georgek wrote:Each to their own but to spend £50 on two rusty and dented cylinder caps is laughable the person buying them probably has more money than sense.
As nobody is bidding on these at the moment - this seems to be a criticism of the asking price rather than the sold price!!!
These caps should sell for considerably more than the starting price - I haven't seen any of these for sale at autojumbles for some years now, these ones were bought 10+ years ago
when stuff was still about if you were looking hard enough. These parts are getting rarer all the time. When you see the prices achieved on ebay these days you have to take into
consideration that the buyer hasn't had to wear out the shoe leather at autojumbles & with the costs involved, that's if you're lucky enough to find anything. To attend Beaulieu autojumble
costs me in excess of £100 with ticket,fuel & overnight stay let alone time, & parts are getting very hard to find. If I were doing this for profit it wouldn't be worth it, I do it in the hope of
finding parts for my own minis & Lambrettas, obviously if I see something interesting at the right price ,needed or not I will buy in the hope or recouping some of my overheads.
The ebay buyer has none of this aggro or costs, & for example wheel trims can be purchased in sets of 4 rather than one at a time over several years. The parts turn up on you doorstep
no matter where you live in the world.
I always say that you pay too much for some items but the price evens out overall. Some prices achieved like the grille buttons for instance are ridiculous & will probably never be fitted to a car, however most parts are more essential, being needed to complete that restoration. Ive been in the business for over 25 years & have seen the trends, people were moaning about the price the Japanese were paying in the 80's & 90's - the result was that a lot of interesting cars & parts went to Japan at prices that people would fall over today.
With at least half the parts I sell going abroad & seeing the prices on ebay rising year by year it's a case of buy it while you can.
Chris
) 
If you want cheap parts for classic cars it's easy, own one that isn't so rare , sought after or desirable, ie that are easy to find and nobody likes. Why do you think I own a Wolseley Hornet ? 