SPF # 705 on Ebay

[Bill Wells]

ebay bids for higher end brand cobra replicas are not a sign of anything relative to values. many deals are done off line, with ebay being only an advertisement of what is on the market. the cost to list it on ebay is peanuts.

i have seen many high quality ebay replicas not bring squat relative to decent bids. some are quirks and do bring high bids, but then some of those deals fall thru or are buddy shills , just 'missing' reserve. duh, how do they know.

the winter market is about to leave us and the typical seasonality of increased 'toy' sales in the spring is about upon us.

check out cobra country, lots of good values there of all brands, some absurdly priced too high and some are realistic. several have sold recently of mixed brands that were fairly priced for seller and buyer.

i follow ebay for price trends and availability of several other 'toy ' cars (non cobra replicas) and many times see the same thing. overpriced dreamers, folks who need cash asap and bail at a low price, and many that sell at what appears to be a fair price.

anyone using ebay exclusively as a barometer on any brand's car value is dreaming...and folks who think they can recover their investment in replicas are mostly dreamers too, especially at the high end. depreciation is part of the hobby...kinda like greens fees at the golf course or dockage for your boat..extraneous costs necessary to support whatever it is that is your hobby.

ya still lose more in one year with a new caddy or lincoln in depreciation than you do with a well bought cobra replica in 2-4 yrs, barring any major trans or engine rebuild or silly over-pay for a custom exotic motor that few want or can afford .

if i was to sell, i would list it on ebay only with the thought of getting the message out to the public and hope for an offline deal if bids were not high. cobra country and club cobra would be the next adv location, perhaps hemmings or ford/mustang national trader too. two cars recently sold on cobra country within 2 wks of their listing and at their asking price. now that says something more than ebay bids..

but alas, these cars are always easy to buy and hard to sell, like my other toys --and worth more to the seller than the buyer.

my thoughts anyway..i believe in ebay as a message listing but dont trust half the bids (especially private auctions) and i dont use the bids shown as a true value barometer..

bill...