Flea Markets vs eBay
Posted by Owen_Dyneto On 2011/5/11 11:25:11
It seems that most newer folks to the hobby rely on the national Packard vendors and eBay for parts sourcing and generally don't do flea markets, though I know that a few of us do, Bigkev, Randy and myself, and Packards1 is often a flea market vendor.
The contrasts are interesting and perhaps some of you have interesting stories which you'd like to share. The big advantage of eBay is that the available parts get very wide coverage, are easy to search, and you don't have to leave your house. The disadvantages are that, except for BIN items, the wide visibility and ease of finding put you in a competitive position with other potential buyers to the seller's advantage. Another downside is you can't pick it up and examine it closely, and a large number of items on eBay are misidentified as to application and sometimes to condition.
The disadvantage to better flea markets is also a disadvantage to the seller. You've got to get there and walk around and bargain but the seller has to rent a space, pack his wares and when he gets to the site, unpack, spend the day at his own booth, and display them. He doesn't want to take them home again and rarely is it more than one buyer and one seller negotiating over price.
I'm stocked to the gills on parts for my Packards so in recent years I mostly just shop for tools. The pictures of micrometers are those I've picked up at flea markets, I don't think any cost over $10.00 and all are in excellent condition. Starrett, MT, Mitoyoto, Lufkin are all good stuff, but nothing beats Brown & Sharpe for quality. The inside micrometer is 3 to 4 inches, the last on the right in the group picture is metric. The one with the large faces is for measuring paper like gaskets, etc. The cased B&S is 1-2 inch and reads to a 10,000th.
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The contrasts are interesting and perhaps some of you have interesting stories which you'd like to share. The big advantage of eBay is that the available parts get very wide coverage, are easy to search, and you don't have to leave your house. The disadvantages are that, except for BIN items, the wide visibility and ease of finding put you in a competitive position with other potential buyers to the seller's advantage. Another downside is you can't pick it up and examine it closely, and a large number of items on eBay are misidentified as to application and sometimes to condition.
The disadvantage to better flea markets is also a disadvantage to the seller. You've got to get there and walk around and bargain but the seller has to rent a space, pack his wares and when he gets to the site, unpack, spend the day at his own booth, and display them. He doesn't want to take them home again and rarely is it more than one buyer and one seller negotiating over price.
I'm stocked to the gills on parts for my Packards so in recent years I mostly just shop for tools. The pictures of micrometers are those I've picked up at flea markets, I don't think any cost over $10.00 and all are in excellent condition. Starrett, MT, Mitoyoto, Lufkin are all good stuff, but nothing beats Brown & Sharpe for quality. The inside micrometer is 3 to 4 inches, the last on the right in the group picture is metric. The one with the large faces is for measuring paper like gaskets, etc. The cased B&S is 1-2 inch and reads to a 10,000th.
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