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I shall start off by saying, if any of you should take any of my comments or examples within this post as a personal attack, please be assured that it is not intended that way. But if you are personally offended, then ....I dunno....write to your local MP or something, cos I couldn't care less This is by no means a new phenomena, but it is one that I have recently started to become more enraged by. There's really 3 parts to this: 1 - Members who complain about the price of 2nd hand and new parts 2 - Members who complain that custom, or, small volume reproduction parts are too expensive 3 - Members who f*** up attempts to kick off Group Buys, by wanting variations of the product (actually not directly related to the topic title, or the 2 points above, but thought I'd throw it in anyway since I recently had a rant about this in the Red Carpet topic) We all have a different perception of value, and we all have different financial situations, so that's fair enough. I myself have previously frittered my own money away, and now have to seriously consider before I make any more rash purchases. I've bought plenty of bits for my 205 over the years that I've never even used - they are always for that idea, or the project, that just never happens. The reason I mention this is, I don't want the message in this topic to come across like I'm expecting people to dig deep and just throw their money about without consideration. The point of this topic is to ask the question "what the hell goes through some people's minds?" And to hopefully make some of you have another think about your own perception of value for money. There's been a recent flurry of people slagging off eBay listings (think mudflaps for example) and accusing sellers of taking the piss, and buyers for being mental. I personally woulnd't bid £200 odd quid on a set of mudflaps either - aye, it is a bit mental - but if that's what other's are genuinely bidding, and that's what the sellers are making, then I say "fair play" to them! What's the problem? Example - someone criticising a listing for a brand new (albeit pattern part) ribbed tailgate panel with all new Peugeot fixings for £75. I just don't see what is so bad about that. Sure, they aren't hard to come by 2nd hand, but they're nearly always cracked at the sides. In this example, the gripe seems to be that the seller has marked up the price, becuase as a pattern part, it can be bought cheaper. OK, so let's examine that point: 1 - If it's widely available from pattern suppliers, then any clued up buyers will go that route, and the eBay trader will find it harder to sell 2 - If it's not easily available from pattern suppliers, and a potential buyer wants a brand new part ASAP, then they could buy it from the ebay trader, and I'm sure both parties would be happy with the trade. 3 - So what if the eBay trader has marked up the price? That's part of running a business, being able to make a profit. Duh! Doesn't mean you or anyone else HAS to buy from them and pay the inflated price. Example - member on here trying to sell a mint condition gear knob for ~£45. I'm glad to say that this particular example didn't get the negative response I would have expected, but still some questioned the price. My argument for this (why I believe that it was worth every penny of £45), is that you only have to look at aftermarket gear knobs and they aren't bloody cheap anymore! And if you look at the price of some brand new knobs for newer cars, through the dealer networks, then again £45 is good value. In both those cases though, I'm talking about items that are freely available - if you need/want a replacement gear knob ASAP, you can get one, and you pay the price. But in the case of the 205 GTI, how easily can you pick up a new old stock, or mint condition gearknob? Not very bloody easy, is it? So why do some people expect that they should be able to get one on the cheap? And piss and moan if people try to sell them for decent money. Example - good old Tom Fenton going to all that effort with his stainless steel airbox brackets. But apparently the (very reasonable IMO) price was too much for some people! Jesus wept! Tom buys up the steel, gets it laser cut, folds it himself, welds it up, has the admin to deal with (answering PMs, taking payment etc) and sends them out, all of which I'm sure he does in his free time as he's not doing this as a business venture........but no, some people still want it at cost price. f***ing unbelievable! Example - again, I believe it was Tom who was doing the bumper bracket supports. Nice custom made part, usual Fenton quailty, being offered for what was almost pocket change. Again, some people thought it was too expensive. Example - an old topic, recently revived, about replacement carpets. I said that it was unlikely that anyone would try and get them reproduced at any time soon, as there wouldn't be much demand and would take a lot of money to put in to production. I was surprised to hear them that the French club had already done this, and they had sold them (I don't know when this was, could have been years ago) for 250 euros a pop. Again, apparently too expensive for some though. £200 for a brand new reproduction carpet, too expensive? In summary, it seems that some people want the f***ing moon on a stick. Sure, some people do take this piss with high prices, and of course we all know that some eBay sellers get by, by claiming that easily available items are rare. That's been going on for years. But what it ultimately comes down to is this - if you want something fancy for your cherished 205, put your bloody hand in your pocket and stop moaning about it. The world doesn't owe you anything! If you are too tight - or like a lot of us, simply struggling for cash and have to count every penny - then shut the f*** up and accept that you can't afford the item and either have to make do without it, or compromise. You shold all be bloody grateful that we've got some top quality members on this forum who are going to a lot of effort to to get custom made parts put in to production, and group buys negotiated on other things. These are the people we need - and more of them - to keep the flow of parts coming in years to come, to keep 205 GTIs on the road, looking mint, and going well. They need our support, NOT our criticism.