Prices on Ebay!

[jocko_nc]

Dang! Is it me, or are prices for vintage stuff on Ebay going throught the roof? I need to be careful, if I win much of what I have bid on, the sum will not be trivial. Where are all the great deals? Maybe Ebay isn't the best place to buy. ???.

Maybe I have been spoiled by the handful of bargains I have found lying around at thrifts and repair shops. That $100.00 KA 9100 will not be repeated anytime soon. Finding ANYTHING 1 in 20 is not real rewarding.

I hit some of the garage sales, but they are soooo lame. Old clothes and junk. I really think most garage sales are "professionals" who put the same crap out every weekend, thinking they have a home business. These people never owned anything of quality, much less quality electronics. Personally, I would never have a garage sale. I have accumulated some nice stuff, some of which I would gladly part. However, a garage sale interests me not at all.

Where to find the good stuff? This little "hobby" was never supposed to cost real money!!!!

jocko

 

[Clmrt]

Garage sales in upscale neighborhoods built in the 60's. Doctors and lawyers who are aging and downsizing, widows...unfortunately.

I am a compassionate buzzard.

 

[streckfu]

I watched a Pioneer SA-9100 sell for $350 last night....

 

[acronym]

OHM F's in questionable shape from a seller with 2(!) feedbacks ---
$865

 

[thedelihaus]

I've seen some real good deals as of late, but also some rediculous pricing as well. $50 speakers selling for $110-$125, TTs getting pricey, ect.

Overall, yes, there seems to be an awareness of the love and passion of vintage Hi-Fi.

I wonder if AK spikes in active memberships along with this trend?

 

[OldSkool]

I watched a Pioneer SA-9100 sell for $350 last night....

I saw that too, about fell outta my chair.

 

[streckfu]

I saw that too, about fell outta my chair.

Followed by a $100+ SR-303. :tears:

This market trend would be nice if I were selling but I'm still in the buying phase.

I can't find a PL-530 for less than $120 and even the PL-600 went for over $80.....

 

[Mudder]

I have certain things in my favorites that I watch every day. If it's something I am really interested in I usually put it on my watch list. I have seen some very good deals and I have seen some things that just blow me away. A Sansui Tuner going for over $850. I saw the SA 9100 go for the $300 also. Right now I am watching a SA 9100 and a TX 9100 together at $54.00 with 1 day and 7 hours to go.

You just have to really watch and not get into any bidding wars at the last minute.

 

[ybaolywa]

Followed by a $100+ SR-303. :tears:

This market trend would be nice if I were selling but I'm still in the buying phase.

I can't find a PL-530 for less than $120 and even the PL-600 went for over $80.....

Yeah, I saw that PL-600. Got lucky though and just picked up a near mint one on CL for $10. Things are a bit pricey at auction nowadays...

 

[BuckNaked]

Funny you should mention it but just yesterday I slept through a Thorens TD160 for $70 shipped, and a mint HK Rabco ST-6 TT for $63. Just when you least expect it, the deals slip through. I would have snatched up either or both, but I have been getting pretty discouraged with all the sniping and unprecedented prices.
Seems eBay is only good for selling. Even the proliferation of scams is astounding. I hope we can all recognise the red flags:

• $399 starting bid
• Seller registered in USA, goods ship from UK
• saleslot@aol.com
• DO NOT USE EBAY CONTACT in bold 40 point font
• seller has minimal feedback, usually 100% positive
• seller has other items for sale: hundreds of items totalling a million dollars worth of goods, all starting at $399

The temptation to spam the heck out of the email address is hard to deny. But that's part of what they are after... your live, valid return email address. Don't give them the satisfaction.

 

[TrexT]

I snagged a perfect Yamaha M-70 for $168.00 recently. I agree that the good deals season is closing fast.

 

[smuryof]

Garage sales in upscale neighborhoods built in the 60's. Doctors and lawyers who are aging and downsizing, widows...unfortunately.

I am a compassionate buzzard.

This hobby, paralleling my auto restoration hobby, rewards the art of diligent searching. Ebay is the easy, convenient answer to finding what you want - and in many cases the only reasonable choice, especially if you have a fulltime job and family.

However, at least for me, the hunt is part of the pleasure. A lot of work? Yes - but the feeling of coming around a corner and seeing an old vintage set or an antique, neglected motorcycle (or whatever) for sale in someone's driveway for a few bucks is priceless.

Plus, and again I can only speak for myself, there's a certain sense of fun and excitement tooling around early on a Saturday morning, sipping a cup of coffee while my old 250,000 mile pickup ticks along merrily, catching people as they are just starting to set up their garage sale that day.

 

[MattFLA]

I stopped using Ebay many years ago becuae prices were way out of hand but if you go to yard/estate sales in South FLA , the people who run them all quote Ebay prices...."this is what the last one went for on Ebay", that's all I hear lately. Ebay prices are used by almost everyone in the last few years at all the yard sales and estates sales I have been to. You save on shipping.....which is big $$$$ sometimes

MattFLA '

 

[smuryof]

I agree you must watch out for scams. One of my first sales a couple of years ago I got scammed out of $400, but don't be too hard on the auction site. There are a lot of genuine good people on Ebay that list honestly and only charge what item actually costs for shipping. I have a 1292 feedback with a 99.5% rating. You can't please everyone, but I try awfully hard.

Like anything else, it has its risks, and that's up to the buyer to decide what risk he or she is willing to take, eh?

I found some impossible-to-find parts for my Catalina on Ebay - well, I could have gotten them from a local classic junkyard, but he thinks all his stuff is gold - so I ended up saving quite a bit finding the pieces I needed on Ebay.

Of course the engine rebuild is running me close to $2000 - I thought doing the whole thing myself would be alot cheaper - but that's a whole different story...

 

[bru87tr]

I recently gave in to ebay. I gave up trying to find anything locally and bought a TT for $100. cheap isnt in my book. I never get off cheap.

 

[Mudder]

I stay away from the ones pretending to know all about what they are selling when you can plainly see in their discription they they have no clue what they have or talking about. I would buy from somone that says, hey, I know nothing about this, it powers up but beyond that it is sold as is. It's pretty easy sometimes to know who is honest and whom isn't.

 

[mikey3117]

As more and more of the population become ebay literate, the less we will find at the garage sales... 5 or 6 years ago, I would come home every Saturday with loads of stuff from garage sales and flip it on ebay.....not any more! Remember how difficult (for some) ebay used to be in the beginning? You would have to host your own pictures, Paypal wasn't integrated in, and the whole process was more confusing for most people! Nowadays, it's very easy to list and sell an item....and you can even print prepaid shipping labels right from your own computer! Combine that with it's growing popularity and name recognition, and most people know now that they "should" sell it on ebay rather than sell it on their driveway. It seems like the only things I find at garage sales now are speakers and that's only because they are difficult to ship..... But even when I come across a set of components at a garage sale, it has ebay prices attached to them because more people are researching ebay for their worth!

 

[vintagestereo]

The prices on E-Bay, excluding the BINS, just reflect "market value". As things get rarer, prices go up. Fundamental economics. I'll adjust my limit to $400.00 next year.

 

[vintagestereo]

But even when I come across a set of components at a garage sale, it has ebay prices attached to them because more people are researching ebay for their worth!

Of course they do!!! Why give away something for nothing??? Only the truly ignorant do that now.

-- Chris

 

[acronym]

The prices on E-Bay, excluding the BINS, just reflect "market value". As things get rarer, prices go up. Fundamental economics. I'll adjust my limit to $400.00 next year.

to a point, yes; but a LOT of the inflated prices are due to scammers and non-paying bidders. I was watching a neighbor trying to sell a laptop computer which is now in it's 3rd listing due to this kind of shenanigannary :nono: