[CR]Selling to Friends

(Example: Events:Cirque du Cyclisme:2002)

From: <Wornoutguy@aol.com>
Date: Mon, 5 Nov 2001 10:19:17 EST
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: [CR]Selling to Friends

Not all deals are created and not all friends are created equal. I have on many occasions given parts to friends at no cost, or sold at cost and spend many an hour installing for free. At times this has been very rewarding at other times frustrating. I once painted a friends frame, I had to disassemble it strip it to bare metal, etch prime, surface prime, spray with base coat clear coat and even masked off the chrome lugs. I went so far as to stripe the lug edge. This was to be in trade for an old crankset worth $20.00 at best. I was doing it more out of friendship, when I was done with the paint job I asked about the crank and he said I will sell it to you for $50.00. I gave him his paint job for free, (we are still friends) but I am out hours worth of work and at least $65.00 worth of materials. I helped a friend swap a frameset out that I sold him for the same amount of money I paid, he brought me 3 bikes to make one out of, he then expected me to swap parts around on each until we had a complete bikes. This took 3 hours. (we are still friends) he calls often when he buys a part and wants me to drop everything and install it. I work a minimum of 50 hours a week at a very stressful job. I have a family and my own hobby. I still try to be a friend when I can but sometimes it feels better to not sell at all or sell to a stranger for a profit. Sam DiBartolomeo