I buy and sell on the Bay all the time.Cannot do without it now. Great source for parts. No complaints from the side of the road.

55Birdman  Hickory NC

I have bought a lot of stuff on eBay. I have bought stuff for my 56 Fords that I never thought I would find NOS. I bought the nicest 56 Ford I own on eBay. I had it transported 2000 miles and it exceeded my expectations. I also play with 50's GMCs and there also, I have found things I never thought I would see again. I have sold 2 items...flathead parts that I started low and they sold low. But such is life. I am in the trucking business and I have always disposed of surplus equipment at absolute auction. Sometimes they go good. Sometimes not. Most sellers amaze me how far they go to please the buyer. There are some crooks out there, but I usually can pick them out by the way they present the item. My father who was born in 1901 was in the public all his life used to say "I can smell a rat over the telephone". I feel like I can usually smell a rat over the internet.

Kenneth

Fredricksburg, Texas

Never thought it would happen to me (always been the type that wanted to run out and pick something up "NOW", and examine it first to boot), but I find myself shopping online much more often these days. Sales tax savings usually negates the shipping charges, and I'm really sick of burning up $3.00 a gal. gas chasing things that just can't be found in stores. Of course, as merchants lose more and more sales to high volume/low overhead internet discounters, they can no longer afford to stock as wide an inventory, so it's a downward spiral. Don't really bother with swap meets anymore either, as I notice the really good stuff is usually snapped up by the early risers (never been accused of that), or held back to sell on eBay where it will bring the highest price.

6 VOLTS/POS. GRD. NW INDIANA

Bill , You opened a can of worms .When ever I go to swap meets these days I usually spend more money on food .Spend half to time talking to friends and the other half of looking what someone is trying to sell .Then realizing that I through out better parts than that last guy was trying to sell ???? Now I'm kicking myself for getting rid of all the stuff I thought I wouldn't use ????Then I remember the last swap meet I tried to sell parts at ,spent all day Saturday sorting out parts I didn't want .Loaded up my ute ,woke up at 4am ,drove for 2 hours ,fought with the guy on the gate , and everyone wanted everything for nothing ???.After all that I made $50 and ended up giving half the stuff away .Swap meets are for socializing ,E-Bay is for buying . That's my opinion .

Lon

yblocksdownunder

As a weekly ebay seller and buyer, I could not agree more with Lon and Bill.

Some of you fellas may remember the "Turning Ebay into Epay" articles I wrote for the Y block mag a year or two ago. I am no expert, but some of the advice and tech assistance that I was giving to the grey haired crowd spurned me to try to help a little more by sharing some of the tips to finding parts that are listed erroneously, selling stuff yourself, shipping, etc. I never heard from anyone about the articles (Bruce said that he liked them...) so I don't know if it really helped anyone or not.

Working almost 7 days a week takes up a lot of my spare time that sure, I could be using in yards (which I occasionally visit), but the buying and selling on ebay and the internet in general has opened up a whole new ball game for me. I could NOT afford to be so deep into this "hobby" without the profits gained from buying and selling on ebay.

For the record, just about all of my auctions on Ford parts begin at 99 cents and the auction rides. Some fellas get really good deals on nice quality parts - no problem, glad to help, but then some guys pay through the nose because they just have to have it. I never would have dreamed that a 55 ford dash bracket for a choke cable would have went for $80, nor that a vent duct for a 55 air cooled fordo would have went for $115! Speed parts a real killer. The last blower (VS57) that I sold went for $894...but I only paid $300 for it. Mind you - the .99 starting auction price garnered quite a few watchers.

Now that I have made about half of you mad - have a Merry Christmas!

Daniel Jessup

Lancaster, California

aka "The Hot Rod Reverend"
check out the 1955 Ford Fairlane build at www.hotrodreverend.com

If it wasn't for eBay, we would not be able to get our hands on those elusive items.

Here in Oz if Bill hasn't got it you go searching.

For us the parts well is slowly drying up locally which means we have to resort to eBay. As a buyer it is a great place to find that elusive bit, like the boot lock assembly for a '55 Customline - not reproduced - so just wait til it shows up and then start bidding. The items always find the price that someone is happy to pay. I paid over $200 for my NOS item and was ecstatic to get it.

I have bought lots of bits for my ongoing resto online and without eBay (and Bill) would be scratching my head.

There is not a week goes by that I haven't checked what is out there both locally and overseas. Sometimes there are bargains and sometimes there are expensive items, it all depends how much you can afford and how much you want to spend.

I concur with Bill's comment, if you want or need it, you have to bid - who knows when the next one will come up and don't lose it for the sake of a couple of dollars.

Once you have bought the item and got it in your hand, the price is forgotten.

I think people like Dan give the buyer the best opportunity, start the item low and let the market find its selling price.

This of course doesn't work with items that have an intrinsic value which must have a starting price to reflect the cost to the seller.

Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and don't miss out on any of those bargains over the holiday period.

Regards

Rick - West Australia
Do Y Blocks Downunder run upside down? Gravity Sucks!!

I really like ebay as I have found a bunch of parts that I would of never found at the swapmeets and alot were NOS parts and got them at good prices,when it comes to latemodel parts that are still available at other sources I do some shopping before bidding as the shipping can make it more expensive then buying local.

Butchering up everything I can get my hands on in Dayton Ohio

Ebay  is o.k. with me.  I buy and sell mostly 56 ford truck parts.  I hate going to some guys house to look at his great stuff and only find rusty crap and a wasted trip.  On ebay, I look it over and low-ball as best as I can and buy as cheap as I can....and don't have to be told a bunch of lies.

Always buying and selling 1956 ford trucks and parts...Ohio

The nice thing about ebay is if you have issues with a buyer, you can lock them out from bidding on your stuff, FOREVER!





One thing to remember.....Some trucks must DIE for other trucks to LIVE!

Kevin S in Akron, Ohio

I have locked some guy out from buying any of my parts also. Cannot tolerate liars.

Ebays charges and paypal fees are getting too high,but for now I can accept it.

Always buying and selling 1956 ford trucks and parts...Ohio