HUGE RC auction

[Sprocket 52]

6 hours ago, Exit13 said:

I'm blown away.  I want the three 58036 Audi's and the 037 Opel.  You guys take the rest.  How can I get them?

Money, maybe lots of it

[OnTheTrail 1405]

2 hours ago, markbt73 said:

.... and he wasn't able to bid on the Elvis '68 Comeback Special commemorative plate he had his eye on, ...

Wait???......do you think they have a velvet Elvis up for auction?  To heck with the bowtie Clodbuster, a velvet Elvis gets my money every time!

[markbt73 6127]

You know, I'm not even interested in the "vintage" stuff that probably everyone else is going nuts over. If I could snag a TL01 kit and/or an FF, I'd be over the moon.

[alvinlwh 7725]

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[87lc2 2854]

4 hours ago, alvinlwh said:

Saw on one of the picture, a 58039 on sale for $99.99 from from the original price of $129.99. When was this shop last opened to the public? That same kit has a four digits asking price on eBay right now!

In Japan, they have a proxy bidding service for overseas buyers and they will arrange for shipping for the items won, combined shipping from multiple bids/sellers as well. Do they have such services in the US?

This is a private collection, was never a shop.  It said somewhere in the literature that he was planning on opening a shop at some point but that never happened.  $99.99 must be what he paid for it years back.  That's a good amount of money in the late 80s. 

[alvinlwh 7725]

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[A-Baum 352]

2 minutes ago, alvinlwh said:

Yes I saw that. However, I was thinking it is kind of strange to pay retail price by buying from a shop to sell in his shop. When I worked in retail, the cost of goods to a shop is usually 1/3 to 1/2 of the sticker price the end customer pay. So that kit could cost $30 to $75 to get from an wholesaler? Unless of course that was his private collection that got mixed in with store stock and sold in the same auction. 

It's just a really weird situation in my book. I mean who would have thought this treasure trove of NIB kits would be sitting in some eccentric dude's house in the middle of North Dakota for decades after he struck rich with oil.  I mean it's cool for all of us looking to snag kits but it's just a weird thing.  If I didn't live 2 days drive away it would be awesome to go view all this stuff.  Will be VERY interesting to see what prices these kits go for. I don't even know how you manage it. I am watching a lot of stuff and you can't narrow your search to things you are watching.  I don't want to put max bids on 10 kits in case they all hit.  Need to form a strategy...

 

[87lc2 2854]

47 minutes ago, alvinlwh said:

Yes I saw that. However, I was thinking it is kind of strange to pay retail price by buying from a shop to sell in his shop. When I worked in retail, the cost of goods to a shop is usually 1/3 to 1/2 of the sticker price the end customer pay. So that kit could cost $30 to $75 to get from an wholesaler? Unless of course that was his private collection that got mixed in with store stock and sold in the same auction. 

I think you're reading too much into it.  This guys was a collector/hoarder and obviously wasn't hurting for money, if he were to open a shop it would just be for fun and to show off his collection. I doubt that was his purpose, they probably just said that to make it look like there was a point to this hoard.

[alvinlwh 7725]

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[markbt73 6127]

1 hour ago, 87lc2 said:

I think you're reading too much into it.  This guys was a collector/hoarder and obviously wasn't hurting for money, if he were to open a shop it would just be for fun and to show off his collection. I doubt that was his purpose, they probably just said that to make it look like there was a point to this hoard.

Or that's what he told his family to make it seem less weird.

At least he built and enjoyed plenty of them. Even most of the "NIB" kits are actually new from spares, stuck back into an old box. I'm inclined to think that the ones that are still shrink-wrapped are just kits he hadn't gotten to yet. Yeah, it's a little hoardy, but given independent wealth, a giant barn/outbuilding to store stuff, and 40 years, I can't say I wouldn't do the same.

[A-Baum 352]

2 minutes ago, markbt73 said:

Even most of the "NIB" kits are actually new from spares

How can you tell that?

[87lc2 2854]

9 minutes ago, markbt73 said:

Or that's what he told his family to make it seem less weird.

At least he built and enjoyed plenty of them. Even most of the "NIB" kits are actually new from spares, stuck back into an old box. I'm inclined to think that the ones that are still shrink-wrapped are just kits he hadn't gotten to yet. Yeah, it's a little hoardy, but given independent wealth, a giant barn/outbuilding to store stuff, and 40 years, I can't say I wouldn't do the same.

Agree 100%.  This guy just did what any of us would do if we had all the time and money in the world.  It is nice to see that he did build/use the stuff but with so much he could never get to it all.  I saw a lot of those kits that were broken up for parts as well and realized he was using some stuff at one point or another. 

[markbt73 6127]

33 minutes ago, A-Baum said:

How can you tell that?

NIB Wild One, from Steve T's showroom:

Box dividers, blister packs, body in its own compartment in the middle.

 

Lot number 21 from the auction:

Box on the right is a Tamiya replacement body set. Other parts are all in bags with yellow MRC/Tamiya bag headers from tthe '80s. No blister pack. I'm sure all the parts are here to build a "new" Wild One, but calling this a NIB kit is a stretch.

[A-Baum 352]

5 minutes ago, markbt73 said:

NIB Wild One, from Steve T's showroom:

Box dividers, blister packs, body in its own compartment in the middle.

 

Lot number 21 from the auction:

Box on the right is a Tamiya replacement body set. Other parts are all in bags with yellow MRC/Tamiya bag headers from tthe '80s. No blister pack. I'm sure all the parts are here to build a "new" Wild One, but calling this a NIB kit is a stretch.

Ahhhh wow good catch. I didn't even think of paying attention to that.  As someone who wants to build and shelf some vintage ones, this could work to my advantage.

[A-Baum 352]

Thanks @markbt73 for pointing that out. I just went through all the ones I marked as watching and the closer I look the worse many of these kits are.  Several of the kits, including King Cabs and Wild Ones have empty blister packs and seem to be missing other parts as well, such as chassis tub, etc.  Some people who don't pay close attention are going to be very disappointed and there's no recourse because of the nature of the sale.

[A-Baum 352]

Another thing to consider is many of these kits he has some original and some re-re.  If you're buying a sealed original you can only hope that the person doing the packing doesn't just see the picture on the box and send you a re-re. 

[pijje1 49]

Hi All was just looking at the this too has anyone registered from the uk as can't see anywhere to ask if they will ship to the uk. As have seen a lot i am interested in and after reading the above going for the sealed one as they have one sealed and one open. I have been looking for years for one and have not seen that many of them ??

[Bash 358]

Just got off the phone with one of the guys running the auction and he said that they can ship to the UK. He also said that you can contact him through Facebook at Ben Stiegelmeier for any specifics regarding shipping

[scootmike 36]

Sad to read about the passing of Larry. Sent many a package to Killdeer. Serious collector and a nice guy. 

[Mr. Horsepower 16]

Very late to the party here. Just now seeing this. An astonishing collection. Would have loved to just chat with Larry for a while. No doubt his stories behind all of this would be fascinating. 

[Raman36 1802]

The action starts in 2/28 and ends on 3/26. Hearts will be broken, dreams will be given up on by deep pockets. 🥲

[87lc2 2854]

I finally ended up taking a good look at a few kits I'd be interested in and all I can say what has already been said, look at the photos very carefully.  One example would be the Bowtie Clod (Lot 158).  Box and instruction book are bowtie originals but decals are not original Chevy decals.  Personally that wouldn't bother me much, but I'd imagine a collector buying something like that would not be too happy. 

Looking further it seems the entire kit is made up of spare parts (as mentioned above about the Wild One).  Will be very interesting if people pay top $ for this stuff and dont pay close attention. 

When looking at the original pre-auction imges it looks like someone may have kept the best stuff (maybe his children) and are auctioning off everything that's not exactly pristine or collector quality.  Who knows, but either way there is some really nice stuff here as long as you take a good look.   

I went to register and felt weird about them wanting to charge $50 to my credit card now just to watch an auction that doesn't start for another month.  Will probably pass on this one since there's nothing I really need and I'm trying to downsize anyway, but hopefully some TC members get great deals on stuff they've been looking for   

[GeeWings 2861]

@87lc2  yes, the $50 is a bit weird. It all feels a bit like the auctioneers are winging it. 

[A-Baum 352]

9 hours ago, 87lc2 said:

I finally ended up taking a good look at a few kits I'd be interested in and all I can say what has already been said, look at the photos very carefully.  One example would be the Bowtie Clod (Lot 158).  Box and instruction book are bowtie originals but decals are not original Chevy decals.  Personally that wouldn't bother me much, but I'd imagine a collector buying something like that would not be too happy. 

Looking further it seems the entire kit is made up of spare parts (as mentioned above about the Wild One).  Will be very interesting if people pay top $ for this stuff and dont pay close attention. 

When looking at the original pre-auction imges it looks like someone may have kept the best stuff (maybe his children) and are auctioning off everything that's not exactly pristine or collector quality.  Who knows, but either way there is some really nice stuff here as long as you take a good look.   

I went to register and felt weird about them wanting to charge $50 to my credit card now just to watch an auction that doesn't start for another month.  Will probably pass on this one since there's nothing I really need and I'm trying to downsize anyway, but hopefully some TC members get great deals on stuff they've been looking for   

Yeah it's pretty obvious to tell now after looking much closer the kits that have been rummaged through previously and the ones that are pristine.  I'd imagine the final price will reflect those. I've categorized everything I want as high and low priority. It's amazing how many really expensive/rare kits are just full of Tamiya spare parts bags. Rather disappointing as at first glance I thought this was an absolute goldmine of NIB kits. You have absolutely no way of knowing if the kit you want is complete, and finding any missing parts/screw bags for some of those will be quite cost prohibitive if you can find it at all.  I feel like this is a good opportunity for some to get their hands on spare parts for their own resto projects and then flip some of the parts they don't need to cover some of the costs. As for rare/vinatage NIB kits, there's actually only a handful available.

[GeeWings 2861]

On 2/6/2022 at 7:10 AM, A-Baum said:

Yeah it's pretty obvious to tell now after looking much closer the kits that have been rummaged through previously and the ones that are pristine.  I'd imagine the final price will reflect those. I've categorized everything I want as high and low priority. It's amazing how many really expensive/rare kits are just full of Tamiya spare parts bags. Rather disappointing as at first glance I thought this was an absolute goldmine of NIB kits. You have absolutely no way of knowing if the kit you want is complete, and finding any missing parts/screw bags for some of those will be quite cost prohibitive if you can find it at all.  I feel like this is a good opportunity for some to get their hands on spare parts for their own resto projects and then flip some of the parts they don't need to cover some of the costs. As for rare/vinatage NIB kits, there's actually only a handful available.

Yes, I think someone like Tony or a younger version of me (who had lots of spare time) could do well buying a whole load of kits to try and make complete sets and also sell off parts for spares. But I still have a feeling the prices are going to be high.