Out of Control Pricing of Second Hand Models

YesterAirlines

YesterAirlines

Well-known member
Blimey, what is going on with the seconds market in 400 scale models - are they suddenly made of gold and not zinc?

In recent years there are so many new start up stores and people selling as 'fake stores' some of which are great and a lot of which are in my opinion not. Many seem keen to charge insane prices for 2nd hand models and offer a dreadful user experience in the process (some don't even bother with a website and some that do have awful sites) but profess to be saints just basing their sales off of eBay pricing or what they paid.

There is such a thing as inflation but these prices are often more than 100% higher than just a few years ago. It is scalping plain and simple from where I'm standing. How are new collectors supposed to enter the hobby when even crap old models from 2002 cost $50-80?

For example a new store (I won't name it but it is a bricks and mortar store that has recently branched into 400 scale) is charging the following prices for these Gemini Jets models that are obsolete and not at all rare:

Braniff 707 - $50
Delta 727 Bicentennial - $70
AA 757 - $90
Southwest 'Canyon Blue' 73G - $120
Varig MD-11 - $70
United battleship 727 - $90
Aloha 737-200 - $100
Air Florida 737-200 - $95
Eastern DC-8 - $60

This isn't aimed at all retailers, and this seems far worse in the US than the UK but I don't like what I'm seeing. I understand it is a 'user pays market' but nobody should be entering 400 scale to make a fortune when they sell their models in my opinion. Imagine what they'll be charging for BB 747s!!!
 
I wholeheartedly agree. Collectors need to show some sense and refuse to pay silly prices. Greedy sellers need to be told in no uncertain terms that silly prices mean they keep their wares. I buy far fewer models than I used to, especially the secondary-criteria stuff that filled out regions and decades. Most of those models, especially Dragons, that used to be in the USD 20's-30's are now often 50s. Enjoy keeping them. And the idiotic prices of many BB/AC 747's, well, don't get me started on those. Suffice to say I mostly buy models new from retailers these days--and fewer of those at that!
 
Agreed, it's sad that some collectors are priced out of the hobby nowadays although I have to imagine that some folks on eBay and the like are charging these prices because some people are willing to pay the prices.
 
Unfortunately I have doubt that prices are going to go down. You may just end up having to pay extra for a secondhand model especially if it’s rare and you need it, knowing that manufacturers won’t rerelease it. Sure you can wait, but you never know when it’ll be done, either one month from now or five years from now. I’d say just search for good deals on rare models you want and pay what you can if you don’t want to wait. Unpopular opinion, but I’m content with paying a little extra for rare models, so long as it’s within reason. If you aren’t willing to do it then it’s best to leave the listing be. After some time, some of the more ludicrous price listings will start to disappear.
 
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JJ Skippy said:
Unfortunately I have doubt that prices are going to go down. You may just end up having to pay extra for a secondhand model especially if it’s rare and you need it, knowing that manufacturers won’t rerelease it. Sure you can wait, but you never know when it’ll be done, either one month from now or five years from now. I’d say just search for good deals on rare models you want and pay what you can if you don’t want to wait. Unpopular opinion, but I’m content with paying a little extra for rare models, so long as it’s within reason. If you aren’t willing to do it then it’s best to leave the listing be. After some time, some of the more ludicrous price listings will start to disappear.
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I can understand individuals selling for silly prices on ebay but retailers or pseudo-retailers should know better. We're not talking about paying a little bit more here these prices are 2 or 3 times the sensible value of the models in question. These aren't rare Aeroclassics or Big Birds these are thousand plus production run Dragon Wings and Gemini Jets from 2002
 
YesterAirlines said:
I can understand individuals selling for silly prices on ebay but retailers or pseudo-retailers should know better. We're not talking about paying a little bit more here these prices are 2 or 3 times the sensible value of the models in question. These aren't rare Aeroclassics or Big Birds these are thousand plus production run Dragon Wings and Gemini Jets from 2002
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For sure on paying double or triple, I wouldn’t go that route. I would hope prices go down for those kinds of things, but in the long run I just don’t see it happening unless there’s a big cooperative effort amongst all collectors.
 
JJ Skippy said:
Unfortunately I have doubt that prices are going to go down. You may just end up having to pay extra for a secondhand model especially if it’s rare and you need it, knowing that manufacturers won’t rerelease it. Sure you can wait, but you never know when it’ll be done, either one month from now or five years from now. I’d say just search for good deals on rare models you want and pay what you can if you don’t want to wait. Unpopular opinion, but I’m content with paying a little extra for rare models, so long as it’s within reason. If you aren’t willing to do it then it’s best to leave the listing be. After some time, some of the more ludicrous price listings will start to disappear.
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To be honest I disagree. If you're willing to support these kinds of prices by buying into them, then you are only contributing to the problem. Paying "a little extra" has always been fine, but that's not the issue here.

As ever I'd suggest not 'feeding the bear' and try encouraging the various manufacturers to release or indeed re-release the models you seek. All of the various improvements in manufacturing and detailing have made the older generation releases irrelevant and therefore less worthy of extortion anyway. These are diecast models at the end of the day, not collectible artworks.
 
Alzyerpal said:
To be honest I disagree. If you're willing to support these kinds of prices by buying into them, then you are only contributing to the problem. Paying "a little extra" has always been fine, but that's not the issue here.

As ever I'd suggest not 'feeding the bear' and try encouraging the various manufacturers to release or indeed re-release the models you seek. All of the various improvements in manufacturing and detailing have made the older generation releases irrelevant and therefore less worthy of extortion anyway. These are diecast models at the end of the day, not collectible artworks.
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I can understand your view. I’ll pay a little extra for something if it’s within reason. Then again, I won’t give into paying ludicrous prices for a model, except under very, very, very specific circumstances. I don’t want to contribute to the issue if it would be my intention.

I’ll admit that I’ve done the whole “requesting manufacturers to rerelease rare models I want” thing, but I don’t think it’s the end of the world if it’s done. Again, I understand your view of the matter, as those that have the existing release would then have to deal with a newer, more higher-quality release if it was done. I’ve been patient with those existing models in question for a while now, checking the secondhand market quite regularly. I am sure that eventually, the time will come for the likes of models I really desire where they will appear for a good price, but it could be a while. There are some models that I want also that have never been released before that I have requested, but I’ll leave the specific details for another time. Never hurts to try and submit a request for an airplane I want in my collection.
 
JJ Skippy said:
I can understand your view. I’ll pay a little extra for something if it’s within reason. Then again, I won’t give into paying ludicrous prices for a model, except under very, very, very specific circumstances. I don’t want to contribute to the issue if it would be my intention.

I’ll admit that I’ve done the whole “requesting manufacturers to rerelease rare models I want” thing, but I don’t think it’s the end of the world if it’s done. Again, I understand your view of the matter, as those that have the existing release would then have to deal with a newer, more higher-quality release if it was done. I’ve been patient with those existing models in question for a while now, checking the secondhand market quite regularly. I am sure that eventually, the time will come for the likes of models I really desire where they will appear for a good price, but it could be a while. There are some models that I want also that have never been released before that I have requested, but I’ll leave the specific details for another time. Never hurts to try and submit a request for an airplane I want in my coll
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I agree with the rerelease of some models. I would think it could help keep prices on the existing older models a bit more reasonable.
 
It's gotten so absurd that I've started buying new models....and historically I've completely avoided buying new models. They're cheaper than used!

After coming back from a two year hiatus, I've come to realize that most of the stuff I liked was retired during the pandemic.
 
I agree, the inflated prices on the secondary market have gone crazy, especially within the last 2-3 years and I’ve noticed it spreading into the more common models too. It’s the same situation with other hobbies, from 00 gauge railways to retro computer games, with many items being ‘flipped’ on ebay and the like. In fact the ‘flipping’ element has become more common, almost a mirror of the grey market situation with Rolex watches. Certain hot releases very quickly appear for double or triple their price soon after release.

I’ve noticed this has also creeped into model fairs, starting from the UK LGW Fair I attended in September 2021, the first one after lockdown. There was a new seller with a stall of 2 tables filled with Aeroclassics models, much of which was new stock from the recent release catalogue within the past year, all with hefty markups. The seller refused negotiation on price and I observed that very little sold, with the table remaining full all day.

Lo and behold, he was back again this year with the same stock plus additional releases, all now at even higher prices! Again, most of it sitting there all day. It’s the damndest example of ‘flipping’ I’ve ever seen, a complete joke and not a welcome thing to see entering a model fair environment. Many collectors are missing out on releases to these ‘flippers’.

I’ve paid a premium for a few of the rarer models but this has been at auction. I don't chase these high bids anymore as I can no longer justify it, but they’re still going strong. However there’s a world of difference between how much something can sell for at auction vs. direct retail/buy it now. The stall mentioned above is an example of this, as most models sit there unsold at the inflated ebay prices.

There’s the argument that it’s a free market and no one has a gun to your head to make you buy at these prices, well yes that’s true and certainly we don’t have to feed the bear.

However at equal measure the more instances we see of this ‘flipping’ means less models available to collectors at normal MSRP therefore creating artificial scarcity, resulting in aggressive competition as collectors have to run after new releases - thus a manipulation of the market. It’s not a level playing field.

Sellers stubbornly hold on at their inflated prices are trying to remain in control, well I reckon we should do the same and stubbornly refuse to pay these premiums.
 
These greedy sellers clearly don't know how an auction works. If I ever sell any models, I list them at the price I paid for them, sometimes a little less. That encourages buyers to bid in the hope of getting their model at a sensible price and I only need one bid to recover my costs! A couple of years ago I listed an Aeroclassics United Airlines Caravelle for £19.95 (approx $25 US) and it sold for a crazy $428 .US. That was my reward for listing at a sensible starting price, but if I listed it at $200, I would get no bids. Let that be a lesson to those greedy sellers!

This is an example af what I'm a talking about - a seller selling at probably the prices he paid for them and see how this attracts bids .

Items for sale by alanjetstar | eBay

Shop eBay for great deals from alanjetstar!
www.ebay.co.uk
Hope he does well for buyers and as a seller!
 
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This is quite the topic. I have paid quite a bit for some 400s over the years, but in most cases, it was the only option to get that model. With the whole rerelease topic, if their going to make 6 Delta 757-200's and 6 American 777-300's, why not one more of some we haven't gotten in a long time? I collect model aircraft because I looking for a diecast model aircraft of a real-life aircraft, not to profit from the model like what it seems with some of the online 2nd hand markets. Good grief.
 
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