Questions regarding Selling B-29 Kit (Model 2005)

[collectornut60]

I'm new to this forum so please bear with me.

First, I am not a model builder nor is anyone in my immediate family so I know absolutely nothing about these kits except what I found out in my research.

Anyway, I have a RARE B-29 Superfortress Model Kit (#2005) that I'm looking to sell. The kit is opened, the box top is a little beat up, but the contents is in overall excellent condition and intact. There are some minor issues with some of the pieces that I'm sure will not affect building the model in any way. These minor issues will be noted in the description along with pictures of same.

I'm planning on posting it here because I don't like eBay (even though I would get more exposure from that site) and I know it will eventually go to someone who would appreciate it for what it is. So before I list it I would like to get some suggestions on how to proceed so I could get the best possible price for the kit. So a couple of questions I have are:

I was going to ask for Best Offer, is that a good idea?

Would it be a good idea to keep it listed for a certain timeframe so all who are interested can make an offer?

If yes to the above what would be a reasonable time frame?

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your time.

[SteveM]

You're right, eBay would get you more exposure, a higher selling price, and about 10% loss in fees.

On eBay I've seen, purchased, or sold this kit for anywhere from $80 to $250. In the $80 range are kits with missing parts and as you would expect the kits in excess of $100 or so are completely intact. You might think the prices would scale linearly depending on the condition of the kit, but I have purchased two of them for about $120 and $140 and one of those was still in shrink wrap. Prices on eBay make no sense when it comes collectible kits such as this one.

Given that you are not on eBay you won't get as much traffic and will need to be open to offers for longer. I'd think a week or two for people to make offers would be fine. Maybe have a minimum price that you'd be willing to sell for and people can make offers above that if they'd like to.

If you go ahead with this you'll want to let people know your general whereabouts so they'll know the shipping costs and if dealing in person is a possibility.

[collectornut60]

Hi Steve,

I would think it might be more than 10% because you would also have to factor in Paypal fees since eBay doesn't allow any other payment but Paypal.

I agree prices are very unpredictable on eBay. Something you think won't get much fetches a lot and something you think will make lots of money makes very little or doesn't sell. With eBay now there are just to many possibilities of problems arising.

I understand I won't get much traffic here. I took that into consideration.

Regarding putting a minimum price, the problem I see with that is if I put a minimum price I would have to sell it for that if someone offers to pay that, no?

Thank you for the suggestion of putting my town and dealing in person. That's a good idea.

Also, thank you for responding. This post has gotten over 60+ views and your the first one to respond. I think I should have made the subject line different because it's confusing people.

T

[SteveM]

The 10% figure is the average amount paid in fees to eBay and PayPal combined (based on my experience). It's not exact and assumes no extra auction features.

What you could do is forgo publicly stating a minimum price and say you'll entertain all offers but reserve the right to not sell to the highest bidder if you don't like the bid. Keep in mind though that a "make me an offer" type of approach signals to people that you may not be very serious about selling, whether or not you really are.

Those 60+ page views were probably nearly all search engine bots and only a handful of real people.

[John G Jedinak]

You might want to consider logging into www.virtualaerodrom.com. There are serious modelers there who likely would be very interested in purchasing this kit...Luck, JGJ

[collectornut60]

The 10% figure is the average amount paid in fees to eBay and PayPal combined (based on my experience). It's not exact and assumes no extra auction features.

Oh, okay. I haven't sold on eBay since 2008 so I'm clueless regarding theirs and PayPal fees. I still wouldn't sell on eBay anyway (even though I am sacrificing more exposure) because I don't like their PayPal only rule.

What you could do is forgo publicly stating a minimum price and say you'll entertain all offers but reserve the right to not sell to the highest bidder if you don't like the bid. Keep in mind though that a "make me an offer" type of approach signals to people that you may not be very serious about selling, whether or not you really are.

I want to do that because the way I see it is if I put a minimum price I would have to accept that price if offered which could result in me losing the opportunity of getting better offers.

That you for the suggestion regarding offers. That makes sense. So I could just say something like, "I will entertain all offers but I reserve the right to not sell to the highest bidder if I don't feel the offer is reasonable," or something like that?

Those 60+ page views were probably nearly all search engine bots and only a handful of real people.

Oh. Okay. Goes to show you what I know.

[collectornut60]

You might want to consider logging into www.virtualaerodrom.com. There are serious modelers there who likely would be very interested in purchasing this kit...Luck, JGJ

Hi John,

Does that site have a selling section? I did check the site out but it looks like it is only for posting pictures of your models. I didn't see any community forums or anything to get an idea of how the site works.

If I was to put pictures of the kit up on that site, how would I advertise the kit is for sale? Do you personally know anything about how the site works?

Thanks for the suggestion.
Tina

[John G Jedinak]

Tina....It does not have a community section. (You need to join as a member) What I would do (if it were me/I) is take a picture of the kit and download it. At this point there is a space to place comments, so....say what you would like....then click on to place into the site.

All "youse guys" out there familiar with V/A, stick your 2 cents in here with your thoughts and suggestions..........JohnG.

[collectornut60]

Tina....It does not have a community section. (You need to join as a member) What I would do (if it were me/I) is take a picture of the kit and download it. At this point there is a space to place comments, so....say what you would like....then click on to place into the site.

All "youse guys" out there familiar with V/A, stick your 2 cents in here with your thoughts and suggestions..........JohnG.

Hi John,

Thank you for the information. Question if I may, in the comments section would I be allowed to put that the kit is for sale here on Guillow's and give a link to the Guillow's fourms?

[BillParker]

I agree, VA is a good place to try.

1.. join up. It's all machine code driven, so your "sign up" is instantaneous.

2.. take pic of kit, and post it in your "hangar."

3.. add comments that you'd like to sell the kit, including any and all conditions...

4.. wait for the guys to get back to you..

E-Bay, if properly listed will gross about $150 to $170 currently. I follow all the B-29 auctions closely, so I know. The shipping will be between $20 to $30.. You'll give back $20 roughly to E-Bay/Paypal. If you're not already set-up to do E-Bay/Paypal, why bother?

Only you can decide what a fair "reserve" price for the plane would be. I will tell you that I bought the plans for the kit from the AMA Plans Service for $50, so, as far as my opinion goes, the plans alone are worth 50 bucks.

If you can't figure out the Virtual Aerodrome thingy, drop me anote to my mail address below, and I'll help you make it happen...

bp

[John G Jedinak]

Yep...Bill Parker has got you on the right track...follow his lead and you will do fine. Thanx, Bill

[collectornut60]

I agree, VA is a good place to try.

1.. join up. It's all machine code driven, so your "sign up" is instantaneous.

2.. take pic of kit, and post it in your "hangar."

3.. add comments that you'd like to sell the kit, including any and all conditions...

4.. wait for the guys to get back to you..

E-Bay, if properly listed will gross about $150 to $170 currently. I follow all the B-29 auctions closely, so I know. The shipping will be between $20 to $30.. You'll give back $20 roughly to E-Bay/Paypal. If you're not already set-up to do E-Bay/Paypal, why bother?

Only you can decide what a fair "reserve" price for the plane would be. I will tell you that I bought the plans for the kit from the AMA Plans Service for $50, so, as far as my opinion goes, the plans alone are worth 50 bucks.

If you can't figure out the Virtual Aerodrome thingy, drop me anote to my mail address below, and I'll help you make it happen...

bp

Hi Bill,

Thank you for the information. I will definitely do what you suggested.

Regarding eBay, have you seen any recent auctions for B-29 Kits? I've searched the site and couldn't find one for this particular brand (Guillow's). I did see other brands like Revell though.

I am set up do to eBay but I don't like their PayPal only rule and I prefer to decide what form of payment I want to accept and can have the freedom to work it out with the buyer (if any).

Regarding a "fair reserve price" I have no idea. I'm completely clueless on these things and not absolutely nothing except for what I've learned in my research. The only thing I couldn't find are prices of what the kit has gone for.

$50 for a set of the plans?!! Dang. Maybe I should make a set up for myself to sell on the side? That would definitely help me make some money to pay for fixing my car which is one of the reasons I'm selling the kit. The other is nobody in my family is into these kits and I would like to see it go to someone who appreciates it for what it is.

Thank you again for the info on the other site. I'll post it here and there for sale, that way more exposure.

[SteveM]

Thanks for the price update Bill, I haven't been watching the B-29 auctions recently and it sounds like the average price may be slightly higher now. But then I'm the kind that bids low and is willing to wait a year or more to snag a great deal so I don't think too highly of having to pay more than about $140 for a B-29 in excellent condition (that wasn't a bid/offer). I've wondered if the AMA plans were worth $50, good to hear that they are.

The Virtual Aerodrome doesn't really have a good way to list something for sale and keep it visible for a long time. The point of that website is to share photos of planes you are building or flying and unless being discussed the picture will quickly drop off the radar. Instead, post here when ready to sell then you or one of us can make a post on the Virtual Aerodrome to let those folks know a B-29 kit is up for sale on this forum. The comment on the sale would probably drop off the radar in just a day so it would require frequent bumping which can be annoying, but I don't think people would mind in this instance.

A better option might be to post on your local Craigslist then post links here, the Virtual Aerodrome, RCGroups, etc. I'm sure we'd all be willing to propitiate the link out to our fellow hobbyists.

[collectornut60]

The Virtual Aerodrome doesn't really have a good way to list something for sale and keep it visible for a long time. The point of that website is to share photos of planes you are building or flying and unless being discussed the picture will quickly drop off the radar. Instead, post here when ready to sell then you or one of us can make a post on the Virtual Aerodrome to let those folks know a B-29 kit is up for sale on this forum. The comment on the sale would probably drop off the radar in just a day so it would require frequent bumping which can be annoying, but I don't think people would mind in this instance.

A better option might be to post on your local Craigslist then post links here, the Virtual Aerodrome, RCGroups, etc. I'm sure we'd all be willing to propitiate the link out to our fellow hobbyists.

Okay, so it's probably NOT a good idea to do anything on the Virtual Aerodrome site then?

I do have a Craigslist account. When you say post it there do you mean basically saying something like "B-29 Superfortress Model Kit #2005..." Then in the body say something like "for further information and photos click on the following link" and have a link to this site with the post showing the kit for sale and all the details? Please excuse my ignorance but what purpose would the link to here be for?

[SteveM]

Just saying I think it would be best to try to keep the actual for sale posting in an area designed and intended for it and pass links to it on websites and mailing lists frequented by people that would be interested in making an offer.

What you say on Craiglist or even if you use it is up to you. I've seen all manner of stuff on there from people posting to say not to go to an advertised sale as no one was there to people asking for offers on an item but not responding to any attempts to contact them with an offer. I don't think it out of place or inappropriate to simply post that it is for sale and you are open to offers. In a situation like that nothing obligates you to sell to someone simply because they made you an offer.