This pertains to S2000 but I think it's obscure enough to go in off-topic:

I purchased my 06 S2000 a few weeks ago and immediately started looking at wheels, tires, suspension and anything else that might take my fancy.

Now I must say my expectations have been set by transactions on other secondhand markets, dealing with bicycle parts (I race bikes), cameras, computers, electronic gadgets etc. NOT car parts (I've always bought those new); but frankly I was expecting the prices to be lower as in my experience as soon as stuff becomes "secondhand" its value plummets (even if not used).

It seems on the S2Ki marketplace that charging 90% of original purchase price (even including tax sometimes) is fairly common. Now I am not criticising anyone for how they price stuff; prices reflect what the market will support.

So my question to anyone who's read this far:

Is the market for secondhand S2000 parts that bouyant and are people really getting those prices for things? I notice lots of comments following each post "nice wheels" "great seller" etc. but I'm not seeing much selling (quickly anyway).

Personally, for the extra 10% I'd rather have the "safety" of dealing with a merchant, the convenience of paying with a cc, warranty, etc..

Perhaps I'm missing something, maybe folks also buy stuff from fellow forum members as a "community" service?

Anyway, look forward to being enlightened by those who have sold here, or who have observed longer than I..

Thanks,

 

It's nuts and I just don't play that game. I'll just buy new if the used prices are not reasonable. I think the main reason people play along is because they are impatient and don't want to wait for shipping from across the ocean or whatever. Well that's fine for them but I'd rather be patient.

 

Good point, I guess for the stuff with a waitlist then the seller can pretty much charge what they want. There will always be folks who can afford, and are willing to pay rather than wait.

 

well, after owning a wrx back in '98, and buying wheels, exhaust, etc new, and then getting burnt, i realised only mugs bought parts new.
with my s2k, i bought it in '01, and had it stock for some 4 years.
i picked up a set of buddyclub p1 qf, an amuse titanium exhaust all off a guy that was parting out, for less than half what was paid for new. also, considering that im in australia, these items r fairly rare, especially the exhaust.
i guess it depends on how patient u r. if u r a person that wants to have the latest and greatest, then sure, u pay for that privilege. im not that person anymore

 

A little obscure, but still S2000-related...moving to S2000 Talk...

 

I've bought 3 items from site sponsors. The first item came missing a part which was corrected by the sponsor. The second item (testpipe) took about 3 months to arrive. After 3 weeks, I'm still waiting on the third item (air filter). None of the company's have had good communication, or ever bothered to let me know that my part wasn't in stock (I actually bought the 2 "out of stock" items from active groupbuys!). Needless to say, I've had horrible service from site sponsors and I've heard many other people with similar problems.

On the contrary I've purchased multiple items from individuals and service as been AMAZING every time. Parts arrived (often from across the country) much faster than I could have expected, with great communication, and in exceptional condition.

I completely understand the "warm fuzzy feeling" that comes along with buying from a merchant, but it would appear that in many cases this feeling may be unfounded. Given the opportunity to buy from an active community member or a site sponsor, I'm definitely picking the individual! Personally I feel the abnormally inflated "used" prices reflect both an outstanding community and a horrible group of merchants/sponsors (obviously there are exceptions to both generalizations).

These are only my observations, I'm sure others will disagree but it certainly goes a long way to explain the issues you brought into question.

 

I don't know. I've been looking at the wheel/tire market for the last 8 months and it seems to me there are some fantastic prices in the FS/FT section. I've seen plenty of $2200+ rims with tires that have decent tread go for around 1500-1600. There are good deals to be had in FS/FT. You just have to keep looking.

 

I'm also wondering if perhaps folks post an initially high price with the expectation that it will go down (sort of like reverse Ebay). I know there's one chap with some Mugen wheels (I think) who started at over $4k and is now in the low $3's.

That said, as our Australian friend with the black s2k pointed out, the latest and greatest will rarely be a bargain, perhaps if I can start to like the less fashionable things I may find a bargain (until then, anyone got any cheap HRE's - kidding..)

 

I think that is the name of the game. There was a time when the lowballers weren't so bad on S2Ki, and used prices didn't seem so close to retail. I have posted prices at higher prices than I wanted just to stop all the lowballers from hasselling me.

If you see something for sale, don't let the high price stop you from inquiring with the seller - just try not to insult the seller if you really want the part.

Same goes for car purchases.

 

This isn't true of all sponsors though

It's also very easy to loose track of things. I keep a list of things I need to do/ship/call during the day and with getting phone calls and answering IM's can take a lot out of you. I have had plenty of conversations with people that lasted several hours on AIM to help decide their car build up.