Building Studebaker creds.

[52-fan]

Since I posted pictures of some of my 52 parts while I was searching for a grille for Michidan, I have had a number of people send we messages asking for parts. This brings up an interesting problem. These messages have mostly been from people that I have not heard of before and who have very few posts. Does anyone besides me feel a little leery of strangers who ask about buying parts?
The guys like Dan that have been on the forum for some time have credibility. You get a feel for a person over time by reading their posts and by the way that other forum members interact with them. I know that everybody has to start somewhere and I am okay with that, but I have been burned several times. Several times a new guy has shown up with a Studebaker he has recently bought asking for help from club members. After he has gleaned some free or reduced price parts from the members he sells the car and moves on. I know if I get my price I have no claim to them, but this stuff burns me.

[rockne10]

I think we tend to make sweet deals with those we know; sometimes give stuff away.
You should probably consider what you would settle for at a swap meet where any John Q. Public-assumed to be Stude lover-would haggle for a price and hope the part gets properly utilized and thrill the next generation of Stude lovers by its very existence.

[barnlark]

Sadly, amount of posts doesn't always equal trust, either. I've been taken a few times here, so one never knows. I know more than a few lurkers who never post, but they need the rare part like anyone else. Good luck with the tough parts decisions. Just be careful and upfront with your expectations.

[52-fan]

I am not really expecting an ironclad solution. I was just wondering if it was just me or if others felt that way. I intend to sell a few parts on eBay, but I leave the swap meet haggling thing to my brother. He likes that sort of thing. I am so out of touch with the value of things I don't like to guess what they are worth.

[rockinhawk]

Since I posted pictures of some of my 52 parts while I was searching for a grille for Michidan, I have had a number of people send we messages asking for parts. This brings up an interesting problem. These messages have mostly been from people that I have not heard of before and who have very few posts. Does anyone besides me feel a little leery of strangers who ask about buying parts?
The guys like Dan that have been on the forum for some time have credibility. You get a feel for a person over time by reading their posts and by the way that other forum members interact with them. I know that everybody has to start somewhere and I am okay with that, but I have been burned several times. Several times a new guy has shown up with a Studebaker he has recently bought asking for help from club members. After he has gleaned some free or reduced price parts from the members he sells the car and moves on. I know if I get my price I have no claim to them, but this stuff burns me.

What really BURNS me is when you GIVE someone somthing, thinking they need it or want it for themselves, then they sell it or worse yet Throw it away. I've had that happen to me several times NT

[Michidan]

Well, the forum is a bit like a local chapter, don't you think? You get to know those that contribute more than others that don't come around very often.
And people come and go. I like the social aspect of the SDC, but having never had one i can drive to an event, this is a better place to hang out for me.
Anyway, its human nature to feel more comfortable about a deal with someone you "know". Most of the time you don't know someone, so you set a price and thats that.

I bought a part on ebay one time and the guy (and I have no idea who it was, Montana somewhere) said he had no problem with a check becasue he'd never been burned by a Studebaker guy! I'm sure not everyone has had the good experience he has, but it was nice to hear about our group.

[52-fan]

My brother was commenting a few days ago about vendors who would send him the part he inquired about before he had sent payment. Lots of good folks in the SDC, but as our cars have become somewhat more popular we have more stories of bad conduct. I like to think that these people are outsiders, but some, unfortunately, are not.
I guess part of our problem is that we get emotionally attached to this junk. To most people it is junk and not important.

[53k]

My brother was commenting a few days ago about vendors who would send him the part he inquired about before he had sent payment. Lots of good folks in the SDC, but as our cars have become somewhat more popular we have more stories of bad conduct. I like to think that these people are outsiders, but some, unfortunately, are not.
I guess part of our problem is that we get emotionally attached to this junk. To most people it is junk and not important.

Ted Harbit sent me hundreds of dollars of parts without prepayment...and I had never met him face to face.
I did get burned by sending out an item without payment once. The buyer offered to send payment by overnight because he wanted the item for his dad's birthday in three or four days. I told him not to use overnight, I would go ahead and send it. Last I ever heard from him. I kept his name and address and if I'm ever in the vicinity, guess whose door I'm going to knock on.

[DEEPNHOCK]

Trying to judge and read the true intention (and true identities) of forum members, or any Internet personae for that matter, is hard to do.

Credibility? Some active forum members I would not trust further than you could throw a Stude engine block.
Harsh? Personal experience says so.
But my question to you is....
What are you using to determine the value of the item you are selling, or donating?
Right now, the (sort of) free market selling barometer has been Ebay, with Craigslist right behind...
I liken the forum(s) as a sort of street with tree's full of vultures...just waiting for some fresh carrion.
Harsh? Yeah...
But when someone does come forward with an item for sale for top dollar, it gets picked apart.
When someone makes the bold commitment to buy something and prep it for resale on a forum...It gets picked apart.
Not always, but it happens a lot.
Very few top dollar items cross the street here.
Must not be the best target market, eh?
But...My last question for you...
Why do you care who it gets sold to?
If it is a sale you are interested in.. Let it go...
Philanthropist's always have a dilemma deciding what is the most 'worthy' cause to donate to.
But since they are giving something away, it should be their right to decide where it ends up.
Trying to 'place' a for sale item in the ideal new home is target marketing at it's hardest.
Odds are that if you do find your perfect choice of the new home for your parts, then you are at the mercy of the buyer to determine his vision of the worthiness (ie:value) of those items at that new home.
But that's just an opinion

[raoul5788]

Well, the forum is a bit like a local chapter, don't you think? You get to know those that contribute more than others that don't come around very often.
And people come and go. I like the social aspect of the SDC, but having never had one i can drive to an event, this is a better place to hang out for me.
Anyway, its human nature to feel more comfortable about a deal with someone you "know". Most of the time you don't know someone, so you set a price and thats that.

I bought a part on ebay one time and the guy (and I have no idea who it was, Montana somewhere) said he had no problem with a check because he'd never been burned by a Studebaker guy! I'm sure not everyone has had the good experience he has, but it was nice to hear about our group.

That sounds like Mike Dotson from Anaconda MT. He has tons of Packard and Studebaker parts. Plus he's a good guy.

[PlainBrownR2]

As many a spectator to the Studebaker and the Chevrolet shows over the years, I have been a stranger to more than a few vendors when it came to looking for parts. Usually I was in need of something relatively minor but majorly important(such as the Mr. Gasket cover for the fuel pump on the '55). In most cases the rules were pretty simple when it came to purchasing from vendors which were:

If you had it and I could afford, I would buy it.
If it's marked "Sold" I won't buy it.
If it turned out to be what it wasn't, or I couldn't use it, I may or may not deal with the vendor again depending on the situation.
If an item is promised to another person(which should be set off the table and out of the way), I wouldn't buy it.
If a vendor is waffling on selling something or not on a table(of which I have RARELY ever seen), it would put doubt in my mind what the seller was doing out here, lol.

I usually treat the Studebaker shows and the Brand X shows with the same philosophy, I am looking for something to complete a project, and in most cases will require a reasonable transaction with whomever(whether I am a stranger or not) has said part, lol.

[Mike Sal]

Maybe just coincidence, but in the 30 years I've been messing with buying old cars, the only times I've ever been ripped off (bought parts thru the internet & turned out not to be in the condition described) was with Model T parts. I've had excellent luck with dealing with studebaker people (of course, you have to learn the habits of the "beast" caso stude guy).

There was a time that "buying old car parts" meant going to junkyards where you could see the parts, not dealing with parts vendors.
Mike Sal

[Aussie Hawk]

Have a thought for us from overseas when we purchase a car from the US. You have to 'size' the seller up usually through emails and over the phone, before you transfer, sometimes, large amounts of money. A friend of mine down here does it often and has developed a good 'sense' for scammers, he's been burnt a couple of times, but learnt from it. I recently purchased a Stude, (details will be posted when it's in my garage), from the west coast, sent a significant amount of money to a guy I had only emailed and spoken to on the phone, maybe 4 times. I will be very relieved when I give it the once over when it gets here, but don't really have any doubts it will be as it was described. The seller and I have established a friendship, and I am sure we will stay in contact. I don't think it matter whether it's a Stude guy or not, you just got to be able to see through the bull$h1t.

[Flashback]

I have been burned many times. Course I been doin this since 1958. I honestly believe studebaker people are the best to deal with overall. I say this, because a lot of the e-bay people are just generic.(not real Studebaker people) In it for the last dime, lying or not. When I was in a classic Chev. club, one of the members took me for a couple k notes. I think my worst burn on Studebaker parts has been 4 hundred. I am too over cautious now, I guess, but I can't afford rip off's

[TX Rebel]

Stude folk

In 28 years of collecting and vending I have had just a very few raw deals. I invariably have good experiences with car collectors and SDC & ASC folks are the very best as far as I am concerned. We don't just have the best cars, we have the best people!