Does anyone else follow prices for sold out white metal models?........who has a Conquest 1948 Dodge coupe?

I just ran through "recent sales" on ebay for Motor City and found one that opened my eyes. '49 Buick woody wagon sold for $1215.85.    But a '50 Buick woody wagon for $178.49.  One more:  '50 Pontiac convertible in black sold for $499.99.   Whew!  But most of the older Motor City models are in the 100 to 300 range;  I think I'm going to look at the few hiding around here.

Posted by: @mingmong68

@jack-dodds No not Maroon. Its a bright red

Interesting.  I've never seen a pic of that one.  This Dodge coupe is a really nice looking car and it came in some attractive color choices.  My fave color for it is the maroon or the dark blue.  The woody would look great as well and it would be nostalgic for me as my very first Dinky Toy as a very young lad was the tan Plymouth woody.

I would like to propose a question to forum collectors who pursue rare high end models on the bay and other auctions and do or consider paying these high prices. It has been said that the greatest "high" with collecting both model and real classic cars comes from the "chase". In our case, this involves "the high" when you win the bid after a bidding frenzy against equally obsessed collectors who want the car just as much as you do and "the high" that you get when the postman drops it off and you unbox that beauty. After the unboxing, like me, you probably inspect your prize in detail before carefully placing it on your shelf. After a couple of days you probably forget about it as you become more wrapped up in chasing down the next holy grail that is on your list. The question then becomes: are we actually paying these high prices for the "high" that comes from the chase  rather than for the model itself? Something to think about.

@kenspear  I think you got it right!  It is also a function of how long you have been waiting to find one for sale/auction!  I had been waiting 20 years to find a rare Tekno (Denmark) toy car from 1970-72.  So I saw one on the bay and bid a lot for it.  I missed one or two others over he years because the price was too $$$.  But not this time!  Now it sits on my shelf.

Another factor due to the Internet is that we can show it off on the forums we frequent!  Then move on to the next model car we want to hunt down!

@kenspear  Ken; I think both reasons you speak of are equally true.  In addition though, my greatest joy is going back to my display every so often, taking out a particular model and reappreciating it for the art form and source of nostalgia that it is.

I enjoy collecting rare white metal models for all the previous reasons listed, but most importantly for exclusivity!

There is a reason the 1971 Hemi Cuda convertibles command 7 figure prices....because Plymouth only made 7 of them!

That is why I like collecting Conquest and WMCE models, because sometimes Buz will only have 3, 4 or 5 of each color produced, and with only 3 colors available of a given model....... that is only 9 to 15 models.

So with 10's of thousands of car model collectors, or maybe hundreds of thousands of car model collectors in the world, that is a very thin spread!

For me the model/car has to be cool and interesting to me regardless of the cost.  But, quality does matter and you most often get what you pay for.  Now I am replacing some of my cheaper purchases with higher quality items and more exclusive makers.  I just bought two from Buzz, one USA Model (51 Chevy) and a Conquest  (48 Torpedo). I wanted a model from each of those makers and think the ones I bought are cool.  The 51 just arrived today. 😎

Well put me on the list, I definitely want one of the 48 Dodge Coupes if they are reissued.