Anyone been watching '63 SWC parts on E-Bay? JT Pipers who I always thot was just another source for Corvette parts has on its auction 2 NOS rear window corner mldgs for $650 and a used lower mldg that has been polished for $400. This is ludicrous. It makes me just want to use all my original parts to put car the back together and sell all my many,many NOS parts on E-Bay. Believe me at this rate my NOS parts would bring more than the car. One good thing about this is no fool has placed a bid on this nonsense yet.
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Re: E-Bay insanity
Frank-----
'ol JT has NEVER been a source for parts at bargain basement prices. Some folks regard him as the "court of last resort" as far as Corvette parts go. That goes back way before anyone had even heard of eBay. He does have a lot of scarce NOS and used parts and he asks absolutely premium prices for them. You will note that the majority of his auctions either draw no bids or they draw bids which do not meet his reserve. The parts are rare and they will always be marketable so, I suppose, he figures he'll eventually sell them at his price. He may, too. Certainly, it will be difficult for him to replace his stock on these sorts of items when he sells the ones he has.
That's really the beauty of the auction. Someone can put anything they want up for bid and they can set any opening price or reserve price they want. If it doesn't sell, then it means that it wasn't worth that much or no one willing to pay that much saw the auction. If it does sell, then it was worth that much to somebody. Period.
Now, does that mean that if a part sells for a huge price it was worth that much? For a rare/scarce part it all depends upon how many others there are out there and what one could buy them for. Someone that's looked for a part for years and never found one for less than, say, $1,000, might be very happy to bid $900 for an item. On the other hand, someone that bids $500 for an item that's still available from GM for $50 list.......Well, let's just say that person is an "uninformed, unsavvy bidder".In Appreciation of John Hinckley -
Re: E-Bay insanity
Hi Joe and thx for the response. I didn't know anything about JT as I never dealt with them. It just makes my blood curl when I see this type of thing going on. I've got among other things a complete set of NOS SWC rear moulding that I bought from the GENERAL 30+yrs ago for next to nothing compared to this, not to mention the glass. I know what you mean tho, put it out there and maybe some sucker will buy it. I've picked up a few things off of E-Bay for the right price, others I let go because the bidding got crazy...Thx JoeComment
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Re: E-Bay insanity
Hi Frank,
I couldn't help but come to the defense of ole' J.T. I have dealt with them on more than one occasion. I don't think I was a sucker tho'. The parts I bought were perfect & his price was in the ballpark with everyone else, as I did research for what I wanted. Not to mention what great service, just like the good old days, they really made it easy for me & couldn't have been nicer.One of the SACC members called me yesterday to say that J.T. had the parts he needed for his 57 & thanked me for giving him my Restorer copy with J.T.'s page marked for him to try & get his part, it made me feel really good to help another guy out.Were you around for the 86 dollar wing nut that sold at no reserve on Ebay ! If you want to sell all your SWC NOS parts for what you paid 30 years ago, I'll take all of it
Cheers,
DebComment
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Re: E-Bay insanity
You'd think that the prices on the rear window moldings for a SWC would soften now that repro's are available. And they are not bad.Comment
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Re: E-Bay insanity
There's always been someone around with a philosophy like JT's. In the "good old days" Lincoln's Corvettes (remember them from the 70's?) had a philosophy that 1 out of 7 callers would pay their high prices. They bought and sold a lot of cars and parts with that philosophy!Comment
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Re: E-Bay insanity
I never understood this years ago on the prices that some off the dealers wanted for there used and NOS rare parts. Now I understand. To try to find the part's and to replace it is very hard. You are up at 3 in the morning to go to a swap meet to be the first one there. You have drove 3 hours and you come up with a couple of buy's. Now you have the drive back and your expenses. You spend time on the phone trying to make contacts of other parts you have heard of forsale. You have to clean and make your used parts as perfect as possible, so you don't get it back from your picky customer. You have to buy your own health plan if you can afford it and you have no retirment out of all of this, hoping that all this junk will not fall on the bottom. No one likes to spin his wheels and go no place, so that's why some have the prices they do. They are not looking for a person that shops for prices they are looking for the person that needs the part and has the resoures to buy it and I again I will say what Joe Lucia has said and agree with, there is no set price on a rare part it is what a person is willing to pay. JT is not in this for the hobby, he is trying to make a living at this and does not every American want to get payed more than he or she is worth. johnComment
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Re: E-Bay insanity
I talked to JT last Spring when there was a big farm auction that included Corvettes and Corvette parts. JT was telling me that he was ready to quit the Corvette parts business until Ebay showed him the future.
A part is worth what someone is wiilling to pay for it. I remind many of you that have gotten into Corvette restoration in the past 20 years..that in the 70's there were very few Repo parts available..and finding someone like Pipers..that had an inventory of key parts was a way to get the part you needed at a market price..
You might have to pay a premium if buying on Ebay...but it has opened up a world of parts access that did not exist years ago.
Plus..how does any supplier of rare NOS parts..replace those parts after there gone? It is like when you sell your car..chances are you will not be able to replace it for what you sold it for.
Joe TComment
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Re: E-Bay insanity
Joe
is right ! I dont go to swap meets any more to sell, people there think their at a garage sale and offer you 50 cents on every thing you have. E-Bay I get three times what I wonted , it is crazy!!Comment
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Re: E-Bay insanity
If you have parts to sell on Ebay, the high prices you get for them balances out for the equally high prices you pay for the parts you need. Clearly, Ebay has become a seller's market, and for those that are buyers only, it can be very expensive, and frustrating. Guess that's the penalty for having such a convenient source for finding parts...Comment
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Re: E-Bay insanity
Ebay has always been a seller's market. I have had good fortune in the past as a seller. A rock group book I was literally going to throw out sold for $85. A set of 6 mint unopened Pez Santa Claus's sold for $4600! If you're a seller, it's great. Buyer's don't have it so good.Comment
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