Hot Rods eBay is what's wrong

Thanks, I now know what to expect in the not too distant future. Our bridges are removing the toll booths soon and will be camera enforced only. Our red light cameras are already a cluster and they only take pictures when there is an infraction. I can imagine the f-ups when they are taking them every second, 24 hours a day.

 

@wraymen Only one course of action.......get involved. Just singing to the Choir doesn’t cut it.

Ray

 

I have! I've been buying old cars and parts and selling them at a loss for years.

It's not the best approach but I try to make up it with volume.

 

We got new Captains every few years. Some seemed to be pretty good guys while others were enamored with themselves. We had one Captain named DeJarnette. He was referred to as Capt DeGenerate by both management and the union. He decided to give himself a retirement party and shut all work down in the plant for a couple of hours so all the employees could attend and make it a gala event. The front of the administration building had a large circular driveway with a flagpole in the middle. When he got up on the podium, the drone of an airplane flying over the ceremony became apparent. When we all looked up, there was a small airplane towing a banner that said "Good Riddance"............The airplanes numbers were covered and rumor was that some of management had even kicked in some money for the airplane. True Story!
Having served in the Navy I can attest to the fact that there were some good officers in there..........but there is usually at least one prick in every command. Lifes not fair, so ya gotta roll with the punches sometimes. I remember another Captain who was out of uniform and walking his dog across the back of a large parking lot. I didn't know it was the Captain from a distance. I had a "pocket rocket" Kawasaki that was a wheelie machine. Another guy had just bought one and I was trying to show him how to wheelie it. Clutch was apparently slipping and all I succeeded in doing was blasting back and forth at speed in the empty lot. When I stopped, the guy with the dog came walking over. When I saw that it was the Captain, I thought I was in big trouble. He simply walked up to me and said.............."Don't do that any more" and turned and walked away.
Pretty good guy in my opinion.

 

Same here, I had plenty of officers who fit the definition, and a few who fit in the uniform. Academy officers could be either way, Mustangs were almost always decent people. The guys who were always concerned with the welfare of the crew were well respected and loved. Can't say senior enlisted were always on the ball, some had their own personal agenda and made no secret of it.

 

I’m not sure what the problem is. People who want too much for the vehicle or those who don’t want to pay fees and taxes?

I have been happy to buy parts that never were found at swap meets. I was surprised at the fee ebay charged to sell a car, but it sold. No services are free and taxes are the price of infrastructure. There is no free lunch.

 

Fees that are known up front (and not knowing there are fees isn't an excuse) are not a problem for me. Sellers are free to ask whatever they want to. My issue is the misrepresentation of the item for sale, Intentional or otherwise.

 

I have sold a lot of stuff and bought a lot of stuff on Ebay. I still buy a lot of stuff there. I've had no problems but I do my research and buy accordingly.

 

If it was not for Ebay I would never had found alot of parts that I needed,I got parts I never seen at swapmeets and some I have not seen in 40 years.

 

I know you! We must be brothers from another mother. I do the exact same thing. Also, I can’t/won’t buy something unless it’s hopelessly shot. Not just worn out, it has to be hopelessly shot.


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

My two cents on E-PAY. I have mostly
Purchased, got "good deals". As far as
Selling, E-Pay has a listing fee. ALSO,
They have a "final value fee". So, if
You do sell something of value, your
Going to get "get beat up" on the price,
Then, you have to pay the FVF. So do
Your homework....

 

Been buying parts for my model projects lately.

 

That is the seller's fault and not EBAY's fault.

Sent from my SM-G973U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Just me opinion but I believe that peoples interests are simply changing.
Old cars and hot rods are in many ways no different then what is happening to malls around the country that are closing because people now do more of the shopping online.
Years ago on a Saturday night the only entertainment in many towns was the local circle track so many people went to the races but today with all the electronics, computer games and video's people have other interests to choose from.

Now drag strips, circle tracks and many other forms of sports are all in the same boat wondering where all the fans and spectators went. Malls are asking the same questions since many major brand name stores are either closing or just going out of business.
Sure E-Bay, Amazon, Facebook and many other things might also contribute to this problem but all comes back to peoples interests are simply changing
What they like or don't like and are willing to spent their money on is something many people are trying to figure out.

Demographics are interesting to look at because you can see where people are moving to and sometimes get ahead of what's happening in this country.

Just my opinion Jimbo

 

I love ebay,craigslist,fb maketplace,hamb classifieds...
I always seem to be the buyer.
Lately i've been selling some.
Check my classifieds for some rusty shit u might need.

 

The price of admission, a hot dog, a side of nachos and a cup of soda all went up much faster than our take home pay.

 

That's right Trailer Trash, once you add up the added expense of going to an event or swap meet then you need to deal with the weather and quite a few are aware of Jefferson here and you are not guaranteed to find what you are looking for. Now you just wasted a good weekend and spent money for what? nothing.

.Now you times that by half the summer months because I know I didn't do one swap but many all summer long. Now this leaves only half the summer left to do work on your car during good weather because you were gone eating burgers and big bars at a swap that had nothing for you.

so now you can save money, save time and get things done at home during the nice summer days and have the parts magically show up in your shop because you ordered them on a crappy rainy windy day or some night sitting around nice and comfy in your birthday suit having a drink of your favorite beverage and have your horny wife around and she is glad you are spending time at home instead of being gone half the summer with your buddies while you claim you went to swap meets but never brought car parts home, HMMM.

yes sporting events are not cheap either. My brother in law got a free ticket to a Packer game a couple of years ago and it still cost him $50 for parking, 1 hotdog and 1 beer. Now take a family.

 

Don't get it. Wasted half the summer? 7 days in a week. Most swaps are 1 day and not all day at that. Jefferson and Iola are the exceptions. So now it's down to still having 6-1/3 rd of a week to work on stuff. Not aware of too many people working 16 hour days unless your a farmer or self employed so there is time to work on stuff every day...if a person wants to. Depends on ambition or drive. Personally,I spend 9 hours (including drive time)on work 5 days a week. I spend 4 hours weekdays and 6-8 weekends working on ebay. Those hours include hunting/gathering(swap meets...junkyarding...following rumors etc,cleaning,pic taking and of course listing and shipping after a sale. I work that much because I want to and enjoy it. There are 24 hours in a day...168 hours in a week....8,760 hours in a year. How anyone spends those hours is up to them. Ebay is a tool and should not be the only tool in the tool box.

 

Was working in the shop yesterday making some fittings for preoiling an OT engine. I have an old pressure guage I was going to hook up. The little bitty wedge shaped compression fitting that goes around the copper tubing broke off.
So I needed another one. 10 minutes on my computer/access Ebay and I have a package with 100 of the little buggers on the way to my house for $12 and free shipping. Whats not to love about Ebay?
Found an assortment pack of 20 more (3/16-3/8) for about $8 and bought them too. I will most likely never again find myself shorthanded in my lifetime.........all for about $20 and 10 minutes.

 

I agree with the last seven post! They must be brilliant men.....because we agree!







Bones

 

There was a thread on this but I'm not finding it. Looks like as of last week Ebay sellers making over $600 get a 1099.

https://money.com/tax-1099-k-600-ebay-etsy/

 

I don't think "E-Pay" is ruining the hobby, but according to my neighbors I'm damn-sure ruining everyone's property value every time I drag another old car home!

 

I set up to sell but never did so I only buy and now that the sellers have to charge sales tax I try to find it locally first,last night I ordered some replacement Milwaukee M12 batteries for slightly less then 20 dollars a pair compared to OEM at 90 a pair.

 

Thank your senators and congressman. Just a way to keep track of how much money you make so they can collect more taxes.

 

Ebay isn't the issue.

Buyers wanting stuff ready to ship and delivered to my house - will never get a good deal.

Think back before the internet, networking with car guys and watching trader newspapers is how it all worked. Driving to see multiple cars and parts. It involved some work. Guess what - it can still happen that way, most of the parts out there are not being actively marketed. I have a shop full of crap that I'd sell, but haven't taken the time to list it. I have to go in stages cause honestly dealing with buyers has gotten ridiculous in the past few years.

If youre not willing to put in some time to find your parts, or get to know people that have these 80 yr old parts stashed away. You won't find many parts, and you certainly won't get a fair price.

Best of luck with your project and parts search.

 

I've been selling antique toys on Ebay for over 20 years...and the $600/1099 thing is the last straw...I QUIT!!! I closed my "Store". I can no longer make a profit anymore.
Let's say I sell a toy for $100 + $12 shipping. Ebay has a Final Valuation Fee of about 12%
on the WHOLE transaction including the $12 shipping, so I end up with $98.56...BUT I still have to ship it ($12) and I'm left with $86.56.
Now Ebay will send me a 1099 for the full $112.00 sale and at roughly a 15% tax rate, my remaining 86.56 gets knocked down to $69.78...for a toy that I sold for $100. It's become a money-losing proposition

 

And as an aside, I would have to list that $100 toy for nearly $150 (more than it's worth) to pocket a $100 (which it IS worth)...and THAT'S why prices get so high on ebay

 

price fixing in the gold market...

 

I just saw the reply. Older thread brought back to life.
Well Ray, I took your advice.
I can now ditch my security cameras because I have 24 hour surveillance and I think they are building a toll gate at the end of my driveway.

 

Your only protection...