Used part rant!: Grassroots Motorsports forum: Grassroots Motorsports Magazine

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March 17, 2011 10:03 p.m. benzbaron HalfDork

Well after it happened again I have to speak out to the only people who understand me.

What is with people who are seemingly enthusiasts and rational but end up pricing their parts based on "if I put it on Ebay."

I have seriously twice driven over each way 40 miles to see either a radio or parts car with someone who sounds like they want to sell some parts. The first time I went to look at a Becker Mexico radio as I bought the incorrect one for my car. The guy on the phone asks me all sorts of questions if my radio is tested and tells me the whole story of old radios and their repair. Well he says he has a bitchin radio to trade me for mine. I drive 45 miles to oakland and we test and make sure my radio works as it does. His radio wouldn't get any AM so it needs some repair. Then he mentions that he wants my radio and 350$ for his. He couldn't have mentioned that at any time before having me drive 45 miles! He said, "well I could get 500$ for it on Ebay." You know if you want to sell something on Ebay do it, but don't jack me off.

Second time I drive down to San Jose to look at a parts slc. I am looking for some small parts and a drivers side window. The guy has a window but "I want 140$ for it, that what I could get on ebay!" Not again, jesus christ if you want to sell your parts at a ridiculous price go to ebay but warn me before hand. Something like, "the auction ends in two days so put your bid in" would work.

If someone says they've had a part for 10 years which they cannot use it means they aren't going to sell it to you. It isn't about putting something into use it is about maximizing their profit. I like the GRM way of passing something on cheap and hoping a deal will come back to you. I've been able to sell 3 parts in the last few days by pricing them appropriately and being honest. I might not have made much money but I don't have to trip over the stuff any more either!

Thanks folks, rant off!
March 17, 2011 10:41 p.m. friedgreencorrado SuperDork

benzbaron wrote:

Well after it happened again I have to speak out to the only people who understand me.

What is with people who are seemingly enthusiasts and rational but end up pricing their parts based on "if I put it on Ebay."

I have seriously twice driven over each way 40 miles to see either a radio or parts car with someone who sounds like they want to sell some parts. The first time I went to look at a Becker Mexico radio as I bought the incorrect one for my car. The guy on the phone asks me all sorts of questions if my radio is tested and tells me the whole story of old radios and their repair. Well he says he has a bitchin radio to trade me for mine. I drive 45 miles to oakland and we test and make sure my radio works as it does. His radio wouldn't get any AM so it needs some repair. Then he mentions that he wants my radio and 350$ for his. He couldn't have mentioned that at any time before having me drive 45 miles! He said, "well I could get 500$ for it on Ebay." You know if you want to sell something on Ebay do it, but don't jack me off.

Second time I drive down to San Jose to look at a parts slc. I am looking for some small parts and a drivers side window. The guy has a window but "I want 140$ for it, that what I could get on ebay!" Not again, jesus christ if you want to sell your parts at a ridiculous price go to ebay but warn me before hand. Something like, "the auction ends in two days so put your bid in" would work.

If someone says they've had a part for 10 years which they cannot use it means they aren't going to sell it to you. It isn't about putting something into use it is about maximizing their profit. I like the GRM way of passing something on cheap and hoping a deal will come back to you. I've been able to sell 3 parts in the last few days by pricing them appropriately and being honest. I might not have made much money but I don't have to trip over the stuff any more either!

Thanks folks, rant off!

If there ever was a rant that needed to be ranted, that's one of them. Repeat after me:

"If you could really get that much for it on eBay, why did you advertise it elsewhere?"

Try to tempt the dishonest shiny happy person to make his eBay comment during the phone conversation ("..look, I've only got $xxx to spend right now, will you actually sell it to me for that?"). Saves a lot of fuel.
March 17, 2011 10:59 p.m. Matt B HalfDork

Yeah, it sounds like a common sales tactic (although perhaps misguided and ineffective). Get the buyer/seller to invest enough time and/or gas money and hopefully they'll cave. Sucks to experience it. Like FGC said, negotiating on the front end can save you a lot of grief.
March 17, 2011 11:22 p.m. ShadowSix Reader

I usually use the eBay going rate as a starting point for negotiations with strangers. Some people will pay it, and I'm not here to provide charity to people I've never met before. The more expensive a part is, the more I discount off the eBay price, but I don't see what's wrong with using eBay as a guide for what a part is worth. I don't scrupulously track the '94 Honda Accord power door lock control module market, so when you come looking for one, I'm going to see what they run on eBay, sorry

Of course, I make great deals for friends, friends of friends, and guys from the local AutoX clubs.

If you're concerned about wasting time/gas money you're going to have to bite the bullet and talk price before you make the drive. It's a little distasteful, but 95% of the people I deal with do this and it works fine.

Now, a couple times I've made a long-ish drive and the guy has jacked up the price from what was previously agreed (usually claiming that someone else offered more already.) That pisses me off.

Caveat: I deal in the old Honda/Toyota field where good motors and transmissions change hands for $150 so the stakes are a little lower I guess. Anyone want a good complete F22A1 out of a '91 Accord?
March 17, 2011 11:43 p.m. benzbaron HalfDork

From now on having a price ironed out is a must before investigating further. I always like seeing a parts slc though so some trips warrant the expense.

My issue with ebay is I've seen prices vary so widely which are you basing you price on. You see stuff sitting on ebay for months, I don't need to deal with fools or clowns. I'm not afraid of paying money for used parts but I'll be damned if I spend over 50% on top of what it costs at a junkyard. Many people have their head in the clouds and basically the parts I'm looking for are of interest to very very few people. I doubt there are more than 100 people in the US looking for mercedes slc specific parts.

Another issue is I can buy a parts car for 500$ so why would I want to give you 500$ for just a couple of used parts.
March 18, 2011 12:28 a.m. Travis_K Dork

IMO, unless its something rare and unusual, pick and pull prices should be the guide. Depending on what it is, I usually use that as a guide if its something that anyone could easily find, or double the price they charge (which still isnt that out of line) if its something that finding it couldnt easily be repeated.
March 18, 2011 7:08 a.m. novaderrik HalfDork

i've sold a few things on Craigslist, and i always seem to get emails that say "blah blah blah... i can get it on ebay for half as much.. blah blah blah".. my stock response is to tell them to get it from ebay then and not waste his or my time.
March 18, 2011 9:25 a.m. dculberson Reader

benzbaron wrote:

Another issue is I can buy a parts car for 500$ so why would I want to give you 500$ for just a couple of used parts.

Exactly. Some jackass tried to charge me $150 for a rusty fender, so instead I went out and bought a complete car for $100.

I figure, if someone's going to go through the trouble of coming to my place and picking up the part, along with paying me cash on the barrel and not hassling me about condition afterward or running the risk of a paypal chargeback, it's worth a serious discount to me. After all, NOT making the sale has taken as much of my time as making the sale at that point, so I'll just off the bat offer some major discounts. If they're only buying one thing, I won't halve my price or anything, but if they start really helping me out by buying a ton of things, I will totally drop that price right down. I even had some kid want to clean all the fuses out of the fuse panel on a parts car (so he had spares) and I said, you know what, you've bought $150 in little parts off of a car I paid $250 for, so go right ahead. They're yours.

People get too hung up on extracting every last cent from a part. I just want to keep it moving and keep having fun with my hobby. If I wanted to maximize my return I would open a shop, that's too much like real work.
March 18, 2011 12:06 p.m. benzbaron HalfDork

My faith in humanity is restored.

I would never give someone the line "I can buy it on Ebay for X" ebay seems to want an arm and leg for parts. Just because a switch is listed at 100$ doesn't make your used part worth 75$ when we both know they cost 5$ at the junkyard.
March 18, 2011 3:51 p.m. BigD New Reader

I don't think it's just ebay references, people generally seem to have a disconnect between asking prices and "going rates". If I put my turd up for sale for a million dollars, the going rate of my poo isn't a million dollars - unless someone pays me that. Whenever someone tries to justify their price to me by referring to For Sale ads, I automatically reply: why do you think it's still for sale and not sold?
March 18, 2011 4:15 p.m. fasted58 New Reader

I wouldn't leave my driveway chasin' parts w/o a set price or negotiable ballpark figure for trades etc. Add to your rant the 'condition' of the part. Their definition of 'in good condition' has been sometimes to me 'beat you over your head w/ said part for me drivin' XX miles to see this POS'.

CL ppl are the worst anymore.
March 18, 2011 9:32 p.m. dimeadozen Reader

I'd like to thank the random jerk on CL who got me a great deal by trying to convince the seller of a third hand part that he (the seller) had gotten ripped off when he purchased the parts on eBay and been sold the wrong part, and making him an offensively low offer.

Although I was willing to pay the full asking price, the seller thought I seemed like a nice young man, and was still fuming about the other jerk, so he lowered his asking price and I got a set of Wiseco L20B pistons with balanced and shot peened rods and ARP hardware for $30.

Like many of you, his formerly valuable part was now worthless clutter, and he was happy to turn them into a little money for the hobby fund
March 18, 2011 11:44 p.m. Opus Dork

I am currently selling parts on the list and try to be reasonable on my pricing. I may aim high, but purposely since I know that I will be low balled by some jerk trying to get something for nothing. I typically will let items go for a fair price that will make me happy for having it gone and the buyer happy because they got a good deal.

that is all.
March 19, 2011 7:02 a.m. huge-O-chavez SuperDork

I had a seller pull the...

"Some guy from another state just called about this car, and he's said he's going to offer me $xxx more than you."

I had the money in my pocket, to the agreed price. I pulled it out and waved it in front of his nose and said. "Money now from a responsible adult buyer, or no money later from some flake honda fan boi." He took the money.
March 19, 2011 4:03 p.m. digdug18 Dork

Opus wrote:

I am currently selling parts on the list and try to be reasonable on my pricing. I may aim high, but purposely since I know that I will be low balled by some jerk trying to get something for nothing. I typically will let items go for a fair price that will make me happy for having it gone and the buyer happy because they got a good deal.

that is all.

parts that are high, I don't even bother with. I'll drive further if I think I'm getting a fair deal.
March 19, 2011 4:06 p.m. digdug18 Dork

BigD wrote:

I don't think it's just ebay references, people generally seem to have a disconnect between asking prices and "going rates". If I put my turd up for sale for a million dollars, the going rate of my poo isn't a million dollars - unless someone pays me that. Whenever someone tries to justify their price to me by referring to For Sale ads, I automatically reply: why do you think it's still for sale and not sold?

Funny, I just sold my old game boy with games that I was going to throw out for $62 on ebay. I thought "who would want this POS". Multiple bidders, I have no idea what he's doing with it, but whatever, his money is good. Though if he tries to screw me, I'm flying to washington state to beat his @ss.
March 19, 2011 11:30 p.m. friedgreencorrado SuperDork

huge-O-chavez wrote:

I had a seller pull the...

"Some guy from another state just called about this car, and he's said he's going to offer me $xxx more than you."

I had the money in my pocket, to the agreed price. I pulled it out and waved it in front of his nose and said. "Money now from a responsible adult buyer, or no money later from some flake honda fan boi." He took the money.

WIn. Sometimes, the seller can be brought back to reality by seeing that at least you are serious.