been looking on ebay here in the uk and can't understand the prices some of the kit's go for seen a lrdg chevy going for £36 last time I seen it have seen sas jeep go for same money
but these were only re-issued a few years back and the jeep is on re-issue now have also seen the sdfz 7 1/2 track go for £50-ish, even better at the moment a churchill croc is going for £22 alreay the auction still has 9 days left will people never learn that kits always get re-issued in 1 form or another it's not like most people need that kit to finish a project anyway asI'll bet they have loads sitting around the house they can finish before the next reissue
and unless you collected old scale sizes or obsolete kit manufacturers
just take a look P.s remember the £ is round about $1.50!
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3134918246&category=1191

It's the "Modeler's Lament." I had the kit, traded it away, (or didn't buy it 'cause it was EVERYWHERE) and now I've found the picture of the model I wanted to do when I had the kit. So, now, I'll pay whatever I have to, 'cause I don't think it'll EVER be reissued, or I simply don't want to wait that long. Witness the Monogram A-6 thread in the "Aircraft Forum". Low Supply+High Demand =High Prices. Rob

I see what you mean about the prices. I have three theories as to the overpricing.

1. Auction excitement- People get into bidding wars and "have" to have something. This is usually followed by buyers remorse.

2. Some of the more unscrupulous sellers use other accounts to jack the price up. If someone posts a maximum proxy bid, they can go in and max it out by bidding high with their own money. This is a serious infraction on Ebay, but I've seen it happen.

3. Tamiya has some serious collectors. Might be that there is actual demand. Prices for R/C Sand Scorcher parts alone can get in the hundreds. However, for these more pedestrian models, I have no idea what collectible value there is.

It is definitely an interesting topic. But as David Hannum once said, "There's a sucker born every minute." (Turns out it wasn't PT Barnum...)

Cheers,
Ghengis

Yeah, I’ve been following eBay prices as well. A lot of the kits go for more on eBay than they retail for. Must be bidding frenzy.

Another thing many people forget about with ebay is that they still have to pay for shipping, which is usually high as well. I buy some car parts once in a while and see items from Brazil priced dirt cheap but by the time you add shipping to the US the price ends up higher than I could order it from California.

I agree about some ridiculous prices being paid. I have a golden rule when bidding. I look to see how much the item I'm interested would cost if I bought it new from a mail order retailer including p&p, knock off a small amount to account for the fact that the item is second hand and then subtract the postage the seller is charging. The result is my maximum bid. I have seen some kits readily available at reputable online retailers sold on eBay for £3 or £4 pounds more than the buer would pay by simply shopping around. I know that guys use their friends to put in bids on their items for sale to jack up the prices as someone at work was caught doing it. He received a reprimand and final warning from eBay,and it served him right.

I keep a pretty good eye on e-bay, because I keep looking for good buys..

I have a simple rule to keep me from getting into what is called bidding frenzy........

I take what I am bidding.. add the shipping and if it is more than half of what I can buy the kit for in the store I usely stop bidding...... unless it is something I really want, then I will go up to around 3/4 the retail price...

useing the above method you lose a lot of bids.... but every now and then you get a really good price for something....

while browsing on ebay uk i came across a tamiya kit of the german puma armoured car .the seller was impliying that this was a new release by tamiya , is this true because i have not seen anything about it
on a general theme though e bay prices seem to be dearer than buying a kit in the local shops

Sarge,there are some shall we say "colorful" descriptions on e-bay. Like anything else it pays to be careful. Re. the prices on e-bay, they are by and large pretty silly,however its like everything else if there's a market out there,someone will pay..... US e-bay, seems to be more reasonable,UK e-bay a bit more expensive and you can't even begin to imagine the garbage that's offered at ludicrous prices on e-bay (spain)......jim

sarge, That kit is not exactly "new". Tamiya have re-boxed the Italeri kit (plus some others) for the Japanese home market. As far as I can tell, the only deference is the inclusion of the Tamiya oil drum/jerry-can set with each one (although, looking at the pics on the hobbylink Japan site some could include new figures also).

HI all
You can also pick up some real bargains on ebay if you look in the right place.I picked up the Revell 1:32 AH 64A Apache for £9 (approx $14) simply because the seller had listed it under general models rather than Aircraft,so it's always worth a look there.
Overall though i agree with what has been said about prices,I'm looking for an SDKFZ 7 but i'm not prepared to pay up to £58 ($100) for it.
All the best
Peter

My e-bay rules:
1. Know what your bidding on and its value.
2. Never bid on a currently available item whose opening bid is the retail price. #:-)
3. Never bid on an item that doesn't clearly list shipping cost.
4. Always check feedback before bidding.
5. Never get emotionally involved with the item.

Hi guys.

There are some funny differnces betwen eBay UK and eBay NA. The LRDG chevy, Churchill and similar kits are cheap over here. You practically can't give them away!

The big money appears to be in those old DML kits on the shelves for eBay NA.

Interesting.
As always it's caveat emptor.

Cheers
Andy

I think it is an ego/pride thing. "I'm not going to lose" or "I'm going to win this thing" attitude drives prices up. Just about anything that goes for a high price will bring out duplications in the following days. Folks will say, "if that seller got $XXX dollars for his, I can get that much for mine." Of course, several potential sellers will think the same thing and now there are 3 or more like items for sale, each going for a more reasonable amount.

All it takes are two bidders who really want it. I set a max and stick to it. I have also found superb deals on Ebay, but I recall selling my MP Models Super Sherman for $40+ and it only cost me $10.

PhantomMajor,

I agree with what you say about KingKit, in the UK, and especially at our club, this is one of the first places we look at or call when the guys are after a hard to get kit. They get my vote.

With respect to ebay I have been stung a couple of times with dealers in the US. I usually only use ebay to get a hold of oop armour books and on two seperate auctions in which I won stuff at good prices I was stiffed on postal charges by dealers 'making up the money'. I am not saying this happens all the time but I dont use ebay anymore for hunting down those rare books I am after.

Lee

hi all
I'll second what has been said re: Kingkit.For those on the south coast of the ok you also have a shop called Plastic Pastimes in Poole (dorset) all they do is second hand/ deleted kits of all types .They have no website that i'm aware of and their number is available from Directory enquiries.
For rare books i would suggest "abebooks.com" very useful site that covers book dealers worldwide.
Happy modelling
Peter