Shopsmith Forums

Greetings - relatively new member here but long time Shopsmith owner/user (my Dad bought my current Mark V in 1977 and I cut my wood working teeth on it - he eventually passed it on to me and it's still running like a champ).

Interesting discussion - I am a long time E-Bay member and recently started buying accessories there for my Mark V and that I have never had. I initially bought a few things directly from Shopsmith but found their shipping charges high and it took an unreasonably long time to receive my order with no communication as to why. So I starting browsing E-Bay. Items I have bought have included a Jointer ($120), Biscuit joiner ($70), Belt Sander ($200), Jigsaw ($85), Miter Gauge with hold-down ($20), and a variety of other smaller items. Price-wise, all of the above range from somewhat less to quite a bit less than retail or sale prices from Shopsmith. The Biscuit Joiner is probably the closest to Shopsmith's cost - they recently were selling them for ~$100 on sale. All of the above items came in excellent condition, with all needed parts, manuals, and in some cases the box. Obviously the jigsaw isn't sold anymore, while the scroll saw is close to $500 new from Shopsmith, so $85 was a steal. The Jointer came with the upgraded feather guard and dust chute and the knives are perfectly sharp and flawless.

As for the shipping, this is hit or miss depending on the seller but the above items are bulky and heavy (except the biscuit joiner) - I didn't investigate what Shopsmith would charge in shipping for a belt sander or jointer but I'm guessing it's not cheap either. I definitely factor in the shipping costs and basically decide if I think the seller is being reasonable given the size and weight of an item. I bought the Jointer and Biscuit Joiner from the same seller - he boxed them together and only charged me $40, which I thought was very reasonable given the weight and size of the box. The Belt Sander was $35 to ship, which I also thought was reasonable (bulky and heavy). The Jigsaw was $40 - it's not very heavy but is bulky even when disassembled. Also, I always check to see how much a seller really spent on shipping vs what they charged me and I remember this in the future when I see other items they list.

Anyway, just my $0.02 on this subject as I've been fairly active lately upgrading my Shopsmith...not I have to dive in and start using all this stuff :-)

I started this thread mainly because I think ghost bidding was going on many Shopsmith listings. The reason I think this is happing is because the selling price is of many items is approaching and a times going over the manufactures pricing.

So I know anybody using this equipment is above the average intelligence level of most people I associate with. This leads me to conclude the high dollars bid on these Shopsmith Auction may not the actual user of the items and could be the Ghost bidder running up the sale price.

Very Very Odd

RICK

onevw wrote:I started this thread mainly because I think ghost bidding was going on many Shopsmith listings. The reason I think this is happing is because the selling price is of many items is approaching and a times going over the manufactures pricing.

So I know anybody using this equipment is above the average intelligence level of most people I associate with. This leads me to conclude the high dollars bid on these Shopsmith Auction may not the actual user of the items and could be the Ghost bidder running up the sale price.

Very Very Odd

RICK

I agree that I've been quite surprised to see how high some auctions have gone...if ghost bidding is occurring then all the more reason to know the price you want to pay and not get caught up in a bidding war or otherwise get suckered into overpaying. I tend to do a lot of research on completed auctions and what the same items have sold for in the past so I have a good sense of the range of prices that have been paid, and of course also know what the item retails for from Shopsmith. If hadn't really occurred to me that folks might be ghost bidding to get prices high but certainly not very far-fetched and wouldn't be hard to do on E-Bay, so keep that radar out for something fishy when bidding on items.

"Ghost" bidding, which is actually called shill-bidding, is not hard to ferret out if you know how to use the various feedback and bid functions on Ebay.

I see very little to none of it on Shopsmith items. In general, I've gotten surprising amounts for items I've sold on Ebay over many years. And this includes lots of categories (shopsmith, electronics, tools, high end and consumer cameras, and many other items).

Bottom line in my opinion, is that bidders aren't always very smart....or they often get caught up in the auction mentality and bid too high.

The most telling clue is that "But-it-Now" auctions typically bring much the same prices as auctions......and there's no shill-bids on these.

Fred

Patience is a virtue on E-Bay - rarely do I see a Shopsmith item I'm interested in on there that is so unique I have to get that particular one...checking the completed auctions for the same type of item will typically reveal several that have sold over the past weeks and give an idea of the going rate...setting a price I'm willing to pay and sticking to it is key. I agree that folks get caught up in the auction adrenaline and pay too much - this is evident by the range of prices paid over time for the same type of item.

As an example of people overbidding on items available new from SS ...I just noticed one of the 90-degree lathe toolrests closing soon on E-Bay - it sells for $28.69 from SS and bidding is currently at $23.59 - the E-Bay one looks like it's in fairly good shape, with some surfacr rust seemingly visible...either way, there's no way I'd pay that for a used item from E-Bay when I can buy a new for for $5 more (assuming the bidding doesn't go even higher before it ends). Makes me figure whoever's bidding on that item has no idea it's available new or at what price.