[ARC5] "ARC-5" Market Value - It's Crazy

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

On Mon, Aug 10, 2015 at 10:51 AM, Robert Nickels <ranickel at comcast.net>
wrote:

<snip>

 The point is that nice gear will bring a premium, even to those who own or
> have owned tons of it.
>

So long as there's an interest, this will remain true. But as with a lot of
other gear that used to bring high dollars, as demand has dropped, so have
prices. Like the $10K SX-88s bringing half or more often, well under that
these days. KW-1s, too.

Not too many years back I purchased ten of those tuning knobs, NIB, for $5
each from a well known surplus collector and reseller. I've seen a single
knob bring $25 or more on ebay at times. But as Dave's examples clearly
illustrate - ebay does not equal 'market value'. Often it's a high water
mark based on two egos fighting over something, while other times the same
item goes begging. Ebay is about winning. If you don't win, it doesn't
matter. Come back in a day, a week, a month and buy the same item for a
fraction of the previous final bid.

Establishing true market value for any given item would require researching
many more sources than ebay alone. The average value falling somewhere
between the $50 ebay auction result and $5 flea market or private sale
examples.

Dave's examples also illustrate why it's important to research and look
around. Ebay is a great tool with plenty of good deals and reasonable
prices, if you know how to use it.

~ Todd,  KA1KAQ/4