Here's an email I just sent to another Stovebolter on a subject we've been discussing privately. I thought some others might find it amusing or interesting.
"I don't buy any of this stuff from professional vendors. Their prices are vastly higher than stuff from hobbyists. I know that when I finsished restoring my '36 pickup in the mid 70s I took all of the extra stuff to a swap meet. My goal was to clean out the garage after a long restoration process.
My swap space was between 2 "pros". My stuff sold for reasonable prices as fast as I could toss it out of my van onto the pavement. The pros on both sides of me sold next to nothing because of their high prices. I went home early an empty van and a full wallet and they probably stayed all day and took home everything they brought.
The more time they get into trying to sell those overpriced hunks of rust, the more they think they're worth, the more no one wants them because they're overpriced.
The best source of fairly priced running gear parts is street rodders. To them the stuff is just in the way.
There, I feel better now.
Ray
