> 
> Robert Young wrote:
> > One thing to keep in mind about such searches, many of 
> these companies 
> > talk amongst themselves and there are a few "master" 
> databases (over 
> > simplified but close enough) and the more traffic some of them see 
> > concerning a particular part number, the higher the price 
> will become 
> > when you finally locate the quantity you need.
> 
> What is the source of this information? Is it based on your personal 
> observations?
> 
> Cartels are, by their nature, unstable organizations. With 
> such a huge 
> variety of products, and the large number of players, I'd 
> have to say that 
> it's very unlikely that they exist (to any significant extent) in the 
> surplus parts industry.
> 

I have personally observed the price shift.  Got some low-ball bids on
the part price but when I asked for a total to prepare the purchase
order they started to fuss and wouldn't be exact.  Needed the parts so
just went ahead and ordered.  Bill came in such that I could have paid
easily 30% more for the parts alone and still been under their total
with fees and shipping.  In other cases I've had exorbitant shipping
charges, much more than 5 times actual cost.  I can understand 2x
shipping cost to cover time and materials but 5x is a bit much.

Another example (and I wish I could provide you with the web site where
I did this) I used a locating service's web page to locate stock on an
obsolete part.  The page it popped up was a list of companies from which
I could buy the part, their estimated inventory and a contact # or page.
Weird thing was that many of the companies were listing the SAME
quantity available.  I knew what the tube quantity was and it wasn't an
even number of full tubes.  Just an oddball quantity, like you would
expect from left over inventory.  Turns out these were brokers quoting
through their own web pages from the same recovery company in Taiwan.
It was spooky.

As to the companies talking among themselves, this does happen.  Some
companies focus on small quantities while others are simply brokering
deals between other brokers (B2B sales).  Thus you get some fooling
around with the prices based on perceived demand.

The term "master database" is a bit misleading and I can't really
provide a better description but does convey the concept of shared
information.

At any rate, it boils down to how badly you need to parts, how many you
need and when you need them as to what you are going to be willing to
pay. 

When you need the parts, you need the parts.

Rob

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