Posted by Eric B. on Thursday, November 14, 2002 at 10:11AM :
In Reply to: Re: Here your solution Todd: posted by Todd Wilson on Thursday, November 14, 2002 at 0:19AM :
Lets say that Judd buys a truck for $1,200 in OK, it takes him a day and a half to go get it, $200 in fuel, plus his labor, wear on his truck , trailer, etc.
Then he has to get the truck in a condition it can be sold, no profit is there if the motor does not run, or the brakes are real bad, so some minor work must be done.
Lets also say that he figures the truck is worth $4,500 do to small rust patch, dented metal, incorrect parts, lack of bed, etc.
So he has MADE by your figures 300% profit if he sells for that price, but trust me, a week of work on a truck, 2 days to get it, parts, the value of his knowledge of knowing what the truck is worth, what is right, what is wrong, how to sell, time spent searching for it, waiting while it sells, etc are all worth the premium the buyer paid.
Do you know how many hours you have looked for a PW Todd? How much fuel have you used? Phone calls? Frustration? And after all that what do you have to show for it? NOTHING! You still don't have a PW! Add all that up, and Judds, Dougs, etc prices look good. Plus unlike you, many folks don't have the interest to search out trucks, or do what I just did, drive 20 hours each way to get a truck.
I am always searching for PWs on my trips, most of the ones I find are not for sale for any price, I must have looked at 20 in the past year, most were not worth buying, those that were(complete correct first series beds, winch, no rust, no dents, running etc) were beloved objects, and I could not buy them, even when I offered $5,000 or more(this in the middle of nowhere UT, etc).
Plus if Judd etc are selling a truck for $3,000-$7,000, how many do they sell a month? A year? What is the overall profit?
That is an important thing to consider!
If these people were getting RICH, wouldn't everyone want to join them? And why would Dennis Sherman go out of business?
I am making some money right now buying and selling parts, and trucks, but it is HARD work, and findng that truck you can buy for $500, and sell right away for $10,000 is REAL HARD, and may not happen in a lifetime.
Judd, Doug, and other like them EARN their profits, and if their prices are too high, the market will tell them, and the truck will sell for less.
Something is worth only what the buyer is willing to pay, and PWs are a growth market in last couple years.
Heck, read an old(3-4 years ago) PWA, AAA sold a 1960 W300, 19.5s, winch, 9' bed etc for $900, needed a transfercase. A 59 just like that sold for almost $10,000 on E-bay this spring. Market, timing, location, pretty paint, all of this can effect the sale price of an item. We all want the most we can get for anything we own, would you sell something of yours for less then market value just because there are people out there that want to complain about prices?
You would sell for as much as you CAN!
Ok, enough ranting for one morning!
Eric
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