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I have kept silent about the rise in pricing on eBay that sellers are asking for vintage RC wether it’s a NIB, NOS or even used.  I have been and still am for making a profit on vintage items however that being said I think it’s outrageous and frankly laughable the prices that are tagged on these items.  Unless you are well off to the point money is no object to you I do not see how that doesn’t bother anyone with an appreciation for this great hobby.  6 months ago I purchased a NIB Thundershot for 400 and I felt that was a reasonable asking price for it was like 130 in 1987.  The blister packs were unscathed and box was in really mint shape,  no doubt I got a good deal.  Now the asking price is over 1000 and blister packs are damaged and box in poor shape.   When I peruse through eBay now I see that just the most common of common kits go for anywhere from 800-1200. Parts that were 15.00 now go for anywhere from 50.00 to 100.00 depending on how rare or  scarce the part you are needing.   Now I don’t collect for a profession but I’ve been in RC since 1983 so I pretty much know what we’re the hot sellers and the not so hot sellers were of the 80’s and 90’s were and to me as a consumer or collector.  I find it funny to see some of these kits for sale over a year now,  no one is biting at these crazy inflated asking prices.  It use to be on eBay you could always find a good deal but know it seems it’s the opposite. I’m not writing this to vent or whine because ultimately I don’t have to subject myself to level of gouging but the love of this hobby keeps me in it.   My point is you will notice the same things still for sale a year from now and that’s fine,  they are not selling,  no one is buying,  it’s up to us not to give in and entertain the sellers and pay these outlandish prices they are selling for.  At some point when they really need to move that product they will come off that cloud and notion they are sitting on a goldmine when in reality they aren’t.  There’s only a few kits I would pay close to that and that’s the 959 and Celica which both are Extremely rare and were the golden standard of that generation in my opinion.  If I’m correct there’s a few for sale and are above 2,200 which again is way too high.  I am fully confident we can get these prices back down to earth if we don’t at least haggle with them to get the best deal possible.  Anyway that’s something I’ve noticed and was wondering what other opinions are.  Happy driving!

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Just wanting to add... If you're not familiar to the backend of fleaBay from the sellers side... think they've been doing a lot of freebie promos lately.

During normal times it costs sellers some $$ to post a listing; but when fleaBay offers to list it for free then all the wishful thinkers just hung out their laundry lists at ludicrous prices. 

No one says you're forced to buy it :) 

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I have been noticing that trend.  

$40 static kit could be marked up as $400. 

Nope, I stand corrected. 

$10 static kit marked up $1,500.  These are from ebay right now.  

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As Willy said, maybe they think some rich person would not know the actual price?  Other sellers start to do the same, and sooner or later everybody is doing it.  It's the weird economy.  Homeless are increasing, and yet, I suppose there are folks who could afford ridiculous prices. 

Tamiya's Minimum Advertising Price (MAP) policy last year didn't help.  

On the other hand, I've seen one recent chassis on ebay for almost a year.  (Maybe a DT03?)  The price wasn't ridiculous.  About $20 higher than I was willing to pay.  If that doesn't sell for a year, I don't think buyers are paying high amount.  I'm hoping that things would be more realistic soon.  

 

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I agree totally and eventually prices will drop if they want to move the item as long as we don’t  buy at those prices.  The Tamiya club is a breath of fresh air,, since I’ve been on I’ve been able to buy, sell and trade with active members at realistic expectations on both sides and what is getting me through this time of unrealistic inflation.  Just two years ago II was able to purchase my Novak Cyclone for 20.00 and it was in new like condition now they are selling anywhere from 50-100.. thanks for your thoughts. I’m glad I’m not the only one seeing this

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Most of us must be silent millionaires then , sitting on those stocks of parts and kits :)

 

Were the 1%,  the wealthy few !

I prefer it more "the one's who refuse to grow up " ... but.. well..  yeah... thats me :) :)

 

 

We had some bubble's before , and some drops also ( when the re-releases started )

Pushing out some -investors- out of the buying circus . 

 

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Speculators are nothing new. They were around in 1999 with high starting prices (eBay didn’t even have “buy it now” back in those days), and they are around in 2019.

This subject was recently discussed quite a bit also in the other thread in the Vintage forum ... (which I guess is where this thread could belong also to get all the right viewers)...

That said, yes - when something you are looking for and really want badly, appears to be inflated on eBay, it can be disheartening. So I totally get the sentiment Maverick. I have felt the pain many times. ☺️ Remember also that auction ending prices and buy-it-now prices are two different things. The latter always adds a premium. And sellers on TC have a much smaller audience, so have to be less optimistic with prices. Whereas eBay sells to mainstream buyers, not just niche toy club members.

Checking eBay right now...

So I just searched worldwide for “tamiya vintage”. Sort price high to low. And the NIB vintage R/C kits I can see that I would describe as overpriced outliers with no past precedent (historically - in 20 years of my memory) at the price  range being asked, are:

- Hilux Monster Racer AU$2856

- Fast Attack Vehicle AU$1629

- There are two Sand Rovers on the cusp of alleged reality at around AU$1800. Last one I bought cost me AU$1200. But that was some years ago and before the Aus dollar weakened further. 🤔 Of course, fifteen years ago the Rover would sell for AU$500. But times change.

The rest though, isn’t a shock to me at this point in time. A few hundred above, may bite the wallet... but kits do fluctuate a lot and sometimes they do sell above expectation. Many of the results are bang on what I would expect, for vintage. 

To me, while a dip in price is an acknowledged consequence of what happens when a remake kit gets released, at the same time... the existence of a remake doesn’t make me personally think anything should be that much cheaper. If it is cheaper, great! But what I am saying is... since I have no interest in collecting the remakes themselves, if I really want to buy some vintage kit then... the remake wouldn’t really cloud my thinking (or spending 😕) as they are two completely separate models to me. And vintage scarcity is not affected at all to me, no matter how many thousand remake examples are listed.

At the other end of the scale, there are some vintage kits currently listed that are, frankly, bargains too. Given their age, scarcity and significance. 🤔..... 

Cheers,

H.

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Sorry, the above post submitted before I was finished editing it. Below is an even longer version!.... *ducks while fruit is hurled at him*

Speaking purely in relation to the vintage R/C kits (not plastic kits and not modern kits)... Well, speculators are nothing new. They were around in 1999 with high starting prices (eBay didn’t even have a “buy it now” function back in those days). And they are still around in 2019. This subject was recently discussed quite a bit also in the other thread in the Vintage forum.

That said, yes - when something you are looking for and really want badly, appears to be inflated on eBay, it can be disheartening. So I totally get the sentiment Maverick. It's a hard slog, collecting. I have felt the pain many times. And scrimped and saved and paid things off slowly...on many occasions :mellow: Remember also that auction ending prices and buy-it-now prices are two different things. The latter always adds a premium for the convenience of buying immediately. Also, on TC, sellers here have a much smaller audience, so they have to be less optimistic with prices. Whereas eBay sells to mainstream buyers, not just niche toy club members. And mainstream buyers may include one-off buyers, to whom price is no obstacle. I have seen it before, and I have sold to them before.

Checking eBay right now...

So I just searched worldwide for “tamiya vintage”. Sort price high to low. And the NIB vintage R/C kits I can see that I would describe as highpriced outliers with no past precedent (historically, in 20 years of my memory) at the price being asked, include these:

  • Hilux Monster Racer AU$2856
  • Fast Attack Vehicle AU$1629
  • There are two Sand Rovers on the cusp of alleged reality at around AU$1800. Last one I bought cost me AU$1200. But that was some years ago and before the Aus dollar weakened further. 🤔 Of course, fifteen years ago the Rover would sell for AU$500. But times change.
  • Cheetah for AU$4000... this is optimistic also. A very early, significant and detailed kit though. But I think that price is too far outside the maximums I have ever seen in the past.

The rest though... most aren't a shock to me at this point in time.

A few hundred dollars above, may bite the wallet... but kits do fluctuate a lot, there is no "expected price". There is only past precedent. And sometimes kits do sell above expectation. Many of the results I'm seeing right now, are what I would expect for these kits.

And while a dip in price is an acknowledged consequence of what happens when a remake kit gets released, to me (as merely one collector) the existence of a remake doesn’t make me expect vintage kits to become cheaper. If they are cheaper, then great! But what I am saying is... since I have literally no interest in buying remakes, they don't cloud my thinking (or spending 😕) on vintage kits. Because they are two completely separate models to me. To put it another way: the scarcity and value of a particular vintage kit - to me as a collector - does not change whether a remake exists or not.

At the other end of the scale, there are also some vintage kits currently listed that are, frankly, bargains too. Given their age, scarcity and significance. Taking inflation into account, some kits are routinely offered for sale at the same price or lower than their value was in 1984 (relative to consumer buying power). Anyone new to collecting vintage R/C kits, should quickly cotton onto that, and start by buying those :P 

 

11 hours ago, Maverick74 said:

to me as a consumer or collector

It's nice to hear someone say they're a collector too. ^_^

One thing I really don't like is when people dance around the word "collector" as if it's a dirty word. Nearly everybody on Tamiyaclub is a collector. There is no shame in it. Most people just collect and accumulate an array of runners. Some collect new releases. Some collect monster trucks. Some collect vintage - including kits. And vintage kits are at the top of the collecting pile, simply because they are both the rarest and most sought after type of object in this category.

If you've got say, more than 5 R/C cars, and you're looking to buy more.... you're already a collector to some degree. If you've got more than that already, you're definitely a collector. Nobody in this world "needs" numerous R/C cars :D   Having that many, makes it a collection, and makes you by definition a collector of that small collection.

Collector (noun): "a person who collects things of a specified type, professionally or as a hobby."

Cheers,

H.

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I must admit, I am frustrated with the prices at the moment.  I am a hobbyist collector, and like to think I am doing my bit also for keeping the 70s and 80s stuff alive.  I am not buying cars for profit and do have a good home for them.  However, with prices of old stuff also rocketing at moment it is proving impossible for me to buy the old stuff I want / need. My particular interests are SRBs,formula 1 / race cars, minis and Schu CATs.   Not long ago an old SRB would have been around £100 for a  good example.  Now people are asking £250 plus for reasonable ones and still £180 plus for rubbish. 

Like the next man I also like a bargain.  But recently I missed out due to hesitation (my fault I know) on a car for a good price.  What annoyed me though was not that as I dont mind loosing to another collector, but that  it reappeared on EBAY again only a week later with a new price 2.5 times what it was bought for.

On the plus side though, not buying any more chassis will give me a chance to focus on the projects i have.  :)

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It is definitely a waiting game which is part of the fun,  for me collecting just snuck up and bit me like a Alabama flea.  I was quite myopic at 9 and kept everything hoping someday they would have some value so purchased almost two of everything,  one to build and bash and one to keep in box. My goal and mission always was to restore all my childhood cars to their former glory and have had a blast doing so. I been working on my last one “Hotshot II” for about 2 years now and down to just a few parts off a couple of trees and either I can’t find them at the moment and when they had surfaced the asking price was that of a used car lol.  I’m in business management so I know prices rise and drop due to market activity so no doubt in my mind they will drop eventually.  

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Apologies again for the length of my previous double-posting. I’ll also just add - it’s really great to hear from others who are patiently seeking out the right vintage parts, to restore. Or patiently waiting for the right vintage kit. As that’s what I have been doing for a long time. Like you Maverick, I kept a lot that I had in childhood. Like you Andy, I have a lot of projects on the go, yet still think about starting more :D And when I miss out on something, it’s crazy to be upset... I am deeply fortunate to have what I already have. 

Collecting or restoring always has ups and downs too. If in one year you pay over the odds for something on eBay because you have no choice, remember that when you’re in the game all the time for years and years... the bargains do come along also. 

I’m guessing you guys have (in the past) had the odd glorious bargain come your way? I think it’s fairly rare for longtime collectors not to experience that to some degree. Whether its a good auction price, a random find, or something given to us by an acquaintance... sometimes we add things to our collection in a highly economical manner. Which may offset some of the harder expenses found via eBay. 

Late last year I paid a high price for an Audi Quattro. Last week I found two other cars for an incredible bargain, about half the eBay value.

It’s a journey full of storms and plain sailing. ☺️ I totally get the eBay frustration - totally. And have ranted about it myself. But I remind myself of the bargains I’ve had too. 

And as mentioned - the harder something is to get, the more satisfying it is to eventually get it. 

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