Did you ever get a Good Deal because the Seller did not know the Value ?

[Mark Gregory]

My latest find was a Mitutoyo Combination Square 180 - 905 with a Protractor for $40 . I saw the the same on Amazon for $200 plus . New in Canada $400 . The Grandson set the price for the Grandmother who's husband was a Machinist . Before that a Freud Biscuit joiner $10 with a new blade it needed new springs $5 . A Eron drill press tilting vice for $20 it had a bent handle .

Edited December 29, 2016 by Mark Gregory (see edit history)

[Harold]

Probably the best deal I ever got was buying a Hurst shifter at a garage sale for $20.00 and selling it for over $400.00.

 

A real estate writer once wrote that, if you're actively seeking something, you'll find the deal of a lifetime about once a week.  These days it's almost too easy to establish some basis for valuing an item being sold.   I've gotten a number of good (and some incredibly great) deals over the years, but I believe there were many times when the seller was motivated by other factors (the item was going to a good home, storage issues, etc) of which I was unaware.  

[Plyroadking]

Found four big logo stromberg 97s in a racoon infested attic of an old repair shop a year ago, they were afraid I'd be offended at $7.50 each. Took the best parts and rebuilt two of them for my 41 buick.

 

I had my eye on a set of original 1950's Plymouth wire wheels and caps, saw them several years in a row at the same swap meet, each wheel and cap was labled $100. $800 for the set was too much for me. Two years ago I walked up to him and joked, "$100 for the set?" I almost tore my pocket off trying to get to my wallet faster when he said, "yup" he said he'd hold them for me till I came back, I decided to lug them out to my truck in case he changed his mind. They're still in storage waiting till I get to my 55 belvedere.

 

Walking through a wrecking yard several years ago I tripped over a transmission, didn't know what it was but it was cast DPCD. The input shaft looked like my 1940 Plymouth's and it had a parking brake band. The owner asked if I knew what it was and I honestly didn't at the time. He didn't know either and said he'd need $20 for it. Got it home and showed it to my grandfather and he said it was a 1955 Plymouth transmission with the Borg Warner overdrive. Still have it in the car today!

[1937hd45]

Antique parts at Hot Rod swap meets and Hot Rod parts at antique swap meets are always the best buys. The bidding stopped at $265 on a 1910 Lozier hubcap I bought at a Hot Rod meet for $10.00, just paid the man his asking price. Bob

Edited December 30, 2016 by 1937hd45 (see edit history)

[auburnseeker]

I love dollar / under 10.00 piles at Hershey.  I've bought lots of items that I've sold for 20-100.00   

One of the best scores from Hershey was a chrome sunvisor bracket with DDCP on it,  from a vendors dollar pile that looked like a bunch of new parts that were stored very poorly as the packaging was melted around the items.  That ended up fitting a 57 Plymouth Convertible and was in beautiful shape once I cleaned the sludge off it. It sold for around $300.  

I bought a pair of NOS trunk latches for my Cord off ebay for 20.00 as they weren't properly listed.  I've bought alot of stuff not properly listed off ebay.  I also learned at Swap meets,  when buying parts you always buy the Chevy parts from the Ford guys and the Ford parts from the Chevy guys.  Neither usually bother to try and figure out what any of the stuff is and they are just looking to get rid of it. 

I buy alot of lots and with Ebay I've found all the weird insignificant stuff seems to be valuable and all the good stuff I bought to resell seems to do poorly.  Give me a box of NOS hardware/ fasteners and latches and I'll turn a greater profit than a box of pretty chrome.  Of course you rarely pay alot for the iron but that chrome is almost always priced very dearly. 

[dei]

Went to a local annual swap meet (2 hrs away) and came across a tail light lens for my "58 Limited in decent looking shape. Asking about it expecting to hear how 'rare' they are and the usual high price he would want, actually stated he did not know what it went on.

This has the four bar pot metal chrome pieces that are one model only items hence the high values. Decided to be up front about it after a bit of conversation and he asked if I would be willing to pay 35 dollars? Handed him 40 bucks and said DEAL!

That alone made the whole trip worth it! 

[dei]

deleted duplicate post

Edited December 30, 2016 by dei
duplicate post (see edit history)

[Dave Henderson]

My best finds over the years were a Harman Collins early V8 "Gibson Girl" magneto, $8, and a perfect very early '32 Ford V8 2 blade fan which was only used in production a few months, $5.  Both at the same time from a junk recycling shop in Pa. 
Just remembered, add a GREEN lensed wigwag tail and stop light, new in the box, ca. 1930's, for $1.50 at a yard sale just a mile from my house!  I have seen just one other like it, at Hershey, but different in that it had a RED lens.  It was made by Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company for Seco Manufacturing Company of Gettysburg, Pa.  Pictured on the box was a bus bearing them but it was a black and white picture....   Why green and red lenses?  I theorize the green one went on the left signifying ok to pass and the red one went on the right side meaning Do Not Pass on this side.   Thoughts anyone? 
 

[kgreen]

Sometimes I get a good deal not because the seller doesn't know what he has, but because what he or she has isn't what they specialize in.  That was mentioned above where the best deals on Ford parts are at the Chevy table and vice versa.  In the best example I have I bought a boat at the worst sales time of year after a trade in that was way undervalued with a dealer that didn't deal in the kind of boat that was traded in.  I got a great deal, the seller (boat retailer got a good deal), the original seller got rid of a boat that he didn't want anymore.

 

Even in those cases where the seller doesn't know what he has, he bought it from someone, marked it up and is making the percentage he desires.  You get a good deal only because you know what the item is and your desperation doesn't show.  Prior to any of that sale, the part sat on somebodies shelf for years and was considered junk.

[Bill Stoneberg]

I picked up a mess of tools that a wife was selling after her mechanic husband passed away. This was over 10 years ago and I got a Laser thermometer for  $10, a OBCD reader for  $30, timing light with dial advance for $ 10 and a few more little item.

 

Went to a restaurant that was closing and bought ALL their frying pans for $20. Had to have been 25 or 30 of different sizes. Sold a lot of those at garage sales for $ 5.00 / pan and made my money back easily.

[Terry Bond]

Everything I buy is a good deal if I like it.  I have some rules I try to follow, and one of them is "do the math" and keep track of all the good deals - then roll the numbers over to give you some wiggle room for the next deal.  It works like this - at Hershey this year I bought a nice brass lamp and got a hundred bucks knocked off the price.  Well, I saved a hundred bucks, so can apply that to the next purchase to balance things out.  I recently found a nice antique display case on Craigslist locally for a hundred bucks.  It's worth probably $350-400 minimum, so I have that much to play with towards some nice stuff to put into the case.  Of course I have to refinish it and get rid of the nasty white paint, so paying myself $50.hr labor adds to the "bonus."  Collecting is such fun!

Terry

[padgett]

One of the reasons I got into Pontiacs was because there was not that much to buy and usually as mentioned above the vender just wanted rid of it. Bought a complete 57 Bonneville FI, turkey roaster, two piece distributer and all for $85. Mostly what I bought (66 Tripower with carbs for $50) was because I was into lotsa carbs and FI at a time when MPG was king and few knew how to tune them. What anything was worth did not matter since was a matter of what I could afford and sold very little.

 

Rarely buy anything at a show, flea markets are my usual though enjoy a stroll through a recycling center.

 

Terry: is that an MGC ?

[28 Chrysler]

Last March I got a  1960s  floor standing 14" Delta band saw for almost nothing ($1) because it would blow circuit beakers

Re-attaching  one side of the power cord took me almost 3 minutes. .

 

[60FlatTop]

Once. Back in the 1980's I was at the Dunkirk Spring Swap Meet and bought a Corvair Turbocharger for $15. She said "If my husband is going to leave me here alone while he runs around looking for parts all day that's what I'm selling it for."

She seemed quite satisfied with the sale.

Bernie

[mercer09]

bought a grill for 5 bucks at Hershey and just sold it yesterday for 350.

 

yes I had to put 30 minutes of labor into it..................

[keiser31]

So many great deal stories to be told, but one of my favorites was when I went to the Portland swap meet. Usually, the stuff inside the buildings was extra expensive. As I walked by a table that looked like it had jewelry laid out, I saw a guy buy a NICE headlamp for a 1930s Cadillac for about $20.00! I stopped dead in my tracks. On the table were two odd looking crank hole covers. Just for kicks I asked the guy what he wanted for one. He said, "$5.00". I could not get my wallet out fast enough! He said, "$5.00 for the second one, too". Later that week I sold them on Ebay. As I was reading my final sale on one ($311.00), I received another notification that stated that my crank hole cover just sold for $311.00. I couldn't figure out why I got two notices for the same part sold. As I read more carefully, I saw that EACH crank hole cover sold for $311.00 in opposite corners of the country! They were for 1930 and 1931 Hudsons....  

Edited December 30, 2016 by keiser31 (see edit history)

[keiser31]

I LOVE when hot rodders sell original parts. I picked up a drag link that was on a restored DeSoto for $20.00! It was the perfect match for my 1931 Dodge.

[JACK M]

My take about swap meets.

If the seller is one of those guys that is trying to make a living at a swap meet then I cant afford him.

I usually have a swap meet space to help me get my garage space back and I hate bringing stuff home with me unless it is a something new to me.

It is quite often that I see my stuff for sale in another guys booth that is priced way higher than I sold it for.

I don't care, he is going to have to lug it around now. I will see it in his booth next year and he has probably had to drag several other swap meets as well. That's why I cant afford him.

I certainly understand that a guy has to make a living and I wish them well.

I just use the swap meets for a different reason.

We have all had the occasion to buy something for a sweet price, myself included. But I don't really like selling parts. To much trouble.

If I am in need of a part I will try and get my best deal, but if its something I really need then I will pay for it. Doesn't mean I can afford it.

 

[John Byrd]

I guess our best deal in the early days of really scrounging and trying to make do was in Scottsboro, AL. back in 1977.  We had a 66 Mustang GT fastback I had got cheap from a guy that was mad at his kid, but it only had 3 of the GT wheels with it.  I spotted a 67 fastback in a trailer court on the way to work one day, and it had two of those style wheels on it, so that afternoon we pulled in, knocked, and asked the guy if he would consider selling the wheels if I brought him some standard replacement ones and changed them out. He said no, but if you give me $60.00 you can take the whole car !!!   We fiddled with it, got it running, and drove it home...it was a 67 GTA fastback, 390 automatic, with every option I had ever heard about, and he gave me a big stack of papers from the original owner that had everything about the car in it !  I still have the pack of papers, but back then we didn't need and couldn't store another car, so we parted it out...lots of money from all that stuff !  OK, I know, wrong thing to do, but I am also the guy that sold his formal roof 428 ram air 4 speed Fairlane Cobra that he bought new for $700.00 when I got mad at it because I broke the transmission tailshaft... racing ?  Who, me ???

[60FlatTop]

Oh, just remembered, I picked up a complete '64 Buick Riviera tilt steering column with the wood wheel and center cap for $30 at a street rod meet..... in 1980. Olympic Park, Rochester out by the airport.

[Terry Bond]

1 hour ago, padgett said:

One of the reasons I got into Pontiacs was because there was not that much to buy and usually as mentioned above the vender just wanted rid of it. Bought a complete 57 Bonneville FI, turkey roaster, two piece distributer and all for $85. Mostly what I bought (66 Tripower with carbs for $50) was because I was into lotsa carbs and FI at a time when MPG was king and few knew how to tune them. What anything was worth did not matter since was a matter of what I could afford and sold very little.

 

Rarely buy anything at a show, flea markets are my usual though enjoy a stroll through a recycling center.

 

Terry: is that an MGC ?

Yes, the MGC is a six cylinder version of the MGB. It was actually intended to replace the Austin-Healey 3000 and was announced in 1967.  There was a roadster and a GT version available.  The motoring press hit it pretty hard, especially handling, and the fact it was basically still a MGB with a six cylinder engine.  The extra weight in the front contributed.  It was dropped in 1969. By that time the MG had become part of the British Leyland empire and Triumph was the favored breed, and the MGC would have represented direct competition with the popular Triumph TR-6.    More than you wanted to know, but the history of MG, BL, etc are pretty convoluted and fascinating.  Another sub-title to all this is "how the government killed the British auto industry!  But, that's another story for another time.

[dei]

Several years back I was at a Buick Chapter Meet (won't mention which one) and saw an "NOS" right front '58 Buick fender with 250.00 marked on it. I asked if open to offers and was very politely answered sorry no. Went on that day finding a few small things here and there meeting fellow BCA Members till time came to head home. 

As I went out by the vendor with that fender noticed it was still there and he had crossed out the 250 and had 125 on it. Not sure if he recognised me or not but pulled out 4 20's and asked what do you think? With a short hesitation and saying he didn't want to have to pack it up and haul it to the next swap meet, took the money. 

I very gratefully shook his hand!

[F&J]

1 hour ago, keiser31 said:

I LOVE when hot rodders sell original parts. I picked up a drag link that was on a restored DeSoto for $20.00! It was the perfect match for my 1931 Dodge.

Yes, most rodders and restorers are great people.....  a guy in your area, Oregon, signed up on hamb, only because he saw a thread on 32 Nash.  He signed up only to offer his spare parts from his 17 year-long, Nash rod project.

 

  We corresponded with my want list, and then he took pics of what he had, and said "make me an offer".  I went very high offer, and I told him I thought I'd never find all those things.  He said "no way this stuff is worth that much, send me only 100 and I'll ship it all too".  He was thrilled that someone appreciated his offer to get help with parts.  (makes up for that very rare event of not being happy on another sale)

 

the world is filled with good people....

 

.

[ch1929]

4 hours ago, Dave Henderson said:

My best finds over the years were a Harman Collins early V8 "Gibson Girl" magneto, $8, and a perfect very early '32 Ford V8 2 blade fan which was only used in production a few months, $5.  Both at the same time from a junk recycling shop in Pa. 
Just remembered, add a GREEN lensed wigwag tail and stop light, new in the box, ca. 1930's, for $1.50 at a yard sale just a mile from my house!  I have seen just one other like it, at Hershey, but different in that it had a RED lens.  It was made by Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company for Seco Manufacturing Company of Gettysburg, Pa.  Pictured on the box was a bus bearing them but it was a black and white picture....   Why green and red lenses?  I theorize the green one went on the left signifying ok to pass and the red one went on the right side meaning Do Not Pass on this side.   Thoughts anyone? 
 

I have a red one on my 29 Chrysler and have the original box. When you step on the brakes it has a motor driven light that moves back and forth lighting up the small domes in the lens. Very cool light!  It would seem odd to have green lamp on rear. The OK to pass on the left may have some merit. The instruction sheet I have did not mention red or green lens.  Very nice find!

[padgett]

"perfect very early '32 Ford V8 2 blade fan which was only used in production a few months" - because it did not cool very well ? Interesting how items that were recalled or replaced because they did not work very well have a value of their own.

[46 woodie]

I can't take credit for this, it was my wife. Hershey, about the late '70s, we were walking the fields and when I turned around my wife and son were not there. I waited at the end of the row and saw them walking towards me with a huge box on our wagon. When I looked in the wagon there were literally thousands of baseball cards. At first I was upset but when I started to look thru the box I was amazed. We brought the box back to our car and didn't look at it until we got back on Sunday. Dozens of Mantel, Mays, Williams, Ford, I can't begin to tell you what we had. Believe it or not the entire box was $15. The only reason she purchased them is because my son was starting to collect baseball cards and stopped when he saw the box. Unfortunately baseball cards aren't worth what they once were, but at one time I estimated the box was worth several thousand dollars.

[auburnseeker]

I bought a large lot of NOS parts from a friend here in town.  (I actually still have more to pick up, but I've cherry picked it pretty well) In that lot were 5 or 6 boxes of old NOS Delco spiral shocks dating from the 60's for the most part.  I moved them from my shop to my trailer,  to my storage unit,  back to my trailer and when I sold the shop,  just about put them in my scrap metal pile.  A box or two were actually in the pile.  

My wife finally said I think you should try to sell some of these.  I wasn't very interested as they are pretty hard to identify,  as GM had so many number changes that it can literally take an hour or so to identify one set of shocks,  That's using both online resources and several GM parts books and parts number super Session books/ price histories. 

Anyways,  She picked 2 sets of shocks out of about 50 sets I have.  She tried to look them up,  but gave up.  I took some time and identified the one set as Chevelle, mid to late 60's.  The second set according to the part number stamped on the box should have been early 60's Chevy 50-60 series truck,  (some real boat anchors if I ever saw some)  When I went to list them,  I said wait a minute.  These don't even come close to fitting the much larger box.  The box was dated 1954,  the date code on the shocks was 1965.  I then identified them again using the number stamped on the shock.  Much better.  They were for super High performance 1963-1967 Corvette applications with a very desirable 1965 Date code and the date codes were a matched pair.  

The Chevelle ones sold for around 150 for the pair.  

The Corvette ones sold for over 800.00 .  

What's the chance that the of the 2 pairs out of say 50 my wife pulled out of the pile,  she would pull out the absolute best ones in the pile? 

Needless to say, the other shocks got pulled from the scrap pile and will get listed on Feebay this winter.  

[Dave Henderson]

4 hours ago, ch1929 said:

I have a red one on my 29 Chrysler and have the original box. When you step on the brakes it has a motor driven light that moves back and forth lighting up the small domes in the lens. Very cool light!  It would seem odd to have green lamp on rear. The OK to pass on the left may have some merit. The instruction sheet I have did not mention red or green lens.  Very nice find!

 

4 hours ago, ch1929 said:

I have a red one on my 29 Chrysler and have the original box. When you step on the brakes it has a motor driven light that moves back and forth lighting up the small domes in the lens. Very cool light!  It would seem odd to have green lamp on rear. The OK to pass on the left may have some merit. The instruction sheet I have did not mention red or green lens.  Very nice find!

 

[Dave Henderson]

I sent you a pm.

[Dave Henderson]

2 hours ago, mike6024 said:

Boats certainly use green, could it have been for that?

Recreational boats operating at night are required to display navigation lights between sunset and sunrise. Recent changes to the Inland Navigation Rules make them nearly identical to the International Rules, so we will describe the International Rules to simplify the choices.

Basic rules:

Sidelights are red (port) and green (starboard) and shine from dead ahead to 112.5° aft on either side.
Stern lights are white and shine aft and 67.5° forward on each side. (Thus, the sidelights and stern light create a full circle of light.)

I thought about the possibility of the wig wag lamp being for a boat, but discounted the idea because they are a combination tail and stop light, the box pictures them on a bus, and the white glass part is a light to illuminate a license tag.  It is upside down in the picture.

[keiser31]

I purchased a VERY nice console mounted tachometer for my 1968 Dodge Dart GTS from a guy who was a Chevy guy and wrote, "$10.00. Might be Mopar crap".

[keiser31]

I got this matching headlamp fork for a headlamp that I had been lugging around for years. I asked the guy at the flea market-type store what he wanted for the headlamp fork hanging on the wall. He said it was a hanger for a bell. I got it for $10.00....turns out it fit a Roamer....I took it home and it fit right onto the headlamp.

Edited December 31, 2016 by keiser31 (see edit history)

[mike6024]

Front turn signals were green in the 1930's? At least some of them?

Edited December 31, 2016 by mike6024 (see edit history)

[Pomeroy41144]

My brother purchased a very rare blues record from some fellow for a modest sum. 

 

The record is the only one known to exist (my brother is an expert concerning this artist's music, so he knew what it was). 

 

He has not tried to figure a value since he has the only one, but it is many many times what he paid.

 

[George Smolinski]

About 5 years ago, I saw an ad on CL for a Chevy floor shift tilt column & bought it. He also had a box of miscellaneous parts including some mirrors. The tilt was for a '65 Chevelle - bought for $100 + S&H. Sold for $350 + S&H. One of the mirrors was a driver's side exterior remote in near mint condition. When I researched the PN, it turned out to be for a '64 Impala. Bought the whole box for $25 + S&H. Sold the '64 mirror for $1200 + S&H on Ebay. Moral of the story - Even a blind pig finds a truffle every now & then.

[Restorer32]

I have an original 1932 Packard Adonis (sliding boy) radiator ornament I bought in an antique shop for $5. It was advertised as a vintage paper weight.

[Guest Skyking]

I've had a lot of great deals in my lifetime but I think the best was my brother's about ten years ago.  He bought a set of NOS Cadillac hubcaps for $300 and sold them on eBay for $10,000.

[trimacar]

Of course, I've found stuff over the years that I paid little for, as the seller wasn't sure what it was, as has been mentioned.

 

One of the best deals I ever made on parts, though, the seller knew exactly what he had, he just wanted to get rid of them, as he was moving and was tired of looking at all the stuff.  A garage full of parts, including two sets of 30's metal side covers, lots of small stuff from the 20's and 30's, and I paid $400 for the garage full.   Each set of side covers sold for more than that.  That was fun!  On the same trip, bought a 24 foot enclosed Haulmark trailer, almost new, for dimes on the dollar, but that's another story...

[caddyshack]

I have had many Model T engines over the years but had never run across an original '26/'27 vaporizer air cleaner. Bought at a local meet for $3.00 and the seller was happy to part with it. And yes, I know, they were the first thing thrown away to get better performance.

[Restorer32]

I have an original 1932 Packard Adonis (sliding boy) radiator ornament I bought in an antique shop for $5. It was advertised as a vintage paper weight.

 

 

Years ago I was at an auction in Philly. They sold quite a few early Harley parts. As the sale wore on the crowd started to wander off. The last item of the sale was a pile of early 1930's Harley parts maybe 4 ft wide by 3 ft high. Hundreds of pounds of parts. Engine parts, brake parts, gas tanks, transmissions, a bit of everything. Apparently all the Harley guys were at the bar having a beer. I bought the pile for $105. Now, I know virtually nothing about motorcycles. I took the pile to Hershey and sold every last piece, The vast majority of it went overseas, especially to Germany. I just made up prices on the spot based mostly on how fondly the buyer was rubbing the part he was interested in. I'm sure I practically gave away many parts but end of the day I went home with almost $3500 in my pocket.