I've had quite a bit of contact with Rex Brandt and Mike Nass (Clinton Airport Manager) about this situation. Rex told me last summer that he was going to close the salvage business, because he was finding the house flipping business much more lucrative. For a time Mike Nass was considering buying the inventory from Rex, as Mike is already selling both airplanes and parts online to supplement his income. Mike and Rex were unable to agree on a price, last I heard Rex wanted about double what Mike was offering. As Mike explained it to me, Rex was valuing the inventory at it's theoretical retail value, and if Mike were to pay that for the inventory, he'd have no margin for profit.
Though Rex had a tremendous amount of inventory, much of it was large parts such as fuselages, and damaged wings for which there is almost no market. In theory, a salvage C150 Fuselage is worth about $5K, but in an economy where you can buy an airworthy C150 for less than $15K, it is difficult to imagine much of a demand for $5K salvage fuselages.
It's a sad if somewhat predictable outcome. I know Rex sold some parts, and I personally sent him customers whenever I could, but I'm afraid his sales were few and far between, certainly not enough to make a living.
