Price Hike!

martin maltas

martin maltas

0
Staff member
It looks as though we are quickly becoming victims of our own success [B)] People are now jumping on the bandwagon and trying to cash in on spares.
Today I was offered 2 new Commer doors, both N/S. £300 each[:0] According to the vendor, these vans are becoming very popular and bits are rare. Not as b****y rare as his price.
So our once affordable hobby, is fast becoming a thing of the past[V]


http://www.commervanspares.co.uk/

http://www.yorkshireclassiccampers.co.uk/
 
HHAAHAHA. I suspected that this would happen ages ago. People are looking for something different now aren't they. Commer's offer the whole package. Good looking/Practical etc etc. I'm just glad that you have aquired many spares over the course of time. We need to all be buying up the spares even if we don't need them. We can just swap them amognst ourselves etc. That way they stay in our community and not somebody elses!

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DUKE
 
its a shame that some folk get into spares just for business and not for the love of keeping the classics on the road (not you Martin). always the way though
 
Gutted that this is happening...

Martin, how many parts can you get reproduced lol.. think you need to open a factory :D for commervanfans only of course :)

Cazz... had a lucky break to become Graduate commerade!!!!
 
good grief[:0] - that seems a tad enthusiastic - were they doors from the extremely rare Mercedes version of the PB [?]

sellers can only get what buyers will pay so if no bu@@@er mad enough to pay those sorts of prices then things should stay sensible - especially when winter comes around - I hope!!!


Bessie - four star commerdation
 
quote:
Originally posted by lancealot

its a shame that some folk get into spares just for business and not for the love of keeping the classics on the road (not you Martin). always the way though



...only thing I would say about that tho, is that if Commer spares are worth something then it's likely that more will be saved...bit of a catch 22.

one thing about the dark side vans is that there are limitless spares and upgrades, which ultimately means more vans on the road. I'm always wondering what's going to happen when businesses like Powertrack and Speedy disappear... hopefully someone will come along in their place?

www.GreenWoodsFurniture.co.uk - Sustainably sourced, handmade in the UK
 
some of us have already arrived to try and help out.but it takes time and money and a lot of hard work to build spares buisnesses up, something alot of people dont see.i agree that there is a few people out there who will jump on the band wagon and try to make a quick buck by hikeing up the prices on their spares, but your always going to get this type of thing happen on any vehicle.its the same with some of these web sites you can join, for example the hillman avenger club, they have a large following now world wide, but the guy who owns the site charges a yearly fee i think of about £25.00. if he has a thousand members thats £25000.00 per year hes making just from people chatting to each other.no one forces you to have a commer van and no one can make you pay silly prices for the up keep ,its up to you to make that decision.
 
Well said Woolfy i agree. I know that a huge amount of work goes in to you guys sorting these things out. You deserve all the credit that comes to you. You and others are running a buisness and can only be good for you. We have a nice community here and am sure we will help eachother before any outside sourcing occurs? I for one will offer here before anywhere.

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DUKE
 
i agree totally mate, keep it in the family so to speak. i think that the trouble has accurd largely because for so long now the commer vans have been forgotten about and people couldnt get many spares for them. now they can get stuff its started the ball rolling and the scene is getting bigger by the month. is this a good thing or not though .you decide for yourself. you have to way up the fors and againsts though. for example. 1. if there were no spares available wether it be panels or mechanical then the following or scene probably wouldnt be that great, which would then have a knock on effect ,because then there wouldnt be any need for a forum like this and there would not be any meet ups or weekends away camping together as a group.2. on the other hand if spares are made more readily available for people to restore there vans back to their former glory then people will become more interested and the scene will grow nicely. there will be more people joining the site and going to the meets, and it will then mean that it has all been worth while investing in developing new panels and parts and this site, and it hasnt all been in vain, or a wast of time. i think the later is the better opption after all its why we are all here isnt it. or should we all just weigh the vans in on the goverment scrappage scheme.:p;)[?]
 
Before I stumbled on this place my primary source of bits was e-bay, over the years I've had some absolute bargains, of course if you want it now it has to be Speedys.

The bits Martin has had re manufactured are a godsend as well:). The renewed popularity of Commers is also pleasing, whilst working on mine over the summer I've had three people offer to buy it, 'them thar volkswargens are a bit steep dese days' is something I've heard a few times this year!

tigger
 
sorry woolfy but dont understand the link with the hillman avenger site,do you mean if he owns 1000 sites?the avenger and sunbeam owners club has 400 fully paid up members each paying£20 per year there is no individual website charge to members.the membership fee covers all club expenditure including free national weekend and 4 magazines a year.im the secretary of the club so this is correct
 
the way i see it is someone has realised they can save someone a lot of time and perhaps money by chucking on two new doors and has upped the price, what will happen is two repairable doors will go for scrap wasting valuable parts. what should happen is people should pay the likes of woolfy to repair doors or if able should buy panels and do it themselves (a proper resto as i call it.) Martin should be given the opportunity of acquiring panels for rare projects such as detector vans and the like. price hiking will kill what is to most a hobby, but we have the power to stop it by advising on what is and isnt a sensible price.;)
 
There's pros and cons for each argument - keep prices down so the real enthusiasts can continue to afford their hobby, or push prices up so that vans that would have otherwise been scrapped are financially viable restorations?

What I'd like to know is how come people have only just started discovering Commers? It's not like they've gone mainstream on the TV and packets of cereals etc and it's not like Martin and Woolfy's services should be that apparent to anyone outside of the scene. I'm all up for promoting the virtues of the Commer, but that could in the end be our downfall as it's popularity that pushes the prices up.... maybe we should go underground and operate like the MI6[?];)
 
In all fairness, i doubt we have a lot to fear? It's not as though there are hundreds upon hundreds of useable Commer's out there that are all of a sudden going to put us into the same bracket as Vee Dubs. It will never be as big as that! There are simply not enough vans out there!

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DUKE
 
quote:
Originally posted by CHARLIE COMMER

the way i see it is someone has realised they can save someone a lot of time and perhaps money by chucking on two new doors and has upped the price, what will happen is two repairable doors will go for scrap wasting valuable parts. what should happen is people should pay the likes of woolfy to repair doors or if able should buy panels and do it themselves (a proper resto as i call it.) Martin should be given the opportunity of acquiring panels for rare projects such as detector vans and the like. price hiking will kill what is to most a hobby, but we have the power to stop it by advising on what is and isnt a sensible price.;)


thats all well if you want repaired panels but if you are doing a van that you can see inside its got to be new. parts should be open to all plus finding them is for me the fun bit
 
It's a tough call. On the one hand I would like to think that I have an appreciating asset that gets used but on the other I don't want to see prices become so far out of reach that we lose the bodgers, make dos and people who just want to keep the van on the road.

You only have to look at the Scooter world were all the 80s scooter lot are now in the middle age, middle income bracket and you cannot get a Lambretta for under £2k.
 
Martin can you tell me more about the doors, Jules is looking for a cab door for my commer I will be seeing him tomorrow he can rebuild mine but it's a major job so maybe £300 is worth it.

I know the bandwagon affect has its downside nut compared to the 1990s when you couldn't get anything for Commers and it felt very lonely maybe it's an improvement.
There were a number of years in the late 90s when we went the whole year without seeing another Commer. It's great that there is a real community now. As soon as Jules is finished the restoration we will be out there again, can't wait

Protecting the inheritance
 
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