tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-160904620216483498.post791812808042650645..comments2024-03-26T02:22:55.681-07:00Comments on Scale Model Soup: It’s not a seller’s marketScale Model Souphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02551604870480525965noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-160904620216483498.post-29123413037352467102019-11-23T09:20:29.786-08:002019-11-23T09:20:29.786-08:00I use eBay as a buyer. I’ve never sold anything th...I use eBay as a buyer. I’ve never sold anything there. I'm in my early 50s and have been building since I was a kid with large gaps as other interests and real life got in the way. One early choice I made is to stick to only 1/48. I still like to think I might finish the 250 or so kits in my stash. I used to buy a lot of stuff off eBay. Things I’d never seen before or just couldn’t find in a LHS in the Midwest. Now it’s mostly for aftermarket items Sprue Brothers doesn’t carry. I was never there to bargain hunt. I always preferred a buy it now option even if it cost a little more than an auction should. While writing this I checked my history and my last auction was in March 2016 for a 1/48 Vautour IIN at 67€ shipped. Even with auctions I’d make a decision on how much a kit was worth to me, put in a bid and walk away. If I lost out, there would be othedr chances.<br /><br />Just to keep the stash somewhat under control I’m only adding to it when it’s something really unique that may not be around on the market for long. I have no need for another F-4,F-14,F,15,F-16,etc. I have stacks of decent kits that are perfectly fine to build. No need to buy someone’s old Airfix or Monogram kits or even most new tooled kits. My last 3 complete kits from e-bay were all recently released resin kits for aircraft that are not likely to ever be tooled by a mainstream manufacturer. But, I'm still frequently ordering aftermarket to help out the older kits in my stash. <br /><br />Most of the old kits in my stash just aren’t the rarities they once were and I know wouldn't command the prices they once did. Many have been surpassed by new tool Chinese kits in the last decade and even the old molds have been put back in service with repops. As a buyer I’ve noticed a steep decline in the true rarities over the last couple of years. I don’t mean not being able to find a specific release of a special edition Hasegawa F-16. For me the rarities are aircraft that were usually limited run kits briefly available from manufacturers that are no long around. Note I refer to aircraft and not kits. I build post-WWII aircraft exclusively. If I wanted a Dassault F1 that used to mean the Esci kit released in the late '70s. I have one I paid over a $100 in the early days of eBay because it was the only game in town and I had been looking for over a decade when I found it. Just a few years later I picked up an Italeri repop at the LHS for around $30.Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03108040323729744348noreply@blogger.com