I like the theory, "the rarer the part the rarer the buyer." and just because it' old and rare does not make it valuable. For every high ticket price part you see, there are several hanging up in some guy's garage just waiting for you to find them. Problem is, the people who usually have the time to look, find, and buy are the ones just motivated to buy and sell, and that is why it cost so much to build these prides of joy. Buy a part you need not to resell. If you don't need it, tell someone who does.
I had a laugh a while ago when a HAMBer said he hope if he passed that his wife does not sell everything as cheap as he told her the parts and cars were. Some of the cost is greed driven and some is lack of knowledge. I had a case of both this week. I saw a rear window frame for a 40's convertible that was mint and the classified for it had timed out with no sale. It was listed at $500 and so I made an offer for what I thought was reasonable. Then the ad is reposted at twice the price. It was an estate sale. I think some people get an "expert valuation" by an expert that gives an idealistic price to inflate the inheritance. The other possibility is that dear old Dad or Grampa left a legacy of parts behind that is old and many translate old to be gold. It gets frustrating especially to those of us that lives in an area that is a empty wasteland as far as old cars and parts go.
Years ago there was a guy I knew that had a huge amount of parts for an obscure make of car, fenders, body parts, engines, tons of stuff convinced he was leaving his family set because this stuff would be worth a fortune some day. After he passed the stuff sold for scrap steel prices. Theres plenty of people that can make money in this hobby, but I'm not one of them.
That's a 50/50 deal. More or less. You got the bullchitters that only want to screw you so the can screw over a second person . There are both sides of the coin . A " hoarder" buys for himself until he has to get rid of some items because of room then as previously mention there are others that think it is an investment wether logical or not. Most flippers are not huge hoarders. That is not their intent anyways .
. You want the parts more than they need the money. I paid too much for this wheel at Hershey, but I really wanted it.
There is no way that a new steel 3w body should cost 25k to buy. Its based on original parts values. You can buy a brand new 67-69 camaro shell that has way more detailed stamping dies to make for 14k. The new '40 Ford bodies were around 15k, and a hell of a lot more metal stamped.
It seems like my parts loose half their value as soon as I own them. I got tired of cheap shits trying to “negotiate” (I got a better word, but it’s not politically correct anymore) me down at swap meets. So fuck em, I just keep my stuff now. I guess I should pay them to take my stuff, haul it to their truck and buy them a sandwich just for stopping and looking at my space. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
we made up a sign when we used to sell bike parts at the swap meets. IF YOU DON'T LIKE OUR PRICES, BRING YOUR OLD LADY BACK AND WE'LL DICKER
I'm wondering if the parts price balloon is at a tipping (popping) point. This year at the Fitchburg swap meet, I noticed that the guys who were asking reasonable or even bargain prices were doing quite well and the guys asking high retail to eBay money ended up packing most of what they brought back up.
Laws of economics, i.e. “supply vs demand” drive up prices of original parts. Once the market reaches “high” (whatever that is), it makes it feasible for someone to tool up and reproduce that part. Tooling, production and marketing is a costly business. Theoretically, the higher prices of OE parts should encourage more..... uhhh......’parts collectors’ to bring them to market. If not, it further supports the cost risk of reproduction. There will always be some exceptions to this, but generally it should work that way.
Ive been trying to sell a butt load of 37 ford coupe parts and have it all priced fair but itsa been sitting for a year. seems like people aint buying high or low priced stuff in my area
Two things come to mind here, consumers are smart shoppers, at least the intelligent ones. If parts prices are in the stratosphere at one booth and another has things more reasonable it stands to reason who will go home happy. A heavy wallet and lighter load is always better. The second thing has been my philosophy for years- Are we starting a museum or do we want to move some merchandise?
Seems like everything goes in cycles and due to the average age of the majority of traditional guys and gals, in 10-20 years, there will be some bargain basement prices on parts and cars. No slight on the younger guys, but for every young one to take up the hobby, three old farts pass.
Then that follows in line with used parts prices. If they are selling $25,000 bodies then it's common ground that parts are going to be up in price. Sort of like a recycle yard.
I have a philosophy that has served me well for many years regarding parts pricing. A fast nickel is better than a slow dime.
Back in the late seventies, early eighties, I was checking out prices for flat head parts at Pomona and was appalled. Had lunch with Fred Offenhauser the following week and it turns out that he had all of the original tooling for flat head parts. To make long story short, he went through all of the old tooling and started remaking parts. He claimed that the alloys were better the second time around. Victor still had the original gasket dies. Word was that Edlebrock trashed their flat head tooling when they moved and had to remake everything.
The past couple years I've seen guys trying to get $2k +/- for an OK/nice Model A Pickup bed while another complete pickup sells for about $3k with a bed on it just as nice, SMH/LOL
This could very well be. My take was attendance was off a bit on both sides of the tables due to the iffy weather forecast and a couple of other swaps scheduled for the same date. Did hear of some hitting both Fitchburg and Epping though. More buyers seemed to be carrying/dragging around more "necessary classical objects" than in years past. Ed
I don't think that the old "supply and demand" theory really applies to old car parts. The supply end is not in production, we are not making any more NOS or original parts. A original part is only new once, any remanufacturing after that is consider a reproduction part. A reproduction part should not be worth as much as an original part. Reason being in most reproduction parts the engineering effort of the original part did not go into the manufacturing effort of that part. Did Brookfield think of a auto designed like the 1932 Ford, no, Henry Ford's engineers did, not Brookfield. Most suppliers of reproduction parts are going on the theory, "hey if it work before it should work now". So why is reproduction parts costs and values the same or more than the original parts, because of buyers that are scared the artificial supply of reproduction parts is going to dry out. Another reason is because they can (someone already said that references something about a dogs balls. We also have a neutral party who is creating a false demand, they are the flippers. They don't really care if they buy a part of not (false demand) as long as they can obtain it at a price that will be lower than their re-sale price. These are the people who are driving up the price of parts, original or reproduction. What is the solution: STOP PAYING STUPID PRICES FOR CAR PARTS, these are hot rods and customs, build your own parts if you cannot find what you need or looking for at a reasonable price.
I heard a guy that pulled into Fitchburg when I was packing up a little before noon (as a shower was rolling in) who was saying he had come from Lake Compounce and that it was pretty dead there. The weather was pretty good all morning up until just before noon, so I think the weather mostly scared away the Looky-Loos; most of the folks there were there to buy old car parts and brought their wallets and their trucks. The parking lot was about full at one point so it did not suffer from a lack of shoppers. Some vendors looked to be no-shows but I did not see much in the way of toys or household junk "antiques" either. Yeah, out here, CL was a great resource for finding and selling old car stuff. It was a haven from the ever inflating eBay bubble pricing. The past few years, however, that's started to change and I'm seeing fewer and fewer listings. It's a drag really because I don't really like Facebook and Instagram for doing my parts shopping that much (which is where the reasonably priced good stuff seems to be going now).
When I did all the Big Swarp meet's I would buy NOS Parts! for my 50 Merc. And over the Years I have sold off a Lot of them, I had told a friend off mine about the Parts that I had left and he told me I am Rich if I ever sell them! Since they Don't sell Repro. Parts for a 49-to 51 Merc.! its a Crap shoot out There. Just my 3.5 cents Live Learn & Die a Fool
The two things that turn me off pretty darn quick on parts or projects is when you get the "what's it worth to you" or a high asking price on a project. It gets my gut instinct acting up and first thoughts are that they may want too much to make a sale and that do I really want to bother. I am fortunate that I do not ever seem to be in a "need to buy something" and it's more of an curious interest or a want to.
I see many of the same flippers selling things but they don't seem to be moving as quick these days. In my opinion EBAY and Instagram are places to buy if you are unable to locate the items you need by traditional methods. The prices on Instagram are comical and the prices on EBAY are high because of the excessive fee structure. Hopefully the Tulipmania will subside. 4,000 for a twisted,rusted,junk '34 frame, 3,500 for a '34 roadster dashboard, 6,000 for a set of 3-W garnishes, 1500.00 for part of a '34 door, etc. if wishful thinking.
The Jalopy Journal
