flathead trans on the auction site
- Thread starter Dave C
- Start date
charles in east texas
Senior Member
I have not. Charles
Lawson Cox
Well-known member
I love these "No reserve auctions" that have a high starting price. What is that but a reserve?
Agreed Lawson!!
jim1932
Well-known member
Not quite for the auction site. At least with a high starting bid you know you will get it if you bid. The reserve you have no way of knowing what the reserve is so you can waste your time tracking an auction where the price is absurd.
The reserves can also provide a way for the seller to list on ebay, then contact the bidder and sell without the ebay fee.
bart78
Well-known member
I got a pretty crusty 39 deluxe coupe from a guy that had a reserve in it. Only a couple bid on it and it did not meet the reserve. I contacted him after the auction was over. And got it for all most nothing. Most people would stay away from it. But it is very fixable. And it was in my price range.
nospartsman
BANNED
Am I missing something about the logic here, that a $99 starting price for a rebuilt 1939 trans with original Lincoln Zephyr gear set is considered "HIGH". A repro LZ gear set is $700. Does receiving a social security check destroy someones ability to reason???? It's up to $760 now and probably will go higher. (it's not mine). There's that evil free enterprise system again. Nospartsman
I agree 100% with everything (except the S.S. comment. I didn't see/read that originally.) There are so many cheap skates out there that if you don't, that trans. could have, in theory, sold for less than $99.00.
The case and top alone are worth more than that. Give the dude a break. I know if anyone here had those parts, they wouldn't want less that $99 for them.
Last edited:
Lawson, With all due respect, I disagree. I sell a lot of stuff on eBay and never utilize reserves. I start my auctions at what I am willing to take. I am after all, trying to sell stuff and reduce my stock. Not simply see what the market may or may not bear.
Hopefully, the price moves up. Sometimes that doesn't happen and I let stuff go "cheap". Still, that was my choice.
A no reserve listing is more well likened to a sale (asking) price.
That reserve poop... I always figure a guy is fishing to see what he might be able to get.
Mike51Merc
Well-known member
Cheap skates? Are you expecting that a bidder should voluntarily pay more than the bid price?
Yes, some sellers place high reserves, but not this one.
That's what I mean. I think we can all agree that $99 is a VERY fair starting point. Some clown bidding $1.00 will surely get outbid, but sometimes things get listed incorrectly and super cheap bids win auctions.
Yes, the seller does have some responsibility to list it correctly and protect themselves financially, but I see nothing wrong with a seller setting a low minimum starting point.
Just my opinion.
Well, it is time to speak my piece on this seller. I have know him for 35 years. This is not the first time he has been topic of this forum. The first time was when he sold a South Wind Heater for an unreal price. Everybody thought it was a hoax. He is a prince of a man and has more knowledge of early V-8 parts than anybody else on here. He is well known from coast to coast and border to border and has a very good reputation. Look at his feed back and you see what he sells parts for. It totally amazes me of some of the atitudes on this site. I normally just lurk here for several years. But had to put my 2 cents worth on. Thank you, Dennis Boles, Stover, Missouri.
deuce5wndw
Well-known member
x 2
Rowdy
BANNED
Well put Kube. Some think that those of that sell somehow get it free or are willing to take it in the butt in plain support for the hobbie and that all of our time and effort to find restorable parts should not be rewarded. Usually our prices are cheaper than the vendors that commonly get bashed here and other places and our shipping is down to the basic what it actually costs (nothing in our control for shipping prices). All of the seller bashing that goes on about makes me want to fight, and I am a calm peaceful person. I think many here just want to expect the worst in everyone even though the average person is not out to do them any harm. Rod
Agreed.
Mike51Merc
Well-known member
The whole point of an auction is having buyers believe they got (or can get) a good deal. If not, then we could just as well start having bidding wars at retail stores.
I've benefitted from sellers' goof-ups and sometimes I've overbid on stuff in the heat of the moment. It all comes out in the wash.
Take a look at the NOS Mercury accessory steering wheel listed for $4995.00 on that famous auction site.
Well, do you pay sticker price at a car dealer, when buying an old Ford or a lawn tractor, etc? Sometimes the asking price is not the selling price on both sides of + or - column.
Regarding your wheel example. The seller didn't start the trans. at a ridiculous price. It started at $99.00.
Seems well within reason to me and that is what the OP took issue with.
Robert Dip
Senior Member
I buy quite a lot on e-Bay, and have had very few bad experiences….in fact, I can say that some of these sellers are just great. There are and always be bad apples in the lot. I recently contacted by PM on a guy selling parts here on the Barn, and was waiting for a shipping cost to pay. He never answered, and a couple days later sent him 2 PM’s to obtain an answer…..he finally answered and said “ I thought I sent you the cost, but in the meanwhile, sold it to another person”. The correspondence proves that he never sent me this shipping cost. Needless to say, I am pretty ticked off at this…and I don’t need to tell who it is, my loss, period. At least on e-Bay, it is more controlled and feedbacks are in order…whether they work well or not. On the Fordbarn, it’s a rule to PM and not respond directly on the site…..but now, I understand….as some clearly state that it is to be sold to that guy and stating “ I will buy..Sold”. I concluded my PM to this seller stating that “This is not right”. No apologies or any other response was received….jerk…….just had to get this off my chest.
