[ARC5] High prices?

[Taigh Ramey]

Hello,

I have had correspondence with ART13 over the years especially when I =
was
buying radio gear for Paul Allen's collection of Warbirds called Flying
Heritage. He is a very nice gentleman who is a serious collector. He and =
I
have gone head to head on many auctions. Radioarchivest, is another one =
who
has been talked about here, who is a serious collector that is selling =
off
some of his gear. He is one of the most meticulous collectors that I =
have
ever met. He has been collecting old radios for a very long time and he =
only
acquires the finest examples. He not only knows the value but he sets =
the
value and he consistently gets it. I have seen people take pot shots at =
him
and I fail to see why. I know that when someone pays a lot of money for =
some
nice gear on eBay it seems to ruffle some feathers. I have had people =
send
me hate mail just because I outbid them. eBay will give you the most up =
to
the second information about what a radio or any other item is worth. =
One
needs to realize that it takes at least two bidders to reach those high
dollar figures. These same folks may be bidding the same high amount on =
all
of their other auctions but they are winning at the lower figure because =
of
the lack of competition.=20

When I was buying for Paul Allen and Flying Heritage, Money was no =
object. I
needed to find new in the box gear for the aircraft in restoration to =
fit
the following self imposed requirements: Find the best example available
Find the best example by required contract date Find the best example by
required contract date in new old stock condition Find a spare=20

When I started putting the word out about my contract specific needs I =
was
laughed at and I was told that it would be impossible to do in this day =
and
age. Well, I was able to find almost every piece of gear by appropriate
contract date and most of them were still in the box. I am convinced =
that
with time I could easily reach 100%. I was happy to pay what ever it =
took to
get the new in the box gear as I had no idea if and when I would ever =
see
one again.=20

High auction results will invariable bring more of the same components =
out
of the woodwork as someone will gladly sell their example for that same
amount of money. Most of the time, I have found, if someone sees an item
sell for high dollars, then they just clutch their own radio closer to =
their
chest which makes finding another one even harder. Whenever I would come
across rare gear that I didn't need right away I would buy it for either
future use or trade stock.=20

I am simply amazed that I can still outfit almost any WWII aircraft with
radios that are still in the box even after 60 years. I am even more =
amazed
that I can get picky about the dates of manufacture. It makes me feel =
great
that I can take a stripped out old bomber or fighter and I can restore =
the
exact radios that were in them when they were made. Most people who are
restoring old aircraft today don't seem to care about the radios let =
alone
the correct ones, but they will some day! One day, and I think that day =
is
approaching a lot faster than anyone wants to admit, it will be =
impossible
to find this gear. This is when people will be bidding hundreds for the =
ham
modified radios that we are throwing away today (maybe you are throwing =
them
out but I can't stand to throw that stuff away...it's just wrong!). I =
think
that we are fortunate to have eBay as it has been a great source of =
radio
and other equipment that I wouldn't have found otherwise. Enough =
babbling.
Taigh

=20

Taigh Ramey

=20

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT

7432 C.E. Dixon Street

Stockton, California 95206

209 982 0273 Hangar

209 982 4832 Fax

www.twinbeech.com

KEEP 'EM FLYING...FOR HISTORY

=20



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