The club is offering on e-Bay three scale model D2s, which will be posted at 9 p.m. central time tonight. The items are:

D2 with tool bar blade, e-Bay item number 160220894902

D2 with tool bar ripper, e-Bay item number 160220900636

D2 ag tractor (no attachments), e-Bay item number 160220906410

The minimum bid will be $150.00, and the bidding will last 7 days. This will be the only opportunity to buy these in the boxes without having to buy the whole D2 set of 5 tractors that we are currently selling.

I hope many of you bid on these very nice tractors built by SpecCast for the club.

George, Why is the club posting these for 3x of original cost?

I assume the pricing is because they are no longer for individual sale, and recent auction prices have been higher (around $150-175), although I have seen the whole set sold for just over $500 at auction. That said, after getting my orchard model I simply can't justify this type of pricing for these, as the detail level, while good, is nowhere near what the current tractor line is like, and that kind of money pays for an awful lot of other models.

One other point with these (which is the same for many of the limited edition Speccast models) is that they won't hold their collector value if you ever want to display or look at the models as they come in a plain box (as opposed to the clear fronted boxes Speccast uses on their other models), and opening them by itself will decrease their value. I don't see much point in collecting models I can't look at without devaluing them. I would love to own the whole set, but these are just beyond my comfort zone in terms of pricing.

Hi Dunefanatic,

Prices on the D2 models that are being listed have appreciated significantly since they sold out. By listing them, everyone gets a chance at them, and the club gets some extra money to cover operating expenses.

I have seen the D2 Show tractor sell from $150 to $275 in the recent past. The D2 Ripper from $175 to $200, and the blade tractor from $200 to $225. There is one each of the show tractor and the blade tractor, and 2 of the ripper tractors that are, or will be listed.

Regards,
Lee

Jeff, no offense, but keep in mind that these models have appreciated since thier original release several years ago. Obviously, if the values that other collectors place on these out of production models is any indication, the original purchase price is well worth the investment. Like anything else, it is what the market will bear. We might not like it, but I would not expect the club, or any other collector who has a few of these on the shelves to sell them for a deeply discounted price just because a few people think they are overpriced. Do an EBay search for "Smith Miller" and see what you will find. Most Smith Miller trucks are B Model Macks or GMC COE's. The level of detail is not museum quality for exact Mack-like representation, but you get the idea, and truth be told, I would LOVE some on my shelf, but the price is a bit too salty. What to do? Hope to find a bargain or win the lottery. In the meantime I will still admire them, and lust after those on another's shelf.

I totally understand that these have appreciated and meant no offense speaking for myself and what I would consider as a price I could justify. I know how pricing on this stuff works, and am constantly amazed at the prices for many different types of collectables. Even if they had been listed under a dollar as the opening bid, I know that these models will sell at or above the listed prices because they are out of production, and while I'd like to own them all, I won't at those prices, and I certainly wouldn't expect anyone to discount these now. For the time being I'll just be happy with my orchard model alongside my other crawlers and tractors. Like you say, I could always win the lottery.