Did you guys see the undecorated Proto GP-9 on ebay that sold for $222.50? Lucky seller!! http://www.ebay.com/itm/261047183160?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649 Wish I could get prices like that on ebay. Yeah, it’s MIB but jeeze!! Roger Huber
Now I wonder if the winner will “disappear”?
Had to be a stupid bidding war…
meh, thats peanuts to some folks. I see so many people around the Washington DC beltway in Mercedes, BMW’s and Lexus, they all have more money than sense. Some of them may be bidding on ebay.
And many BMW, Mercedes and Lexus drivers may think model railroaders are silly for spending thousands on little toy trains. It is all about whatever trips your trigger…and it is a bit narrow minded to categorize someone simply by what they drive.
[quote user=“oldline1”]
Did you guys see the undecorated Proto GP-9 on ebay that sold for $222.50? Lucky seller!! http://www.ebay.com/itm/261047183160?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649 Wish I could get prices like that on ebay. Yeah, it’s MIB but jeeze!! Roger Huber
I’ve seen some ridiculous prices on Ebay, and I find that certain sellers seem to get consistently high bids and sales while other sellers don’t do as well. Reputation and a high feedback score will usually attract top dollar bids.
You may want to rethink this “peanuts” thing. You can almost bet that the same people you see driving on the Beltway in those cars also live in multi-million dollar homes. Given the prices of the autos and the homes, I can all but guarantee that the banks actually own more of that stuff than the people do!
You don’t need THAT much for a fricking Lexus…we bought a 2008 Lexus ES350 for $16,000 just last year…all you got to know is where to look…
[|(]
Hi!
Approaching my 7th decade - 6 of which were in the hobby - I’ve concluded some things about “people and their money”…
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Everyone has their own priorities of spending. What comes first to my neighbor may be last for me.
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The amount spent is all relative to ones bankroll. To me, buying a $300 BLI loco is a substantial expenditure. To others the amount may be transparent. And to still others it may be the impossible dream.
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As a long term Credit Union officer with a major oil company, I had intimate views on a lot of folks personal finances, and there were extremes. Some folks always dressed well, took fancy vacations, and had new cars and the latest gadgets. Yet, many of these folks were one paycheck away from disaster, maxed out to CC companies and loan institutions.
Still others drove the same cars for years, and never seemed to have much money to spend. Yet, on paper, some of these folks were literally millionaires.
Regarding the subject sale, somebody really wanted that particular loco. They could have gotten the same thing for 1/3 that, although they would have had to strip off the paint. Of course, the deal still has to be completed, and the buyer still has to fork out the bucks…
Having been a shop foreman in a BMW dealership service department, I can tell you that you might be surprised at how many people driving those sorts of cars only live in $500,000 to $1,000,000 homes - which is the low end of the high end in this part of the country.
Some people choose those cars because “driving” is a big part of their life - they want it to be nice. Others buy them for statis, and others buy them becuae like you suggest, the price is easily managable for them.
Some are leased, some are “mortgaged”, some are paid for, just like buyers of more modest autos. I learned some years ago the importance of living in a paid for house and driving a paid for car - unless free finanicing lets me keep my money in the bank.
But the brand has only a little to do with price - have you priced a full sized pickup truck recently?
My wife and just bought a new car, a very practical car for our needs, it cost over $45,000 and it says FORD on the front. Our new car is a Ford Flex Limited AWD with eccoboost - as nice as any BMW I ever drove.
As for model trains - and this Ebay listing - MAYBE, two or more of the bidders NEED this loco to complete a l
Well, how much is an undecorated Proto GP-9 worth?
The answer is, “To one person, it was worth $222.50”
Something is worth what somebody will pay for it.
Michael
Photo shows a non-dynamic undecorated shell. I think the non-dynamic is a little rare. Probably exactly what the two high bidders needed to complete a specific model.
Rarity and a bidding war=over $220 for a blue box proto.
Chuck
It sure feels weird how casual you can drop “Yeah its not bad. I think its listed at $1.2m” around here. I have a pretty nice apartment with a view and walking distance to stuff so its a little more high end, but I drive a Honda Accord. From the 90s. It sure looks weird next to the Mercedes, Jags, and Porsches in my building.
But I’d balk at $222 for anything that’s not…like a bicycle or something.
Maybe its the Aston Martin, Mazerati, Tesla crowd around here.
Well, it is out of production so the buyer may have not known where to get another one. If it was something they had to have for the rail road I sort of see it. (Well not really)
I was wanting another set of powered Proto 1000 F3 A&B units. I was looking at them on E-Bay and saw some for $120.00 NIB. I was thinking about it, I knew when they where in production they where only $70.00 a set. But, where else could I get them?
Luckily I went to my LHS to pick up a engine for a friend, looked at the bottom of a display case and saw 12 sets of PK1000’s F3’s for $69.95. [:D]
Cuda Ken
Now days its getting harder and harder to find undec engines, you almost have to have your name in with your LHS the minite there announced. Or you are SOL.
We all put different values on different things. Personally, I would live in a trailer in the woods before I would live in any apratment in any inner city. And I don’t have crime phobia or “city fear”, I have worked in and aroud Baltimore all my life - I’m just not an “urban” kind of person.
And I live out at the far “edge” of the suburbs in what was once a rural village - and I’m looking to move farther out when we retire and down size. But currently I live in a big, 2-1/2 story, 4000 sq ft, 1901 Queen Anne home sitting on a one acre lot - with a pool and a big detached garage - maybe worth a million, maybe not - but it suits my life style and we will assume I can aford it because it is paid for.
There is nothing wrong with a Honda, they make great cars - but they will never sell me one - they are too small for my needs - except the van - but my Flex is a better v
Now then…how ya feel about those Athearn Genesis $100 cabooses?[:-^]
$222.50 for a Proto GP9? Some folks is dumber’n’a box of hammers!
The value of anything is only determined by how badly one person wants it and how badly the other person wants to be rid of it.
How many of those do you have for sale? I thought so. So who are you to judge what others should or should not pay?
Sure, I get it, you would not pay that. There are likely things you buy I would not pay a red cent for.
Again, if by any standard a new ATHEARN GP9, DC version is worth $189.98 - than to someone who really wants THAT SPECIFIC loco, $222 is not an unreasonable price for a mint Proto2000 GP9 undecorated Phase II with no dynamic brake.
Again, if that’s what you want, what are your other choices? EXACTLY - there are none.
I would not give $1 for a model of a UP BigBoy - does that mean others are foolish for buying them?
Sheldon
Ken!
Great find!!
It just goes to show that regardless of how sore your back is, when in your LHS always bend down to see what others have missed![swg][(-D]. When my back was bad I was in the Credit Valley Railroad HS and I got down to look at some stuff on the lower shelves. I thought I might have to crawl out the front door because I couldn’t get back up![(-D]
As far as the thread goes, I used to own a BMW. It was a 2002tii with mechanical fuel injection. I never owned it for status because at the time there wasn’t as much attention paid to BMWs. It was well used when I bought it. I only bought it for one reason - it would go through a corner at speeds which used to make my wife complain of splayed toes!!! It was almost as good in corners as my Mini with a Cooper conversion, but then again nothing can compete with a go kart with a body on it - i.e. a Mini!
To this day I couldn’t care less what others are driving be they MB, Lexus or whatever (well actually I could care when they are driving true exotics, antiques or older British sports cars). All I know is that both of our vehicles are paid for (that is until the next trip to the dealer for service) and the are nice to drive (but I try not to point the Honda van into a corner quite as fast as I did with the Mini or the BMW)!
OK - now it is time to stop rambling and remembering the old times.
Dave[(-D][(-D][(-D]
Absolutely I wouldn’t pay that for it. For one it has no dynamic brakes. All mine have dynamics. For another it’s undecorated. I don’t require that it be undecorated. I could easily locate another model (decorated and with DB of course) and strip it and still come out paying far less. And there have been times in the past when I wanted a model without dynamic brakes and filed them off and filled in any holes. There are alternatives. And who am I to say it? I’m one who frequently builds his own from bits and pieces and modifies as needed. Very rarely do I pay over $100 even for new.