[CR]E-bay prices

(Example: Framebuilders:Bernard Carré)

Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2001 08:48:29 -0700
From: "Art Smith" <ahsmith@guhsd.k12.az.us>
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
References: <CATFOODuChiKcw1fPUU000006f1@catfood.nt.phred.org>
Content-Length: 3094
Subject: [CR]E-bay prices

I find the trends for prices of vintage bike and bike parts to be an interesting conundrum. On the one hand , this is mostly about disposable income, people with the resources to spend on nonessential commodities (insert art, Armani suits, antiques, etc., etc.) One could argue that the money spent on a derailleur would be better spent feeding or housing those who live off the bottom of the world's culture, but suggesting that isn't going to make it so. The rich, and those who can afford the kind of prices certain vintage memorabilia are commanding, are if not rich, at least tapped into a source of disposable income that most of us can't match. It would be hard for me as a public school teacher to throw a two week's paycheck at a Simplex derailleur and still not match the current bid. I'm not crying about what I make for a living; I acknowledge that how one spends one money is a personal choice. I might not like the way things are going (I can't hang with the big boys), but the collector is free to pay what he wants, and the dealer is free to get the most bang for his buck. Welcome to free trade! The other side of the question for me is what happens to an realm of collectable items when the prices for the parts exceed the whole. It happened in the pressed steel toy truck world years ago, when not only were lesser valued, complete trucks cannibalized to make the higher values version, but an industry of repo parts made originality an obsolete question for a lot of buyers. The bike industry is already played this out with reproduced versions of the Phantom, Colombia 5 star, etc. The thing that would gum up the works right now would be if some started manufacturing knock-off replicas of these high end bikes and parts! I can get bugged by all of this because on some level I can't be a part of it. Parts or bikes that I would like are out of my reach. It's funny, I'll never be able to afford a 2 million dollar house, but I don't get bugged when someone buys one one. But there are 2 things that I have at my disposal as a lover and collector of vintage bicycles that can't be entirely altered by the heavy pricing phenomena. One is finding stuff. Once pieces get into the higher echelon of collecting, they never come down. But there is still stuff out there. (E-bay, etc. is rapidly destroying that) but I can still find collectable items. I can also look to collect things that are high quality, but not the top of the heap. (The backside of this is that any dealer with a modem now thinks "any" Simplex derailleur is worth big bucks.) But I have faith. The other is keeping stuff in a network of fair pricing. I try to barter when I can and to barter for the price I paid for it, rather than it's so called value. The men I trade with operate on that same level. I'm not working on that 2 million dollar house by gouging my friend. Recently, I found a mint, Shimano 600 Centurion that is a nice rider and a '38 Raleigh Golden Arrow from it's original owner. Fight the Power!

Art Smith
I can only pedal one bike at a time anyway
Turning up the heat in Phoenix