Why doesn't our model hold value?

[stunks]

We spend over £1000 on some model kits but when we tried to sell then second hand we don't even get half the price back! Such a shame, but why is that?

[debrooker]

in my mind, it's because you may be buying a crashed model or a model with potentially knackered parts - as these are highly stressed machines

i have friends that only buy 2nd hand, and some of the machines they have managed to pick up for next to nothing - Dave Fishers's Avro comes to mind - absolutely mint for virtually no money

[Slobberdog]

It's the nature of the hobby, I'm honest Joe and I tell you I have had the bird for 12 months and only done 15 flights, I regularly oil all the bearings and I've never had a hard landing or crash,

do you believe me that's the question?

Ok on that scenario, 12 months ago I bought the heli second hand in pieces after a big crash, and put a lot of new parts on it, but it's never really flew the way I wanted it to so with little use I am selling it,

My point is, unless your selling to a friend who knows the history and yourself people are going to put a lower price on anything as warrantee so to speak, when buying second hand you take a chance, one day you will have the deal of a lifetime next a bag of bolts,

these birds have very fast moving parts that wear quick depending on the type of use it's getting, and things fail one moment after a perfect flight 10mins earlier, it's the nature of the hobby,

personally I have trouble selling stuff heli related due to the fact if it breaks very soon after I sell it I feel responsible, but there's a lot of people out there that don't care what they sell, and that's what drives prices down as well as tech moving on so fast there's always something new to buy in the market,

[milly0812]

I've had about 30 helis and only 6 of them were new kits. I'm happy to buy second hand from people I know on here and so far on the whole I've not been disappointed. It's a massive saving over new but I do agree the used value is way low and it's usually caused by a few that set the bar by selling cheap. Why would you want to spend £270 on a used powerjive if someone else has sold one for £190 ??. BMFA classifieds tend to sell higher if you are happy to risk the scammers

[uiron]

yep, the risk is too high buying from a stranger; the only model I've bought costed me about the same as new one, having in mind purchase price+all spares that were needed to get it in the air - and having in mind I tore it down to pieces and back, I didn't even save on assembly time.

I would say it's a good rule of thumb to actually don't even consider buying (unless from a friend) a used model if it's more than half of the price of a new one. I'd put exception to some electronics, like sats, flybarlesses, receivers - they usually don't get a lot of wear, they either work or not; to some extend, that applies probably to ESCs, not so much to servos or motors.

[chucky21022010]

Model's prices depreciate quickly and it also depends on the condition and who owns the heli. As previously stated, some sell their second hand kits at a very low price so other people thinks that a very low price is the norm. When you sell your second hand kit with a reasonable price in mind nobody wants it. I sold a few items on the forum but never a kit because they are hard to sell. If I buy a heli, I research hard and think of it as a long term heli not to be selling it as I will loose a lot of money on it, besides I usually have attachments to my helis. [emoji4]

[philipjdall]

Maybe they're just overpriced in the first place? The only thing I hat a bout buying second hand is you don't get the build, which is one of the best bits!

You'll struggle to sell a 700 machine (except for a tdr) for over £300 these days. I for one always price stuff competitively, if you don't it just doesn't sell.

[Shauny]

Why doesn't our model hold value?

It's the same as anything else second hand. Look at the price of a new car, you lose £1000's as soon as it's driven off the forecourt. If anything I think people over price items they're selling

[Rob Barnes]

Sometimes its whats the "IN" heli to have at the moment has a lot to do with the price. ie try selling an N5 at the moment and you may get ten quid for it as nobody wants one, an old Trex 700 ? why would you want to old model v2 when the V4 is out. The problem is heli's keep constantly updating and hence the older models sell for nothing in my opinion. I personally like to buy new if I can as then I know its been built correctly and more importantly I know its history etc .

[trillian]

I think the biggest factor is how fast the current fashion changes. The 'evergreens' actually hold more of their value, so the practical common helis like the Aligns tend to do better relative to their new cost than the less common or high-end models. When the Goblins were first coming out and were really hot the 2nd hand price was only slightly below new prices, same with the TT e700 when it first came out.

If it's easy to get spares that's a big factor, so when shops stop stocking them it hurts the 2nd hand value.

These days there's always some shiny new object out there in the shops or on the horizon so the attitude is that everything else is seen as 'outdated'.

[waveydavey]

Happy to take anyones outdated out of fashion models As I often do, Ive got enough 700n bits from bought airframes to see me through for years. I love the way it flys so why would I want the latest and greatest, it'll only fly the sameish

[trillian]

Happy to take anyones outdated out of fashion models As I often do, Ive got enough 700n bits from bought airframes to see me through for years. I love the way it flys so why would I want the latest and greatest, it'll only fly the sameish

Yep, I've been more than happy with old 'outdated' models and some of them still fly great. It is nice to have the newest thing on the block sometimes but you also run the risk of being an unpaid beta tester.

[Rob Barnes]

I would agree with the above, I fancy building a second hand FLYBARED heli just to remind what they fly like, and take out the need for agilty and style settings etc !

[philipjdall]

I would agree with the above, I fancy building a second hand FLYBARED heli just to remind what they fly like, and take out the need for agilty and style settings etc !

Lol I've been thinking the same. Could be fun. although knowing me I'll be bored of it in two weeks and be back to my logos!

[trillian]

I would agree with the above, I fancy building a second hand FLYBARED heli just to remind what they fly like, and take out the need for agilty and style settings etc !

My latest heli is a Compass Knight 3D, totally stock with the flybarred head. I got the airframe 2nd hand from FL (and it is Mint!, like new condition) for £75.00! I put DS620s on the swash, Spartan gyro, 9254 on the tail, Duralite regulator, OS50 Hyper. It was a strange experience setting up a flybarred nitro again, using things like subtrim! checking the pitch with a flybar teetering around etc. old stuff that was all new again. And it flies remarkably well considering how spoiled I am to electric and FBL. The agility setting is done by changing the paddles , I just put some KBDD Tony Whiteside paddles on to get some speed back into the cyclics, haven't tried them yet but it should be very quick now.