Sell now - or sell later?

Ed,

Some thoughts to consider....

I think it is doubtful that our government will allow credit cards to go unfunded - consumer credit is too great a driver of our economy.

Then, people may be more likely to spend in the early stages of a recession than in the middle of it. Thus the pool of potential buyers may be larger now than later, when the financial pinch is tighter.

In a time of declining prices, the way to win is to sell now and hold those dollars until prices decline, because each dollar will buy more then.

Interesting question! I'm sure others will add to the discussion. Good luck!

Randy Maheux

Thanks, Randy. I appreciate your input. I'm leaning toward the direction you indicated. I'm afraid of being stuck with all of this stuff if I wait too long to sell. But I'm open to others opinions too.

Ed Cregger

Macro... Economy is poor and isn't going to get much better quickly.

Micro......many new R/C players going into electric (with foam RTFS and ARFs) and helicopters or all sizes and styles... Of the current NEW members to our club ....more than half come from those two areas of interest.

regards, Rich

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Yes, I guess the handwriting is on the wall. Now, if I could just figure out what it says. 8>)

Thanks.

Ed Cregger

| I'm curious about what the newsgroup concensus would be for someone with a | lot of ARFs and engines to sell. | | Is it better to sell now? Or will the goods appreciate in price as the | economy winds down?

I don't see nitro and gas stuff appreciating at all. And while electric and glider stuff sells well, what's top of the line today is often old news tomorrow, so I don't see it appreciating either.

The only exception is likely to be kits that aren't available anymore, that people feel nostalgic for. Engines, I'm not so sure, but I'm guessing the same applies. Completed planes, they rarely seem to sell well. (Kits and engines might, but just because they're easily shipped.) ARFs, I'm doubting there's going to be that much nostalgia for them in most cases ... but if they're not built yet, at least they'll ship easily.

If you need the space, sell it. If you don't, keep it until you're ready to fly it. If you're sure you'll never fly it, sell it now.

Notice that I didn't say anything about the economy ... :) (if I could predict the economy, I'd have enough money that I'd have every plane I ever wanted and space to store them!)

"Doug McLaren" wrote

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I did get nearly every plane I ever wanted, but I did not get the space and that is the problem. It's time to switch philophies and go to the "just in time" philosophy. No room to wiggle.

Ed Cregger

Yeah, I am on part of that train now. My wife has learned that it takes a while to select a Christmas gift because I have an attic full of kits. There are 14 GS and a bunch smaller, and a shop full of engines ranging from .20 to 75CC and the recent switch to 2.4 GHz has changed my needs there very significantly. I have most of the planes I want in the attic or in the shop or in the garage awaiting the build date and every time I see something that makes me drool, I have to consider when it might see the sky. My building table is 4 or 5 projects deep right now and other issues have been keeping me from it. ARRGGHHH!

"Six_O'Clock_High" >> predict the economy, I'd have enough money that I'd have every plane I

I wouldn't have ever thought that we could end up in such a situation. Frankly, I had a lot more fun when I only had one or two models. At least I could focus on them. Now, it is "Analysis - Paralysis" when I go into the "shop". I don't know where to start.

The situation brings to mind the old saying, "Be careful what you wish for..."

Ed Cregger

It is an interesting quandry. I am an eBay buyer and seller and also have "all the airplane kits I will ever want or need". The question is

- are kit builders going to die off with our generation. Some old kits now are still going for good prices and I havent seen much drop off yet.

Same with engines - engine collectors appreciate beautifully made, special interest and nostalgic engines. I can't see much interest in collecting electric motors. However, after everone switches to electric and the engine guys are gone, there may not be much interest in these as there is to us in "buggy whips".

I also wonder about all the greybeards and their muscle cars and hot rods. Go to any hotrod meet and guess the average age. The kids around here are interested in Nissans, Infinitis, BMWs and Hondas with nitrous and tuned exhaust. Many hot rods will end up rusting or sold for scrap by our grandkids. We are nostalgic for what we grew up with, not what our grandparents (or even parents) grew up with.

So - keep or sell? It probably doesnt make much difference. People with a passion will always find money to support it. Buyers of these items are probably older with stable incomes or "enough" set aside for hobbies, and will spend for out of production items they want. I don't think Chinese ARFs will ever be nostalgic or in big demand. Until the last month or so, foreign buyers were very good customers because our dollar was so low. However, most kits are too expensive to ship or not shippable at all, payment is a hassle and risky, and Europe is now in a bigger mess than we are.

D> > Micro......many new R/C players going into electric (with foam RTFS and

- are kit builders going to die off with our generation. Some old kits now are still going for good prices and I havent seen much drop off yet.

Same with engines - engine collectors appreciate beautifully made, special interest and nostalgic engines. I can't see much interest in collecting electric motors. However, after everone switches to electric and the engine guys are gone, there may not be much interest in these as there is to us in "buggy whips".

I also wonder about all the greybeards and their muscle cars and hot rods. Go to any hotrod meet and guess the average age. The kids around here are interested in Nissans, Infinitis, BMWs and Hondas with nitrous and tuned exhaust. Many hot rods will end up rusting or sold for scrap by our grandkids. We are nostalgic for what we grew up with, not what our grandparents (or even parents) grew up with.

So - keep or sell? It probably doesnt make much difference. People with a passion will always find money to support it. Buyers of these items are probably older with stable incomes or "enough" set aside for hobbies, and will spend for out of production items they want. I don't think Chinese ARFs will ever be nostalgic or in big demand. Until the last month or so, foreign buyers were very good customers because our dollar was so low. However, most kits are too expensive to ship or not shippable at all, payment is a hassle and risky, and Europe is now in a bigger mess than we are.

Don't put off building that favorite kit. Time has a way of slipping away - later becomes never too fast.

Earle Levine Santa Fe Dam RC Modelers

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I have more ARFs than kits to sell. Frankly, I want to hold on to the kits just in case I live longer than I expect to live. At least I can put them together, whether I fly them or not.

You make an excellent point on several areas of interest. I nearly bought a restored 69 AMX, just like the one I had in 69. Then it dawned on me that gasoline for such a beast is impossible to buy and I'd be lucky if I could ever get out of it again even if I did manage to get in.

I suspect that there will be hard core collectors available for some years to come. Some of the modelers I've associated with on the internet, and who happen to be in their mid thirties and upwards, are interested in some of the nostalgic modeling stuff. I was very surprised.

You are right about the Chinese ARFs though. The market for those models has another year or two to go, especially if those companies do close their doors. I should be able to sell them all before the interest wanes entirely.

All of my models are new-in-box (NIB) and are just like those being shipped today as new. I even have a few popular models that have recently gone out of production. I'm not a business, so I'm not looking to make a profit, per se, but I would like to get most of my money back. I don't think that's unreasonable, though I have received some email from peeved folks saying that since they are "used", I should only ask for half of what they cost new. That ain't gonna happen, folks.

If you want something bad enough, you'll pay me enough to make it worth selling. Not trying to be nasty, just telling the truth.

I am thinking of going to the anonymous style of auctions. Some folks would buy, but they don't want their buddies seeing how much they paid for it. There are some models out there (kits) that I would pay a little more than what they sold for originally - such as the Bridi UFO in fiberglass and foam.

I'm also interested in buying Rom-Air tricycle landing gear in good to excellent condition. I loved those landing gear. Even I could make them work without a single failure. I probably shouldn't have said that...

Ed Cregger

What ya got??? What do you want for it now? ;) T. Davis

Ed,

You can only fly one at a time, then fly the another while you're repairing the first one. My advice for the ones you really Want is to build like hell, then fly. Stuff you have half a dozen of you might be able to do with 2 or 3 of if you don't crash them like I do ;). BTW, if you have Blue GWS Slow Stick, I'd be interested. Seen the red and yellow, but there's supposed to be a blue one...

Plus, the Chinese made some very nice ducted fan jets. Got any of them?

T. Davis

China will survive. All they have to do is call in our loans ;-))

No, I don't have the GWS Slow Stik. I would probably keep it if I did, which would not do you any good.

The original thought that the wife and I had was to buy what we wanted while we had the income. Once she retired we would be a whole lot tighter in budgeting things, if you know what I mean? Well, we both went overboard and now we don't have room to wiggle in our small retirement home. It just sneaked up on us and one day we realized that we had gotten too carried away.

I want to keep all of my small models. A few of my giant scale ARFs/kits and get rid of a bunch that I'll probably never live to fly, even if I live another twenty to thirty years. I don't crash all that much these days, of course, with growing older we don't know if it will stay that way.

The wife is really intimidated by the large gas powered models. She refuses to pit for me with those. I can't blame her. She's not that big. But she used to do great when pitting for engines smaller than a 10cc pattern engine. She used to start my planes, clean them up and pack them in the car for me. I had polio as a child and do not have much energy. Without her help, I would have quit flying a long time ago. But, as things happen, she is now having her own issues with energy and arthritis, so the handwriting is on the wall. Fortunately, my interest in building smaller, simpler models has increased. In addition to small glow and Diesel engines, I'm also interested in electric power these days.

I should do an inventory and then list everything here that will be for sale. That and offer to email an updated list from time to time to those that are interested. Thanks to all for commenting/responding to this thread. It is appreciated.

Ed Cregger, N2ECW (ex NM2K)

Ed, years ago in a thread in this group about "kits on the shelf" I listed what I had, and some time later, year or so, a guy emailed me wanting my Ultra Sport 1000. I sold it to him for what I paid plus shipping. I neither lost nor gained. Anyway, having your list on this group exposes it to search engines. mk

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That's what I am asking for stuff, what I paid for it, plus shipping. I've been doing well selling out of production kits that way. I don't know why people think they are going to get things for half of what I paid for it, or less. Weird.

I have more stuff to sell than the average hobbyshop has in stock. I've even thought about invoking my old business name and selling the products "as new", which they are, but I don't feel like dealing with hassles from people claiming that this is defective and needs replacing. So, I'll sell for an average of 20% off the Tower price, plus shipping. Everything is brand new and most of it has never been opened. I'm selling things "as-is". I'll probably go on a selling blitz next week or two. It's time to get this stuff out of here. I need the space. Still have a new mill/lathe combo that hasn't been unpacked. I have to try my hand at making model Diesel heads and such.

Ed Cregger