Jump to content
Super ally

Have you ever overpaid for a kit.

Recommended Posts

I have been interested in getting the bigwig re re kit for a while now but it is now discontinued.Then one comes up on ebay for £265 and i buy it as i cant get it anywhere else.I know this is way over the price it was when released,£180 i think but i just went for it as i wanted one.Have you ever overpaid for a kit just to get it.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

yes. an TA-02 with the Loctite Nissan Skyline R33 GT-R back in 2007. wanted that Skyline a lot at that time.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Its a tough call, what might be over priced today may be even more over priced in the future and less obtainable.

If it makes you happy then it doesn't matter so much if you knowingly overpay. I spent >12 months chasing a propeller shaft for a F201. Eventually I found one and sure I over paid, but now I can use my F201.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I haven't, but wouldn't hesitate to do so if there was something I really wanted.  I too would like a BigWig, but not so much that I can't wait until they (hopefully) release it again.  In the end, if that's what you really want and don't want to wait around for a cheaper one or Tamiya to decide on releasing it again go for it.  You only live once, I there are a lot worse things you could spend that kind of money on.  Good luck either way.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
3 hours ago, Super ally said:

I have been interested in getting the bigwig re re kit for a while now but it is now discontinued.Then one comes up on ebay for £265 and i buy it as i cant get it anywhere else.I know this is way over the price it was when released,£180 i think but i just went for it as i wanted one.Have you ever overpaid for a kit just to get it.

I just did for just a body kit that I wanted but what are you going to do. Like they say, “where are you going to find another”. 

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I haven't but would for the right kit. I think it would depend on the price though, when I got my Boomerang they had just been rereleased so I grabbed one. If I had rediscovered Tamiya when the Boomerang was sold out I would have paid 50% more for a kit from ebay as it was the one i had as a kid. I've since ticked off the models I wanted (but didn't get) as a kid so unlikely to do so now.

The closest I got was when I missed the first run of the Top Force and so grabbed the next one as soon as it became available. I would have overpaid sort of, as the retail price increased by $100 between releases but got a RCmart deal including hi caps so that softened the blow.

 

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

To cite specific examples:

I paid $200 for a discontinued NIP 3Racing DF03 carbon chassis (which was priced at around $85 when it was available)

$39 for a Tamiya Aluminum servo stay in my M06 because it was unavailable anywhere else and I just had to have it for my M06 bling project (RRP $10 or so I think)

$165 for an NIB M02 Porsche Boxster (I'm sure it was priced lower when it came out in 1990ish)

$265 for an NIB Super Hotshot re-re a few months ago, right before it was briefly available again in RCMart for $219 (doh!) Not a big loss though, the difference wasn't huge

I actually built/used the above; I wasn't buying them "for investment purposes", so no regrets honestly.

So yes, I have overpaid for stuff, but (mostly) within reason, in my mind at least lol. I doubt I'd ever pay a premium of say, $500 or more over the list price of something.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yes multiple times, particularly in the last nine months. I always find they seem to sell to others for for far less when im at a point in life when im not wanting one.

 

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Most of my purchases last year were on special, but one - the Fighting Buggy / Super Champ was probably overpriced as a pre-order. I was going to buy that kit at any price, to be honest.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hmm, I'm not sure I've been guilty of this one.  If something is available at a price and then suddenly goes up due to discontinuation, I can't bring myself to spend the extra for it.  I've missed out on a few things I was excited about because I took too long to buy - but usually I took too long to buy because I couldn't really justify it as its original price, so I certainly can't justify it when it goes up a big whack.

That said, I have jumped on stuff at regular price because I've heard it's being discontinued.  Generally I wasn't really in the right place to buy at the time, I was holding off for a bit more spare cash, and had my hand forced.  One of these days my mate at the LHS will work this out, and he'll message me every fortnight saying he's just heard something is going to be discontinued just to get me to buy it.

The closest I came to buying overpriced was when I bought my pole trailer.  A friend of mine had caught wind of an elderly collector who was going into a retirement home and needed all of his RC stuff gone.  My mate drove halfway across the country in an estate car and filled it to the brim - several NIB truck kits, several NIB trailers and a few other bits for around £700 (where am I when these bargains turn up..?)  Well anyway, his plan was to sell all but the NIB Grand Hauler with profit enough that it was effectively free, and said he'd sell me whatever I wanted for way below internet price.  I came in with a low-ball on the pole trailer and after a bit of teeth-sucking we agreed to add a few more tenners onto my offer, and I came home with a new trailer.  Then I discovered the same trailer would have cost me about £3 more inc. postage from Fusion Hobbies with the TC subscriber discount.

Now I'm not unhappy or upset with my mate at all, nor do I regret the purchase - I was going to buy a trailer at some point anyway and I did get it for less than online price - I just didn't get quite the bargain I thought I was getting.

Now, on the other hand, I have paid high prices for vintage parts - but that it's not overpriced, it's just the going rate for something rare.  I have also paid a small ransom in shipping fees for stuff that simply isn't available locally - last year I discovered a German company makes extended output shafts for Tamiya big rig gearboxes for all-wheel-drive conversions, they weren't that expensive but postage was astronomical.  I don't know how Tamico can post an entire kit for a few quid when a jiffy bag with a metal rod in it costs five times as much.  I ended up buying two rods just in case I want to build another AWD rig in the future, just to make the flat postage rate seem less salty.

I've been stung with postage on non-RC stuff - a few years ago we reconditioned our bathroom and I accidentally ordered £100 worth of wall panel joining strips that I didn't need.  The company said they would give me a full refund but I would have to pay postage.   As they were 3 metres long, postage was going to be £200 via any regular courier, parcel2go or budget man-with-van site.  I pointed out to the supplier that it didn't cost them £200 to send them to me in the first place, but they insisted all their deliveries were done through a contract and there was no way they could arrange a pickup even if one of their courier's vans was right next door.  In the end they went do the landfill site as nobody wanted them, even for free.  I had similar when I ran out of rubber edging trim while doing my camper conversion - I went back to the company who supplied me the original along with all the specialist plywood panels, it cost £20 for another 20 metres of trim and £60 for postage.  Again, they insisted their postage was a flat contract rate for everything and there was no way they could do it cheaper...

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Nope. I want a FAV but the ones for sale on the internet are way overpriced. Also the FAV is re-released several times so I hope somewhere in the future Tamiya will release a new batch FAV's for a normal price. 

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
27 minutes ago, Tamiyabigstuff said:

No...at least that is what the wife thinks...if only she knew what things really cost... 

Beware she might know more than you  think🤔 

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I bought all the car's I geva 2nd hand, so prices are low. 

The used Chinese HSP 4x4 truck chassis seemed a good deal at 40 something euro's, but when it came in I knew I spend too much on that... That was a bummer at the time. However, with the standard improvements and upgrades, it has become my favourite runner due to its durability so that ended well...

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×
×
  • Create New...