eBay

[Brandon Speaks]

Yea ebay can get weird. Sometimes its based on a real specific item someone wants and it willing to pay the premium for even knowing its overpriced. I had a particular model of pocket knife I wanted and it was out of production, I found 2 NIB on ebay and knowingly paid double what they went for retail. All in I spend $80ish dollars more than they are worth but expect them to be daily users for the next 40 years so didnt really care because they were very specifically what I wanted so it was worth the premium for me.

[Matthew Hartlin]

I can't believe how pricey used handtools are going for on Ebay. I'm hopeful that it's a sign of more folks being interested in the Neanderthal or hybrid style of woodworking.

I've been looking for a Stanley 49 to go with my 48 for years and the prices are so varied. Just missed out on one that sold for a reasonable price! Will keep looking.

[Jim Koepke]

I can't believe how pricey used handtools are going for on Ebay.

Sometimes it is the uninformed. A few years ago there was a Stanley #5 listed with the front of the body missing. It was broken off at the mouth. The listing called it a "Rare Bull Nosed Bench Plane." It sold for $150.

Sometimes it is an idiot or a close cousin of the fool. They may be people who feel they must win the bid. It used to be easier to track who was bidding on what and get to know their ways. There are those who will up the bid by 50¢ or $1 dollar and then keep doing it again and again until they are the high bidder. Then someone else ups the bid another dollar. There are some that will bid what they think is above top dollar and hope to win. Sometimes someone else has figured out their technique and will bid right under them. After a while this might get the 'got to have it at any price' bidders to go broke or disappear.

It reminds me of something that happened many years ago during my coin collecting years. My wife went out with one of the daughters looking for yard sales. When she got home she said she found a book for me. It was A Guide Book of United States Coins by R.S. Yeoman, 1947. This is commonly known as "The Red Book." She said it was only 50¢. The interesting thing about this book is it is republished every year with the cover saying A Guide Book of United States Coins by R.S. Yeoman, 1948 2nd Edition, or what ever the year and edition. Any way there was already a more modern edition in my library. This was examined and seen to be pretty much the same other than different prices and other things that have changed over the years. It was taken to a coin show and shown to a few dealers. A few said it was worth about $50 in the condition it was in. One said, "I'll give you $50 for it." Okay, it's a deal. When walking away from his stall, he turned to the dealer next to him and in a sing song voice said, "I've got a first edition red book and you don't."

So sometimes it is just for the bragging rights.

jtk

[Stephen Rosenthal]

I can't believe how pricey used handtools are going for on Ebay. I'm hopeful that it's a sign of more folks being interested in the Neanderthal or hybrid style of woodworking.

I've been looking for a Stanley 49 to go with my 48 for years and the prices are so varied. Just missed out on one that sold for a reasonable price! Will keep looking.

A few weeks ago I commented about this on the general woodworking forum. I started noticing the skyrocketing eBay used hand tool prices around April, so I think it has to do more with the decreased manufacturing productivity due to the pandemic than anything else. Prices for used LN tools sell for 2-3 times new retail. If you’re patient, I’m quite sure some sense of sanity will return to the marketplace once life returns to a semblance of normalcy. Of course if you’re going to sell your tools on eBay, now might be the time.

[Tom Vanzant]

Several years ago, there was a “custom #5 Stanley plane” listed on eBay. It looked “off”, and the seller finally admitted it was a #7 with the tail bobbed off past the No. 7. It sold for over $300 to a guy who had a history of buying oddities. Whatever floats your boat...

[john zulu]

I love hate relationship with ebay. The shipping cost....... As for bidding. It is a norm the prices rocket up.

[Bruce King]

I haven’t bid on anything lately but I used to win bids by not bidding until 15 seconds before the item closes. Some others are doing it also so I just bid the max I want to pay plus 10 percent if I really want it. Bidding before the last few seconds just drives the price up.

[Jake Hillestad]

"Deals" are few and far between anymore. Still a great resource in that it lets you cover a lot of ground from your recliner. If I had to depend on antique shops and yards sales for my want list I wouldn't get anywhere compared to what I can find daily on the 'bay. I don't consider myself a collector but I want what I want and I'll pay for it up to a certain point without losing too much sleep.

[Jim Koepke]

Prices for used LN tools sell for 2-3 times new retail.

Are these out of stock at LN? That could explain it if there is an unknown backlog for availability.

jtk

[Bob Jones 5443]

Every L-N bench plane (except the No. 8) is out of stock. It's come to that. That hit home when I noticed it yesterday. Sad days. We are all rooting for them to rise again.

Supply chains are disrupted up and down the scale. I can't even buy a pack of fret saw blades from Knew Concepts this week.

On the other end, buying behavior is distorted from long-run averages, so makers can't predict demand. Spot shortages abound if makers aren't keeping huge inventories, and who would do that today?

For used tools, I can't say it enough: I do not bid on eBay. I avoid getting crushed by the Gotta Have It crowd.

The hiked prices on used tools are indeed troubling to me, but they're not limited to eBay. We sometimes run across them here, I must say. The sellers' thinking must run something like, "If people can't buy it at any price from Lie-Nielsen, they'll pay $50 less than the new L-N price for somebody's used plane now." Who's to say that's wrong? We each decide when to part with our cash. If there's a buyer, then the price is right.

The current hype has overheated the used market and made it less attractive lately (to me, at least), but I have to believe it will swing back once we live through a supply/demand cycle or two. Maybe we'll see a renaissance of supporting the real craftspeople and buy their stuff new again when they emerge from their slump. I'd like to hope so.

[Curt Harms]

I haven’t bid on anything lately but I used to win bids by not bidding until 15 seconds before the item closes. Some others are doing it also so I just bid the max I want to pay plus 10 percent if I really want it. Bidding before the last few seconds just drives the price up.

There's at least one auction site that doesn't close the bidding until there's been no activity for 15 minutes. That defeats the snipers.

[Jim Koepke]

Just looked at ebay and one of the promotions at the bottom of things recently looked at is a Nickel minted during WW II, a 1943-P. The only thing special about these is they actually do not have any nickel in them. Nickel was a 'critical war material' at the time so silver was used in nickels during the war.

Item number 184187550101 is a Buy It Now at $1,800 plus $5 shipping. It is in lousy condition if you ask me. Another one in much better condition is listed as BIN for $13.25 with shipping included.

jtk

[Mel Fulks]

Jim, good sharp eyes find good comedy! When I was a kid those things were circulating. I saved them in an official
nickle coin collector blue album ....until I needed an emergency candy bar. Then I'd pop 'em out and head for the corner
beer and candy place.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Years ago I saw lots of #8 planes at a great price so I bought one. It was a dream to use. I thought nothing of giving it to a friend who was visiting and then I went back to buy another and the prices were much higher. I managed to buy one but it does not work nearly as well. I did not replace it because the prices are so crazy.

I considered buying some new things and then selling them on eBay because they were selling higher than new. But you lose so much on the sale when you sell so the seller still might lose money even if selling 20% over retail.

[Buddy Morphis]

I've been trying to buy a #5 jack plane for 2 weeks now with no luck. I usually get out bid in the last few seconds or like others have said I look for the BIN , but on stanley planes most of it is way over priced or junk on the BIN.