Ebay Newbie Made Life Tougher for Ebayer

[Peter A Forbes]

On Sat, 17 Sep 2005 08:01:51 -0700, "Watson A.Name - \"Watt Sun, the Dark
Remover\"" <NOSPAM@dslextreme.com> wrote:

That's a good point of view, if you're in it for the money, not the item
itself.

No, we only buy for ourselves, not for resale of repair, it's just a general
modus operendi.

We only bid at the
last minute, and only bid what we think it's worth. If we win, great,
but if not there will always be another along soon....

That's my philosophy, which I try to adhere to as best as I can. I try
to make an intelligent decision as to the value and condition of the
item and what I'm willing to pay, and bid accordingly. But there are
other factors beyond one's contrl that one has to make assumptions
about, and sometimes those assumptions are way off.

Yes, there is always the unexpected!

We have dsl at work and at home, so no problem with keeping an eye on
things, but if it looks like a couple of guys are going head to head
on an item, we just walk away from it.

People get silly on what they are bidding and end up paying way over
the top, and that's when it is best to drop it and wait for another
one to come up.

That's a good point of view if you're trying to buy the item for resale
later at a profit, or as your name implies, you want to buy the
non-working item for repair and resell it at a profit later. However if
you're into the bidding for the item's collectible value, or for other
purposes less vulgar and earthly[1], then it's not a valid viewpoint
necessarily. And there are other points in between; it's not a
black-and-white decision. When you get into this kind of bidding,
sniping is kind of pointless. The price as long gone past the point
which the sniper is willing to pay.

We make large industrial battery chargers, we don't buy much for the company at
all, mainly ceramic caps and things like that which are getting expensive as
leaded devices start to become a problem.

I love to watch the bidding going on with the CK722 and other old
transistors. Obviously they have no real functional value, and it's
likely that after 50 years they barely function, if at all. The
cheapest 2N3904 transistor outperforms them by a mile. But one knows
that the bidders are not in it for that reason, they're in it for the
collectible value, which seems to be in the $5 to $80 range (or more)
depending on date code, condition, and packaging.

Never got into the old semi stuff, although we have some 1960's Mullard
transistors in the house somewhere. Most of my collecting is old laboratory
instruments such as galvanometers, bridges etc. Love the mahogany and brass!

Peter
--
Peter & Rita Forbes
Email: diesel@easynet.co.uk
Web: http://www.oldengine.org/members/diesel

 

[Watson A.Name - \"Watt Su]

"Peter A Forbes" <diesel@easynet.co.uk> wrote in message
news:legoi1d5b308p1kff4p3s1m0do87m163on@4ax.com...

On Sat, 17 Sep 2005 08:01:51 -0700, "Watson A.Name - \"Watt Sun, the
Dark
Remover\"" <NOSPAM@dslextreme.com> wrote:

That's a good point of view, if you're in it for the money, not the
item
itself.

No, we only buy for ourselves, not for resale of repair, it's just a
general
modus operendi.

We only bid at the
last minute, and only bid what we think it's worth. If we win,
great,
but if not there will always be another along soon....

That's my philosophy, which I try to adhere to as best as I can. I
try
to make an intelligent decision as to the value and condition of the
item and what I'm willing to pay, and bid accordingly. But there are
other factors beyond one's contrl that one has to make assumptions
about, and sometimes those assumptions are way off.

Yes, there is always the unexpected!

We have dsl at work and at home, so no problem with keeping an eye
on
things, but if it looks like a couple of guys are going head to
head
on an item, we just walk away from it.

People get silly on what they are bidding and end up paying way
over
the top, and that's when it is best to drop it and wait for another
one to come up.

That's a good point of view if you're trying to buy the item for
resale
later at a profit, or as your name implies, you want to buy the
non-working item for repair and resell it at a profit later. However
if
you're into the bidding for the item's collectible value, or for
other
purposes less vulgar and earthly[1], then it's not a valid viewpoint
necessarily. And there are other points in between; it's not a
black-and-white decision. When you get into this kind of bidding,
sniping is kind of pointless. The price as long gone past the point
which the sniper is willing to pay.

We make large industrial battery chargers, we don't buy much for the
company at
all, mainly ceramic caps and things like that which are getting
expensive as
leaded devices start to become a problem.

[1] I love to watch the bidding going on with the CK722 and other old
transistors. Obviously they have no real functional value, and it's
likely that after 50 years they barely function, if at all. The
cheapest 2N3904 transistor outperforms them by a mile. But one knows
that the bidders are not in it for that reason, they're in it for the
collectible value, which seems to be in the $5 to $80 range (or more)
depending on date code, condition, and packaging.

Never got into the old semi stuff, although we have some 1960's
Mullard
transistors in the house somewhere. Most of my collecting is old
laboratory
instruments such as galvanometers, bridges etc. Love the mahogany and
brass!

I dunno why you snipped your own stuff, but, whatever. I would say that
since it's easy to find test equipment with performance that surpasses
those old galvanometers and bridges, the old stuff is not as popular
with the technicians for its usefullness as it is for its
collectibility. And when you get into collectibles, the prices are
anyone's guess and can go sky-high. And it seems the biggest influence
is supply vs. demand. So it's really important that the buyer know his
stuff.

About the only things I have are a Leeds & Northrup bridge and some old
Weston ammeters. Not much to speak of.

Peter
--
Peter & Rita Forbes
Email: diesel@easynet.co.uk
Web: http://www.oldengine.org/members/diesel

 

[Prepair Ltd]

On Sat, 17 Sep 2005 19:13:15 -0700, "Watson A.Name - \"Watt Sun, the
Dark Remover\"" <NOSPAM@dslextreme.com> wrote:

I dunno why you snipped your own stuff, but, whatever.

Thread was getting a bit long...

I would say that
since it's easy to find test equipment with performance that surpasses
those old galvanometers and bridges, the old stuff is not as popular
with the technicians for its usefullness as it is for its
collectibility. And when you get into collectibles, the prices are
anyone's guess and can go sky-high. And it seems the biggest influence
is supply vs. demand. So it's really important that the buyer know his
stuff.

About the only things I have are a Leeds & Northrup bridge and some old
Weston ammeters. Not much to speak of.

We have six or seven Leeds & Northrup items, they made some fine
equipment. Most of ours are Cambridge Instruments or Pye, and probably
all of these originated in the same area of Cambridge in the UK where
both companies were based. There were a group of companies in the UK
who manufactured such equipment, mostly now extinct.

Probably the pinnacle of their manufacturing were the big Torsion
Wattmeters, one of which we picked up a while back as part of a pair
on ebay. They are truly lovely pieces of kit. One went on ebay last
week:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6558651885

Always strikes me as 'funny' how some items take on a value which is
disproportionate to their use, while others always seem to go for
pennies, almost!
Peter
--
Peter A Forbes
Prepair Ltd, Luton, UK
prepair@easynet.co.uk
http://www.prepair.co.uk

 

[c a l a n d e]

Prepair Ltd wrote:

Snip

Probably the pinnacle of their manufacturing were the big Torsion
Wattmeters, one of which we picked up a while back as part of a pair
on ebay. They are truly lovely pieces of kit. One went on ebay last
week:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6558651885

That's a truly lovely piece of art and if I were independently wealthy I
might be so inclined to bid on such.

 

[Watson A.Name - \"Watt Su]

"Prepair Ltd" <prepair@easynet.co.uk> wrote in message
news:k2aqi1ls6vpnlnamc6soadufspi6p3nauu@4ax.com...

On Sat, 17 Sep 2005 19:13:15 -0700, "Watson A.Name - \"Watt Sun, the
Dark Remover\"" <NOSPAM@dslextreme.com> wrote:

I dunno why you snipped your own stuff, but, whatever.

Thread was getting a bit long...

I would say that
since it's easy to find test equipment with performance that
surpasses
those old galvanometers and bridges, the old stuff is not as popular
with the technicians for its usefullness as it is for its
collectibility. And when you get into collectibles, the prices are
anyone's guess and can go sky-high. And it seems the biggest
influence
is supply vs. demand. So it's really important that the buyer know
his
stuff.

About the only things I have are a Leeds & Northrup bridge and some
old
Weston ammeters. Not much to speak of.

We have six or seven Leeds & Northrup items, they made some fine
equipment. Most of ours are Cambridge Instruments or Pye, and probably
all of these originated in the same area of Cambridge in the UK where
both companies were based. There were a group of companies in the UK
who manufactured such equipment, mostly now extinct.

Probably the pinnacle of their manufacturing were the big Torsion
Wattmeters, one of which we picked up a while back as part of a pair
on ebay. They are truly lovely pieces of kit. One went on ebay last
week:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6558651885

Always strikes me as 'funny' how some items take on a value which is
disproportionate to their use, while others always seem to go for
pennies, almost!

Like I said, supply vs demand, makes all the difference.

That's a nice piece of workmanship. It needs to be shipped inside a
foot of foam rubber, so that things like the thermometer and galvos
don't get broken. Hopefully it has lockdowns so that it can be
transported. Things like that really do belong in a museum.

I like to watch Antiques Roadshow (both English and U.S. versions).
It's a shame that seldom do these electrical and electronic devices get
shown on the shows.

Peter
--
Peter A Forbes
Prepair Ltd, Luton, UK
prepair@easynet.co.uk
http://www.prepair.co.uk

 

[Watson A.Name - \"Watt Su]

"c a l a n d e" <r86calande@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:YSkXe.16$zQ3.2@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net...

Prepair Ltd wrote:

Snip

Probably the pinnacle of their manufacturing were the big Torsion
Wattmeters, one of which we picked up a while back as part of a pair
on ebay. They are truly lovely pieces of kit. One went on ebay last
week:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6558651885


That's a truly lovely piece of art and if I were independently wealthy
I
might be so inclined to bid on such.

Looked like a steal to me, ohly 200 Pounds, or somewhat under $400. I'd
expect it to be worth more than that, even with a broken spring.

 

[Peter A Forbes]

On Sun, 18 Sep 2005 17:04:35 -0700, "Watson A.Name - \"Watt Sun, the Dark
Remover\"" <NOSPAM@dslextreme.com> wrote:

"c a l a n d e" <r86calande@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:YSkXe.16$zQ3.2@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net...
Prepair Ltd wrote:

Snip

Probably the pinnacle of their manufacturing were the big Torsion
Wattmeters, one of which we picked up a while back as part of a pair
on ebay. They are truly lovely pieces of kit. One went on ebay last
week:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6558651885


That's a truly lovely piece of art and if I were independently wealthy
I
might be so inclined to bid on such.

Looked like a steal to me, ohly 200 Pounds, or somewhat under $400. I'd
expect it to be worth more than that, even with a broken spring.

We picked up two of these for around Ł65 each last year in the wilds of
Scotland, a friend had one and I had the other. Both came with a resistance box
as well, so quite a nice deal! Their location and the need for collection made
them unattractive to most bidders who are in the south of the UK.

The spring that breaks is a common problem apparently, mine is also broken.
There are no transit locks for the movement that we could find, and it is a
fairly fragile piece of heat-treated wire.

I'll get around to trying a repair sometime, but it is a very nice thing to
view, if a little large.

The bidder for the one referenced was in Europe, probably Italy.

Peter
--
Peter & Rita Forbes
Email: diesel@easynet.co.uk
Web: http://www.oldengine.org/members/diesel