in a paypal account and when I find something I need and it's a good deal, I buy it. I think about all of the junk I have thrown out over the years that I could have sold to someone. It has also help my business reach a new market with parts that we fabricate and sell. I've had a few non payers but overall a good experience with it. I think it has helped in getting the "hard to find" parts out there in an available market. If something is a ridiculous price let it slide, usually another one will come along.
jees!!! i hope no one on here was pokin fun!!!thats a pretty damn good deal !!! a shit shell went for what...23grand last week!!! you should have held out for more!!!ive gottem burnt once on ebay..electronics are very risky on ebay...got a cheap facko digi camera..thats one out of 100///been hosed way more then that from swap meets///just bought a 30 coupe last week there!
Okay , im trying to say that ebay is driving the cost of the car hobby up,for instance ive got 24 pairs of guide 682's one nice pair i paid 75.00 for,the rest were had for 30.00 or less a pair in damn good condition,offy dual four sbc intake with afb's 40.00,man-a-fre intake 80.00 ,new hot rods and horsepower 32 rails 450.00.cal custom valve covers 5.00 ,complete running 55 331 chryslers56 354 chrysler 200.00a piece,2 sets of adjustable hemi rockers 200.00 55 olds batwing 30.00,model a frames 40.00 etc. I don't believe i would have got these items on ebay for these prices and im glad there are a few people without computers that are happy to make a little profit on there investments instead of a killing to help keep the hobby affordable.my.02,I value the ability to know people and having the opptunity to trade parts to others for what you need works nice too.
The Jalopy Journal
