Sorry Guys You've Missed Out Again

- J
- jontom_1uk
  
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posted
17 years ago

Sat, Mar 31, 2007 12:31 PM

I have an old Atlas lathe well past its prime if it ever had one, which came on the original cast iron stand. Having put the lathe away as a "future project" the stand is just in the way, being a kind soul I thought I might post here to see if anyone wanted to pick it up before I drop it into the scrap yard. To my astonishment I've just seen the same stand sell on E-Bay for =A340. It seems the trick is to drill it for a different type of lathe and then advertise it as "suitable for a ***** lathe. What is it about E-bay and My****s?, or anything that could possibly have ever been near one, once, what am I missing?

Regards

Keith

- S
- stooby-doo
  
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posted
17 years ago

Sat, Mar 31, 2007 12:57 PM

What it is is anything that I need for one goes for a fortune. Conversley,anything I sell for one, like the brand new genuine QCTP goes for the reserve amount, which after P&P, paypal and ebay fees means I made less than =A35, meaning I have less money for the things that I need that go for a fortune.

I don't think you are missing anything, but I get the impression there are plenty of people buying on fleabay that don't know Myford still exist. If Myford sold their stuff on ebay, they'd clear up!

Stu G.

- C
- Cheshire Steve
  
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posted
17 years ago

Sat, Mar 31, 2007 2:07 PM

I think the problem with selling by auction is that you must have more than one person who desparately wants the item, and they must both want it at that time, and must both spot it. As there are so many Myford owners out there, then you always stand a better chance of having a proper competitive auction (on eBay).

As a buyer its a dream to spot something with low reserve and find you are the only bidder. So as a buyer it might be worth you having a lesser known lathe - of course the downside is that parts come up a lot less often, especially as the manufacturers will mostly have gone, and few people will make aftermarket bits for them. This is my situation.

I think its easy to overlook how good eBay is at allowing buyers to find sellers. Many a time I have found something I had stashed away and thought that "somebody somewhere will be wishing he had one of these", the problem has always been finding that person. Better it goes to someone who appreciates it, than to the scrapyard.

Cheshire Steve