pinguwin
Retro Guru
I'm not making a judgement either way on what has been discussed regarding price inflation. Yes, certainly the exchange rates explain why an awful lot of vintage goodies are going to Europe at this time
The significant rise in prices is more than just Yo Eddy's and Kleins. Priced a pair of Grafton brakes lately? Yes, there are many bargains but there are many other parts that have gone up signficantly in the last six months. The dollars is very weak right now but the decline has not driven the price inflation of the last period of time.
This is a chart from http://www.exchangerate.com/charts....r=&cont=All&hmd=31104000¤cy=239&cid=238
Notice that the dollar vs. pound has been between .475 & .52 for the last twelve months, a relatively narrow band. If you chart the Euro, it's a similar story. If I could find a chart where the x-axis is based on zero, the line almost looks flat.
Yes it's been going down and the dollar is weak, but the exchange rates can't explain it. The dollar, as of the last 12 months, is not in the freefall that some believe.
Whether the price rise is good or bad I'm not addressing. Just that the dollar's actual decline doesn't explain vintage prices. It is possible that market psychology is driven by the perception of a freefall, but that is beyond my knowledge (if it wasn't...I'd be rich in the stock market
)
By the way, there are some very wealthy collectors out there, even if we haven't met them. I sold a part for an amount that made me feel just a tad 'guilty'. A friend said that the buyer was from a family that has more money than they know what to do with so I should not feel bad about the wealth transfer. How common this is, I don't know but there are some who have substantial resources. Whether they'll hobnob with us little-people at a swap meet is another matter.
The significant rise in prices is more than just Yo Eddy's and Kleins. Priced a pair of Grafton brakes lately? Yes, there are many bargains but there are many other parts that have gone up signficantly in the last six months. The dollars is very weak right now but the decline has not driven the price inflation of the last period of time.
This is a chart from http://www.exchangerate.com/charts....r=&cont=All&hmd=31104000¤cy=239&cid=238
Notice that the dollar vs. pound has been between .475 & .52 for the last twelve months, a relatively narrow band. If you chart the Euro, it's a similar story. If I could find a chart where the x-axis is based on zero, the line almost looks flat.
Yes it's been going down and the dollar is weak, but the exchange rates can't explain it. The dollar, as of the last 12 months, is not in the freefall that some believe.
Whether the price rise is good or bad I'm not addressing. Just that the dollar's actual decline doesn't explain vintage prices. It is possible that market psychology is driven by the perception of a freefall, but that is beyond my knowledge (if it wasn't...I'd be rich in the stock market
)By the way, there are some very wealthy collectors out there, even if we haven't met them. I sold a part for an amount that made me feel just a tad 'guilty'. A friend said that the buyer was from a family that has more money than they know what to do with so I should not feel bad about the wealth transfer. How common this is, I don't know but there are some who have substantial resources. Whether they'll hobnob with us little-people at a swap meet is another matter.
