[ARC5] Cost of "command" equipment (& eBay) - [ changed topic]

[Don Merz via ARC5]

eBay has been a transformational force that is impossible to overstate.  You can start with the perceived pluses or you can start with whatever negatives you see. Either way, you end up at the same point--eBay has had an impact that is probably too big to measure.

The early adopters had the best of it. eBay fees, PayPal fees and shipping were all much lower in cost than they are today. Whether you were buying or selling, you benefited. Now in 2014, the cost picture looks a bit different. Today we see stuff being sold cheaply at hamfests because the combined expense of fees and shipping drove the seller away from eBay. 

eBay also taught us what the real definition of "rare" was. By watching eBay, we now KNOW what is "rare". Conversely, we also know where supply far exceeds demand. Example: eBay inadvertently put several big name "test equipment" distributors out of business when it became clear from the sheer volume of eBay listings that the number of Tek 400-series and 7000-series scopes available was in the tens of thousands while the number of buyers was numbered in dozens.

Love it or hate it, eBay has surely changed everything.

73 de N3RHT





________________________________
 From: "hwhall at compuserve.com" <hwhall at compuserve.com>
To: arc5 at mailman.qth.net 
Sent: Monday, September 29, 2014 10:35 PM
Subject: Re: [ARC5] Cost of "command" equipment (& eBay) - [ changed topic]
 


A very thoughtful way of looking at their value versus their price.


Wayne
WB4OGM



-----Original Message-----
From: Leslie Smith <vk2bcu at operamail.com>
To: ARC-5 List <arc5 at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Mon, Sep 29, 2014 8:27 pm
Subject: [ARC5] Cost of "command" equipment (& eBay) - [ changed topic]




[ David Stinson]
>  Ebay has been the greatest boon to serious collectors, ever.
>  I now own items I never dreamed of even *seeing* in my lifetime.
> 
> GL OM DE Dave AB5S

[Todd]
> As to J Mcvey's earlier post preferring to spend money on a K3, KX3 or
> whatever - good for you! That's what makes the hobby so appealing for so
> many folks with different interests. 
> 
> ~ Todd,  KA1KAQ/4

Items that cost a few hundred dollars may still represent value to
some-one who is "builder/experimenter".

Suppose I wanted to build an 80 or 40m receiver from scratch.  It's a
big job - especially the metal-work.
If I buy a BC-453/R23 for $100 dollars, that represents 5 - 15 hours
equivalent value of my time.  
I'd not get the circuit drawn in that time, and if I did I'd end up with
a solid state design not far from the R-23 design.  
On the other hand, If I take a non-working R-23 KNOW I can have it
working in about 4 hours and I have an excellent "back-end" for a
converter - either crystal controlled or tunable. 
I've done this, and the stability and selectivity of a converter +R-23
combination is better than I could design myself.
A front end for a Q-5er IS within my capability, so I get a very "neat"
working set instead of a wild dream about a non-existent radio.

Although these sets were cheap in the past, their exchange value ($5 to
$15 per unit in the 50's) was cheap compared with their use value, so we
[hams] undervalued/under-priced them.
We still carry the memory of those past-bargains, and now mis-judge
their value.
If I put a value on my time consider the working value of these sets the
prices seen on eBay is realistic.
A "bargain" vs "rip-off" depends on your starting point and estimate
about the relative value of time vs item.

That's my $0.02 cents worth.

Les

It reminds me about the Irishman who asked a friend, "What's the best
way to get to Belfast?"
Friend:  "If I was going to Belfast, I wouldn't start from here?"

-- 
http://www.fastmail.fm - Faster than the air-speed velocity of an
                          unladen european swallow

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