Trying buying to build down under, then you would really feel the pinch of freight,let alone the actual item you need/ want! Buying from some suppliers an item may cost $50 ,and the freight is $75+,then play the exchange rate. Not bitchin ,just telling it like it is! I must be a dickhead,cause I’m still doing it.
Everyone (?) Loves a deal and some Have to haggle. If I think something is a good value and I Need it, Sold. When shopping, do your own research, don't be hasty and buy it when you see it. When selling, remain calm and try to maintain your sense of humor.
Words to live by CatDad... My current consternation has been the result of trying to find a nice driver I can drive to work. I drove 3 hours last week to look at a 6k car. Looked decent online. Well, it had some issues. Needed a new rear end was the biggest I saw. I wouldn't give 3k for that thing. Today I see this fine automobile and its listed for $7000... Of course I just pass, but man, it's crazy.
Right on. For almost all of us, this car experience is a hobby. It costs more to play, but play it is. For a few relying on it for a livelihood, everything is up: wages , overhead shipping. The old days of cheap cars and parts are gone. If you want to play, you have to pay. Fact of life.
I can't tell you how many people have told me they'll take it and I never hear from them again. First one who shows up with cash gets it.
Finding it tougher to start with a big project car. years ago you could start a project, find a parts car and sell some and buy some parts. more of a business now. Looking for some fenders for a 54 Studebaker. Found some at $1200 each and with grill surrounds going fro $2500. I could have over $5000 into a rebuildable front clip. Why not just spend $10,000 and get a whole car. A little crazy what some are asking for parts. i understand supply and demand. Almost cheaper to buy Corvette parts than Studebaker.
I've tried a lot of things to make extra income to help support my car hobby. Bought some Chinchilla's, they died on the airplane. Tried Hippo racing , didn't catch on in Ks. Sold Taco's out of a plumbing van. ( How was I supposed to know the wife was gonna throw that meat out?) Tried selling plywood boxes with a big rock in them. Made people ask a lot of questions, but no sale. I think dealing in parts would be a lot like the Hippo deal. Lots of shit but again....No Sale.
Exactly. I've been in trucking nearly 35 years, the past 24 as an owner operator. Truck load freight rates haven't gone up enough to meet the rise of inflation. They are basically the same as they were 24 years ago, I was actually bringing home more money back then compared to today. Fuel prices are higher, parts and maintenance costs more, insurance is more, equipment costs way more. I doubt I make this year what I did last year. Less than truckload freight, like UPS and FedEx, has went up because they price by the piece, not the load. Everything is cheaper in bulk. That's how store like Walmart and Target do it, they buy in bulk for better prices. We consumers can't do that, who needs a trailer load of spark plugs when you only want 8? Celedon had a bunch of equipment that lost it's value too quickly, namely International trucks with International Maxx Force engines which were junk. Some of the management got in with some dealers and worked out some trade in with them, overvaluing them and the new trucks they bought, and got into trouble when they cooked the books and the Feds found out. The resulting fines helped do them in.
A few of my friends an I get together almost nightly for a cigar and BS session... We try to keep it light hearted... no bitching allowed (we can stay home and hear that...LOL) however, we have dubbed Fridays as "First World Problems Friday" Its the day we allow ourselves to piss and moan and self loath about how bad we all have it while sitting in the warm garages of our houses, looking at our motorcycles and hobby cars while drinking bourbon and smoking cigars... Chappy. P.S. prices on parts are high... eventually if no one buys them the price will come down...
Hey Chappy, you sound like my kind of guys...smokin' good cigars (but I even enjoy crappy cigars too). But I'd probably switch out the bourbon for a bottle of Miller. I learned how the "Deal" works many years ago. BUYERS JOB: To try to screw you out of your stuff. SELLERS JOB; To try not to get screwed out of your stuff. Once you figure out it's not personal...just people doing their job, it becomes a lot more fun
If I got you convinced I'm taking it personal I did my job! There is always another one out there! Another buyer or another 'whatever' I want to buy. I just don't want you to know that I know...
I sometimes feel that I am an alien that has been transported to a different dimension. I posted on one site an add for a Cushman scooter body with several pix. Asking price, FREE!!!! So what do I get? Three or four people want more pix. WTF!!!!!, it's free assholes!!! One want's to know if I can delver it to Dallas. Two days ago I contact some douche nozzle that picks up scrap for free. Perfect, I have an old truck that I'd like to see gone. What's his reply? "Can you send me some pix? My answer, "NO!!!!FUCK YOU, you moron!! Yeah sure, I 'll load it for you and give you head and a cold beer Looks like I have two pieces of yard art
I recently "overpaid" for something that I have not seen come available in a few years. Granted, I hadn't been on a daily search but I looked every so often without finding it. It sat at a price that I was hesitant to pay and after we did the deal, I had a bit of buyer's remorse over what I spent. However, I showed it to a few pals who I thought would find it interesting and got a couple offers for $50 and $75 more than I paid (and I never mentioned my purchase price). My thinking was altered because I based my remorse the ones I missed a chance buying... they went for nearly half of what I spent. Both guys said they would have jumped at the opportunity and they wish they saw it and one of the guys spent twice what I spent to buy his at an auction. Perspective is interesting.
The Jalopy Journal
