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AndyjcClod

Where have all the bargains gone?

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Is it just me or have all the ebay radio controlled bargains vanished now days or at least much harder to get a bargain?

I watch r\c's on ebay all the time (hoping for that next project bargain) and I don't know if in my older age I am getting more stingy but things seems to go at far more that I would say they are worth.

Gone it seems have the days where you could grab a tl01 for £30 or £40 quid

Does everyone feel the same or are the bargains still out there and I have become poopy at finding them?

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I've noticed that auctions that are worth decent money don't tend to fetch what they are possibly worth and vintage wrecks, especially the likes of hornets and grasshoppers, fetch silly money.

Steve.

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Think loads of people are selling there stuff on smaller online fleamarket/craigslist etc. due to Ebay funny payment/shipment policies and prices.

At least here in Germany I find more interresting items that way.

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Hornets wrecks seem to make £50+ even though they need £30 of parts (and thats just looking at the few images most sellers put up).

But yes, the price range for the average Tamiya does seem to be smaller these days - not much makes over £75/80 unless its Avante or similar, yet barley anythign goes for under £25. you're lucky to get a TL-01 chassis for £25 without body or wheels, yet a fully built good quality runner doesn't get over £60.

I;m resigned to not finding many £10-20 projects any more - the run up to Christmas will only see prices rising too.

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Hornets wrecks seem to make £50+ even though they need £30 of parts (and thats just looking at the few images most sellers put up).

But yes, the price range for the average Tamiya does seem to be smaller these days - not much makes over £75/80 unless its Avante or similar, yet barley anythign goes for under £25. you're lucky to get a TL-01 chassis for £25 without body or wheels, yet a fully built good quality runner doesn't get over £60.

I;m resigned to not finding many £10-20 projects any more - the run up to Christmas will only see prices rising too.

With regards to Hornets it's mad to think the price some buyer are paying when a nib can be bought for around £89. Admittedly you have to buy radio gear and paint but you get brand new plastic.

Steve.

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I was hoping to get £80 for my Baja Champs in RTR condition fully ball-raced, but only made 60 :( saved the money in the end by hand delivering them whilst attending a business meeting up the road!

But I'll agree - I have the saved searches on eBay I check most days, bargains are few and far between. Gumtree is full of dreamers too these days!

Has anyone seen the joker trying to get £150 for a stock CC01 chassis on ebay? Then the Pajero bodyshell is on there for another £150 again!!!

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Def still bargains out there. The other day i missed out on a Astute in box with manual and spares just body missing. Went for £62 !!I forgot to up my bid as I was willing to pay upto £120 for that all day long.

Earlier in the year i also bagged a TA03F Special Edition Pennzoil Nismo R34 GT-R for £38 posted. Thing was built but never ran and just needed the decals added, was boxed with manual and all radio gear. Bargain for me.

Also purchased an almost fully hopped up TA03F-S Toyota Corolla WRC for £78 with box and almost mint. :)

Last month I got a NIB Madcap body set for £14.99 Buy it now. :)

Def bargains out there but they go quick, and sometimes i forget to bid etc.

James

:)

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Think loads of people are selling there stuff on smaller online fleamarket/craigslist etc. due to Ebay funny payment/shipment policies and prices.

At least here in Germany I find more interresting items that way.

100% agree. Still bargains around - they're just not where you would suppose to find them ;)

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I was gonna start a similar thread last week, I agree with those who say there aren't any bargains to be had on the whole, but occasionally, you can bag one.

I've seen a few basket cases hit 3 figures, when they would've got nowhere near that a couple years ago, even a ropey tl01 roller with a body will finish at around £30 but then I missed out on a trf 416 at under £60 at the weekend.

Prices are all over the place, still, you can always count on a misspelled listing to make your day ;)

Screenshot_2014-09-09-12-59-35-1_zps243a

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While I know there are still bargains to be had (checking my showroom additions this week will confirm that), I do agree that eBay has dried up as a source for me, especially from overseas, and the reason is simple: POSTAGE. When I first started collecting EVERY trashed Cougar-type chassis I could find back a decade ago, you could get all sorts of stuff from all over the world, and it was cheap because a) nobody was looking for it, and B) postage was cheap enough to not spoil the price.

Fast forward to now, and postage costs have put a huge dent in both my buying and selling. That's on top of eBay fees and PayPal fees when selling, and 'handling' fees when buying. Makes it very hard to pick up the same bargains internationally (I'm in Australia), and almost impossible to sell internationally.

Just means I have to make do with a lot of my carp, rather than buy new carp!!!!

Just my tuppence.......

Alex

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Everyone is looking for a bargain,just depends on your luck.I sold a shelf queen(original Ultima)for less than £100,then weeks later saw a project one that needed a body and work go for £130!

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I stopped selling on eBay because the fees are just insane, plus I got ripped off by a buyer (thats another story....). Best deals I get are usually in local adds, but you have to act fast because there are a lot of people hunting for vintage RCs.

There are still some good deals to be made on eBay, just have to be patient and use the right (or wrong) search words.

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Bargains like opportunities are always out there just have to know where to look and how much efforts are put in, of course luck is always most well.

The number of web sellers out there now has kept prices in check. Competition is good.

Generally a bargain is available when the seller don't know what he/she has on hand and or need tge funds for whatever reason.

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We should try to sell more stuff on TC, what better way to find bargains! Everyone on here should try to sell their stuff here first, then move on to eBay if it doesnt sell. It's a win-win situation, buyer gets a better deal and seller gets to keep the same (or more) profit since there are no fees. I for one will be listing some more stuff on here, hopefully everyone does the same

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We should try to sell more stuff on TC, what better way to find bargains! Everyone on here should try to sell their stuff here first, then move on to eBay if it doesnt sell. It's a win-win situation, buyer gets a better deal and seller gets to keep the same (or more) profit since there are no fees. I for one will be listing some more stuff on here, hopefully everyone does the same

Is a noble idea for the club, but the club customer base is a tiny fraction if compared to ebay. As a seller, I would like to get back as much as possible and i would only consider giving a deal or just giving it away to TC member if i am only getting low or no offer from ebay. Maybe is just me.

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I wonder if there's been a shift from people seeking their own stuff versus people re selling. Sends a lot of the vintage stuff I look at, the sellers seem to know nothing about.

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I've bought a lot of my cars from TC members as I'd rather give 100% of the money to a member rather than 85% and the rest to eBay.

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Just today my rtr baja champ with spare chassis plus a bag of spares sold for......£31.

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Just today my rtr baja champ with spare chassis plus a bag of spares sold for......£31.

I was watching that too - bargain for someone !

Its the postage that turns a lot of buyers off, especially for spares/repairs/project items.

To make matters worse I see people asking £20 for RM (thats actually £15.50) or £15 for other couriers, which invariably means myhermes or collectplus at £6-8 cost.

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There's a top force evo on eBay now.

Uk Postage... £25.00.

That alone will stop me from bidding its true value.

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To add insult to injury though, ebay charge a percentage on postage costs. I know this was to stop people inflating the costs of postage but it clearly isn't working. They need to rethink this!

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We should try to sell more stuff on TC, what better way to find bargains! Everyone on here should try to sell their stuff here first, then move on to eBay if it doesnt sell. It's a win-win situation, buyer gets a better deal and seller gets to keep the same (or more) profit since there are no fees. I for one will be listing some more stuff on here, hopefully everyone does the same

This spring and summer I sold a bunch of re-re NIB kits, and I listed them on Tamiyaclub, RCTech, CarolinasRCRacers, and Craigslist. I don't use eBay for selling for the reasons others have already stated.

Tamiyaclub and CarolinasRCRacers were by far the best avenues for selling. Even though I restricted my sales to the USA to keep the postage lower, I probably moved 40% of my kits on TC. Another 30-40% of my kits sold on CarolinasRCRacers and benefited from local pickup. Pickup was as close as 2 miles away from me in a neutral location, or as far as 60 miles away as a friendly gesture to split mileage with the buyer. On those trips I made sure I had other business to conduct to make the travel worthwhile.

The remaining 20% of the kits sold on RCTech; I'm sure my nonexistent trader rating was a factor. I think I sold all of one kit via Craigslist, although there were plenty of lowballers and people who wanted to trade. I get the feeling Craigslist is the worst place to sell as that site is scoured by people looking to flip items for profit, not actually buy something to actually own. I get more window shoppers, lowballers, and proposed trades on Craigslist than anywhere else.

Ultimately it all sold, it just took a few months. Patience works in your favor.

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