Ebay effect on values

[htrdsx]

Hi all,

In a recent thread 'Current Market VI alue vs. Certified Appraisal' someone said to put the vehicle on ebay and the highest bidder would set the value of the car.

I was wondering if anyone has asked the question of how Ebay has changed the value of old cars and parts.

I know I've been buying and pricing and sometimes selling antique furniture and cars since long before Ebay. It used to be you could go to one part of the country and buy certain types of items and take them to another part of the country and sell them for a pretty good profit. Either because the first area had an over abundance of the items or they just didn't know what it was worth in other areas.

Now that Ebay has been around for several years I've seen prices level out considerably. Now all you have to do is put an item on Ebay and let the world set the price. That's good in some ways and in other ways, well, it's getting harder to turn a few bucks.

I think one thing that has effected prices is that when something you thought was pretty rare is sold on Ebay for a good price it seems like they start coming out of the woodwork and you find out its not that rare and there are still quite a few of them around.

I use ebay alot and I just wondered what effects ebay has had on other folks.

Thanks

Gary B

[R Walling]

I agree with you about the "rare" items. I have been searching for a particular car and since one sold for a very high price, there has been one or two on e-bay ever since. Of course, they all have a high reserve.

There are though, many small items that I will pay most any price for, just to complete my project.

[keiser31]

I have found that you are very correct in the fact that many "like" items show up after selling a particular "rare" item. I have also seen that you can stumble across those same items cheaper at times. That usually happens when the item is not listed correctly and you find it before someone else. I hardly ever buy from ebay to turn a buck. Prices get too high for that most of the time. Most of my stuff that I sell on ebay comes from swap meets or yard/garage sales. If you are buying from ebay to sell higher on ebay later, I don't believe that it will work for most items.

[1935Packard]

I think you're right that ebay has made the market much more efficient: More people know what items are worth, and more people can bit items to their market price.

[Guest Plymouthy]

Ebay makes "convienence of shopping at home" rather an effortless experience..and I also will bid if and when I think it is something I will use..of course..I never ever bid early..you just running up the price....I'm a sniper...I never ever reset my max price...another will be along..the bidders are making the sellers on some items quick fall profits and as stated sets the oopening for then same said item higher by another wanna be millionaire..still find most of my stuff from forums, clubs and swap meets...

[1937hd45]

If you consider the lost days pay, gas,food and maybe lodging to go to a flea market vs eBay, eBay will cost you less per part, and you will have the item within a week in most cases. I assembled a correct 1937 Harley 45 through eBay auctions something you could NEVER do by attending fleamarkets. Anyone want to start a list of the non automotive items you made a killing on through eBay?

[Curti]

I don't know about a killing, but I found NOS parts for an antique Jrennings slot machine I was restoring. I don't know where I would have found those items other than eBay.

[keiser31]

I sold a little 2" oval pocket mirror with a Tutti Fruitti advertisement on the front for over $300.00. It was my first ebay sale! I saw what a similar one went for and then put mine up on the block.

[Restorer32]

I sold an unopened bottle of 1960s perfume to a perfume museun (who woulda thought?)in France for about $200.

[1937hd45]

I thought an empty glue bottle for $62.00 was good.

[DavidAU]

I think Ebay has "saved" a lot of old car parts from destruction. Sometimes irreplaceable parts that some old guy (like us)has had stored in his shed and that would have been dumped by his kids when he passed on is now being sold out through ebay which is a good thing. Parts are saved, the buyer gets something he has been looking for, and someone makes a few few bucks out of it. Everybody is happy.

David

[joe_padavano]

To get this thread back on track, let me say that there's one big problem with ebay as far as prices are concerned. Sellers seem to equate someone's listing price with actual value. Ebay allows you to search completed auctions, providing data on auctions closed in the last 30 days. I follow Olds 442s and virtually NONE of the high dollar cars actually sell. They always end with reserve not met, and frequently the price has been bid up to just below the reserve (ebay posts a notice that "next bid meets reserve" when that happens). Ironically (or not!), reserve is never met. But hey, I'm not cynical.

Also, cars that DO sell are frequently relisted within a couple of weeks by the same seller. Sorry, but until cash actually changes hands, the asking price, reserve price, and even selling price are meaningless. Unfortunately, many sellers do not realize this and price WAAAAY over market. It's like the BJ effect, only worse.

[jim43]

I see many cars on Ebay with the same "buy it now" price as they have it listed for in several car magazines. This is not an auction but a near continuous world wide ad for a near nothing fee. They are often so over priced that they never get a bid, unless they have a, or are their own "shill". Check the bidders history. When 74% or 90% of that bidders bids are with the same seller, I think that means something. I always check the high bidders history. jim43

[DennyZ]

I've noticed through experience that old auto parts are not bring the prices this year that they were last year.

[Guest Dean_H.]

I sold my first item on eBay back in 1999. It was a '68 Corvette 427 4spd. It was a great car, but I was tired of the CA smog check headaches and decided to sell it. After attempting to sell it in the local newspaper for $8K, someone told me about eBay. I scanned a couple of pictures and wrote a description and it went up to $9K. I know the values went way up since then, but that was pretty good money at the time. Here is a picture of it.

[keiser31]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: DennyZ</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I've noticed through experience that old auto parts are not bring the prices this year that they were last year.</div></div>

I have noticed exactly the opposite. It seems like all my parts are selling for off the chart prices. It could be that my descriptions are spot on or I play up the scratches so that when the winning bidder receives the part they are happy. I know that car prices are down, but I have noticed that guys out there are still buying the parts that they need without hesitation and for pretty "up there" prices. I usually let the bidders raise the prices themselves.

[JZRIV]

For a period of two years I tracked all "completed" auctions on a particular model in a spreadsheet which covered hundreds of auctions. I tracked year, options, color combos, condition, selling price, high bid price if no sell, how many times the car was relisted, and anything specific that stood out.

It was so common for people to post question to the relative forum to that car "what is my car worth, or what should I pay for this model car, so after a year or so I had some real facts what the values were. With the data loaded into the spreadshet, it became quite simple so find the average selling price.

Having said that I, noticed some things while tracking all these cars. When comparing cars of similar condition and attributes, I saw 10-15% of cars go for what I thought were high end prices and same for low end prices. Every thing else was in the middle. Keep in mind these were Lincoln Mark VIIIs, not highly collectible autos but still nonetheless a model with a very loyal following and offering one extreme to the other as far as desireable options and color variations.

Auction timing is everything. If you get two people who really want an item at the same time, the price is likely to go above average where as if there is only one person who really wants an item it will go below average.

Add Note: One other thing that was very evident. Generally speaking, May, June, July and early August are definitely the best time to sell a car on ebay. This excludes those cars that are very desireable such as those with rare options or a highly sought after color combo which seem to do equally well no matter what time of year.

[1937hd45]

Jason, Was location something on your chart? Can't see a car of equal condition out in the boonies bring the same money as one within a days drive.