[jazzy426]

@GnatGoSplat: Looking at the list you definitely have a very healthy appetite for luxury saloons. 😁 Those models in your wish list are great! Fortunately for you not all them are crazy expensive yet. Love the fact that you also include the two quirky Citroens (DS and SM) in your list. I have both made by Norev although i think those two models can use some improvements. The Caddy Fleetwood is awesome! I think that is one of those models where you need to buy one the moment they come out as they won't be around for long and the private sale price no doubt will be much higher.

I actually rely eBay quite a lot for sourcing rare out of production models. When I first started eBay was my only go to source apart from physical hobby shops. However in hindsight I should have expanded my options as i have no doubt I would saved a fair bit on postage if I also checked out othe online classifieds for locals.

One way to go on eBay is to setup a watchlist with optional push alert that contains the keyword of the model you interested in. In some cases you might want to anticipate commonly mistyped name in the search term as no everyone can spells, or read the brand/model name wrong... i.e. Bburago often mispelled as Burago with single B, or in some more extreme cases.. Urago. LOL

 

[GnatGoSplat]

@jazzy426, not sure why I've got such strange taste, maybe it was because my dad owned luxury saloons throughout my formative years. It wasn't till his final few years that he switched to an SUV like everyone else. I've always been fascinated by the older Citroens for their quirkiness, hydro-pneumatic suspension, and retro-futuristic looks. I would love someday to have a 1/1 DS, SM, CX, or all 3, if I manage to find an affordable place I could hoard 1/1 cars. That isn't going to be anytime soon, so 1/18 will have to do! The Fleetwood being of very limited demand compared to say, sports/muscle/super/racecars, is the reason I decided to jump on it now. They've already been out a year without dropping in price and I don't want to miss the boat and end up having to pay extra-ridiculous prices to get one.

I just bought one model from eBay last night, the Minikraft Genesis G90, because it's discontinued and very few selling it for a reasonable price there and even higher on Aliexpress. Only 1 used in the past 90-days and he wanted more than I was able to get the new one for. I was offered a price for new that was less than they cost in 2015, so I figured it's probably now or never. I've used eBay watchlists for many years for my other hobbies: 80s audio gear and modern PC building, but for some reason, in the past few weeks I've started getting notified for irrelevant things outside of my search terms.

This hobby is definitely starting out very expensive though. I've only bought 3 cars since I started this thread and already spent US$552. I'm a little jealous of those who can find cars they like made by Maisto for $30 at Amazon. On the plus side, I'm enjoying the hunt.

 

[jazzy426]

I am in the same boat as you @GnatGoSplat. I was exposed to all sorts of lovely luxury saloons since young and I would love to have them at least in a scaled down miniature form. I am fascinated by the quirky French in particular the Citroen, and I decided to splurge a bit on 3 of the iconic Citroens (in my mind) couple years ago... so i bought the DS23, SM and CX from Norev.

No doubt the hobby can spiral out of control quickly LOL.. especially when you are on a lucky streak where deals that are too good to pass up and keep coming at you

 

[GnatGoSplat]

I'll definitely plan to get those Citroens. They're among the more affordable ones on my list, probably because they have wider appeal.

Found a couple other places that might be worth checking for models, Mercari and Buyee. I would have liked this W126 LWB at this price. https://www.mercari.com/us/item/m90600466903/

 

[snowman]

I'm tempted to say 20 years ago!

More seriously, it's probably true to say when they're released, but I've picked up some of my best priced models when retailers seem to find a load of New Old Stock.

That said, you certainly can't guarantee what, if anything, will come to light, so if you absolutely MUST have a diecast, buy it when it's released and accept you might find its price slashed a few months later if it turns out to be unpopular or you might find it a bargain basement prices a few years on, if NOS turns up.

M

 

[pdc]

...

How does NOS turn up? This new old stock is slightly mysterious to me. Is it some scattered unsold stock from being returned to wholesalers who then make a sale of the amassed quantity?

 

[slartibartfast229]

How does NOS turn up? This new old stock is slightly mysterious to me. Is it some scattered unsold stock from being returned to wholesalers who then make a sale of the amassed quantity?

My guess would be unsold stock which is held as part of some sort of legal dispute.
Such things can spend years going through the courts.....

 

[Craig]

Often just un sold stock that seems to have say in the warehouse for a while. CK Models always seem to have some decent AutoArt's on sale are good prices, often they have some sort of problems though. Some McLaren models on there right now for €79.95

 

[GnatGoSplat]

A question specific to Norev models. If it's not on this site:
Norev : voitures miniatures de collection, petites voitures et jouets depuis 1945
Does that mean it's discontinued? Or does that site not list everything?

 

[pdc]

Norev has the 'archives' subpage I always query and access via google because for the life of me I could not figure out how to search it from within the site. You have most of discontinued ones there.

 

[GnatGoSplat]

For some reason, several of the models I'm interested in don't show up as current nor in archives.
My state's sales tax on online sales doesn't kick in until 2023, so maybe it's best if I can find what I want this year for reasonable-ish prices, that I buy now since they will be almost 5% more expensive next year.

 

[kevinb120]

Become a member of modelissimo or CK modelcars. If you have some newer Norev cars you like, you can buy a batch of 2-5 at once(sounds crazy!-I've bought 20+ at times ) but you don't pay the 17% VAT and shipping on a lot is the same $35. If you're not a 'member' just put a MM car in your cart and it will load all the US pricing. The euro is bouncing even or below the USD right now. So what costs you $129 on ebay here likely may only cost you about $70 ordering from them. You'll always find way cheaper pricing there on Norev, KK-Scale, Otto, BoS, etc. AA likely costs more.

Sometimes they have stuff on clearance for a price well below what they go for here, so you can try your hand and picking up a few to make a few bucks back to help fund. The tastes are different there, so I saw the CMR Ferrari 512 Donohoe car when it was ~$58 and sold half a dozen of them for $160 here...YRMV.

It's the same as Costco toilet paper and how people pay less for their stuff by spending 'more'. Buying a big pack for $32 versus someone goes to a grocery store paying $12 for 1/4 the number of rolls because laying out $32 sounds 'expensive'.

Also in theory, if you put $100 in savings 3 years ago, it would be worth about $89 today(heck maybe $79!). A $100 diecast or LEGO set likely would be double. This hobby is one of those that if you keep things in good shape(that are reasonably in SOME sort of demand later), you can essentially 'lease back' your entire collection and recover all your funds, as a complete zero-sum at likely worst case scenario.

Out of production, you just have to be patient, even years sometimes. And you may find a big curve in your collection focus over time. Start slowly, but buying 'bulk' or jumping on an auction may seem like a bit of a leap at first. Always check the full list of sold items though.

I would highly recommend if you have your eye on some specific and currently available model, someone here can tell you where to get it. DMW may have it $15 cheaper on their site, with cheaper shipping and a 10% coupon, yada yada. We tend to be frugal here, someone has figured it out. The hunt itself is part of the game for collectors.

 

[GnatGoSplat]

Thanks, unfortunately, most of the Norevs I wanted seem to be out of production, but I did find some remaining stock in various places and managed to get them not too far off from original price (I think). There are a few I've been watching at a few online stores that also sell on eBay that I haven't pulled the trigger on since they're in the EU. I've been waiting for USD to at least reach parity with the Euro again. In the past couple of weeks, USD has lost value so I've been trying to time the market before pulling the trigger. I'm watching the quantity remaining in case I have to pull the trigger early, but so far nothing I want is in huge demand so they can wait a little longer.

I made out with a really good haul on the Aliexpress 11.11 sale and bought 6 models at once, a couple of them were discontinued Norevs I was looking for. I'd been waiting for that sale and it didn't disappoint. The prices ended up being far less than what I could find on eBay.

There's an AUTOart at DMW I've been eyeballing, and after 10% coupon, it's cheaper than I can get it anywhere. Not sure if I should pull the trigger now, do they ever do Black Friday or Christmas sales?

Since this post, I've picked up 16. Got 6, 10 still en-route. Doesn't sound like many, but I'm spending on average just over $100 each, so my wallet is getting lighter by the day. I'm enjoying the hunt though, and it's like Christmas every week.