So eBays a good judging ground huh?

[kwhizz]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I some of the auctions
highlighted the sad thing is that the items are still available
from GM and at a fraction of the final auction price.

How do you explain this?


[/ QUOTE ]

Because they do not do their homework before bidding. Using key words such as rare, NOS, etc.. gets the uneducated to bid. If I see a GM part advertised as rare, NOS or discontinued, I search sites such as gmpartsdirect.com. All you do is punch in the number and if it's available it will show up and give you the cost.

For example I saw an auction for the bowtie center caps for the 1970 and up rally wheels and he stated they were rare and discontinued. He was asking $400.00 for the set. Even though I knew they were still available I punched in the part number he listed (3989479) and not only were they available but they were only $53.22 a piece through gmpartsdirect.

Always best to do your homwwork before hand.

Rick H.

[/ QUOTE ]


Great Advice.........Thanks Rick

Ken

[Steve Shauger]

You need to be careful as to what is presently produced and what is truly NOS. I believe the center caps you are referring to are used on the 70 Z28 and have the raised bowtie symbol, versus the later produced which are flat with the bowtie. Every situation requires intimate knowledge to get the factory correct part. Just because GM presently produces it under the same part# doesn't mean it is identical to what was produced back in the day.

[Mr70]

.........EXACTLY!

[Supercar_Kid]

Let's remember that comparing ebay to a swap meet is like comparing apples to oranges.

On ebay, all interested parties get to view the part and then mull over what it's worth to them for a week or more...and this includes folks from all over the globe.

At a swap meet the first fellow who comes along and thinks the asking price for a given part is fair takes it with him and walks. Other interested parties may never know the part was there or they may even end up buying the same part at a markup just a few hours later...or in a few days on ebay.

Ebay always takes the highest offer...a swap meet takes the first reasonable offer. Either you have a big wallet and use ebay, or hit the swap meet early and hope for good luck.

Let's not forget ebay is also enjoyed at all hours from the comfort of your home, and swap meets are enjoyed at 5:00 am hundreds of miles from your home in all sorts of weather. Ebay is free to browse, and lunch is is the fridge...swap meets aren't free to get to or get in, and the meals there aren't either.

Personally I think it's a trade off...you can invest the effort getting yourself to the swap, being the first one through the gates, and having lots of cash in hand....then being fortunate enough to actually locate the part you've been looking for before anyone else does and you find yourself a bargain. Either that or you sit at home on your duff and pay what the market will bear, but do whatever else you want that day too.

At the end of the day, they both have their ups and downs...but I'll agree when swap meet sellers quote ebay prices as justification for sticking to a ridiculous figure...I tell 'em put it on ebay then and stop wasting both of our time. If I wanted to pay ebay prices I'd do it from the comfort of my home...and for that I expect to pay a markup.

I'm just afraid we're soon going to see the day where folks will grow tired of lugging rare parts all over the country to get lowballed by buyers and other vendors looking to find bargains when they can simply flip their items on ebay and never once have to pack or unpack a trailer. The swaps will dry up indefinitely, and everything will be sold to the highest bidder. Let's remember it's not free or easy for swap meet vendors to get their wares there either. Take the good with the bad, both swap meets and ebay are like tools in a box, you just need to know when to use the right one.

[68l30]

Very well said....... I'm a die hard swap meet guy, both as a seller and buyer.The same theroy applies to both... "$hit or get off the pot".You only have to pay what you want to pay.It's how bad do you want it?Most of this stuff is worthless to the rest of the world anyway.......


Steve

[Tim Penton]

Well said Steve!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[camarojoe]

I've found that the people who complain that "the swap meets are all dried up" are the same people who show up at noon on Saturday at a swap meet that has already been going on for 3 days. The small swaps have ALWAYS been a crap shoot.. sometimes you find something good, sometimes you find nothing. Its been that way since long before ebay came along. The big swap meets still have alot of good stuff, you just gotta get there early, and walk as fast as you can. Sure the prices for parts are higher than they used to be, but so is everything else in this world. I use ebay as much as anyone, but some of the coolest things I've ever found has come from swap meets. Especially if I get there before Steve.

[68l30]

LOL....When we meet it IS early.......It's like treasure hunting..I enjoy the hunt more than the find sometimes..Besides,I've never gone crosseyed at a swap meet..


Steve

[Rick H]

[ QUOTE ]
You need to be careful as to what is presently produced and what is truly NOS. I believe the center caps you are referring to are used on the 70 Z28 and have the raised bowtie symbol, versus the later produced which are flat with the bowtie.

[/ QUOTE ]

You know after I made my post I knew I had left out that they were the flat newer style caps but thought I would let it go.
The ones he was selling were/are the newer style. The later NOS style are like trying to find hens teeth.

My point is that there are people passing off items as discontinued NOS when in fact they are still being made.

Rick H.

[Mr70]

The best place to find GM parts,is at a Ford swapmeet.