Just went on Ebay to check out what parts are around and where as I usually have about 10 pages of parts to go through i only had 3. It has been a few weeks since I was able to look for parts. Has everyone pulled their parts off of Ebay?

Does anyone know where else parts are being sold?



Andy

 

Just under 4000 listings for C3's

 

Andy,

I don't do ebay, but I have found and sold many parts here on the Forum.

Steve

 

I do eBay, this Corvette Forum (found some great parts from wonderful sellers), Dr. Rebuild, Paragon, NCRS events, swap meets, built up a list of C-3 parts dealers over the years since owning a '78 and two '70s. For a few good years until two years ago there were some great deals to be had on early C-3 parts on eBay but those prices have escalated substantially. There are still a few eBay sellers who aren't trying to put their unborn children through college. Corvettemack is a good one on eBay.
Since you are in Austin there are two parts sources near you that post quite often on the Forum, one in Austin and one in San Antonio.
What are you searching for?

 

E-bay changed a bunch of items recently that sellers didn't like. Prbly someone moved to another site to sell their items...

 

A handful of people complained loudly about changes made and upcoming changes, and even "boycotted" for a week. Barely caused a ripple, although I imagine they are still congratulating themselves. Hopefully ebay won't make the terrible feedback changes they promised.

Still, no one is really moving their stuff off ebay... that's just suicide for sellers because ebay is where everyone goes for used items. Thats just the fact.

Ive sold most of the 20 or so C3 (1969 mostly) items Ive listed on ebay the last couple weeks. I have 5 ending tonight, and 4 are bid up already even without the last minute snipe. Ebay is just fine.

 

It's not just vette parts. My wife does ebay for a hobby and is on there daily. Ever since they have talked about making some changes, she says that there are not as many of the regular sellers selling right now. Her sales have dropped drastically in last month or two.

Maybe it's the economy or who knows what.

 

"E-bay changed a bunch of items recently that sellers didn't like."

"A handful of people complained loudly about changes made and upcoming changes"

"Just went on Ebay to check out what parts are around and where as I usually have about 10 pages of parts to go through i only had 3". --I have noticed the same thing for 1973 parts lately. 15 pages reduced to 4 pages on some days.

 

What changes will ebay be making? I really don't like the new format and switch back to the original view which is less complicated. But it remains a good source for hard used and NOS items.

As far as the best place to find parts. Carlisle
If you are a die hard and go back year after year chances are you can find it all. Bonus: no shipping. I carried a starter home in my luggage to Florida last year. When I got home there was a note taped to it from the Department of Homeland Security saying they had inspected it. I retrospect I could see why due to its size, construction and density.

 

I noticed the 79 parts are also dramatically lower. I used to get 7 pages, now I only get 4. As said above, so what is it that is making the sellers go away? I don't go on Ebay that often to be up on the latest.

 

The main ebay changes are the prices for sellers are actually going up while ebay is saying they went down. Huh? The listing fees are reduced and they are including free Gallery pics, but when the sale is made the Final Value fees are higher and it ends up costing you more money at the end. That with high PayPal fees and raised shipping is getting annoying.

The other main change is that sellers can (will) no longer give buyers negative feedback. Not sure what ebay gets out of this, but it will cost them sellers. The concept was that if buyers dont pay, that can be handled through the Non Paying Bidder process, so no negatives for buyers are necessary. However, many times (like to me last week) a bidder will completely ignore the terms and details of an auction, unfairly complain loudly after the auction, and know he can give a negative to a seller who doesn't deserve it fearlessly, knowing he wont get one back. By the way, this is not to start a "but sellers suck too" argument. Im just saying this particular issue will be a problem for sellers.

I do think there are less sellers because of the general state of the economy. Ebay was a goldmine a few years ago, and with less people buying and more sellers getting squeezed, it's natural listings would be down.

Regarding buying parts, Carlisle is definitely the place to swap meet shop. However, as someone who has had a swap space at Bloomington Gold for over a couple decades, I will say it is incredibly easier to list my parts on ebay and sell them in a week, no sweat, the vast majority of the time.

 

I always look on ebay for my parts. I have shopped on ebay for years without having any real issues. When I was looking for a shifter plate console, I found on in really good condition for $61 (including shipping) when I received it and cleaned it up (replacing the shift indicator lens and engine config tag) I had a very decent looking one for less than $90. New it would have cost me about $261!!

 

All true.
Also as a buyer and seller I can add that postage has gone through the roof. Has anyone else noticed? Five years ago I could send a 2 pound or less box for $4.20 USPS priority.

So with all the new changes will you be selling on ebay less?
In a way I am happy to hear that ebay is getting less play. I like swap meets and more than a few sellers I knew left to do ebay full time. Will they be back at the swaps now? Time will tell.