[Boatanchors] eBay Prices

[William L Howard]

> I applaud your attempt to track eBay prices. However, your belief that
> time is the crucial factor is unusual. I would suggest that you would get
> a better idea of causal factors driving prices if you asked the successful
> buyers - after all, it was they who made the buying decision, not the
> clock or the calendar. By asking the buyers, you might also learn what
> they thought of the price paid once the goods actually arrived on their
> doorsteps.
>

I have been tracking the price of WW II Japanese and German communication 
equipment for over 10 years. Everything from soandso told me he paid, to 
Manions to ebay. The only real conclusions that I have reached is the eBay 
prices are usually much higher than non eBay sales, Manions is even higher. 
There are about 10-12 serious collectors of Japanese items in the USA with 
the deep pockets needed to buy these items from the auction sites. One set 
was the Type 53C set  which sold in a non eBay sale for $544 and two years 
later on eBay the same set sold for $3000.00. The driving factor seems to be 
the relative rarity of the set and if it is needed to complete a particular 
station. The hardest to find items are the hand cranked generators and 
various power and connecting cables.

As to German sets, the same factors apply, but the additional driving force 
seems to be the increase in the number of re enactors. Every re enactor 
wants a back pack radio set or the standard Torn Eb set. German sets seem to 
be easier to work on and get working than the Japanese sets.

If anyone ants to see my list of realized prices, let me know as they are 
too big to send to the list.

Bill Howard