Archived from the Tools In Action forum (Collector's Resource). This thread is read-only.
Since I’ve been looking into buying and also collecting Millers Falls planes I’ve run into an situation where I could use some help. When I look on eBay I can find planes within their market range and in conditions to match that price, of course I can also find ones in terrible condition listed at 5x the top market price of one in great condition. Such is the problem with eBay and older items in general people think old automatically means $$$$.
Anyway when I’m buying an older tool should I be paying attention to the shipping cost at all when considering the price? I’ve skipped on a few planes because they were priced well but had high shipping costs. Or should I combine the sale price and shipping and only pass if the total exceeds a reasonable price?
How do you determine if an old tool is worth purchasing on eBay and other sites?
I would consider both. I have saved quite a bit even if the item is priced higher because the shipping was so much lower.
I’d do a google search for the particular model I’m interested in and go from there. There was a stanley 110 hand plane on CL by me that was in beautiful condition and the price seemed reasonable. But when I looked it up, it was basically junk . http://www.supertool.com/StanleyBG/stan12.htm
When I was looking at them a bit it seemed certain years and models were the most desirable. You will have to do your homework