Rant of Disgust

-
mitch340Duster

mitch340Duster

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 7, 2011
Messages
255
Reaction score
22
Location
Manchester, CT
I'm sure I'm not the first and won't be the last to whine about this but I'm tired of guys wanting WAAAYYY too much money for stuff, like a hundred bucks for a 40-year old gas cap, 300 bucks for a 40 year old valve cover that "still has the original paint on it" (as-in needs to be medial blasted, dents removed, and repainted). Now I see a guy on Ebay who want's $1250 for a set of NOS trim rings, then he has the stones to tack-on another 50 for shipping. Rear-end hole that I am, I sent that poor guy a message bashing him for it.
As-always feel free to lambast me for this post but I'm sure I'll have some supporters also. It's just beginning to wear me down.
 
People are free to price things how they want. Chose to buy or not. Some items are rare and hard to find anymore. If i spent $1300 on trim which is kinda of awkward id appreciate the seller carefully packing and wrapping for shipment which cost time. Who knows maybe he is 50 miles away from nearest postal office. Materials, gas, postage can and up quick. Sure for $15 he could toss it in a box and pray.
 
Yep. The free enterprise system at work. I have spent way too much for particular parts online only to find a nice used part at the Nats or Farmington for half the price. If you have a list of parts you need, be patient and look at swap meets to find your part. One will surface when you least expect it. Many early A parts aren't reproduced so you are at the mercy of whoever has one for sale. This website is the best place I have found for parts. tmm
 
If I want to sell something, I list it on Ebay with a $1 starting price and NO RESERVE. The market will determine the price of the item. I started this one last week.

69 Dart GT tail panel

My buddy has a bunch of motorcycle parts listed and keeps complaining that they're not selling?!? I told him to use my method and they will sell...
 
There ya go Brian. Can't get any more fair than that! Good show! tmm
 
"People are free to price things how they want. Chose to buy or not"
Yep you're absolutely right, and a big part of the problem is guys like me who search and search for stuff for a fair price for months then end-up breaking down and paying the ransom, which creates a supply and demand situation. I'm not a rich guy but I do OK and I'm very lucky that if I decided to buy, for example, those trim rings I could. Many of us are not that lucky though. Myself and a lot of guys here sell (or give away) stuff at fair prices all the time to help guys out. I just think that's the way it should be. Some will say I'm a poor businessman. Be that as it may, but this is not our business guys, this is our hobby !
Do I really need to spend $1000+ for trim rings? No. As hard as I'm trying to keep this car original, I think in this case I'm gonna get crummy aftermarket ones for 50 bucks. Someday I'll find a NOS set for 800 bucks which is still too much but tolerable. Maybe we all need to back-off a little and let things calm down.
I have a rule of thumb I came-up with for determining what I will pay for something that is NOS or perfect used. Guess what a similar item would cost today from the dealer (already way too much) then double it. A trim ring is probably 70, maybe a hundred bucks so 200 bucks each is what I consider a "fair" price. (not really but that's what I'm willing to pay. no more).
I know this thread will prolly start a doo-doo storm so I'm asking in-advance to keep it respectful (I hope I have).
 
Feel free to make your own parts or you can go buy cars that have the parts you need.the best lesson for whinners is to go find your own parts quit expecting others to hand you free or cheap parts while you set in front of a computer whinning
 
The majority here are here to past along good parts to people that need them. Now even here we have those out to sell because thats how they make there living. If your looking to pass along good parts at good prices or selling to eat! Those are two very different things. I have a select group of go to people here that i go to for parts. If they dont have it i source other places. Be willing to put some elbow grease into parts thats how I find deals.
 
People can ask whatever they want for their stuff. That does not mean that they will sell, but they are hoping a sucker will come along and give them their price. Unfortunately from time to time that is exactly what happens!
 
The parts are worth what someone is willing to pay, no more and no less.
Why should a part sell for more if a person is doing it for a living as opposed to a side line?
I never could get that.
It's all the same to me. It's worth xx amount regardless........
 
I whole-heartedly agree. We're building A-body Mopars not a Lamborghini. Trim rings? I bought a nice set of slightly used ones at the Nats for $100. My car never came with them so NOS wasn't important. Here's a $80 pcv cap for my 273. I found a nice used one with a good pcv for $15 at a swap meet. The flip side of that coin, 66 Dart headlight bezels are one of a kind. Nos ones surface on E Bay once a year and fetch $300 or better each. That's nuckin' futs! If I had a pair laying on a shelf I would expect $300 each out of them. If you're selling, why give them away. Buying overpriced parts only feeds the frenzy. It creates a false market value. It all depends whether you're buying or selling. tmm
 

Attachments

  • chucker54_2263_76380539.jpg
    5.8 KB · Views: 430
  • 082101952226[00].jpg
    24.3 KB · Views: 450
A couple weeks ago I tried to give away a bunch of parts I'd upgraded on my 318 over the winter. Just wanted to clear space so I offered them on CL for free. Valve covers (original and a cheap set of chromed), water pump, recored radiator, alternator, chrome air cleaner... Got so many replies I had to shut the ad down. Sat back and waited for my garage to get cleared feeling like I had paid it forward. Nobody showed.

Still got them if anyone local is looking.
 
I would never lambast anyone for a post.. everyone has their opinion.. I happen to be one of the people that probably sell stuff way too expensive on ebay. keep in mind.. i feed my family doing this.. it affords me nice things..and to me.. its easy.. the problem like mitch340duster states is unfortunately very very true supply and demand..
and mitch340duster.. what trim rings do you need.. i probably have them...
 
I have junk listed here for cheap now too. Would have been free but the problem with "free" is then you get all the guys who just want it cuz it's free. I figure if someone shows interest for 10 bucks I'll end-up giving it away anyhow (I already said I'm a terrible businessman).
Lesson learned....I gave away my harbor freight parts cleaner on CL since it served my purpose. Got TONS of replies immediately. 2nd guy said he really wanted it for a father/son project. First guy told me he had big plans for it. Felt bad about giving it to the first guy but I felt it was fair since I had already told him it was his. He shows-up with a pickup truck full of junk that was obviously going to the scrap yard. Big plans
 
toolmanmike said:
Trim rings? I bought a nice set of slightly used ones at the Nats for $100.
Click to expand...


when I bought my rally rims (I think I gave the guy $100 for the set) I went to a local tire shop looking for trim rings- they had a set hanging on the wall, and when I asked about them the guy there said I could have them for $20. Yes, I bought them. No, they're not the original style, but since I liked them more anyways I didn't really care lol
 
I'm gonna add something else to be fair then I'll try to shut-up for a while. The guy that I harassed about the trim rings on Ebay sent a very adult reply so I had a change of heart and apologized for my db-ness. We went back and forth a bit about it. He had a good point about something but as I'm writing this I realize maybe I shouldn't give the details since I suppose it could interfere with his sale.
He certainly seems like a good guy, not the greedy monster I accused him of being. It all seems to come down to this whole thing getting a little out of control as has been discussed here.
 
I dont understand the rudeness . fabos changing.Mitch i,m in 100% agreement. People with prices like that arent hobbyists like us, they are extortionists.
 
it's all supply and demand ,i think some of this stuff is way over priced,i been looking for fm convertor on e-bay,what they want for on is insane.i will not fuel the over priced market by buying.i will just have to get off my *** and start combing garage sales and flee markets.
 
My buddy sold some originals last weekend at the Canon City swap meet. 3 of the 4 were perfect and the other only had minor scuffs, $10 for the set, If I had known what he wanted for them I would have them. DOH!

He also sold a 46 Chevy truck front fenders and grill for $50, It was on EBAY two days later for $350. again DOH!
 
BrianT said:
If I want to sell something, I list it on Ebay with a $1 starting price and NO RESERVE. The market will determine the price of the item. I started this one last week.

69 Dart GT tail panel

My buddy has a bunch of motorcycle parts listed and keeps complaining that they're not selling?!? I told him to use my method and they will sell...
Click to expand...

toolmanmike said:
There ya go Brian. Can't get any more fair than that! Good show! tmm
Click to expand...

Yep, that is a great way for the hobbyist to sell off there unwanted items. Unfortunately the guy selling the gas cap is probably trying to make a living selling his stuff.

You think A-body parts are pricey, look for stuff for a 64 Fairlane. Ouch. Very little sheet metal available, and what is fits like a turd. Very limited parts suppliers so they can basically bend you over a barrel and give it to you dry.

My old neighbor in AZ is one of the gougers. He buys something for $10, sits on it for a month and then tries to resell it for $20. He had a 67 LeMans that I was interested in. He got it in a package deal with a very rough GTO Judge. Paid 6k for the 2 of them. When we asked about the LeMans he told me 5k for it. But then again this is the guy that found a numbers matching 70 340 4 speed Duster. An older restoration.Was still drivable but needed some work. Had lots of things wrong with it. He wanted a finders fee that equaled 25% of what the seller wanted......best part was he would not give me the phone number until I paid him his "fee".
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top