eBay does not ALWAYS establish a true market price, but you're right; by and
large it is the way prices are determined on used radios. But you'll always
have the auctions that fall into one end or another of the bell curve. I
think that was Mike's point. Hey, look at these abnormally high prices.
Would you have less objection if people pointed out the other end of the
scale? Hey, look at this radio that somebody got for a STEAL! I don't
think Mike was "complaining", just pointing them out to the group.

And while I don't have as many radios, the number of years in the hobby, or
the breadth and depth of knowledge that Mike has, believe me when I tell you
there are no "sour grapes" about someone else getting these radios. I have
enough radios and have enough experience with eBay to know that if the
bidding goes higher than I think a radio is worth, it's OK if I back off and
let someone else have it. I just wait for something else to come along.
That's part of the fun. I already have all of my "must own" radios.

Perhaps this thread would be better continued if we posed the questions:
"What makes a radio worth paying a lot of money for?". How do you define "a
lot of money"? Is it defined as paying more than the radio cost new? How
much more? How do you weigh scarcity vs. performance, i.e. if a radio is
rare but performs poorly, is that better than the other way around?
Example: Would you pay more for a Hallicrafter TW-2000 than a Kenwood
R-5000?


"John S." wrote in message
oups.com...

Unrevealed Source wrote:
I agree with Mike. Those are some pretty high prices for some
not-so-special radios. The only exception might be the TW-2000, which I
had
my eye on myself but bailed out when the price got too high.

It's beginning to sound like sour grapes because someone wanted the
radio(s) more than you did.


It was in nice
shape and you probably won't see another one like it in a long while.


I think Mike's point is that sure, SOMEONE was willing to pay those
prices,
but part of this newsgroup is educating people, isn't it?


Well, ok I'll be the first to ask. How is this group educating people
about prices of radios on Ebay.

So far all I've seen on this forum are a small group complaining
amongst themselves about how expensive radios are. Not a whole lot of
educating going on that I've read.

Because Ebay allows many buyers and sellers to come together and
determine an equitable price, I think it is a far better measure of the
true value of a radio than the frustrated few collectors on
rec.radio.shortwave. You and others may not like it, but Ebay is a
marketplace and it works to establish a true market price.