Thread Number: 3437
The Hoover Bag Cleaner Revisited!
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Post# 38698   4/24/2008 at 19:49 (5,817 days old) by charles~richard ()        

When I was back east on my concert trip, I had a chance to visit my vac buddy Bob Kautzman who had a wonderful surprise for me -- he had totally rebuilt my Hoover Bag Cleaner! See link.

That means I now have two of them, so, yes, one goes to eBay. I certainly don't need both of them, and can surely use a little income right now! Concert trips seem to have a way of costing more than the remuneration involved, so I thought I'd give someone else a chance to have one of these very rare beasts and hopefully take in a little "mad money."

Later tonight I'll add a video link to my web site of the Bag Cleaner in action.


CLICK HERE TO GO TO charles~richard's LINK


Post# 38699 , Reply# 1   4/24/2008 at 19:50 (5,817 days old) by charles~richard ()        

Here's a link to my eBay auction...


CLICK HERE TO GO TO charles~richard's LINK on eBay


Post# 38700 , Reply# 2   4/24/2008 at 20:01 (5,817 days old) by camelotshadow (Valley Village)        

Saw that about a week ago
didn't know it was yours.

Cool


Post# 38702 , Reply# 3   4/24/2008 at 20:06 (5,817 days old) by lux1521 ()        

I have also seen this interesting machine. Between knowing that Charles had two, and the $1.37 price it is very easy to tell who the seller is. The machine is very cool but I can't afford it.

I'm supprised that no one has attempted to beat the reserve yet.


Post# 38705 , Reply# 4   4/24/2008 at 20:27 (5,817 days old) by camelotshadow (Valley Village)        
Somewhat of a exclusive interest only had by the true collec

$1.37
Ebay isn't always the place for the real unusual specific stuff.

& alot of us really are looking for the bargain basement vacs.

Hope you find the right buyer on Ebay. Just the right collector who wants to complete his hoover collection & appreciates its rarety.

I;ve had Nekrassoff pewter not sell & it was below value practically value of lead.LOL
Had Sterling silver sell for less that silver content!

Good thing you have a reserve.


Good Luck


Post# 38721 , Reply# 5   4/25/2008 at 00:42 (5,817 days old) by charles~richard ()        

On certain things that I am not sure about how much interest people will have in them, I do place a reserve. The one thing I do not do is reveal the reserve amount because I really don't want people to feel that the reserve has any bearing on what I think the item is worth or what I hope to get for it. It's simply set, as you have noted, to keep from having to part with something for just as buck or two when either it would not be worth the hassle of packing and shipping it, or I feel its value it higher than that. Especially when I myself have invested a pretty substantial amount in something.

I too am a little surprised (and disappointed) that there have been no bids on it. I really did think something that rare and hard to find would attract a lot of interest. If not, back to the garage it goes.



Post# 38737 , Reply# 6   4/25/2008 at 03:40 (5,816 days old) by vintagehoover ()        
Hi Charles...

Glad to see you're back with us! :)

I for one would be bidding like crazy, I'd love to own one of these! However, when you add the price of the reserve (whatever you have that set at), last minute sniping, and the international shipping, it just mounts up too much.

But believe me, if I lived a little nearer I'd be more than happy to give it a good home!



Post# 38740 , Reply# 7   4/25/2008 at 05:11 (5,816 days old) by tolivac (Greenville,NC)        

I would be interested in a Hoover Bag Cleaner-but just don't want to hassle with EBAY.the price on the unit is a REAL bargain.The device would be helpful to vacuum collectors as well as a collector item-I have LOTS of bags to try it out on!

Post# 38744 , Reply# 8   4/25/2008 at 05:35 (5,816 days old) by logan ()        

Charlie,

I agree with the others about reserve prices. To me when I see a reserve price it makes me think the seller wants way to much for the item. The last minute bidding and back stabbing gets old really fast. For me, I won't buy anything off Ebay unless it has a buy it now price. I don't mess with bidding. If I want something, I would rather just click "buy it now" and know it is mine. That being said, if you don't get a lot of bids the first time around on your bag cleaner, why not trying to put a buy it now price on it? This is just my opinion, I don't think a couple hundred dollars is too much to ask for it. Maybe more. I am sure there are many diehard Hoover collectors who would LOVE to make this a part of their collection. How cool would it be to be able to clean all of your Hoover Convertible bags out with an actual bag cleaner made by Hoover. :-) Anyways, don't worry about the price being to expensive. For me, there are some Lux items that are missing from my collection that I would be willing to throw down some bucks on if they ever appear on Ebay. I guess it just depends on the individual collector and that collectors needs/wants.

P.S. I know I am going on and on, but I have been up for over 24 hours. I have Bronchitis and an upper respiratory infection and can't sleep. I am on codene, antibiotics, inhalers, etc. So I am just sitting here bored as hell and typing away. LOL. Maybe the codene is getting to me! :-) hehe


Post# 38753 , Reply# 9   4/25/2008 at 10:51 (5,816 days old) by charles~richard ()        
Bag Cleaner Video...

...see link.


CLICK HERE TO GO TO charles~richard's LINK


Post# 38754 , Reply# 10   4/25/2008 at 10:54 (5,816 days old) by charles~richard ()        
Reserves, and Sniping

I am of two minds about hidden reserves on eBay. I can see how some people might perceive it as a seller trying to get too much for something -- especially those people who still think that old vacuums are only worth $15-20.

But why just automatically assume a reserve is too high for you? All you have to do is place a bid at what you are comfortable paying: You'll either hit the reserve or you won't.

Furthermore, after what I have seen some machines sell for -- both on eBay and privately -- and after what I myself have paid for some of them, I =know= that's not the case any longer (that old vacuums have little or no value).

When most of us collectors were isolated from one another and most of us were "still in the cleaning closet" about our interest, when no one knew anyone was running around secretly piling up stashes of old sweepers, the perception =was= that old vacs had no value. They certainly weren't showing up in antique boutiques or on Antiques Roadshow!

But for better or worse, and like it or not, that has changed due to the Internet, and, yes, eBay. With more and more collectors coming out of the woodwork and networking with one another, appearing on tv shows and getting some level of visibility in the general public, demand for old vacuums has increased and, thus, the value of them has, overall, gone up.

I really do hope people don't think I am some greedy old bastard who wants thousands and thousands of dollars for the things I sell. I really do wish I could afford to just give stuff away to people; and the fact is that I certainly have given away plenty of machines. I just don't make a big deal about it.

But with certain things, where I believe there is substantial value in them, and particularly where I myself have a lot invested in them, is it really so small-minded of me to want to see a little bit of profit on them? Especially given my perpetual state of impoverishment? Being a "starving musician" certainly comes with a price.

Then as to sniping, well, those who take issue with the amounts being paid for some old vacs ought to CELEBRATE the art of sniping! What BETTER way to keep the prices down?!

I have seen this myself and indeed have had a change of heart from my once-very-firm stance against sniping. Too many times I would place a bid on something early in the listing and wouldn't you know it, here comes all these other people putting down bids and running the prices up to where I couldn't afford them!

Then a fellow collector let me in on a secret: There are some clever (sneaky?) eBay users who routinely look through other people's profiles to see what they are bidding on (yes, there is a way to do that). That is a very good way to find machines that do not show up favorably on the search listings (far more than you may think -- eBay's search function is very ineffective and haphazard). The way to prevent "showing your hand" is to wait until the auction is about to end and place a snipe bid. Because what other people CANNOT see is things you are watching.

Oh, and speaking of giving away machines, I need to straighten out my garage again so I can get to several machines I have promised people. (Tania, Ken, I haven't forgotten!) It's not a total mess as it was before, it's just very full - thanks mostly to the large haul from the "Treasure Hunt" in Glendale earlier this year.

(And that's another whole issue ... a lot of the things I got from that old vac shop, and did pay pretty substantially for, I am probably going to end up having to give away because I'm not going to have time to work on them.) I also just need to do a general reorganizing, and find a happy corner on my work bench for my bag cleaner!


---


All that being said, Logan, I am sorry for going on even longer, and I hope you feel better. Be VERY careful about that bronchitis. You MUST get plenty of rest and sleep. Don't make the mistake I did, around this time last year, when I got bronchitis, ignored it, and ended up flat on my back for six weeks with pneumonia.



Post# 38755 , Reply# 11   4/25/2008 at 12:09 (5,816 days old) by petek (Ontario)        

I'm of no mind about it because it's not for me to say and/or none of my business what a person asks for their stuff. Doesn't mean I can't have a chuckle or roll my eyes at an outlandish starting bid but hey you never know. Out of the millions of people ebaying there's always a possibility that one of them may want an item desperately enough to pay handsomly for it. It's not scamming, it's a marketplace and nobody holds a gun to anyones head forcing them to buy. I'm thrilled when some of the things I've sold have gone for big bucks. It supports my sickn errr hobby.

Post# 38766 , Reply# 12   4/25/2008 at 15:17 (5,816 days old) by logan ()        

Thanks Charlie. Don't worry about going on and on, both you and I are long winded sometimes. Nothin' wrong with that! Yeah I'm sort of laying low for a few days or so. I don't want my bronchitis to turn into something worse...

Post# 38767 , Reply# 13   4/25/2008 at 15:36 (5,816 days old) by electroluxxxx (……)        

I thought that was you selling that and I wrote you saying

" is this the famous Charles richard lester"???
basically I wanted to say hi
e mail me sometime
Mike


Post# 38782 , Reply# 14   4/25/2008 at 18:31 (5,816 days old) by charles~richard ()        

Oh hi Mike, well, I had no idea who it was since you did not identify yourself in your contact to me.

There are some real creeps on eBay; I have heard from a couple of them just recently relative to this very transaction in fact. I almost did not reply to you at all since I did not know who it was.



Post# 38810 , Reply# 15   4/26/2008 at 01:33 (5,815 days old) by mattl ()        
Sniping

I've decided sniping is a good thing -as a buyer. When I shop eBay the only way I bid is by auctionsniper. Basically it's for my own good. Going in I decide how much I'm willing to pay, and I hit the "Snipe it now!" button on my Firefox task bar and I walk away. One or twice there was an item I really wanted and as the auction drew to a close the bids started rolling in and I kept upping my bid, I got the item but at 25% more that I really wanted to pay and more than I could comfortable afford, all because of the heat of the moment.

I've learned that most always an item will show up again and I will have another chance. When I snipe I just walk away, if I win, fine if not fine.



Post# 38813 , Reply# 16   4/26/2008 at 01:57 (5,815 days old) by camelotshadow (Valley Village)        
attack fast

don't let them see the white of your eyes....

Post# 38814 , Reply# 17   4/26/2008 at 02:06 (5,815 days old) by charles~richard ()        

Those who remember the big fuss I kicked up about sniping a few years ago will appreciate what a change of heart it is for me to say I now accept that procedure.

There really is no other way to keep one's bidding under control -- because of the snoopers I mentioned earlier as well as the point raised above, that sniping eliminates the temptation to sit there and keep obsessively bidding over and over, higher and higher, to the point where it becomes a stubborn and irresistable urge to keep bidding until you win. Or not.

It's kinda like playing the slots in Vegas ... "I'll just put in ONE MORE quarter..." == said at 4:45 in the morning after sitting there all night and have already put in hundreds of quarters.

Sniping is a good safety valve against "bidder's remorse" that almost always sets in when someone gets bidding fever and goes way higher than they should have, or intended to.

"My name is Poindexter, and I am an eBayoholic."

(Whatcha wanna bet there will soon be a 12-step recovery groupsfor eBay Addicts, if there isn't one already.)



Post# 38817 , Reply# 18   4/26/2008 at 02:27 (5,815 days old) by lux1521 ()        

Now I'm just fine with sniping, but I am very opposed to auto sniping. I think of sniping as a bit of a sport. The one with the fastest fingers and best timing wins. "Robo sniping" as I call it, seems to take the fun away from the process. No risk, no adrenilin, no fun, no fair. A computer never screws up the timing and gives the "robo sniper" an serious advantage to every conventional ebay user.

From what I have read on the topic, many auction sites actualy outlaw automated sniping by making a user enter a scrambled code prior to bidding.

Really, if ebay made last minute bidding easier, you would never need sniping software in the first place. If ebay had a live auction countdown clock and true one click bidding it would level the playing field for everyone. You would always know what time it really is, and placing a bid would be almost instant. I doubt this would ever happen (at least not soon) considering how ebay loves to run a site using web code that is full of holes and feels like it came from the Windows 98 era.

Just my two cents.


Post# 38818 , Reply# 19   4/26/2008 at 02:32 (5,815 days old) by camelotshadow (Valley Village)        

Never used the auto snipe
just the refresh & wait to the last few seconds
& take a big breath...

I don't like to bid early as it breeds interest & increases the bids...

Just human nature to want what another wants
even if you really don't



Post# 38820 , Reply# 20   4/26/2008 at 03:13 (5,815 days old) by charles~richard ()        

What do y'all do when an auction is closing at, like, 3:45 in morning?? Sit there all night and wait for it to close?!

Auctions from other countries, as well as those listed by night owls like me, can show up at any time of the day or night. "Auto-snipers" eliminate the need to sit there and wait.

And what do you do if your computer crashes, or your DSL service slows down or freezes up?! (Surely you're not going to tell me you're sniping with a dial-up account??!)

Personally, I'd much rather use an auto-sniper.

I =used= to sit here and wait, and would even go to the extent of having the same listing open in four browser windows, loaded to the "bid now" page, ready to "click, click, click, click" one right after the other in the last few seconds of an auction's close. I hate to confess a dirty trick like that, but it did work. But sitting around waiting for auctions to end that I was interested in got old pretty quick.

PLUS, auto-bidding removes anything "personal" from the procedure. What I mean is, if you are sitting around watching an auction, you know who else has been bidding. And it may cause a greater twinge of guilt to press the BID button at the last second when you see a couple of your hopeful buddies have placed bids. Placing a snipe command early on and then NOT watching the auction every 5 minutes takes away that element of wilfully and deliberately bidding against friends.

But "to each his own".......



Post# 38822 , Reply# 21   4/26/2008 at 03:23 (5,815 days old) by camelotshadow (Valley Village)        

true
I opt out of those set the alarm clock
& get up & bid bleary eyed bid.

LOL

Guess, will have to look into the autobid
but up til now
I figure
If its not worth the trouble then
maybe I don't need it.

You have a good auto bid prog that works?
Don't you have to give thema few $?



Post# 38823 , Reply# 22   4/26/2008 at 03:27 (5,815 days old) by charles~richard ()        

I use esnipe.com. There is a very small fee to use it, but it's really just chump change.

Their front page has a lot of good info about sniping and good reasons to do it. See link.



CLICK HERE TO GO TO charles~richard's LINK


Post# 38824 , Reply# 23   4/26/2008 at 03:34 (5,815 days old) by lux1521 ()        

My tools for ebay bidding:

1) Pentium 4 Powered PC with Windows XP
2) Firefox Browser
3) Dial-Up Connection (Not Kidding!!!)
4) Clock With Second Hand
5) Clever Human Brain

This configuration works for me most of the time. I'd like to think the 5th item on that list is what makes it all work, but it might just be a good bit of luck. Items 4 and 5 are what make item number 3 usable for sniping.


Post# 38826 , Reply# 24   4/26/2008 at 03:49 (5,815 days old) by charles~richard ()        

"This configuration works for me most of the time."

Well, as I said, "To each his own." Again, I'd personally rather not have to sit here and wait for the last seconds of an auction. Too nerve wracking for one thing; and, besides, I usually have many other things I should be doing ... like sleeping, in the case of late-night-enders!



Post# 38867 , Reply# 25   4/26/2008 at 19:31 (5,815 days old) by dial-a-nap (Omaha - the home of the TV Dinner)        

dial-a-nap's profile picture
I use auctionsniper.com and have had very good luck with it. Of course, I don't win every auction - some bids are inevitably higher than my bid. A twinge of guilt passes through me once in a while when I see my snipe-bid raised the final price for someone else, but it would have regardless and I rarely pay attention anymore - if I get it, I'm glad; if not, maybe next time. It's better to not be too emotional about bidding on ebay or real estate, but that's easy to say! If it's something that you really want, why not use all available tools to make it happen? If ebay allows it, then it's fair bidding. I remember setting an alarm clock to crawl out of bed and place a bid in the last seconds of an auction ending at 3 A.M. as well and got a rush out of the "sport" but also was quite pleased when that whole process was automated by these bidding services.

Best of luck on the bag cleaner, that is fascinating!


Post# 38904 , Reply# 26   4/27/2008 at 02:13 (5,814 days old) by mattl ()        

I second auctionsniper.com been using them for years. Not too costly.

Let me tell a story on myself and use it as a waring. A couple of months ago I was in the market for a Blu Ray player. The prices on new one are astronomical and I did not want to pay that and was bidding on "defective" units that I felt I could fix. Anyway the was one going for $20 for some reason, I sniped it at $35 and checked in before the auction was over. I saw it was getting close to my $35 max, so I upped the bid to $50. An hour before the auction closed I checked in again and it was $48 or there abouts. I went in to change my bid and found I couldn't! Auctionsniper locks your bid in 2 hours out, according to them it's to protect the system and making sure your bid gets placed, what ever. I was really frustrated and lost the auction. I complained to Auctionsniper and on it's forum, then someone posted a response and I had a "DUH" moment- they asked why I didn't just make a bid on eBay!

The lesson is don't rely on technology too much. I was so used to using the sniper that I didn't even think I could place a bid since I already had.

BTW the auction closed at $56 - I would have kept bidding, and a few days later I got a MUCH better "Defective" Blu Ray player for $140, that simply had a firmware upgrade disk stuck in the mechanism, easy fix. These (non-defective) are now going for $350 - $400+ now. I guess timing is everything.



Post# 39034 , Reply# 27   4/28/2008 at 01:15 (5,813 days old) by charles~richard ()        
"Oh well"

So went the Bag Cleaner auction -- "BUST."

I really would have thought that something this rare and practically impossible to find would have elicited more aggressive bidding, but I guess not.

Ironically, the high bidder was not too far from my reserve --- again, just covering what I had invested in it. Had a few more people bid on it, I'd be packing it up to ship tomorrow instead of packing it up to store in the garage again.

Maybe I should have listed it with no reserve; I dunno, maybe more people would have bid. But who's to say. On the other hand, had I not done so, and had there not been any more bids, I'd have ended up selling it for a good bit less than I paid for it, and I certainly cannot afford to do that.

Well, as I said, back to the garage with it, maybe to be listed again sometime.




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