Ebay is out of hand.

Maxmosbey

Maxmosbey

Final Approach
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Aug 23, 2007
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San Juan, PR/Ames, IA
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I need to get serious.
Ten years ago I restored a 1983 Yamaha XS650. I used to get on e-bay in the evenings, type in XS650 and then I would get five or six hundred items to go through. I would just go through them all and see what I thought that I might need. So today I was bored and I got on e-bay. I typed in XS650. There were 14,482 results. Holy Cow, that is a lot.
 
Out of the 14000, 5-600 are probably relevant.
 
Yep.

Hard to filter for useful results.
 
Maxmosbey said:
Ten years ago I restored a 1983 Yamaha XS650. I used to get on e-bay in the evenings, type in XS650 and then I would get five or six hundred items to go through. I would just go through them all and see what I thought that I might need. So today I was bored and I got on e-bay. I typed in XS650. There were 14,482 results. Holy Cow, that is a lot.
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I am confused. eBay is out of hand because they have a lot of stuff for sale? I typed in XS650 and the first 200-piece page of stuff ("ending soonest" not "best match" for a more random selection) looked reasonably relevant.
 
marcoseddi said:
Got to be a professional keyword in putter to find what your looking doe
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Exactly. I was just searching on how to clear a female deer from the runway and here I am at this non-relevant thread. I obviously am not a pro. :wink2:
 
There are bikes - and then there are parts - choose the correct category to find the whole bike . . . right? Seems simple to me -
 
comanchepilot said:
There are bikes - and then there are parts - choose the correct category to find the whole bike . . . right? Seems simple to me -
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If only.... If only....

Have more than once had someone contact me through a listing for an engine or transmission that was pictured as already being out of the vehicle....

....asking if they could purchase the whole car..... as a running driving automobile.

The pessimist inside me is starting to think the movie "Idiocracy" is more prophecy than a comedy.
 
I find eBay to be a modern Persian bazaar largely inhabited by thieves. I wouldn't do business on it for any amount more than I'd happily throw into a burning pit.
 
DJTorrente said:
I find eBay to be a modern Persian bazaar largely inhabited by thieves. I wouldn't do business on it for any amount more than I'd happily throw into a burning pit.
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I have 6000 eBay transactions and have been totally burned only once and that for maybe $100. And that was before eBay Buyer Protection. I routinely buy and sell on eBay and am routinely happy with the transaction.
 
AggieMike88 said:
If only.... If only....

Have more than once had someone contact me through a listing for an engine or transmission that was pictured as already being out of the vehicle....

....asking if they could purchase the whole car..... as a running driving automobile.

The pessimist inside me is starting to think the movie "Idiocracy" is more prophecy than a comedy.
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Not everyone understands how junkyards work. They probably think there is a possibility that you could put the engine back for them.
 
alfadog said:
Not everyone understands how junkyards work.
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I don't either since I don't own one :D :D


(sorry, a bit of a peeve of mine... we don't sell junk. Just quality recycled parts. To me, the "J" places are operating on a much lower level of quality and service than I. :wink2:)
 
AggieMike88 said:
I don't either since I don't own one :D :D


(sorry, a bit of a peeve of mine... we don't sell junk. Just quality recycled parts. To me, the "J" places are operating on a much lower level of quality and service than I. :wink2:)
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Yeah, I knew you would not like that term but that is how the public refers to them. As you well know :)

And regarding your distinction, I have a lot of history with junkyards, preferably of the You Pull type and I steer clear of the "recyclers" because I want to pay junkyard prices. But I also know how to find and pick what I want and have had good luck over the years. And I also know that I have no-one to blame but myself if I am unhappy. And that is fine with me; for me a good "junkyard" is like a candy store :D
 
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AggieMike88 said:
I don't either since I don't own one :D :D


(sorry, a bit of a peeve of mine... we don't sell junk. Just quality recycled parts. To me, the "J" places are operating on a much lower level of quality and service than I. :wink2:)
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I, for one, think your profession was way ahead of its time.

-Rich
 
RJM62 said:
I, for one, think your profession was way ahead of its time.

-Rich
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reuse_reduce_recycle.jpg
 
denverpilot said:
What's the verdict on Cash for Clunkers then? ;) ;) ;)

:) :) :)
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If you buy into the premise that reduced reliance on fossil fuels and reduced emissions of everything from NOx to GHC is of benefit to this nation then it makes sense to brick older, inefficient engines under a voluntary, not mandated, program. That is how we think things are supposed to work, no? And who else than the government can incentivize that uniformly and consistently?

That said, apparently the way the gov't went about it was typically inefficient and wasteful. Perhaps the way to do it was to offer a tax credit to mfr's?
 
Mike is a refined gentleman who also refers to the attractive ladies in Vegas as "escorts.";)

But Lucky on the other end of town calls his place (that looks a lot like Mike's except that it specializes in planes rather than cars) Dallas Air Salvage and refers to the working girls a bit differently.
alfadog said:
Yeah, I knew you would not like that term but that is how the public refers to them. As you well know :)

And regarding your distinction, I have a lot of history with junkyards, preferably of the You Pull type and I steer clear of the "recyclers" because I want to pay junkyard prices. But I also know how to find and pick what I want and have had good luck over the years. And I also know that I have no-one to blame but myself if I am unhappy. And that is fine with me; for me a good "junkyard" is like a candy store :D
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wabower said:
Mike is a refined gentleman who also refers to the attractive ladies in Vegas as "escorts.";)

But Lucky on the other end of town calls his place (that looks a lot like Mike's except that it specializes in planes rather than cars) Dallas Air Salvage and refers to the working girls a bit differently.
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Talk about a candy store :rofl:
 
alfadog said:
Yeah, I knew you would not like that term but that is how the public refers to them. As you well know :)

And regarding your distinction, I have a lot of history with junkyards, preferably of the You Pull type and I steer clear of the "recyclers" because I want to pay junkyard prices. But I also know how to find and pick what I want and have had good luck over the years. And I also know that I have no-one to blame but myself if I am unhappy. And that is fine with me; for me a good "junkyard" is like a candy store :D
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I'm not trying to put down Mike's business in any way, it is a legit business and addresses the need of a market, but those junk yards of the past, where there were acres and acres of vehicles and you could just go out and find whatever you needed are long gone. Now days they strip them of anything that there is an immediate demand for, then crush 'em. You will play hell getting in the yard, and if you do it is full of late model cars waiting to be stripped and crushed. Don't even go there looking for an AMC 258 straight six, any year, or a transmission crossmember for a 75 CJ5, that is not what they do anymore.
 
I've bought a lot of stuff off E-bay and only got ripped off once or twice, and that wasn't for much. Even though I buy a lot of stuff on line, I don't buy expensive items. I think the worst rip off I got was on a front wheel for my Yamaha. The one that showed up was not the one in the picture, but I lived through that one. I also got a leather jacket that reeked of smoke. I couldn't get the smell out of it, and my wife made me hang it outside. It stunk so bad we wouldn't even put it in the garage. I put it back on E-bay and listed it as a leather jacket that reeked so bad of smoke that anyone who wore it could walk into any restaurant and make the statement, "I'm a smoker, and I'm proud of it." I actually sold that jacket for $20 more than I paid for it, even after shipping. :D
 
Maxmosbey said:
I'm not trying to put down Mike's business in any way, it is a legit business and addresses the need of a market, but those junk yards of the past, where there were acres and acres of vehicles and you could just go out and find whatever you needed are long gone. Now days they strip them of anything that there is an immediate demand for, then crush 'em. You will play hell getting in the yard, and if you do it is full of late model cars waiting to be stripped and crushed. Don't even go there looking for an AMC 258 straight six, any year, or a transmission crossmember for a 75 CJ5, that is not what they do anymore.
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I got away from needing to visit a junkyard and probably have not set foot in one in 15 years. I do have a need now and there are still U-Pick yards in Miami.

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alfadog said:
I got away from needing to visit a junkyard and probably have not set foot in one in 15 years. I do have a need now and there are still U-Pick yards in Miami.

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Fewer and farther between though. I have a 75 Jeep CJ5 and there is a yard in Colorado that has acres and acres of old Jeeps and the guy who owns it is really good about going out and hunting up parts for me and sending them, but he's 650 miles away. Not real good if you are looking for an engine.
 
Maxmosbey said:
Fewer and farther between though. I have a 75 Jeep CJ5 and there is a yard in Colorado that has acres and acres of old Jeeps and the guy who owns it is really good about going out and hunting up parts for me and sending them, but he's 650 miles away. Not real good if you are looking for an engine.
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The yards in Miami or near any city, I would imagine, have limited space and have to limit what they keep to fairly popular models. Especially the U-Pick yards because they are not stacking cars for safety reasons. For something like that Jeep engine, you would have to stick with a speciality yard unless you get lucky but I would not expect to find it in a "modern" U-Pick yard. I used to deal with a yard that had a lot of older sports cars like the Alfas I love. They stacked rather randomly but would allow me in although "officially" they were not U-Pick. A couple yards would do that for me back in the 80s-90s; most in fact. Anyway, I once slipped while climbing and cut myself rather badly. Stitches badly although I did not get any. I hid the wound and snuck out so I would not lose my privileges there. Someone else might have gone for the PI attorney and that is why I imagine yards are more cautious about letting people in now. Different culture.
 
alfadog said:
The yards in Miami or near any city, I would imagine, have limited space and have to limit what they keep to fairly popular models. Especially the U-Pick yards because they are not stacking cars for safety reasons. For something like that Jeep engine, you would have to stick with a speciality yard unless you get lucky but I would not expect to find it in a "modern" U-Pick yard. I used to deal with a yard that had a lot of older sports cars like the Alfas I love. They stacked rather randomly but would allow me in although "officially" they were not U-Pick. A couple yards would do that for me back in the 80s-90s; most in fact. Anyway, I once slipped while climbing and cut myself rather badly. Stitches badly although I did not get any. I hid the wound and snuck out so I would not lose my privileges there. Someone else might have gone for the PI attorney and that is why I imagine yards are more cautious about letting people in now. Different culture.
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These days the internet is the place to look. I found transmission parts and carburetor parts in Istanbul, Turkey. I can actually get the parts in a couple of weeks, and the shipping isn't any worse than buying the parts in the US would be. The thing is, I couldn't find anyone with those parts, or who was willing to go out and look for them in the US. I think that it isn't worth it for them to go out and pull a $25 shift rail for a BW T14 transmission and send it to someone. I understand that.
 
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Exhibit 1:

http://www.pilotsofamerica.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1201050&postcount=20

I've done transactions on eBay myself, on the buy side mostly small stuff under the 'burning pit' threshold I mentioned. My wife is a somewhat active (thought less active than I'd like) seller of crap I'd like to see out of the house, though in the aggregate is worth a little too much to just pitch at the curb.

John, you're PIC of your wallet, and everybody has their own risk tolerance and management techniques.

alfadog said:
I have 6000 eBay transactions and have been totally burned only once and that for maybe $100. And that was before eBay Buyer Protection. I routinely buy and sell on eBay and am routinely happy with the transaction.
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E-bay does not lend itself to scams near like CraigsList does. Post something for sale on CraigsList and the scammers come out of the woodwork.
 
denverpilot said:
What's the verdict on Cash for Clunkers then? ;) ;) ;)

:) :) :)
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There is more detail to this than I wish to share at this point. Next time we happen to get together ask me again and I'll share that time.
 
Maxmosbey said:
I'm not trying to put down Mike's business in any way, it is a legit business and addresses the need of a market, but those junk yards of the past, where there were acres and acres of vehicles and you could just go out and find whatever you needed are long gone.
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Maybe in California. There's still more than one, here.

A friend kept an 80's vintage Subaru going via many weekends ripping front end components off of the three they had until there were no useful parts left to strip.

But he had a lot more time than money. He was a youth pastor at a rural church for his day job.
 
AggieMike88 said:
There is more detail to this than I wish to share at this point. Next time we happen to get together ask me again and I'll share that time.
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Very diplomatic. :)

I was egging you on. I believe we briefly discussed it at Perfect Landing last year. ;) ;) ;)

I just wanted to see if I could get you going. :) :) :)

You didn't take the bait. Which means you're a "nicer" person than I. Which isn't hard to accomplish, but it's better than a sharp stick in the eye. :) :) :)
 
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