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Is the Simplicity AC Supply drying up?


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I got into buying Simplicity/AC tractors last May when I bought my 3012; back then till now I've seen a change in the advertisements which were run. I was new to eBay and I didn't get this last minute bidding thing nor did I realize the value of Simplicity/AC parts in the beginning. I missed on parts like the one Tiller Extension kit, two or three right hand lifts went by, one rear/front towing ball bracket, I lost out on a few hydrolifts, finally I figured out I needed to increase my bidding price if I wanted any of this stuff. Then I realized I was getting SNIPPED so I learned that. But now a days, I don't see any of the "Gold" getting listed. I just see very little good parts/attachments getting listed. So I ask, "Is the Simplicity/AC Supply drying up?" Or will someone have to quit or liquidate for more stuff to become available? Is supply verses demand going to drive the prices up? What do you think?
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The hard to fine or rare stuff is always going to demand a higer price on ebay hopefully if you are selling. You are not going to get any deals on the rare stuff there or often any way. Seems as if all the stuff that I have got that is rare or a good deal has been right in my neighborhood or county. I don`t like calling it snipping though because I do it. I would rather bid on the auction in the last few minutes and get it as cheap as I can than to sit there for 7 days or so and run the price up on it.
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I agree with Ray..If you do get a "Deal" on some of the rare stuff on Ebay you better go outside and look around to see if anyone else on this earth is still alive,LOL
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Though prices have risen, especially on the rarer stuff, over the past five years due to demand, I haven't noticed that there is less of it available... Visibility and knowledge of these old machines is certainly increasing -- which is the whole goal of what I was trying to do....
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As I have stated before, when I started posting the ads in the ebay forum and up until about 1 year ago there was only one or two items a day and some days nothing. At that time there was an average of only 100 items listed in the forum at any given 10 day time period. In the last year this has increased to an average per day post of 30 or more items (every day) with an average total 10 day posting of between 250 and 300 posts. (doesn't sound like the market is drying up to me) If anything this has brought the prices down on the common items (on a sellers view point this might be considered as the market drying up) and the rarer items have been staying about stabile.
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quote:
Originally posted by UCD
the rarer items have been staying about stabile
I agree, the common stuff, wheels, hoods, lift brackets, has gone down in price. I was taking the buyers point of view on some things I am still looking for... I just don't see them. If you look at what is being listed in eBay, it's just common items. The rare stuff is getting more rare. I see the tiller listing at $61 right now, that doesn't have a pulley setup (they might want to buy Fred's pulley setup). What else listed in eBay is rare right now? I will bet that the next rare item that is "really rare", goes for an ugly amount of money. When's the next hi-low, right hand lift, lights? coming? There are the steals out there still, even on eBay, that's when the hunters are sleeping. It's happened.
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Selling price depends on demand. I bid on a couple of voltage regulators on ebay that went for almost new price. Third time, I got one for $6. I bid on a NOS carb that went for $120+, then bought a used one with manifold and complete air filter assembly for $16. Like any lottery, if you play long enough, you will eventually win. Once people fill their needs they quit looking for that particular item. This is when you find a deal. Rare items will always be high, but common maintenance items appear to be coming down in price.
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I 've been trading in this stuf for a number of years now and I'll buy a few then have to wait a while and then more show up. Goes in spurts. The optional accesories are the bread and butter of my sales. The standard tractor chasis parts are a "once in a while thing". I generally just save the best pieces for sale to persons who list in the want ads. Its generally a waste of time to advertise the "normal" stuff. I have a sheet made up here of average prices of about every part on a tractor based on a few years of selling on Ebay and elsewhere. I go by it when I price my parts to those listing want ads and modify up or down a little depending on the overall condition of the part. Its my attempt at being fair, though you can' hope to please everyone. I tell prospective buyers that "heres my price so you can compare and shop around. Some buy, some don't. I don't care one way or another, they are my parts and my prices, and if one doesn't like the price they always have the option to wait for a better deal to come along elswhere. I'm certainly not breaking their arm to buy right now. No doubt alot of good options and tractors went to the melting pots lately with the iron prices up, but I still keep finding more material around here. Right now on the shelf waiting for Ebay I have a 100% complete hydrolift kit...:D .... and a Good running 14hp Kohler magnum Single cylinder Horizontal shaft. Last weekend I looked at and gave a quote on some run down and rusted up parts tractors from one guy including a B212V, two B-1's, 32" tiller with extensions, B-12, Homelite T-12H, 314H, 5216, a 64" broadmoor, 7016H in pieces, and some other misc including a hydrolift in a upper cowl from a 3212. Doubt he takes my offer as I Re-sell so I need room to make some money and had a hard time justifying a little less than half his asking price. Stuff is still out there though...
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You might also find with this club getting bigger and bigger :D and word getting around of who can find "stuff", more and more gets sold "person to person" and doesnt get to ebay. I know I've run a lot of stuff through ebay, but some never gets there. If its rare or hard to find, and I'm not in any hurry to turn it over, I may wait and put it on ebay when noone else has it on, to hopefully pull in a higher dollar. On the flip side of that, If I have something "nice" sitting here and find I need quick cash, a classified on here, with a "steal of a deal" price gets me the pocket change I need right away. I've sold several items on here, that were a good enough deal that the classified was deleted within an hour after I posted it because the item was already sold. :D8D Then there is a third possiblity, I quite often offer goodies privately to members who have asked me to watch for them. No ebay, no classified, nothing public, so things get moved around a lot that you just dont see anywhere. ;) Basically what I'm saying is, just because it isnt visible, doesnt mean stuff isnt out there and still moving around. [:0] One more thing I've found here, the stuff thats sitting around, is getting harder to find. Its still out there, but a little more hidden or further from home. I find much more in the winter when theres no leaves on the trees than I do in the summer. But then, you gotta be out looking when there isnt too much snow too. ;)
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Sam, you still got that front brush cutter? Who got the ball hitch adapter bracket? Any more right hand lifts coming out? This is all the stuff I don't have and I'm watching for. Don't see loaders being listed too often either, only saw one original L12/L112 loader listed since May 03. Otherwise all the loaders I see are Sears, Kwik Way, Johnson Workhorse, etc. You watch there's going to be a frenzie the next rare item that comes out. That's what I predict.
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I know one member who stole a loader off ebay. Just happened to log on at the right time to find one with a low "buy it now". Nobody ever saw the thing, not even me :( You ever gonna post any pics of that ? or keep it a secret ? By the way, did you ever figure out what the pedal on the left was for on that B1 ?
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Last year I got an ez rake from Ebay. I paid $40 for it. I know there getting harder to find. I also know I got real lucky on that deal, as did Kirk! lol Keep your eye open and the stuff you want will show up. Elon
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I like this post. I know some things are hard to find and to put a price on. Like some others here, I often wheel and deal without advertising - both frequent to come by items and harder to find parts. I have this Simplicity part I didn't initially know what was. It turns out that it's a clutch guard plate (I think that's the name, another club member had looked it up while at the Orange show in someones book). I'd never seen it on a tractor (or off) until I came across it on an old landlord I purchased (dumb luck on my part). At the show, lots of people were interested in buying it but I didn't sell because I'd never even heard of it and couldn't bear to part with it for that reason alone. Now, fair value is also very subjective and I've practically given items of worth away at times (especially to club members) and I've also refused to "give" other things away (like the Sears loader I have on Ebay right now). For me it depends on how much I've got invested, how interested I am in keeping it, how hard it is to replace and how much I need it. Weighing all of these things on different days under changing circumstances can often mean I change my mind on value/worth etc. I've seen several loaders not sell on ebay and have wondered why. I suspect most buyers want to wait and find one of those "too good to be true" deals that do happen to people, albiet infrequently. For me as the seller (like on the loader) when I know how hard something is to come by and how difficult to replace it is, I can't "give" it away to anyone. Thanks again for the post Michael.
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I caint belive i forgot about the hard to find older Broadmoor grills. I recived three of them from two club members. One a payed very little for and the other one was given to me. I still am very gratefull for that! If nothing comes on Ebay, I know "from experiance" some one here has one or two. So far I havent heard of any one getting screwed by another member. Elon
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There is parts still out there in barns and garages I know my Dad has a 725 and I have a Late B-10 and a Big Ten in pieces in my brothers barn along with about five other simplicity's and A/C's and a twenty horse wheel horse and my Early B-10 in my gararge and my Dads B-110 at his house.
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quote:
Originally posted by RayS
The hard to fine or rare stuff is always going to demand a higer price on ebay hopefully if you are selling. You are not going to get any deals on the rare stuff there or often any way. Seems as if all the stuff that I have got that is rare or a good deal has been right in my neighborhood or county. I don`t like calling it snipping though because I do it. I would rather bid on the auction in the last few minutes and get it as cheap as I can than to sit there for 7 days or so and run the price up on it.
your rigth make the last minute bid and win!!!!
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Well the focus on this post was more, "Is the Simplicity AC Supply drying up?" or perhaps "where's all the good stuff gone?" Anyway, sort of along these lines, I talk to a friend who trades on Wall Street and he was quickly able summarize or maybe appreciate one of the aspects of this club. The first thing he says to me regarding "a tractor club"; "so is the the type of club which brags about all the deals they find?" My response was yeah, sorta like a Ham Radio club/conversation, all they talk about is the size of their antenna. I can laugh at the narrow minded approach in that while it's partially true, I appreciate more aspects of it all. Because I really like seeing deals as much as I like seeing the quality work I see in peoples restorations. I guess I like seeing the deals in that I too am in the quest to build my collection, sorta like collecting baseball cards... but it's so functional. So I figured I've saved $1200+300+200+1200+800=$3700 dollars in yard work/plowing this past 1.5 years (of course I did all the work). Well thank you for the responses and I enjoyed this post too.
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I got all my "gold" in the winter months except for the snowblower attachment I bought last August!!!!
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A snipper lurks in the back ground while you sit confident your bid was the highest..... Then at 2 mins to 30 seconds.....BAM BAM BAM .... you are not confident any more..... your bid was taken out ... By "the snipper". You've just been "Snipped". This gives the buyers an advantage by reducing the price drive up when multiple people can see bidding happen. There are automated tools to perform snipping so you don't need to be up at night. Someone posted a website which will do it for you too.
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i think you will see more of this stuff if prices start going up. the economy is still not that great. people are not spending $150 for a new seat. Duct tape will work until there is more money. or for that matter not replacing the old simplicity out in the barn, make it do another year until you can afford that shiny new one. i find deals on ebay and around the corner from my house. on ebay if people are not sure what they have or don't properly list what they have you may find a deal. i saw a sears tractor on the side of the road 3 miles from my house. i wasn't interested in that but stopped anyway. the guy had 3 simplicities behind the garage i got cheap. for work, i drive around ina pick up truck and big trailer all day on country roads(eastern mass version) and i don't come across deals that often. but when i find em i am ready.
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I'm always ready to find a deal. I have been burned before on a "deal", but for the most part, I'll say I haven't done too bad. I've picked up a bunch of RER's and off-brand mowers, but they have helped donate engine parts to the more "desireable" machines.
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I just bid my highest amount that I am willing to pay for an eBay item and hope no one else wants it more than I do. That takes care of the snippers. They just have to want it more than I do. If your only concern when bidding/buying on eBay is to get a "good deal" then you are not going to get the item on the first time you bid on one. Always remember what a "good deal" is - That is when both the seller and the buyer are happy with the deal. FWIW Dan
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Remember, 2 elephants for a quarter is a good deal only if you need the elephants and have the quarter!
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