How about this Rock Ola Housing buy?

[painter777]

Chip,
You have a good point.
I believe that since the political run by said Ebay owner was lost, the possible backlash of nasty gun parts was put to rest. I can't recall the cost of her campaign but remember a large part of her funds were personal. You guys in CA would know better.
I'm sure the loss of big $$ revenues also showed up in the stats.
As a side note, It seems like stocks have taken a $$ crash over the last 2 years. I believe the humped stamps have made buyers very leary, and has hurt the value of original wood.
And now with Repro flat hammers along with oilers.. etc out there, There may be no way to guage how high real parts may go. Look at how high some of these housings are selling for, and many with Repro parts in them.

JMO,
Charlie-painter777

P.S. Just Tossing Around Some Possibles.
By No Means Do I Want This To Go Political..........

[JimF4M1s (Deceased)]

Thanks Charlie.

[DaveHH]

This happens a lot on Ebay. A guy sees something he really wants and puts up a huge number thinking that it will never get there. If it was shill bidding, the crooked party doesn't know what number that is, he could kill a potentially great deal by going too far. This other guy just wanted the same part. His first few bids were ending in 01s and the like, like a person does when he reaches his comfortable bid. But in this case, it was just absorbed and went higher. The runner up guy then began to just go to large numbers 00s and was still beaten, finally giving up at $1K. The other guy got the part but at three times value.

I had this happen with a very rare pinball machine. It was worth about $3-4K, two guys wanted it very much, some guy put a bid of $6K to make sure he got it and the other guy kept going. It went up $1500 in the last 15 seconds. Sold for over $6.3K (still a record for a single machine). I was happy, they overpaid.

On the subject of these carbine parts; is it possible that the luster has fallen off parts swapping? What was a fun exciting pursuit has turned into a crime scene with very diminished return on investment? I seem to recall that a carefully crafted restoration would bring good money, now it seems that people are much more interested in what is fake or wrong and the price is reduced accordingly. Additionally some folks ignore restorations out of hand, preferring to do their own. I think the threshold of ALL carbines now being suspect has been reached. What do you guys think?

[lbelflowers]

Agreed Dave!

[Hercules Powder]

aka ….fireside24315

I am the seller of Rock Ola trigger housing that recently sold on Ebay for $1025.00.

The transaction was completed by the winning bidder.
I had no prior contact with any of the bidders.
I have no connection to any parts dealers.
Everything I sell is from my personal collection.

I believe the description was correct.

Trigger Housing Description:

M1 Carbine Rock Ola Type 4 Trigger Housing Complete Rockola

Rock Ola complete Trigger Housing. Has very nice green/brown patina. Excellent condition. No rust or pitting.

Trigger is marked Rock-Ola
Hammer is marked BR in a circle
Sear with hole is marked Rock-Ola
Mag Catch is marked WA over M
Safety is marked SS in a circle

USGI

If you have any questions please ask before you bid.
No international shipping.

Feedback from buyer:

GREAT SERVICE AND FAST DELIVERY

That’s it….plain and simple.
John
__________________________________________________ _______________________

To: DaveHH

You are more perceptive than most and I agree with what you said. This trigger housing is a case in point to that theory. I don’t think this type of anomaly has much effect of prices overall.

In regards to carbine parts on Ebay, from what I have watched since the first of this year is that prices of most parts have generally come down noticeably from somewhat of a peak just after the first of the year. I think it’s the supply and demand factor; a lot more parts for sale than I remember seeing the past few years. Ebay is allowing parts they previously banned adds to it too.

[ChipS]

Charlie: I am not too worried about the stocks and oilers yet but the humpers will soon make it impossible to tell on most of them too - if the price gets right. I am gun-shy as hell about the hammers though - particularly the doglegs. I have my own hammer system that I think is as safe as I can get it without being a BrianQ or others. But, I am sure the humpers will get it down eventually and I will never know the difference. When I think about the left coast I wonder just how many of the different carbine parts are currently being knocked out in Shanghai as we speak.

Dave: I understand your point very well and didn't mean to refute it in any way - and you may well be right on the money re trigger housing group auction. I am an engineer and not a pure dog-eat-dog businessman, so I cannot fathom many/most/all (pick one) of the multi-faceted tricks and maneuvers of the sales trade to maximize profit. I (sort of) understand the first guy who bid over the moon to make sure he got the part at market value, assuming the next bidder would go up to what it was more or less worth. But he did not have to bid that high to insure a win even if the second bidder went up to true value +. What I don't understand is the second guy picking his way that far up the ladder, knowing with each bid he might pay 2-3 times what it was worth. UNLESS it was two well-healed bulls butting heads or there is something else going on under the sheets. I don't know but I think there is a lot more than meets the eye in this auction and a lot of others we're seing today. JMHO

I think the abundance of nice parts now showing up in the auctions is probably the result of all those CMP carbines just now being cannibalized, coupled with the change of religion at eBay. What say you?

Thanks for the thought provoking discussions. ChipS

[ChipS]

Well, Hercules Powder posted his message while I was drafting mine. Had I read that he did in fact get paid that incredible amount by the winning bidder I would have worded my message differently or kept my mouth shut. I congratulate him on his auction and it appears the winning 'bull' did stand by his outlandish bid. Good for him. It also appears that DaveHH was right on in his assessment of the auction. I apologize to Hercules if I offended him. I didn't intend to. ChipS

[painter777]

H-P,
You don't have anything to explain. Auction was up front, nothing mis leading.
You've helped make my point as to how HIGH $$ some of these items go for at times.
Congrats on a very nice sale, may they all work out as well.

Cheers,
Charlie-painter777

[DaveHH]

and some crooked dealers have it down to a science with several phony accounts etc. But it is always a step up the ladder, each bid going higher. When the winner did one great big bet at 3:00 and you never saw him again, the shill bidder doesn't know how far to go. Obviously you'd be thrilled at $1025 but if your shill bidder did a $1030 and it stuck, you've lost the whole deal. The bids always tell the story. And yes, it probably was two well heeled gentlemen butting heads. Part Swappers can lose sight of reality when the word Rock-Ola is mentioned.

[blazer91]

I seem to recall that a carefully crafted restoration would bring good money, now it seems that people are much more interested in what is fake or wrong and the price is reduced accordingly. Additionally some folks ignore restorations out of hand, preferring to do their own. I think the threshold of ALL carbines now being suspect has been reached. What do you guys think?

Now I know why whenever someone comes out of the woodwork with a "bringback" story, there's always skepticism until all the pics are there to prove it. Understandable but still sad.
I still intend to finish what i started... one day, in the meantime I am in awe of the powerful appeal of this humble little carbine. Jim