[DADoser]

I've been watching ebay a little lately. A couple observations:

3 plane set - Boyington Corsair; Malan Spit; Pearl Harbor Zero - NIB $22.50 for the set.

a couple of Fw 190s - first white Nowotny (2003) going for the mid $20's.

Eastern Front Stuka AA32503 winning bid - $16.50

Last night I won a Kepford Corsair for $26.01 (and shipping)

MH Exchange - Boyington Corsair - $6.01 ?!?!?!?! Cupp Corsair - $5.01?!?!?!


These are all models I thought would at least have held their list price value over time. Is the resale value of Corgi falling? Is it just because its Christmas time and people have other spending priorities right now? Are these auctions I'm watching just anomolies?

or

Is this an indication of something bigger. Has our hobby plateaued? Are we loosing more people than we are gaining? What (if any) conclusions can be made about demand/price for these "older" Corgi models?


What do the rest of you all think? Are you all seeing the same thing I'm seeing regarding dropping values on Corgi on Ebay?? Any conclusions?


(Thanks in advance for any perspective/discussion.)

[timbo]

There seems to be a lot more on the Bay recently. Ususally there are about 8 pages of Aircraft. yesterday I seached through 12 (50% increase!) There were 2 galand 109's on yesterday and I have seen 3 or 4 Losigkeit 190's in the last week. It took me months to search one if these out.

Also my funds are a little strached latelyso I'm personally bidding on a lot less. As much as I would like to give the Mrs timbo diecast, I wouldn't like to be around for the aftermath.

[Mr. Football]

I wonder if Corgi is using Ebay as a dumping ground now?

[flaps]

Overreaction as usual on here.
-
So your not collecting cause your into Airplanes or Aviation but to make a buck sometime in the future?

I have found good deals on Ebay from time to time on lots of stuff, but it usually does not have an actual affect on long term value or how much I like the Airplanes I have bought over the last 10 years.

I have also noticed some hobby places on Ebay in the last week with a lot of the same model at some very good prices and must assume that Corgi or some Distributor blew out a bunch real cheap. Seems like only around 6 or 8 last 2 year releases to me.

I would like to beleive that the collectors in this Hobby are growing in size, slowly. No way to prove it or disprove it, but it would only make sense, why would Hobby Master or any other of the newer companies waste there time if they did not think this was growing hobby.

Flaps

[flyXwire]

Originally Posted by Mr. Football

I wonder if Corgi is using Ebay as a dumping ground now?

This is insidious!

[HotTrap429]

The hobby is growing as far as selection: more manufacturers, dealers, models, and availability, but I feel this plus the rise in prices is limiting the sale of models. While there are some really great models out there, I for one can't afford to buy any where as many planes as I did two years ago when I started. Last year I bought 18 planes from on-line dealers. This year I've bought 4. On ebay, I've gotten 23 new planes at prices that range between 15 to 35% less than retail. I'll admit it - if I can't get it cheap, I'm not buying it. Since I'm doing a lot of custom repaints, ebay is a great way to get planes nobody wants for a low price.

[DADoser]

Originally Posted by flaps

Overreaction as usual on here.
-
So your not collecting cause your into Airplanes or Aviation but to make a buck sometime in the future?

....

Flaps

?????????????

I've just been making some observations and thought I'd ask some questions for discussion regarding our hobby.

Personally, I got into this hobby too late to pick up a Kepford Corsair around list price and I don't have the cash to spend upwards of $50 for ANY single engined fighter.

I've had a member here offer me a Kepford for $46 and shipping (what he said he paid for it on Ebay). Thanksgiving weekend a dealer in Houston had one and he was asking $50. I was shocked to pick this one up on ebay for $26. The models noted in the original question (as well as some others I've seen lately), I thought were going cheap.

I personally like the hobby for the aircraft/history represented - if this was about speculative investment, I'd have gone with Halliburton at about the same time I got into this hobby

I'm not sure what you read into my post that led you to come up with those accusations/conclusions, but that is not where I'm coming from.

I was just asking the questions - seeking others perspective/opinion. I did not post: "Corgi resale prices are dropping like the stock market in '29. The hobby is dead. Dead I say!...."

(Also, I don't see anything wrong with "speculation" or collecting for profit - if that is what one does with this hobby - that is his/her right. We do live in a capitalistic/free market society. No judgement here, from me.)

[jim]

I have been watching ebay for some time and it still puzzles me. I think in general in the UK prices of some models are up but some are down.It seems funny that you can buy any number of Mustangs thunderbolts and some P40s for peanuts yet Me109s and Spits bring in good prices. Corsairs always sell very cheap. I have tried to make out some sort of sense of this but have failed up to press. I expected that maybe prices would go up with everybody buying for Christmas. Some have but some havnt. It all makes no sense and has no pattern. However I hover about on ebay and dart in now and again and get some real bargains. That elusive Spitfire 1/32 has escaped me so far. That little beauty never comes down enough for me to jump in and buy. However to get back to the point, I am certain that some one from Corgi is dumping stuff on ebay ,if you ask me why I cant tell you but I feel it in my water. Where are all these models brand new still in unopened boxes coming from. I doubt all of them are from dealers. Well as you can see I have written a lot but said nothing. But thats normal for me!!

Originally Posted by Mr. Football

I wonder if Corgi is using Ebay as a dumping ground now?

[PappyB]

The problem with using Ebay as a barometer as its whims seem to follow the tides. What's hot one week is cold the next... Then, one small difference in teh way a listing is posted can vastly alter the item's final price, too. (Is is listed accurantely, or is the headline too generic? I scored a 1:72 CDC Panther tank last year for $16 because it was listed as "Diecast Panther Tank", for example. Someone on this forum got a Galland 109 for a similar price, more recently. Also,does the seller ship worldwide, etc., etc. U.S. only, paypal only auctions tend to come in on the low end of the sale scale in my experience.)

And, of course, it all depends on if the people really into the item in question are even logging on in a given week. I suspect, this close to christmas, that most diecast nuts are cruising the 'bay less often for HTF stuff for themselves and are shopping in brick-and-mortar shops for holiday stuff. In general, I've had worse luck selling stuff this close to christmas than around T-day.

As for the exchange, I think the prices there are just a reflection of the relatively low browsing traffic compared with ebay. I'm the one that put in that $6 bid for LucyBelle, and I was a bit shocked it held -- such is the gamble. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose... As more people join the forum and more people sell on the exchange, you'll probably see prices go up. Myself, I probably wouldn't put something up on the exchange right now with a really low opening bid -- I'd probably post it just under what I really wanted for it. But, I've never really been one to take risks with my items for sale on the 'bay either

[timbo]

There is one dealer I have used to get several planes from that has been selling the same few for the last 6 months one at a time. All in perfect condition, and I feel I've got some great bargins. This must have been a deal on surplus stock from somewhere