[Milsurplus] ebay ? what value

[David Stinson]

Ben Nock wrote:
 
> the point is.. is the set worth $400 or $900

That is a concept born of a command economy, Ben-
not a free market.
The problem with this viewpoint is the word: "worth."
That is a subjective judgment call and will vary from person to person
and time to time.
A "mint" GRC-106 isn't "worth" $400 to me- not even $100.

The basis of the "free market" is that it removes the subjectiveness
from the equation.  The "free market principle" is that a thing
is "worth" exactly what the person who is willing to pay the most
says it is worth at a given time.  
If that is $900, so be it.  It may well be $400 next week, or $1200.  
In any case, "greed" is irrelevant; the seller takes his chances
in the venue which provides the largest market for his assets.
That, by the way, is his *moral obligation* if he has a family.

As for the collecting aspect of Ebay, it has been the greatest 
blessing that has ever happened to our hobby.  I now have
many pieces that, before Ebay, would have been thoughtlessly discarded.
I have acquired pieces that collectors, ten years ago,
would never have even *seen* in a lifetime of searching.
Many, many pieces that would otherwise have gone straight to
the trash dump now belong to happy collectors, thanks to Ebay.  

Even better: the "new" has worn off Ebay, so bid prices have,
on the whole, come down quite a bit on many items.
Very rare items have commanded higher premiums, 
but isn't this normal and usual?  
And we are actually *seeing* them.
I never expected to even see an RAV receiver, of which
there are known to be exactly *two* in private hands.
Because of Ebay, I have seen one, gotten to document it, 
have photographs of it and competed to own it.  
Someone else got it, but what of that?  I am much better off
than I would have been had I not had that opportunity.

I don't mean to offend, Ben, but I believe most complaints about 
Ebay are based on simple envy; someone was willing 
to pay more than I and now I'm envious, so let's blame the selling
venue.

Regards,
David S.