[Milsurplus] Bashing Dealers (Was Re: Belton Swap)

[David Stinson]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "J Forster" <jfor at quik.com>
Subject: Re: [Milsurplus] Belton Swapfest


> Recently, a dealer offered her about $1200 for 'everything upstairs', 
> including a nice R-390, a Collins 51 series Rx, about 6 other receivers, 
> some ARC-5 stuff, some camera equipment, two bookcases full of ham and 
> electronic books and several very nice 20s era BC radios. That doesn't 
> even include the small stuff like loads of ceramic tube
> sockets, variable capacitors, boxes of crystals and other stuff.
>
> That dealer will not be invited back.

I don't know the specifics of this case,
but I do want to comment on the attitude that all "dealers" who
seek to purchase equipment with a little "breathing room" for
profit are somehow crooks.

For a few years, the only way I made the money to pay bills
and to afford our hobby, was buying barn-fulls and reselling them.
I risked my capital, my time and my efforts to find, dig out
(often in dangerous situations),  transport, store, clean, repair
and attempt to market the items.  This isn't free.  The purchase
price is just the beginning. All this overhead costs something.
I took the risk of losing my capital, and did, many times.
My family suffers when I lose money,
just like yours would if you lost some.

The people who had the old barns full of "junk" generally
had no idea what to do with it or how to market it,
or even whom to contact about it.
Most did not want to trouble with it if they did know.
Were it not for "dealers" like me, they would end up
 throwing most of the stuff in the trash,
after being "yard saled" and getting pennies on the dollar,
or nothing at all.
I've seen the sad aftermath of that, many times.
I don't intentionally cheat anyone;
I try to live by "The Golden Rule."
But neither am I in the charity business;  I can't afford it.
I deal with people in an adult fashion and I expect them to be adults.
Moreover, I have children to feed. My first moral duty is to them.

I haven't been buying barn-fulls in awhile, but God only knows
when I might have to fall back on it again.
When I investigate an estate or barn-full of "stuff," I make my best
estimate of the market value of the pieces I know to be marketable.
The "bits and pieces" which are not directly marketable are usually
given to me for the hauling away; they take a LOT of time and effort
and storage space to clean and sort into
what might or might not be saleable lots.

Hard experiance has taught me that if I cannot return an average of
50 percent above my purchase price, I will lose money on the deal
(more expensive pieces need less margin, of course).
I add up the market price for the pieces and begin the negotiation
at about 55-60% of retail.  My top dollar will be 70-75%.
If they don't take that, I pass on the deal.
There is always another deal.  Always.
In fact, I have sometimes paid people more than
they asked, because they didn't have any idea
what to ask.  But I have not intentionally paid,
nor should I be expected to- more than I should for something
I mean to resell .  To do so would be irresponsible to my family.
(Well, maybe I have a couple of times,
  but they were special circumstances).
I firmly believe in Judgement Day, when the Almighty
will settle all accounts.  I will have enough for which
I must answer without cheating widows,  or
cheating my own family in a foolish attempt to
be thought of as a sweet guy who pays a lot.

The seller gets a reasonable price for his/her assets-
assets for which he would have received little or nothing
were it not for "dealers" like me.  And they get them out of
their way, which is usually their primary concern.
I get to work on radios, which I love to do,
pay some bills and pay for a hobby
I could not otherwise afford.  It is a "win-win" for both parties,
and is exactly what I've told Kay to expect
should God decide he's had enough of me
running around down here.

I would never do what the clown did to the widow with the R-390.
If (and I haven't priced them in some time) an R-390 retails for
about $400, I'd offer her about $300 and haggle upwards.
If she takes the offer, I will thank her
and put the radio in my car until another day,
where I will try to retail it and recover the capital I have risked.
I think this is entirely fair.  I have offered a reasonable amount
given my interest in being a reseller.
She is free to decline and wait,
expending the time/value of her asset and
taking the risk of not selling it, in hopes of a higher price.
I am free to decline if her price is higher
than the amount of capital/work/overhead
I am willing to invest.  This formula is, of course,
buffered by moral constraints, such as those that would
apply if she were totally ignorant of the value of her asset,
and I would never be so crude and cruel as to offer it
on my own table the same day.

There are crooks around- too many of them.
There are also lots of dealers who are trying their best
to balance their responsiblities and risks with fair dealings.
It's tough, and no human being
 is going to get it exactly right every time.
Remember- without "dealers,"
who rescue barn-fulls of the goodies we all love,
a lot of our nice boatanchors
would be rusting at the bottom of landfills.
Please- think carefully before judging dealers harshly.
Most of them are trying to be decent people.

73 OM DE Dave AB5S