Two weeks ago I decided to try an experiment on ebay to somewhat test a theory that I have preached about in several different threads. I've said that you have to figure in the cost of shipping when buying an item. If a seller wants to gouge on the shipping costs, simply low ball your bid. If you don't win, there will be another kit come along real soon. Of course there will always be exceptions like rare kits and that "gotta have it right now" situation we all experience, But I believe that if you can be patient and disciplined, you can sneak into some really good buys. My experiment involved bidding on 18 aircraft kits over a seven day period. I set my price taking into account the cost of shipping. I set a $20 top end for most of the kits, rationalizing that if I could get them for that price, I would be doing very well. A list of kits (all 1/48) looks like this: Tamiya P51-B, Hasegawa F6F Hellcat, Accurate Miniatures P-51, Older Hasegawa P51-D, Eduard F6F Hellcat, Hasegawa Val, Tamiya F4U Birdcage, Monogram He111, Hobby Craft DHC-3, Tamiya 8th Air Force P51-D, Promodeler P51 B/C, Promodeler F84-G, Hasegawa P47 Razorback, Tamiya Gloster Meteor, and a Monogram B17-G. I set my bid a little higher for an Academy P38-E, an old Revell Sikorsky HO4S, and a Fine Molds D4Y3 Judy, because I wanted them a little more badly. I had risked a total purchase price of $403. My wife would have killed me, but I knew that I wouldn't win very many of them.
In the end, I lost 13 of the 18 auctions, six of them by last second bids. But of the five I won, 2 of my bids withstood last second bid attempts. I always feel cocky when that happens.
These were my winners, Total cost including shipping: Hasegawa P47 $19, Tamiya Gloster Meteor $16.50, Promodeler F-84-G $15.45, Academy P-38E $20.44, Monogram B-17G $17.01
It was an interesting week. I already have more aircraft than most South American Air Forces. So I must stop performing stunts like this even though it was fun. Until I can join Fermis at the vendor tables at the swap meets, this remains my best source for great buys. Rick.