Racer? Modeler? Collector? Hoarder?

[mikedealer]

been watching and studying people's buying patterns on ebay lately and watching different message boards on what people build, buy, race, sell, etc etc.

i am always curious as to why on ebay, a single hopup part, will sell for lets say $75 dollars, but then the same part installed on a car in another auction that has a buy it now of lets say $125 wont sell even though you get a WHOLE car usually... I could post some auctions and examples but i would have to dig.. just a trend ive been noticing in the past...

Was wondering what people's Mindsets are when collecting and racing vintage RC stuff...

I think ive broken it out into a few distinct categories:

Racer - Looking for a Bargain on parts. Wont bid high on things that come along every so often. Wont bid on High on Single Rare Hopups, and usually never runs them.. Racers can have a used dirty car on their shelfs, and be proud to display it.

Modeler - Those that build cars, and sit them on the shelf. Spend large amounts of money on hopup parts, that "in the day" were not really that good... but enjoys having cars that are completely hopped up. Modelers will not put a car on their shelf unless it is completely perfect or just about near perfect. They will spend a large amount of money on a single part to fix that car up to make it in mint condition. Most of their cars have never touched dirt.

Collector - One who buys only the absolute best and rarest parts out there. Wont think twice about spending 500+bucks on some extraordinarily rare. Will pass up a "open package/mint condition" hopup part, for a "New in package" hopup for 3 times the price. Will spend hundreds of dollars in a bidding war on hopup parts, that werent that useful or valuable when they were new, but are just rare and desirable because they saw it on someone else's car on tamiyaclub or some forum

Hoarder - People who buy stuff because its cheap, even though they might not know what it is... the ones who will buy a $40 RC10 gold pan even though its in "rough shape" and missing parts... because of the $40 price... they snap it up... They have probably 5-20 different rc10's in various stages of repairs, but only have 1 that is complete. They have a plastic storage bin with 10 or more different gold chassis stripped of all parts, and 10 showboxes of used parts..

So i myself, slip between being a racer/modeler/hoarder. I will race during the nice weather months... model cars during the colder months along with hoard parts when my cash income is flowing well.


So Which one are you and what is your take on it

[THUNDERSTRIKE1]

RACER/HORDER I GUESS ,i have 10 rc10s since come over from clodtalk to buggies again ive always loved the simplicity of the rc10s.I only buy or trade for ones i can rebuild and sell or get enuff to make them like id like to had back when couldnt afford what i wanted at that time.My first one was a neon red team car i rpm worlds it to the max then raced it then changed to a 10T and thats where it all started.Ive had probably 50 or so 10s so far.No tracks here so i just buildm n let look pretty,use the best parts i have and still have tons of runner parts.Don

[Tadracket]

I guess I am more of a modeler. I enjoy building the cars but don't rely on the joy of running them. I would rather look at them. If I want to run something, I'll grab the nitro rusty of hyper 8. I may run a vintage car in a special scenario to get some cool photos like say the beech. But that is it. I don't race so why beat and bash a car that is hard to find good parts for and is inferior in design and performance.

Oh yes I did




BTW Don, welcome back

[mrlexan]

My grandmother was borderline one of those people you see of TV talk shows in terms of hoarding, my mother did it a little bit, and I guess some of you might classify me as a hoarder. For the most part, I am NOT..... just might seem to be (sometimes) when it comes to RC. Anything non-RC that is lying around for more than 6 months drives me nuts and I usually end up convincing my wife to take it to the Salvation Army. You would be surprised how much stuff we have taken there before and after we relocated to the South and also on how little I live on. Our apartment is pretty clean, no clutter, and not much there.

Personally, if you look at Mike's classifications, I would be a Modeler and not a hoarder. The driver for me, as is prob the same for most of us, is re-living our youth and getting the things we wanted back then. My goal is to own one of each of those things I wanted, along with throwing in the "obscure" stuff as well, stuff you don't see every day.

My method can be best explained by the pyramid method in terms in investment. You would be surprised with a $100.00 investment of cash, how long you can keep that going and growing to the point where you don't have to spend any more cash out of pocket. You are in essence exchanging electrons for physical hardware or parts. Great concept. Paypal is money you really don't see anyway, you get some, then you spend it on what you want. It's like the Energizer Bunny......

[civilguy]

I would fall under the RACER category. I know I'll catch it for saying this, but they are toys-- meant to be played with. That's why my 6 gear, short-arm 10 still sees the track... I got it in 1985 to run and I still wanna play!

[shodog]

I fit the definition of Modeler and collector. I am a bit of a hoarder. I buy up cars eventhough I know I don't have time to restore them. I just want to get all the cars I want before they become too expensive to collect in the future. Some day I will have all these SRB's restored

[Volumiza]

Modeller/budding collector, I won't be happy till I have a complete 6010 (minus original rear tires if anyone can help ), CE (check), graphite (in progress), tq10 (in progress), worlds (when i have the money and see a nice one), A&L (very nearly), Compcraft (check) and team car (very nearly), so i guess i have the makings of a budding collector. i bid on only the bits i need now and as the bits i need are so specific (these cars have brought threads of OCD out in me ) i accept i have to pay whatever i need to, my days of donor cars are over unless i move on to something else but i have to say i'm feeling the pull of restoring vintage motorcycles now. I absolutely love my cars and even my wife now doesn't mind them so much.

I haven't been in the hobby long enough to be a hoarder, sure i have spare parts and stuff but nothing mind blowing as i have always been efficient with what i buy.

i'm not a racer, and probably never will be although my skills are now a lot better than when i started and i love flinging my old team car around.

[Halgar]

Mike forgot a category ...

Arm Chair Poop Giver - One who enjoys the camaraderie of online friends, has an interest in RC - just not these strange little buggy thingies, and can't pass up an opportunity to momentarily derail a thread with a joke.


Good thing we don't have anyone around here like that!

[Tadracket]

Mike forgot a category ...

Arm Chair Poop Giver - One who enjoys the camaraderie of online friends, has an interest in RC - just not these strange little buggy thingies, and can't pass up an opportunity to momentarily derail a thread with a joke.


Good thing we don't have anyone around here like that!

Or clod fans. That is one thing I can't stand is a clod fan. What a piece of junk truck.

[mrlexan]

Good thing we don't have anyone around here like that!

Hmmmmm.... Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar?

Decisions, decisions.

[Halgar]

Or clod fans. That is one thing I can't stand is a clod fan. What a piece of junk truck.

Oh, THOSE guys are the worst!

Good thing we don't have anyone around here like that!

Hmmmmm.... Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar? Tad? Halgar?

Decisions, decisions.

What are you trying to say Lex?

[ROH73]

I really enjoy building and working on the cars, but I guess I'm mostly a racer; not in the sense that I race competitively at tracks, but that I run (but don't abuse) ALL of my cars on a regular basis (and my kids will get to run them too). I don't have any shelf queens. Because I run my cars, I'm also somewhat of a hoarder as I like to buy cheap used cars and eBay lots to have spare parts available. I know things are going to break eventually, so I try to plan accordingly. For example, I have three functional Turbo Optimas, but enough spare parts to pretty much build three more. Ironically, I don't think I've ever broken anything on my Optimas .

Robert

[Halgar]

Ok, keeping on topic, my truthful answer would probably be collector/hoarder, though neither of those really fit. I used to love to wrench and run my stuff all the time, but I don't anymore, so it's more of a collection. Any time I see 'junk" that could work well for one of my rigs, I snag it, so I've got a couple bins of Nikko bodies, scale accessories, and "stuff" that just looks useful in the hopes that one day I'll either return to wrenching OR build the rig of my dreams.

Have I ever told you guys about the HiLux I snagged not long ago?

[Eau Rouge]

Ok, I'll be the first one to raise my hand and admit to being just about the exact same amount of all 4 categories.

Racer: I've raced since 1984 and still race various cars and classes to this day.
Modeler: I own more than a few cars that have never touched the dirt, and are built to just sit. Most are at or near perfect period-correct builds.
Collector: I have bought $500 lots of parts for one item, still in the package. My Checkpoint motor collection makes no sense to me if I think about it long enough.
Hoarder: Most of us would be lying if we said that we never bought anything because we thought it had more value to someone else, on some other day in the future. I'm guilty as much as anyone else. I have too much crap I never needed and will never use.


I take all 4 equally.

[clinehobbies]

Ok, I'll be the first one to raise my hand and admit to being just about the exact same amount of all 4 categories.

Racer: I've raced since 1984 and still race various cars and classes to this day.
Modeler: I own more than a few cars that have never touched the dirt, and are built to just sit. Most are at or near perfect period-correct builds.
Collector: I have bought $500 lots of parts for one item, still in the package. My Checkpoint motor collection makes no sense to me if I think about it long enough.
Hoarder: Most of us would be lying if we said that we never bought anything because we thought it had more value to someone else, on some other day in the future. I'm guilty as much as anyone else. I have too much crap I never needed and will never use.


I take all 4 equally.

Right there with you Doug.!