Another crazy eBay auction

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seller has over $100 worth of extras (that can't be mentioned on ebay). you will have to dig through the photos to see them.
Rex
 
Bat-mite said:
That's a lot of stuff, but not $549 worth, IMO.
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I put the retail new value at about $600ish. Plus the free shipping. Built BD ($30), Sumo ($100), and initiator with used controller and pad ($200), unbuilt new initiator system ($200) and then some misc. motors and other stuff.

For me, a built kit is less valuable than an unbuilt kit. Mostly because I enjoy building as much as launching, I enjoy the pride of knowing I built it, and I know how it was built.

IMHO: I think there is a safety issue with already built MPR/HPR being sold to anyone with enough cash. A person who never built or flown an LPR rocket can buy this, a G80, and go launch. All the while, they don't even know there is a safety code (much less knows what's in it) and may not even understand how high the rocket can fly or what size field they need. It's very easy for someone with more bucks than brains to be dangerous. But there is no law or regulation against it, so we have to hope for a smart seller and a smart buyer.
 
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Combos in my opinion reduce the value. I agree with the built vs unbuilt comment.
 
CZ Brat said:
I put the retail new value at about $600ish. Plus the free shipping. Built BD ($30), Sumo ($100), and initiator with used controller and pad ($200), unbuilt new initiator system ($200) and then some misc. motors and other stuff.

For me, a built kit is less valuable than an unbuilt kit. Mostly because I enjoy building as much as launching, I enjoy the pride of knowing I built it, and I know how it was built.

IMHO: I think there is a safety issue with already built MPR/HPR being sold to anyone with enough cash. A person who never built or flown an LPR rocket can buy this, a G80, and go launch. All the while, they don't even know there is a safety code (much less knows what's in it) and may not even understand how high the rocket can fly or what size field they need. It's very easy for someone with more bucks than brains to be dangerous. But there is no law or regulation against it, so we have to hope for a smart seller and a smart buyer.
Click to expand...

I guess the only bright spot would be that if someone were to buy them and have an accident, NAR and TRA can say, "Hey, he wasn't one of ours!"
 
CZ Brat said:
I put the retail new value at about $600ish. Plus the free shipping. Built BD ($30), Sumo ($100), and initiator with used controller and pad ($200), unbuilt new initiator system ($200) and then some misc. motors and other stuff.

For me, a built kit is less valuable than an unbuilt kit. Mostly because I enjoy building as much as launching, I enjoy the pride of knowing I built it, and I know how it was built.

IMHO: I think there is a safety issue with already built MPR/HPR being sold to anyone with enough cash. A person who never built or flown an LPR rocket can buy this, a G80, and go launch. All the while, they don't even know there is a safety code (much less knows what's in it) and may not even understand how high the rocket can fly or what size field they need. It's very easy for someone with more bucks than brains to be dangerous. But there is no law or regulation against it, so we have to hope for a smart seller and a smart buyer.
Click to expand...


That's how I feel about "Built Kits" too.
They are worthless to me, and I would never pay for one.
 
I sent him a question about the hazmat items and asked if he was certified to ship hazmat. I also mentioned that eBay doesn't allow those items to be sold on eBay. If I get a response I expect it to be at least as snarky as the answer to the guy who questioned if all the items were new.
 
He replied already and said he can ship hazmat stuff. However, he said the motors were not included. If the motors are not included why are the in the photos??? What else is not included???
 
I am always suspicious about high priced auctions with extra parts included to make up for the price. Especially if they say some itesm are nto listed.
 
Greg Young said:
.. and the seller's answer seemed a bit of a slap to the party who posted a question...
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For sure. The reason the questioner couldn't "read" the auction is because the description looks like it was written by a 5 year old with ADD. I just love the various font sizes, colors, indentations, and general butchering of spelling and grammar. Makes my eyes hurt.
 
These seem to be estate sale/storage locker finds. Weird assortment of stuff and seller does not seem to know what he has.
 
You should see some of the wackiness that ensues on e-bay’s model railroad categories.
Readily available products with a starting bid that is 50-100% over MSRP.
Or a shoddily assembled $20 kit that somebody thinks is worth $50.


As for the safety issue somebody mentioned.
When 18 year olds with no previous riding experience can purchase 1400cc Superbikes that can go 0-60 in 2.1 seconds with a top speed of 185mph. . .
 
boomtube-mk2 said:
As for the safety issue somebody mentioned.
When 18 year olds with no previous riding experience can purchase 1400cc Superbikes that can go 0-60 in 2.1 seconds with a top speed of 185mph. . .
Click to expand...

That was me. And I agree with your example. There are lots of things that people CAN buy, that they really shouldn't. When an idiot does something that makes the news, the news doesn't say "and the person who launched that rocket didn't have the knowledge/experience to do so safely" or "and the person who crashed the 1400CC crotch rocket, didn't have the skills/experience to handle that much bike".
 
CZ Brat said:
That was me. And I agree with your example. There are lots of things that people CAN buy, that they really shouldn't. When an idiot does something that makes the news, the news doesn't say "and the person who launched that rocket didn't have the knowledge/experience to do so safely" or "and the person who crashed the 1400CC crotch rocket, didn't have the skills/experience to handle that much bike".
Click to expand...

The 0-60 times are bad enough with these bikes; what’s even worse is that once they get wound up they can go from 60mph to 120mph in the blink of an eye.
These kinds of motorcycles can hit “Warp speed” so easily and smoothly you can reach 100mph+ and barely notice it.

My last motorcycle was a Honda 650 Hawk GT. A V-Twin water-cooled chain driven “sport bike” that wasn’t what anybody would refer to as a “Crotch rocket” even back in 1990 when I purchased it.
Yet that tiny little un-faired motorcycle could blow virtually any stock automobile into the dirt whether it be, 0-60 or quarter-mile times; It would have taken a $60,000 turbo-charged Porsche to beat it at either of those times.
Compared to today’s showroom available motorcycles that old Honda would be considered little better than a scooter.
 
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OK folks, I have several theories about what's up with these eBay sales. Which do you think is most likely?

1. Seller is honorable but clueless about what he/she is selling and the market for it (assuming a built kit is worth more than a new in box kit, for example)

2. Seller knows what he has but figures he only needs to find one fool to pay a ridiculous price (that bet might even pay off every once in a while). The seller could be legitimate but greedy, or items could be stolen. Either way, probably not a hobbyist who cares what other rocketeers think of him.

3. Seller is trying to sell the item some other way, or needs a high appraised value for some reason (fraudulent insurance claim or collateral loan?). The eBay listing is a sham to try to make the item appear more valuable.

4. This is a phony transaction designed to conceal cash flow and/ or conceal the trade of stolen goods or contraband. In other words, money laundering. I especially wonder about this when the seller offers no explanation why the item should have such a high value. The high price relative to value may be a tactic to dissuade interested buyers, as the seller and the intended buyer have already made a deal.

5. Any other theories?
 
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I think the tub king is an opportunist who is probably only lightly informed as to the value of his junk, and is being extremely optimistic / greedy in his asking price, in hopes he'll find a sucker. His listing sounds like he might have been a hobbyist at one time, but remember that not all hobbyists are as knowledgeable as folks on these boards.

I doubt there is any ulterior motive beyond maximizing his take for his junk.

These are just my impressions; I have no real facts to base any of this on beyond what is in his listing.

Marc
 
Agreed re: tub king. But what about some of these others? I do wonder if there's something more nefarious going on. ("Nefarious"...heh. I like that word.)

So why rockets and train stuff for money laundering/ drug sales, etc.; you ask? Well, if you used big ticket items like jewelry, cars, etc. Investigators could easily spot a ridiculous markup on an item (easy to get a ballpark figure on a car or gold and gems). I doubt there are any experts who can appraise old rockets...trains, maybe.

I ask this knowing full well that no one on this board is going to say "oh yeah, I do that all the time so I can move my product and send the funds to ISIS". Or I would hope not.
 

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